The United States Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx have shared their deadlines for receiving packages on time for the upcoming holiday season. According to Forbes, “a record $9.12 billion was spent online on Black Friday, up 2.3% over Black Friday 2021,” meaning that consumers are preparing for the busiest time of year, along with the nation’s largest delivery services.
Consumers have been facing delays and disruptions due to container shortages for almost two years– the problem began at the start of the pandemic. However, the demand and rates for shipping containers have fallen, meaning fewer blockages and delays for consumer products to hit the shelves.
So, what does this mean for those waiting on gifts to ship in time for the holidays?
This year, Hanukkah falls on December 18 to 26, and Kwanzaa takes place on December 26 to January 1. Additionally, this year’s Christmas Day is Sunday, December 25– but is being observed as a public holiday on Monday, December 26. Here are the updates for what deliveries will look like this holiday season.
U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service provides suggestions for consumers to receive the packages promptly this holiday season.
For shipping in the U.S., excluding Hawaii and Alaska, the Postal Service shares these send-by dates:
Retail Ground: Saturday, Dec. 17
First-Class Mail: Saturday, Dec. 17
Priority Mail: Monday, Dec. 19
Priority Mail Express: Friday, Dec. 23
If you would like to see what international shipping dates look like, click here.
UPS
UPS provides a 2022 year-end holiday schedule, which you can find here. To receive a package with UPS by December 24, UPS has these guidelines:
3-Day Select: Tuesday, Dec. 20
2nd Day Air: Wednesday, Dec. 21
Next Day Air: Thursday, Dec. 22
On an international level, FedEx announced on November 30 that all packages to Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus have been temporarily suspended because of ongoing conflict. UPS has also adopted these suspensions.
FedEx
Image by John R Perry from Pixabay
At home in New Jersey, FedEx lists what may cause delays in receiving shipments: weather and other service disruptions like power outages, heavy package volumes, and air cargo capacity.
In order to receive packages before December 25, FedEx recommends placing orders to ship by these dates:
FedEx Home Delivery, FedEx Ground: Wednesday, Dec. 14
FedEx Express Saver, FedEx 3Day Freight: Tuesday, Dec. 20
FedEx 2Day: Wednesday, Dec. 21
FedEx 1Day Freight, FedEx Extra Hours: Thursday, Dec. 22
FedEx SameDay: Friday, Dec. 23
Click here to see what shipping will look like with FedEx for other locations.
These guidelines and recommendations make it easy to ensure you’ll receive gifts and other packages on time this holiday season!
About the Author/s
Kailee Morel is a senior at New Jersey City University where she majors in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, and minors in Political Science. Kailee has completed an internship as an Editorial Assistant with Memoir Magazine and is currently the Editor-In-Chief of NJCU's Hype Literary Magazine and an Editorial Intern with New Jersey Digest. She also participates as an Event Host with the NJCU English Dept.'s Student Events and Publications Committee. Kailee has developed her craft to produce content that uplifts the messages of writers.
