Victoria Kickham started her career as a newspaper reporter in the Boston area before moving into B2B journalism. She has covered manufacturing, distribution and supply chain issues for a variety of publications in the industrial and electronics sectors, and now writes about everything from forklift batteries to omnichannel business trends for DC Velocity.
As shippers work to meet unprecedented demand for holiday delivery this season, on-time performance data for the leading parcel delivery carriers underscore the value of early and extended peak season activity and retailers’ ability to leverage alternate fulfillment methods, industry research shows.
Data from Austin, Texas-based last-mile technology firm Convey show that UPS and FedEx are maintaining performance levels during the surge—thanks to volume limits and other strategies aimed at managing capacity—while the United States Postal Service (USPS) has seen falling on-time performance as it picks up the brunt of the remaining volume. Convey’s Parcel Network Pulse dashboard provides real-time parcel shipment data from its client base and pulls in other industry data, as well as weather, to help retail clients spot fulfillment bottlenecks affecting e-commerce deliveries across the nation.
FedEx and UPS saw only a slight dip in performance from Black Friday through Cyber Week, according to Convey. FedEx delivered 75% of packages on time between November 27 and December 3, down from 76% the week prior. In comparison, in 2019 FedEx dropped from 91% to 76% for the same shopping period. UPS delivered 80% of packages on time November 27 to December 3, down from 82% the week prior. In comparison, in 2019 UPS dropped from 90% to 80% for the same shopping period. Carson Krieg, Convey’s co-founder and director of strategic partnerships, said the stability compared to last year is due in large part to the measures both firms are taking to manage volumes this peak season—especially volume limits, a step he says he’s not seen before.
“We haven’t seen that in the past, [but] we’ve never seen the volumes we’re seeing on the parcel side of the house,” he said, adding that package volume has increased 30% year-over-year in 2020.
In the meantime, the USPS is taking packages that UPS and FedEx won’t and has doubled its e-commerce market share since early October—and has seen a corresponding decrease in on-time performance, Krieg said. USPS grew from 9% of e-commerce parcel shipments the week of October 9 to 20% the week of November 27, according to Convey data. On-time performance dropped to 78% the week of November 27, down from 87% the week prior, and down from 94% the week of October 9.
For shippers, the problem is compounded because alternates to the “big three” carriers also face capacity constraints and can’t take on new business.
“The breaking point is here,” Krieg said, noting that USPS performance had remained solid through October but suffered from a spike in volume from mail-in ballots for the recent Presidential election followed quickly by Black Friday and Cyber Week.
The effects are also being seen in Convey’s “click-to-deliver” metric, or CTD, which measures the time from when a consumer hits purchase to when the item gets delivered. It takes into account both fulfillment and transit time, and Krieg says fulfillment has experienced the biggest jump in recent weeks, increasing 72% from November 10 to December 8.
“This is largely due to the holiday peak surge of packages that are sitting on docks or waiting to be picked up by carriers,” he said.
Consumer expectations are being affected, and retailers’ cries to shop early this year are being followed by early order cut-offs for guaranteed holiday delivery. Other strategies include leveraging curbside pickup and click-and-collect fulfillment options.
“Some retailers have done really well with those strategies this year and are not seeing this [current situation] affect their whole supply chain,” Krieg said, adding that those who rely solely on the big three carriers are “having a tough time right now.”
The outlook calls for much of the same through the end of the year. The National Retail Federation estimates that holiday spending will increase between 3.6% and 5.2% this year, compared with 4% last year, including online sales, which is expected to grow beteeen 20% and 30%. NRF cited a 44% increase in e-commerce orders over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period alone, compared to last year.
“This perfect storm of volume won’t settle down until after the holidays,” Krieg said.
The Port of Oakland has been awarded $50 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) to modernize wharves and terminal infrastructure at its Outer Harbor facility, the port said today.
Those upgrades would enable the Outer Harbor to accommodate Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs), which are now a regular part of the shipping fleet calling on West Coast ports. Each of these ships has a handling capacity of up to 24,000 TEUs (20-foot containers) but are currently restricted at portions of Oakland’s Outer Harbor by aging wharves which were originally designed for smaller ships.
According to the port, those changes will let it handle newer, larger vessels, which are more efficient, cost effective, and environmentally cleaner to operate than older ships. Specific investments for the project will include: wharf strengthening, structural repairs, replacing container crane rails, adding support piles, strengthening support beams, and replacing electrical bus bar system to accommodate larger ship-to-shore cranes.
The Florida logistics technology startup OneRail has raised $42 million in venture backing to lift the fulfillment software company its next level of growth, the company said today.
The “series C” round was led by Los Angeles-based Aliment Capital, with additional participation from new investors eGateway Capital and Florida Opportunity Fund, as well as current investors Arsenal Growth Equity, Piva Capital, Bullpen Capital, Las Olas Venture Capital, Chicago Ventures, Gaingels and Mana Ventures. According to OneRail, the funding comes amidst a challenging funding environment where venture capital funding in the logistics sector has seen a 90% decline over the past two years.
The latest infusion follows the firm’s $33 million Series B round in 2022, and its move earlier in 2024 to acquire the Vancouver, Canada-based company Orderbot, a provider of enterprise inventory and distributed order management (DOM) software.
Orlando-based OneRail says its omnichannel fulfillment solution pairs its OmniPoint cloud software with a logistics as a service platform and a real-time, connected network of 12 million drivers. The firm says that its OmniPointsoftware automates fulfillment orchestration and last mile logistics, intelligently selecting the right place to fulfill inventory from, the right shipping mode, and the right carrier to optimize every order.
