A shipping zone refers to a geographic region where a carrier provides shipping services. The shipping zones are determined by the carrier based on the distance between the origin and the destination of the package. The shipping cost is calculated based on the shipping zone.
Shipping zones are an essential aspect of the shipping process, as they help carriers to determine the shipping cost and the delivery time. Shipping zones usually vary depending on the carrier, and each carrier has its way of defining shipping zones.
Most carriers use a system that divides the country into zones based on the distance between the origin and destination zip codes. The zones are usually numbered from 1 to 8, with zone 1 being the closest and zone 8 being the farthest.
The shipping cost usually increases as the distance between the origin and destination increases. Therefore, the shipping cost for packages sent to zone 8 will be higher than the shipping cost for packages sent to zones 1 or 2.