Why Shipping Times Have Increased?

Due to COVID-19 and social isolation orders across the country (and around the world), ecommerce has exploded in recent weeks. Shippers like USPS and FedEx have seen an incredible uptick in packages. Even as they practice social distancing in their own facilities, which has slowed down deliveries significantly in many cases. In this article “Why Shipping Times Have Increased?” learn what you can expect in terms of shipping times as the nation begins to resume normal activities. 

Why Shipping Times Have Increased

Stay-at-home orders across the country have resulted in a huge increase in online shopping. Consumers are continuing to buy things online. Many are buying necessities like groceries, household goods and pet food via the internet. As a result, UPS, USPS, DHL and FedEx are busier than ever. In some cases, more than double the usual number of packages are passing through hubs which is taking a toll on operations. 

It’s easy to forget that in order to move parcels across the country in a single day, countless drivers and hub workers must come together to keep progress seamless. This is difficult, particularly when social isolation guidelines are in place requiring workers to stay six feet apart and wash their hands more frequently. While processing more packages now than ever. 

What You Can Expect

Many states across the country are easing up on  stay-at-home orders and allowing businesses to reopen in controlled waves. Now it is expected that shipping times will eventually return to normal but it may be a few months before that happens. Even as retail shops reopen their doors, many are finding it difficult to keep high-demand items on the shelves. Manufacturing facilities, affected by the pandemic, are at half output while still others have completely closed their doors. It may take some time before these manufacturers are able to ramp back up. In the meantime, consumers will continue to rely on the internet for the things they need the most. 

With most businesses slated to reopen completely by fall 2020, it is expected that shipping should return to normal by this time, as well. In the meantime, carrier delays will slowly start to resolve as more people find the things that they need on retail store shelves once again. There’s no exact timeline, and there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Regardless, companies nationwide – including order fulfillment providers and the shippers themselves – are working hard to make sure everyone has what they need. 

Increased Shipping Changes and the New Normal

Though things may be returning to normal, it will be a relatively slow process which means that “normal” may not return for months. Delays in shipments, caused by a major influx of parcels through the shipping services, could stick around for a while. Nonetheless, it is expected that they will slowly resolve as manufacturing facilities begin to restock store shelves and consumers feel safer about leaving their homes to shop for their everyday needs. In fact, many industries continue to thrive despite these delays, and they are expected to continue to grow.