UPS Expects Holiday Volume to Rise 11%
UPS Inc. expects holiday shipping volume to rise 11% to 585 million packages from last year, enough packages to circle the earth 4½ times.
UPS said seasonal hiring is under way to handle the increase and projects to reach about 95,000 workers by late November.
The company also is setting up 15 so-called “mobile delivery villages,” modular units with loading doors and connected conveyors. Each village can dispatch between 60 and 90 additional vehicles.
“The holiday season is a major retail sales opportunity for our customers, and we have worked closely with many of our shippers to plan delivery volumes. Our objective is to ensure that all of our year-round business and retail shippers can take maximum advantage of expanded UPS capacity during this important period,” Alan Gershenhorn, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement.
UPS expects its peak delivery day to be Dec. 22, when more than 34 million packages worldwide are likely to be shipped worldwide.
Six days are likely to surpass last year’s single-day delivery record of 31 million packages. On a typical day, UPS delivers about 17 million packages.
“We expect the additional operating days and expanded capacity to smooth out what is expected to be record volume. UPS also has nearly 50 additional sorting shifts around the country in our hubs and delivery centers to provide the increased processing capacity and flexibility to handle more packages,” Gershenhorn said.
UPS ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
