While package carriers were unable to deliver all holiday packages in time for Christmas in 2013, they achieved a better outcome in 2014 and hope to continue their successes this holiday season, which is forecasted to have a record-breaking number of deliveries.
FedEx predicts delivering 317 million shipments—a 12.4 percent increase over last year’s holiday season; UPS estimates having 630 million packages—a 10 percent increase; and the U.S. Postal Service believes it will deliver 15.5 billion pieces of mail and 600 million packages—a 10.5 percent jump over last year’s number. FedEx’s number includes Black Friday through Christmas Eve while UPS and USPS count Black Friday through New Year’s Eve.
And those numbers aren’t only larger because of an extra day that falls between Black Friday and Christmas. FedEx expects Cyber Monday and the first two Mondays of December to double its average daily volume. During peak season, FedEx will sort packages daily, run expanded operations with 55,000 more employees.
“FedEx expects to see a record number of shipments move through our global network between Black Friday and Christmas Eve,” said Frederick W. Smith, CEO of FedEx Corp. “The shift in consumer shopping patterns, fueled by the rise of e-commerce, continues to drive our volume. Our strategic investments, unmatched flexible global network, and more than 325,000 dedicated team members around the world are ready to help the holidays arrive again this year.”
UPS expects to deliver about 36 million packages on its peak day of Dec. 22—about a million more than the same day last year and double its daily average of 18 million deliveries. To help meet demand, UPS will utilize UPS My Choice, which allows members to receive text or email alerts about their packages and redirect deliveries to UPS Access Point locations. The company also will add 95,000 seasonal jobs.
“Consumer preference for online commerce is driving tremendous growth opportunities for UPS,” said Alan Gershenhorn, executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “Our integrated air and ground delivery network, extensive status and visibility systems and a broad portfolio of shipping solutions position UPS to best manage increasing demand driven by online commerce.”
However, USPS predicted Dec. 21 as its busiest day with an estimated 30 million packages delivered. To help with the influx of mail, USPS will offer delivery notifications via myusps.com, hire 30,000 seasonal employees and deliver seven days a week in high-volume areas from Nov. 29 through Christmas, with an expected 5 million packages delivered on those four extra Sundays.
“Customers can count on the Postal Service and our more than 600,000 dedicated employees to deliver their holiday gifts, cards and letters,” said Megan J. Brennan, postmaster general and CEO. “We have been investing in our infrastructure including package sortation equipment, new delivery vehicles and scanning technology to expand our capacity, improve operating efficiency and provide real-time visibility.”
The National Retail Federation predicted 46 percent of consumers will do their holiday shopping online, with 21.4 percent making purchases on their smartphones and 34.5 percent using their tablets for buying gifts, according to its 2015 Holiday Consumer Spending Survey. Millennials tend to opt for same-day delivery, with 16.7 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds and 15.9 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds choosing this option. And some consumers already have begun their holiday shopping with 40 percent beginning after Halloween, 41.5 percent starting this month, and 18.7 percent waiting until next month.
