Your Holiday Packages Could Be Delayed This Year
Your holiday packages may be delayed this year.
FedEx and UPS are warning customers to brace for a 'shipageddon.' Up to 7 million packages a day could be delayed between Thanksgiving and Christmas because they are already at shipping capacity due to the coronavirus. Both companies say the coronavirus and online holiday shopping will be unprecedented.
“This will be an unprecedented peak season, and there will be days within the holiday season where the entire industry is constrained,” Brie Carere, executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at FedEx, told NBC News.
“We are working closely with our large and medium customers to steer volume to capacity and ensure the UPS network is reliable for all customers,” according to a UPS spokesperson.
75 percent of consumers plan to so some holiday shopping online this year, according to Accenture, up 65 percent from last year. 43 percent plan to only shop online.
Nearly 40,000 people have been hired at UPS this year to keep up with the demand and the company plans to hire 100,000 more for the holidays. FedEx is looking to bring on 70,000 more for the holiday season.
The best advice to make sure your packages arrive on time this Christmas is to shop early so you can ship early. "Online shopping and shipping volumes this holiday season are expected to beat last year's by a long shot," according to FedEx.