Shipping

Costco is renting its own container ships to prevent delays and keep costs down as the global shipping crisis continues, according to Business Insider. In a call with analysts Thursday, Costco CFO Richard Galanti said the retailer has chartered three ships to import products from Asia to the U.S. and Canada to help Costco avoid spending six times the normal price…

What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, consumers were hesitant to spend on much besides essentials and products that would make their life at home more comfortable. They were fearful about going into stores, many of which were temporarily closed due to the pandemic anyway, worried about how COVID-19 would affect…

Shipping challenges and carrier capacity issues driven by the rapid growth in e-commerce over the last year demonstrated to retailers the need to begin planning for peak season as early as January. For many retailers, it’s already too late to adequately prepare for peak holiday shipping season 2021. During the 2021 holiday season, delivery demand…

On the heels of COVID-19, we sit in the most complex environment for parcel rates and service that we’ve seen in our lifetime. A confluence of factors have come together to bring sometimes fast-moving volatility to the market, which make parcel planning for large retailers incredibly challenging — both for peak and nonpeak.

Kroger, the country's largest grocery retailer, announced Tuesday it's partnering with online platform Instacart to offer customers 30-minute delivery service. Called Kroger Delivery Now, the service will include 25,000 items, including food and household essentials, from Kroger and its banner stores for customers to order and receive at their homes. Kroger and Instacart have been partners…

In an effort to compete with commercial shippers like FedEx and UPS, Amazon.com has started shipping non-Amazon packages, according to a new report by CNBC. The e-commerce giant spent 80 percent more in the first quarter on capital expenditures than the same time last year, mostly to grow its in-house logistics network, which includes a…

An outcome of the pandemic-accelerated e-commerce boom, the demand for parcel services continues to exceed the supply. Like previous years, network capacity limits will be stretched for all carriers this holiday season and into 2022. UPS recently put a number on it: the daily demand exceeds the parcel market’s network capacity by 5 million packages…

Like many industries, retailers are dealing with a shortage of labor at every level, from delivery drivers to store associates. As a result, they must often be prepared to do more with fewer resources, including handling irregular deliveries and replenishment schedules as well as managing available inventory for maximum efficiency and sales. Meanwhile, a new…

Walmart said Tuesday it will start farming out its delivery service, using contract workers, autonomous vehicles and other means to transport rival retailers’ products directly to their customers’ homes as fast as just a few hours. The nation’s largest retailer said it will dispatch contract workers from its Spark delivery network, which was launched in…

FedEx will increase various surcharges for peak season, focused on Express and Ground home delivery services, reports Business Insider. Starting in October, FedEx will raise its surcharges for packages that require additional handling, are oversized, or are unauthorized for its Ground network from $3.50 to $5.95 and $30 to $62.50 through Jan. 16, 2022. FedEx will…