UPS and FedEx are struggling to keep up with the copious amounts of deliveries that have sprung up by online shoppers since Thanksgiving and Black Friday. To brace themselves for the holiday season, both UPS and FedEx are sending out extra employees to help with loading truck and even driving.
Both companies had to go as far as lengthen delivery windows for certain routes, suspended refunds and express deliveries in certain cases. Yet these delays have caused rates for both FedEx and UPS to drop. Normal rates for the two companies are around 99%, but a few weeks ago, UPS rates fell to 96%. The same goes for FedEx.
UPS says that it should have nearly 700 million packages before the end of the year. Both companies handle millions of packages year-round so a drop in deliveries for either could result in late deliveries for thousands of customers.
Some customers, like Michael Howard, are already feeling the brunt of the impact. Mr. Howard runs a small business that prints sports balls. He sent two footballs out to Texas through UPS. Instead of the package arriving Thursday, December 8th, it was delayed to Monday instead. According to the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Howard stated that, “It’s frustrating when I bend over backwards to meet a customer’s deadline. Just because there’s Cyber Monday, I have to take a back seat?”
Despite the pressure that the upcoming holiday season poses for UPS and FedEx, some carriers are using satellite sorting and automation to better speed up the packaging at their facilities. Both companies want to avoid the last minute ordering and bad weather implications that have caused millions of delays in years past.
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