FedEx and UPS On-Time Deliveries Fall in 2019 Peak Season, USPS Skyrockets

Once again, USPS leads all the major shipping carriers in on-time delivery performance for the 2019 peak season. However, the good news for the US Postal Service isn’t shared throughout the whole shipping industry. According to the shipping consulting firm Convey, FedEx’s and UPS on-time delivery percentages took a drastic tumble from where they were last year, falling down to 68.3% and 80%, respectively. USPS, on the other hand, increased from 76% in 2018 to 86% in 2019.

Why UPS and FedEx’s On-Time Delivery Percentage Fell So Much This Year

Simply put, the reason behind FedEx and UPS’ poor performance is most likely an increase in the number of total packages in circulation. As online sales surge year over year, eCommerce package volume grows substantially every holiday season. As a result, analysts surmise that the high package volume has overwhelmed UPS and FedEx’s systems, accounting for the decline in on-time performance percentages.

According to the Convey study of 2.5 billion packages, UPS’ performance percentage decreased to 80% from 86% in 2018. FedEx’s delivery performance took the hardest hit, falling from 77.5% all the way down to 68.3%.

USPS Led On-Time Delivery Percentages in 2018’s Peak Season

The US Postal Service also led peak season performance in 2018. However, UPS and FedEx weren’t too far behind, only trailing behind by a fraction of a percentage point or so. Based on another set of data gathered by the shipping consulting firm Shipmatrix, the on-time delivery percentages for USPS, UPS, and FedEx in the 2018 peak season were as follows:

• USPS – 98.8%
• UPS – 98.5%
• FedEx – 97.6%

Compared to the results of the 2019 peak season, UPS and FedEx’s percentages were noticeably higher last year. The numbers are enough to make any eCommerce business reconsider shipping outside of the US Postal Service for the next holiday season.