Shipping Delays

In case you have not heard, it was recently reported that shipping companies such as UPS and FedEx experienced some holiday season shipping glitches that delayed some small parcel shipping to homes across North America. Many consumer packages failed to reach their destination before Christmas. As a result, many customers voiced their frustration online, which has created a backlash towards these two carriers. UPS, which normaly has a great track record for shipping, accounted these delays due to higher volumes of holiday packages than were originally projected to be lower, as well as harsh winter weather. Hopefully the situation will resolve shortly.

Supply chains that depend on freight shipping by truck may watch this news and wonder if this story impacts their shipments. It appears that this incident is mostly an issue regarding small parcel/residential shipping, as opposed to LTL and FTL shipping. However, because these carriers had to devote extra resources to fixing the delay after the holiday, some transit times for trucking carriers might be slightly altered.

Shipping delays can happen in the freight world. That is why many businesses should work with a trusted freight forwarder that can utilize all of their amazing resources to limit delays. For example, part of the reason for the delays during the holidays was a direct result of bad planning. On the other hand, freight forwarders and 3PLs always utilize good planning to ensure that your shipment does not get delayed. They also provide their customers with technology to track the shipments, so that way you have the peace of mind knowing that your freight is not delayed.