Parcel shipping services will be in high demand for peak holiday season as more consumers are shopping online in the midst of COVID. And a new wave of peak surcharges from major carriers poses a significant burden for ecommerce shippers – and they’ve already hit. Here are ways to mitigate the costs coming into peak season.
The House approved a $25 billion relief package for the beleaguered USPS, a measure not expected to pass muster in the GOP-led Senate, as new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is undergoing intense scrutiny in Washington over changes he is initiating. A second hearing before a House panel is scheduled for today.
FedEx as expected added peak surcharge fees onto its pricing schedule for an expected blowout peak holiday season this year, adding up to $2 per package for the SmartPost final mile service and up to $5 per package for the next-day Express service. UPS and the U.S. Postal Service have already announced their peak pricing.
The U.S. Post Office is taking the unprecedented step of seeking a peak surcharge in anticipation of huge holiday demand for ecommerce parcel shipping. If approved the increases would take effect from Oct. 18 to Dec. 27, ranging from an additional 24 cents to $1.50 more per package, across all its products.
Major logistics and shipping firm C.H. Robinson has added a parcel option to its Freightquote self-shipping tool to better service small-to-medium-sized businesses, while also partnering with project crowdsourcing provider TaskRabbit to give them access to ecommerce fulfillment services. The combination is an industry first.
A few weeks ago, analysts predicted FedEx’s strong Q4 results were a preview of coming attractions for when UPS reported. They weren’t wrong. UPS reported a record 22.8% surge in average daily shipping volume in Q2, fueled by massive ecommerce growth, and a 65% increase in shipments to consumers, nearly 70% of total volume.
This month, FedEx Express installed four robotic arms inside a sortation hub in its hometown of Memphis, in response to demands placed on its services in the midst of the massive pandemic-influenced surge in ecommerce orders. Yaskawa America supplied the robotic arms and Plus One provided the software system.
What do major changes at USPS mean for thousands of businesses that rely on it daily for parcel delivery, as well as giants like UPS, FedEx and Amazon? How will these changes affect SLAs and CSAT? We discuss these issues with Cathy Roberson, founder and president of Logistics Trends and Insights on our latest MCM podcast.
FedEx surprised to the upside in Q4, its laser focus on ecommerce capabilities in recent years paying off in terms of responsiveness to massive online buying, even as service stumbles were reported in a couple states. It seemed none the worse for having parted ways with Amazon in 2019 to seek more profitable customer relationships.
Retailers, direct-to-consumer brands, marketplaces and marketplace sellers riding the lockdown boom in cross-border ecommerce are getting a massive wake-up call today as global postal rates into the United States start … Continue Reading →