peak season e-commerce

Holiday parcels should be under the tree on time, ShipMatrix says

Nervous online shoppers can relax. Parcel Santa is almost guaranteed to be on time for Christmas.

That’s the view of consultancy ShipMatrix, which on Thursday posted its last weekly on-time delivery report card before Christmas Day for FedEx Corp., (NYSE: FDX), UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) and the U.S. Postal Service, the three national carriers handling business-to-consumer (B2C) shipments. Parcels tendered in accordance with UPS’ shipping deadlines have a 99.5% certainty of arriving by Christmas Eve,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/holiday-parcels-should-be-under-the-tree-on-time-shipmatrix-says

Postal Service stands out in latest peak delivery performance report

The three major parcel carriers’ peak-season delivery performances for the week ending Dec. 11 were roughly in line with the prior week’s levels, while the U.S. Postal Service reported the best year-over-year improvement, according to data published Friday by consultancy ShipMatrix Inc.

From Dec. 5-11, the Postal Service clocked in with an on-time rate of 95%, up from 87.5% during the same period in 2020 though slightly below the prior 2021 week. UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) reported a 95.8% on-time...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/postal-service-stands-out-in-latest-peak-delivery-performance-report

FedEx forecast calls for holiday package shipments to increase 10%

Holiday shipments moving higher amid supply chain bottlenecks

FedEx is expecting package deliveries to increase 10% year-over-year during the holiday shipping season, a spokesperson told FreightWaves on Friday.

The expected increase would easily surpass last year’s peak season record. But this year FedEx (NYSE: FDX) won’t have to contend with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which were rushed to frontline workers in the early days of December 2020.

Even with numerous supply chain snarls keeping freight stuck at ports and shipper warehouses longer,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-forecast-calls-for-holiday-package-shipments-to-increase-10

‘People are gonna be pulling their hair out’: Supply chain execs predict chaotic holiday peak

Shortage of drivers and workers will lead to chaotic holiday peak season, supply chain experts say

In the lead-up to last year’s peak holiday season, panic spread like wildfire. Members of the media predicted daily shortfalls of millions of packages and devastating delays, but as it turned out, there was much ado about nothing. Despite handling record levels of volume, the major U.S. carriers posted similar or slightly better on-time rates than during the 2019 peak.

That’s because there wasn’t really much of a peak in 2020 –– consumers were still adjusting to the new normal of the e-commerce...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/people-are-gonna-be-pulling-their-hair-out-supply-chain-execs-predict-chaotic-holiday-peak

FedEx suspends money-back guarantees on U.S. holiday air deliveries

Several FedEx planes lined up at an airport terminal.

FedEx Corp. said it will rescind its money-back guarantee on its U.S.-based air services for the upcoming peak holiday shipping season, nearly seven months after restoring them.

Effective Nov. 1, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) will suspend the guarantee on nine air services, with three being international flights to and from the U.S., according to a post on its website. The guarantees will be restored on Jan. 16, FedEx said. This coincides with the expected end of the holiday returns cycle, which in years...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-suspends-money-back-guarantees-on-us-holiday-air-deliveries

Shippers must be proactive to thrive this peak season

Pandemic-related headwinds led to a frenzied peak season in 2020, delivering sky-high rates, shipping delays and manufacturing shortages. Demand has continued to outpace supply throughout all of 2021, and shippers can expect to face many of the challenges as last year heading into this holiday season.

A recent survey conducted by FreightWaves and Redwood Logistics revealed that over 90% of surveyed shippers have dedicated more funds to transportation throughout 2021 than they did in 2020. The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shippers-must-be-proactive-to-thrive-this-peak-season

UPS pushes back residential delivery commitment time for Next-Day Air Service

Brown-tails of UPS planes in a row at airport.

UPS Inc. has pushed back its delivery commitment times for Next Day Air service to certain residential locations to noon from 10:30 a.m., effective October 18, the company said in a note on its website.

The change will remain in effect until further notice, UPS (NYSE:UPS) said. It is unclear when the note was posted.

The affected residential locations will be those with “typical” delivery times of 10:30 a.m., UPS said. All service guarantees will be based on the revised delivery commitment times,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ups-pushes-back-residential-delivery-commitment-time-for-next-day-air-service

FedEx adding 90,000 workers to handle peak surge

FedEx latest to announce season hiring plans

FedEx Corp. said Thursday it would hire 90,000 workers “ahead of busy peak season.” 

The company will host in-person National Hiring Day events in Memphis, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Dallas and Atlanta next Thursday. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) will look to add package handlers, managers, technicians, forklift drivers, couriers and customs trade coordinators through virtual events as well.

“These positions are critical to the company’s success in meeting rising e-commerce demands from retailers and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-adding-90000-workers-to-handle-peak-surge

Pitney Bowes announces peak-season delivery surcharges

E-commerce and postal provider Pitney Bowes Inc. said it will impose peak-season parcel delivery surcharges of $1.50 per piece on all domestic shipments, effective Oct. 3.

In addition, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company will levy weight-based surcharges on all shipments requiring expedited deliveries, which is a time-definite guarantee of three days or less. Shipments weighing up to 10 pounds will incur a $1.25-per-piece surcharge. Those levies will climb to $3.85 for shipments weighing 11...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/pitney-bowes-announces-peak-season-delivery-surcharges

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