UPS & Fedex Buckle Under Holiday Load And Leaving Retailers & Families In lurch

UPS & Fedex Buckle Under Holiday Load And Leaving Retailers & Families In lurch

Didn't get your Christmas presents in time? You're far from alone. Seems that both FedEx and UPS greatly underestimated the number of packages that would be passing through their systems this holiday season. More consumers are doing their gift shopping from the comfort and safety of their computers, bombarding our already stretched parcel services -- it's not surprising that something had to give. According to a spokesperson, FedEx handled roughly 275 million packages between Thanksgiving and December 22nd, while the US Postal Service said it saw a 19 percent increase in volume over last year (UPS declined to say exactly how much its expectations were exceeded). While these companies insist that the vast majority of packages were delivered by their promised December 24th deadline, a small portion did not make it in time to be placed under the tree on Christmas morning. Both the delivery companies and retailers are working to repair the damage, but the writing may be on the wall for 2014. The deadline for Christmas orders will undoubtedly be earlier next year, but the more immediate problem will be making things right with consumers this year.