FedEx Forecast Calls for Holiday Package Shipments to Increase 10%

FedEx is expecting package deliveries to increase 10% year-over-year during the holiday shopping season, according to an internal Thursday email obtained by Bloomberg.

The expected increase would easily surpass last year's peak season record. But this year FedEx FDX won't have to contend with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which were rushed to frontline workers in the early days of December 2020.

It appears the buy-from-home trend necessitated during last year's lockdowns is here to stay. The report said the parcel carrier will move 100 million more packages this holiday shipping season than it did in the same period of 2019.

Even with numerous supply chain snarls keeping freight stuck at ports and shipper warehouses longer, deliveries are expected to surge higher again during the 2021 holiday period.

Other highlights from the email show the company will deliver 32 million packages globally on Cyber Monday. The Tuesday that follows and the first two Mondays in December will round out the busiest volume days for the company.

The report is in line with recent commentary from the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The group expects holiday sales during November and December to increase 8.5% to 10.5% year-over-year. A survey it recently conducted showed 46% of consumers polled got a jump on holiday spending earlier than normal, completing 28% of their total planned spending by early November.

"Consumers are starting earlier than ever to be sure they can get what they want, when they want it, at a price they want to pay," Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO, stated.

FreightWaves had not received a response from FedEx by the time this article posted.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden.

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