UPS to deliver nearly 26 million packages Thursday

With more than 120 million packages to move this week, UPS is getting the bulk of Santa's deliveries out of the way before the big guy's due down the chimney.

Thursday is the year's busiest for the Sandy Springs logistics company. UPS will deliver nearly 26 million packages, or almost 300 a second. On a typical day, it delivers 15.6 million.

The company has added more than 400 additional flights a day to make sure Christmas gifts arrive in time. It's chief competitor, FedEx, had its peak day Dec. 12. Then, it delivered about 17 million packages, almost twice its daily average volume.

Both companies have attributed much of the growth in their holiday deliveries to increased online shopping. ComScore, a digital analytics company, said online sales were up 14 percent over last year for the week that ended Dec. 18.

"With the ease of online shopping, last-minute deals, it's really compressed the holiday," UPS spokesman Norman Black said. "It's really come down to the two weeks before Christmas."

Black said there were five days during the holidays when UPS expected their package deliveries to exceed 25 million a day. Last year, UPS delivered 25 million packages on its peak day.

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