{
  "id": 17838676,
  "title": "Parcel shipping demand to increase 4% during holidays, ShipMatrix says",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/parcel-shipping-demand-to-increase-4-during-holidays-shipmatrix-says",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-02T18:19:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "FreightWaves",
    "slug": "freightwaves",
    "url": "https://www.freightwaves.com/news/parcel-shipping-demand-to-increase-4-during-holidays-shipmatrix-says"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The projected volume of parcels shipped during the current peak shipping season is expected to rise by 4% compared to the same period last year, reaching 2.4 billion packages, according to an estimate from ShipMatrix. Despite high inflation, consumers have remained resilient so far this year. The increase in parcel demand is attributed to an additional shopping day during the holiday season and improved efficiency in carriers' delivery networks. However, analysts express concern that tightening household budgets could eventually lead to a pullback in retail sales. Retailers have experienced a 16% jump in parcel shipping rates, driven by fuel surcharges, new fees, and general rate increases. FedEx and UPS implemented 5.9% general rate increases this year and plan to increase prices again in 2027. To handle the increased volumes, carriers are implementing new technologies and hiring temporary workers. The U.S. Postal Service plans to hire 10,000 seasonal workers. Private networks of large retailers and alternate carriers have also expanded their coverage area to accommodate the shift in parcel volume from legacy carriers.",
  "summary": "Parcel carriers are expected to have their best peak season this year since 2022, according to forecasting from ShipMatrix. The post Parcel shipping demand to increase 4% during holidays, ShipMatrix says appeared first on FreightWaves .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}