Parcel carriers have been very vocal this year, more than ever, regarding the fact that they are going to be pushed to the 
limits with capacity this holiday season. The surge in online shopping due to Covid-19, has carriers predicting that holiday volumes will be significantly about previous years. Knowing carrier cut off dates for package deliver, can help companies shipping direct to consumer better plan to ensure that customers receive their purchases prior to the holiday.
Below are charts showing the cut off dates for FedEx, UPS and USPS in order for packages to reach the destination before December 25th.
| FedEx Ground | Tuesday, December 15 |
| FedEx SmartPost | Wednesday, December 9 |
| FedEx Overnight | Wednesday, December 23 |
| FedEx 2nd Day | Tuesday, December 22 |
| FedEx Express Saver | Monday, December 21 |
| UPS Ground Shipping | Wednesday, December 16 |
| UPS Next Day Air | Friday, December 18 |
| UPS 2nd Day Air | Saturday, December 19 |
| UPS 3-Day Select | Sunday, December 20 |
| Priority Mail | Monday, December 21 |
| First-Class Mail | Monday, December 21 |
| Priority Mail Express Next Day | Tuesday, December 22 |
| Media Mail | Friday, December 18 |
| Retail Ground | Friday, December 18 |
Preventing Delays
This year more than ever, operations needs to work closely with marketing to unde
eCommerce retailers are advertising holiday sales prior to Black Friday and Cyber Monday to allow extra time to ship orders and meet the December 25th delivery date. This will help to limit the spike of orders and avoid delays.rstand sales projections and plan accordingly to the above cut off dates. Many carriers are limiting the amount of pickups and trailers that will be allocated the weeks following Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
In previous years, it was common for many retailers to run last minute holiday sales. This year it will be much harder to predict that, orders generated by these last minute sales, will arrive prior to December 25th, especially if the carriers are still running at max capacity closer to the holiday.
Holiday Surcharges
Carriers have been quick to put peak volume surcharges in place this year, in response to the expected holiday surge. It is important for every eCommerce retailer shipping higher package volumes this time of year to understand the impact of these surcharges. The time is now to work with your carriers to understand how you can best mitigate the impact of these surcharges so that it can be part of your holiday planning.
For more information on how IDS can help with your holiday shipping needs, Contact Us Today!
