Integrators assist Santa despite capacity crunch

Despite this peak season’s capacity crunch, integrators are stepping in to help Saint Nick deliver packages this holiday. Last week, freight forwarder Crane Worldwide Logistics estimated in its Logistics of Santa article that if each package weighed just 1 kg, Santa would have to transport more than 544 million tonnes of presents this Christmas. He won’t have to load all that weight onto just one sleigh, however, thanks to the help of express carriers like DHL, UPS and FedEx Express. [caption id="attachment_93830" align="alignright" width="400"] Photo/USPS[/caption] DHL Express projects a record-setting peak season this year, with shipment quantities expected to grow by at least 50% year over year. The integrator has also grown in manpower, leaving it well-equipped to handle the overwhelming volumes of packages already on their way home for the holidays. “We have hired more than 10,000 new employees globally and put in place the right resources to handle the extra volumes in order to ensure a seamless and safe delivery process,” a DHL spokesperson told Air Cargo World . “Despite it being a challenging year for many, DHL Express is committed to supporting our customers and spreading joy this holiday season,” the spokesperson added. Although express carriers FedEx and UPS were unavailable for comment about this year’s holiday season volumes, their Q4 projections put forward during their Q3 earnings calls provide some insight. “We’re in the midst of our peak holiday shipping season, where we expect record-breaking volumes,” said Fred Smith, CEO and founder of FedEx. “The pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce volumes. In the first nine months of 2020, U.S. e-commerce sales grew 33% year over year,” said Brie Carere, executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at FedEx. “E-commerce package volumes are expected to more than triple to 111 million packages per day by 2026, up from 35 million in 2019,” she said, indicating that Santa will need even more help on future holidays. FedEx Express reported daily parcel volumes of nearly 3 million packages domestically and nearly 2.5 million packages internationally in the 2020 fiscal year ending May 31. UPS Express, meanwhile, saw average daily parcel volumes of just over 3 million internationally and over 18.5 million domestically in the 2019 fiscal year ending Dec. 31. According to Carol Tome, CEO of UPS, the “2020 peak will have two more operating days than last year and two full weeks between Cyber week and Christmas week.” Speaking during the company’s Q3 earnings report, she added, “We expect to see solid volume growth year over year.” While these numbers don’t compare Crane Worldwide Logistics’ estimate of the number of packages Santa will deliver to the world’s 2.2 billion children this Christmas, the numbers from UPS Express and FedEx Express are still impressive. Smaller carriers with regional operations are also doing their part this holiday. Hawaiian Air Cargo, which ships between the Hawai’ian islands, Hawai’i and the continental U.S., and the U.S., South Korea and Japan, flew an average of 13 cargo flights between the continental U.S. and Hawai’i in November and December 2020, each carrying an average 58.9 tonnes of cargo. Internationally, the carrier averaged two flights per day, with 25.9 tonnes of cargo per flight within the same period. Alaskan Airlines, meanwhile, added main-deck cargo capacity last month on its cargo-only passenger aircraft flights in anticipation of the holiday peak. Although he could not be reached for comment, Air Cargo World remains certain Father Christmas will be grateful for the invaluable assistance of integrators and carriers this holiday and in the future.

Integrators assist Santa despite capacity crunch

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