Services

FedEx Holiday Shipments to Rise, Effects on UPS?

FedEx truck
FedEx Corp.
Package delivery service FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) said on Monday that it expects to handle 317 million shipments during this year’s holiday season, an increase of 12.4% compared with the company’s 2014 delivery total. The season runs from Black Friday until Christmas Eve.

The season includes one more day than last year and is expected to be bolstered by three volume spikes, including Cyber Monday and the first two Mondays in December, in which the company expects to move more than double its average daily volume. The company has included peak projections in its earnings guidance for fiscal year 2016.

Rival United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) reports third-quarter earnings on Tuesday and may have something to say about its holiday outlook then. The company’s pilots union last week authorized a strike vote in a contract negotiation that has been simmering for five years. Worse news for UPS is that the Teamsters union, which represents about 250,000 of the company’s employees, has said its members will not cross picket lines. At the same time, FedEx struck a six-year deal with its pilots last week.

FedEx plans to hire more than 55,000 seasonal employees to help with the holiday rush and also has invested more in new aircraft and in FedEx Ground growth.

The National Retail Federation expects sales in November and December to grow 3.7% to $630.5 billion. The group also predicts e-commerce sales will continue to grow at a faster rate than brick-and-mortar sales, rising between 6% and 8% to as much as $105 billion.

Shares of FedEx traded down about 0.3% Monday morning, at $158.99 in a 52-week range of $130.13 to $185.19.

ALSO READ: The 10 Most Profitable Companies in the World

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)

Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.

Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.

Click here now to get started.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.