FedEx sees 10% rise in holiday package volume to record levels

FedEx Corp. is forecasting a 10% increase in holiday package deliveries over a previous record peak season in 2020 as consumers remain hooked on internet shopping even as stores reopen from last year’s lockdowns.

The volume will be 100 million more packages compared with pre-pandemic levels in the 2019 peak season, the courier said Thursday in an emailed statement. Peak season kicks off at the end of November following the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

On the Monday following the Nov. 25 holiday, known as Cyber Monday, FedEx expects to handle 32 million packages worldwide. The other busiest days for the peak season will be the last Tuesday in November and the first two Mondays in December, the company said.

FedEx has been preparing for months for the package onslaught and said in a statement it will be able to handle the volume thanks to “our leaning into e-commerce and making billions of dollars of investments.”

Still, couriers and retailers face challenges spanning from shortages of warehouse workers and truck drivers to a choked supply-chain that may keep merchandise from hitting U.S. distribution centers in time for the holidays. FedEx said the worker shortage increased costs by $450 million in its latest quarter because of higher wages and capacity constraints at its sorting hubs.