UPS gears up for holiday logistics

Press release

Published December 8th, 2011 - 08:59 GMT

Al Bawaba

UPS's holiday logistical miracle will be bigger and better than ever this year, with global package volume increasing and U.S. residents gaining the ability for the first time to control their deliveries.

UPS expects to deliver more than 120 million packages around the world this year in just the last week before Christmas, up more than 6 percent compared to the 113 million delivered during last year's "peak week." That growth demonstrates anew the recent trend of people delaying online shopping until just before Christmas. Before the explosion of e-commerce, the holiday peak season stretched from Thanksgiving to Christmas; now, it's been compressed to the last two weeks before Christmas.

This year, in a dramatic underscoring of the trend, UPS is projecting it will see five different days on which its deliveries will approach or exceed 25 million - all within the last 10 days before Christmas. Last year, there was only one day on which deliveries surpassed 25 million.

A delivery volume of 25 million packages represents a 60 percent increase compared to UPS's normal daily volume of 15.6 million and amounts to the delivery of almost 300 packages every second of the day.

The 2011 shipping season will reach its apex Dec. 22, UPS's peak shipping day, when the company projects its delivery volume worldwide will approach 26 million. UPS projects its peak air day this year will be Friday, Dec. 23, with more than 6 million deliveries of air packages on that day compared to a normal air volume of 3 million. UPS will fly more than 400 additional flight segments per day during peak week.

The company is projecting its busiest tracking day of the season will occur on Dec. 20 with more than 58 million online package tracking requests.

"Early indications point to a solid holiday shopping and shipping season," said Alan Gershenhorn, UPS chief sales and marketing officer. "To handle the holiday rush and maintain the reliability that's needed when shopping close to Christmas, we're flexing every part of our global small package network."

Background Information

United Parcel Service

Founded in 1907 as a messenger company in the United States, UPS has grown into a multi-billion-dollar corporation by clearly focusing on the goal of enabling commerce around the globe. Today, UPS is a global company with one of the most recognized and admired brands in the world. We have become the world's largest package delivery company and a leading global provider of specialized transportation and logistics services. Every day, we manage the flow of goods, funds, and information in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.