“This new funding round enables us to deepen our decision logic upstream in the order process to help solve some of the acute challenges facing retailers and wholesalers, such as order sourcing logic defaulting to closest store to customer to fulfill inventory from, which leads to split orders, out-of-stocks, or worse, cancelled orders,” OneRail Founder and CEO Bill Catania said in a release. “OneRail has revolutionized that process with a dynamic fulfillment solution that quickly finds available inventory in full, from an array of stores or warehouses within a localized radius of the customer, to meet the delivery promise, which ultimately transforms the end-customer experience.”
Commercial fleet operators are steadily increasing their use of GPS fleet tracking, in-cab video solutions, and predictive analytics, driven by rising costs, evolving regulations, and competitive pressures, according to an industry report from Verizon Connect.
Those conclusions come from the company’s fifth annual “Fleet Technology Trends Report,” conducted in partnership with Bobit Business Media, and based on responses from 543 fleet management professionals.
The study showed that for five consecutive years, at least four out of five respondents have reported using at least one form of fleet technology, said Atlanta-based Verizon Connect, which provides fleet and mobile workforce management software platforms, embedded OEM hardware, and a connected vehicle device called Hum by Verizon.
The most commonly used of those technologies is GPS fleet tracking, with 69% of fleets across industries reporting its use, the survey showed. Of those users, 72% find it extremely or very beneficial, citing improved efficiency (62%) and a reduction in harsh driving/speeding events (49%).
Respondents also reported a focus on safety, with 57% of respondents citing improved driver safety as a key benefit of GPS fleet tracking. And 68% of users said in-cab video solutions are extremely or very beneficial. Together, those technologies help reduce distracted driving incidents, improve coaching sessions, and help reduce accident and insurance costs, Verizon Connect said.
Looking at the future, fleet management software is evolving to meet emerging challenges, including sustainability and electrification, the company said. "The findings from this year's Fleet Technology Trends Report highlight a strong commitment across industries to embracing fleet technology, with GPS tracking and in-cab video solutions consistently delivering measurable results,” Peter Mitchell, General Manager, Verizon Connect, said in a release. “As fleets face rising costs and increased regulatory pressures, these technologies are proving to be indispensable in helping organizations optimize their operations, reduce expenses, and navigate the path toward a more sustainable future.”
Businesses engaged in international trade face three major supply chain hurdles as they head into 2025: the disruptions caused by Chinese New Year (CNY), the looming threat of potential tariffs on foreign-made products that could be imposed by the incoming Trump Administration, and the unresolved contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), according to an analysis from trucking and logistics provider Averitt.
Each of those factors could lead to significant shipping delays, production slowdowns, and increased costs, Averitt said.
First, Chinese New Year 2025 begins on January 29, prompting factories across China and other regions to shut down for weeks, typically causing production to halt and freight demand to skyrocket. The ripple effects can range from increased shipping costs to extended lead times, disrupting even the most well-planned operations. To prepare for that event, shippers should place orders early, build inventory buffers, secure freight space in advance, diversify shipping modes, and communicate with logistics providers, Averitt said.
Second, new or increased tariffs on foreign-made goods could drive up the cost of imports, disrupt established supply chains, and create uncertainty in the marketplace. In turn, shippers may face freight rate volatility and capacity constraints as businesses rush to stockpile inventory ahead of tariff deadlines. To navigate these challenges, shippers should prepare advance shipments and inventory stockpiling, diversity sourcing, negotiate supplier agreements, explore domestic production, and leverage financial strategies.
Third, unresolved contract negotiations between the ILA and the USMX will come to a head by January 15, when the current contract expires. Labor action or strikes could cause severe disruptions at East and Gulf Coast ports, triggering widespread delays and bottlenecks across the supply chain. To prepare for the worst, shippers should adopt a similar strategy to the other potential January threats: collaborate early, secure freight, diversify supply chains, and monitor policy changes.
According to Averitt, companies can cushion the impact of all three challenges by deploying a seamless, end-to-end solution covering the entire path from customs clearance to final-mile delivery. That strategy can help businesses to store inventory closer to their customers, mitigate delays, and reduce costs associated with supply chain disruptions. And combined with proactive communication and real-time visibility tools, the approach allows companies to maintain control and keep their supply chains resilient in the face of global uncertainties, Averitt said.
Bloomington, Indiana-based FTR said its Trucking Conditions Index declined in September to -2.47 from -1.39 in August as weakness in the principal freight dynamics – freight rates, utilization, and volume – offset lower fuel costs and slightly less unfavorable financing costs.
Those negative numbers are nothing new—the TCI has been positive only twice – in May and June of this year – since April 2022, but the group’s current forecast still envisions consistently positive readings through at least a two-year forecast horizon.
“Aside from a near-term boost mostly related to falling diesel prices, we have not changed our Trucking Conditions Index forecast significantly in the wake of the election,” Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, said in a release. “The outlook continues to be more favorable for carriers than what they have experienced for well over two years. Our analysis indicates gradual but steadily rising capacity utilization leading to stronger freight rates in 2025.”
But FTR said its forecast remains unchanged. “Just like everyone else, we’ll be watching closely to see exactly what trade and other economic policies are implemented and over what time frame. Some freight disruptions are likely due to tariffs and other factors, but it is not yet clear that those actions will do more than shift the timing of activity,” Vise said.
The TCI tracks the changes representing five major conditions in the U.S. truck market: freight volumes, freight rates, fleet capacity, fuel prices, and financing costs. Combined into a single index indicating the industry’s overall health, a positive score represents good, optimistic conditions while a negative score shows the inverse.