With updates as of July 31, 2020.
With most people staying indoors & practicing social distancing, isolation or quarantining, there has been a spike in online shopping over the past few months. Major eCommerce marketplaces including Amazon have put up messages on their sites warning customers of possible delivery delays due to a surge in orders.
This post is intended to enable you with critical updates from the major shipping carriers about possible discrepancies on the delivery front and also what your business can do to tide over them.
At this point, the situation remains volatile and is rapidly changing. We will keep a close watch on developments within the industry and update this page as the situation evolves.
Read till the end for valuable insights on how your business can navigate these uncertain circumstances.
1. FedEx Corp.
FedEx is facing discrepancies in its services due to the prevailing situation. In its latest service alert, the carrier has stated that due to the high volume of parcels that they are dealing with at the moment, they are facing delivery delays in their FedEx Ground services in various parts of the U.S.
What You Need to Know
Global Suspension of Money-Back Guarantee
FedEx has suspended its Money-Back Guarantee for all FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Office services worldwide. Packages shipped after March 23, 2020, won’t be eligible for the Money-Back Guarantee.
Temporary Surcharge for International Shipments
FedEx implemented a temporary surcharge on all its FedEx Express services beginning April 6. The carrier has stated that these surcharges are being levied as a result of limited air cargo capacity and escalating costs due to the current constrained environment.
Temporary Peak Surcharges
FedEx has implemented temporary peak surcharges, in addition to existing charges, for shipments that qualify as oversized or unauthorized or which require additional handling. These surcharges have been implemented in order to deal with the surge in residential deliveries and transit of large-sized packages, which substantially escalate operational costs.
Temporary Suspension of Signatures
FedEx has temporarily suspended its signature rules for most deliveries in the U.S. except for those that require an adult signature in order to protect customers and workers from getting infected.