Parcel carriers shine in first peak week

The top four parcel delivery carriers performed solidly during the key first week of the peak holiday shipping season, which included Thanksgiving and Black Friday, according to data from consultancy ShipMatrix.

UPS Inc. (NYSE:UPS) came in with a 98.5% on-time delivery rate, an impressive showing because it is handling a large influx of Amazon.com Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) packages, especially next-day air shipments, after Amazon and FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) cut delivery ties in the U.S. earlier this year. FedEx clocked in at 98.6% for air and ground deliveries, while the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) came in at 98.4%. Amazon reported a 98.2% on-time delivery rate. 

ShipMatrix estimated that Amazon will deliver more than half of its own parcel volume, or 275 million parcels, between Black Friday and New Year’s Eve. With a larger air and ground network than ever before, Amazon is poised to handle more of its holiday deliveries than it has in the past.

Satish Jindel, CEO of ShipMatrix, said the overall on-time performance was on par with last year’s first week. Jindel added that retailers and consumers should be confident that the carriers will make goods on their delivery commitments through the cycle.