News from the nation’s largest package shipping service, the United Parcel Service (UPS), is that drivers across the country have been officially instructed to stop picking up any orders from six major retailers, including those on the list of Nike, Gap, and Macy’s.
The move was to aid UPS in keeping up with the surge of orders from online shopping due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
Having been confirmed by a variety of UPS workers in different regions of the country, the temporary restriction was placed on specific retailers, including those listed above and L.L. Bean, Hot Topic, and Newegg.
The message reportedly plainly emphasized: “No exceptions.”
UPS put a halt to the delivery of orders for the retailers, as the demand for delivery company’s services continues to rise, due to reinstated lockdown orders in many states and the limitation of people being able to shop for items in person.
In a report by the National Retail Federation, online shopping saw a jump of an estimated 44 percent during the three heaviest shopping days of the season—Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
It is believed that UPS is choosing to limit the number of packages that are processed by its drivers in an attempt to guarantee on-time delivery and high performance during the season.
A spokesperson for UPS stated that if the demand looks to be exceeding the planned perimeters, the company will “work with our larger customers to ensure the volume gets picked up ad delivered as more capacity becomes available in our network.” In the statement offered, there was no mention of any directives that were retailer-specific.
In a statement emailed to The Hill, UPS stated how pleased they were with how their service is working as they exit the Thanksgiving holiday and officially move into the holiday gift-giving season.
UPS plans to continue to work closely with those larger customers to maintain their delivery capacity and continue being a reliable shipping source for all their customers. The spokesperson assured that UPS is prepared for the holiday season and all that it entails and are confident in supporting all of their customer’s needs.
According to the latest industry-based estimates, Cyber Monday proved to be the biggest day in US history for online shopping, with sales of an estimated $11.4 billion.
Will UPS picking and choosing who they will deliver for be a good move on their part?