ShipMatrix data highlights strong holiday season parcel metrics

Data recently issued by ShipMatrix, a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based SJ Consulting showed varied on-time performance (OTP) ranges, for weeks 47 through 49 of 2021 and including Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, from November 14-December 4), for major parcel carriers, including UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service (USPS).    

ShipMatrix President Satish Jindel said that this data is based on millions of packages shipped via UPS, FedEx, and USPS.

ShipMatrix reported the following for week 47-to-week 49 OTP metrics:

• for weeks 47, 48, and 49, from November 14-December 4, OTP results included FedEx, at 85.7%, UPS, at 96.4%, and USPS, at 95.1%; and
• for the last week of November 28 to December 4, when carriers handled a much higher volume than the previous two weeks, the firm said the carriers “held up well,” as FedEx came in at 83.9%, UPS, at 96.1%, and USPS, at 95.5%; and

What’s more, the firm observed that as more than 70% of parcels are comprised of holiday gifts and delivered to residences, the most notable way to evaluate carriers’ performance is to consider express service as on time of delivered by end of day and Ground within one extra day.

Through that lens, OTP for week 49, of November 28-December 4, see strong levels, with FedEx, at 97.4%, UPS, at 99.0%, and USPS, at 98.6%, with ShipMatrix saying that these figures

ShipMatrix said that while OTP levels have been strong over the course of the holiday peak period, to date, as more than 90 million parcels are being shipped on a daily basis, roughly 1.3 million parcels each day will take two or more extra days to be delivered.  

“So, consumers should place orders by December 15 unless the retailer is shipping the items via faster express services,” said ShipMatrix. “And, if the retailers are promising aggressive delivery dates with ground shipping, consumers should be cautious as the carriers have added extra time or day to their commitment times for the peak and may give false expectations for delivery.”

The firm said that even with labor shortages still in effect, which are hindering the ability or parcel carriers to bring more people on board, this data reflects how carriers have maintained strong service levels related to capacity expansions going back to the 2020 peak, as there has since been an uptick in consumers making purchases at retail stores, coupled with an increase in goods being ordered online earlier.

Heading into the holiday season, there was a certain amount of trepidation as to whether holiday goods would be delivered in time, due to myriad supply chain-related issues. But as the weeks have gone by—and as this data shows—things appear to be moving along smoothly, for the most part.

“If you are expecting a delivery on the 14th of December and it comes on the 15th or 16th, how does that really affect your life,” asked ShipMatrix President Satish Jindel. “It is still well before December 24. Now, don’t try to order things, two-to-four days before Christmas, because you are then causing and asking for trouble.”

Jindel added that as more people are making in-store purchases compared to a year ago, it should help to reduce any panic consumers have about getting gifts in timer, as long as they are ordered in a timely manner.

And he noted that last year there were many packages ordered online that were anywhere from two-to-five days late, with the improvements shown in this most recent batch of data.

The holiday delivery cut-off dates are as follows for the major parcel carriers: FedEx, December 15; UPS, December 16; and UPS, December 15, for retail ground, and December 18, for Priority Mail.