An Unlikely Star of the Holiday-Shipping Season: The U.S. Postal Service - Bloomberg Businessweek
There was a lot of post-Christmas discussion about how UPS (UPS) fumbled its last-minute holiday deliveries, and FedEx (FDX) apologized for some late-arriving packages, too. What went largely unmentioned, however, was that the stellar performance of the U.S. Postal Service.
The government-run competitor was swamped with parcels just like UPS and FedEx were, with holiday package volume 19 percent higher than the same period late year. But there were no widespread complaints about tardy deliveries by USPS.
The postal service attributes its success to meticulous planning. The agency says it noticed “higher than expected volume” in packages in early December and made adjustments to avoid delays, delivering packages on the three Sundays before Christmas in its busiest markets.
There was a lot of post-Christmas discussion about how UPS (UPS) fumbled its last-minute holiday deliveries, and FedEx (FDX) apologized for some late-arriving packages, too. What went largely unmentioned, however, was that the stellar performance of the U.S. Postal Service.
The government-run competitor was swamped with parcels just like UPS and FedEx were, with holiday package volume 19 percent higher than the same period late year. But there were no widespread complaints about tardy deliveries by USPS.
The postal service attributes its success to meticulous planning. The agency says it noticed “higher than expected volume” in packages in early December and made adjustments to avoid delays, delivering packages on the three Sundays before Christmas in its busiest markets.