Dive Brief:
- FedEx expanded its Sunday home delivery capabilities again due to demand from its largest customers, EVP and Chief Customer Officer Brie Carere said on a Q3 earnings call Thursday.
- The parcel carrier is now able to reach nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population on Sunday, up from 50% previously, according to Carere. FedEx's website lists Home Delivery and SameDay as company services offering the capability.
- "We have already received incremental commitments of more than half a million packages per week from existing customers tied to our Sunday delivery capabilities," she said. "This change is enabling us to better utilize our existing assets without adding capacity while meeting the needs of our customers."
Dive Insight:
Experts have been split on the upside of Sunday delivery, even if it does open the door for potentially faster shipping. To profitably support the capability, carriers need plenty of volume to fill their vehicles on Sundays to justify the added day, something FedEx has struggled with in the past.
FedEx previously offered Sunday home delivery to nearly 95% of the U.S. population, but it began scaling back its coverage in 2022 before eventually whittling down its coverage scope further in 2023. The company said in a previous statement that services would remain "primarily in densely populated areas with proven customer demand.”
The coverage reduction came after a then-major FedEx delivery contractor characterized Sunday delivery as "both an incredible struggle and a financial disaster for all parties involved."
This time around, FedEx expects the additional coverage to be profit-accretive in Q1 of fiscal year 2026, according to Carere. The coverage growth is also happening amid higher demand for FedEx's U.S. ground home delivery and economy services, which grew 11% year over year in Q3.
FedEx has touted Sunday delivery as a competitive edge over rival UPS, which doesn't cover that day, per its website. UPS previously offered Sunday delivery coverage through its SurePost service by using the U.S. Postal Service. However, that arrangement ended this year following service and price concerns by UPS.
Another carrier, OnTrac, launched seven-day delivery for 75% of its network in 2024 to help it gain more business in a crowded parcel market.
