After a peak pickup day Monday, nearly 100,000 UPS vehicles will be on the road to drop off more than 29 million packages Tuesday, the Sandy Springs-based company’s top delivery day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
UPS and other package delivery services credit the increase in business throughout the season to more consumers embracing e-commerce and shopping online.
According to spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg, UPS’ normal deliveries average about 16.3 million daily. Tuesday’s deliveries will set a single-day record and eclipse last year’s peak delivery of 27.6 million packages, she said.
“Just in the week before Christmas, we forecast more than 132 million packages delivered,” Rosenberg said Monday.
Memphis-based FedEx’s busiest day was Dec. 2, and the company estimated it handled more than 22 million packages, an 11 percent increase over last year’s peak day, according to spokesman Scott Fiedler.
The U.S. Postal Service, meanwhile, estimates it processed at least 600 million letters and packages Monday, its holiday peak day, compared with average daily volume of 528 million pieces of mail. Wednesday will be the biggest day for delivering letters and cards, and Thursday for delivering packages, according to the Postal Service.
More online shopping is leading to more package deliveries. ComScore, a company that keeps track of e-commerce, reported last week that online shopping for the first 39 days of the November-December 2013 holiday season reached $31.5 billion, a 9 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier. The National Retail Federation projected a record 131 million consumers purchased products online on Cyber Monday.
In addition to delivery cars, vans, tractors, motorcycles and alternative fuel vehicles, UPS is relying on more than 2,388 daily cargo flights globally during its peak season, which is 465 more flights than a typical day in November, the company said.
UPS hired 55,000 workers to help with the season. To help drivers deliver packages more efficiently and accurately, the company in October unveiled new route management software that delivers mapping data to drivers’ handheld devices that the company says is more precise than other devices using the Global Positioning System, or GPS. The technology, for example, can direct drivers to specific loading docks rather than general addresses, the company said.
UPS had been developing the mapping technology, called On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation, or ORION, in-house for the past decade, and it is expected to save the company 1.5 million gallons in fuel consumption this year and cut carbon dioxide emissions.
UPS said its shipping prices will rise an average 4.9 percent effective Dec. 30. FedEx said rates will increase an average of 3.9 percent for express service, effective Jan. 6; and effective Jan. 26, postal rates will rise an average 2.4 percent, including the price of a stamp rising 3 cents to 49 cents.
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