FedEx, other shippers warn extreme weather will delay some U.S. holiday gift deliveries

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(Reuters) -A severe winter storm gripping most of the United States threatens to delay millions of last-minute Christmas gift deliveries due to shutdowns at major shipping hubs.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX), United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS), the U.S. Postal Service and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) alerted customers that severe weather was disrupting key operations in Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, the Dakotas and other areas hard hit by strong winds, bitter cold and blizzards.

This is the second-busiest week for U.S. package delivery companies, which are moving more than 165 million parcels per day this week, Satish Jindel, founder of consultancy ShipMatrix, told Reuters.

The delays could affect a small percentage of daily packages, Jindel said.

UPS and FedEx told Reuters they have contingency plans in place if severe weather shuts or idles cargo planes and delivery trucks.

This year's holiday package shipment volumes are down from the record highs set earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers shift spending back to travel and eating out and as higher food and rental costs bite into disposable income.

As a result, shipping companies have ample capacity to handle this year's holiday delivery surge, Jindel said.