Dive Brief:
- SpeedX launched a zone-skipping service in April as the parcel carrier looks to entice more shippers with fast cross-country delivery, executives told Supply Chain Dive.
- The service offers two-day and three-day delivery from origin airports to destination markets SpeedX serves, tapping into facilities the company has at major gateways across the country.
- Many SpeedX leaders have previously run large zone-skipping programs at other companies, Anthony Pizza, VP of business growth and innovation, said in an interview. "It's a recent launch, but it's always been a part of our DNA."
Dive Insight:
SpeedX has delivered more than 30 million parcels since launching in 2022. Company executives expect that number to surge in the coming years as its zone-skipping service and other offerings gain momentum in a competitive delivery market.
"We think we'll triple, if not quadruple, this year from a volume perspective and are looking to maintain a similar type of growth curve over the next two to three years," said Andrew Townsend, SpeedX's SVP of corporate development and strategy.
SpeedX aims for much of that growth to come from domestic shippers, a more recent priority after focusing on cross-border e-commerce shippers in its early days. Townsend said a combination of straightforward pricing, advanced technology and fast-growing coverage is helping attract more of these clients.
The delivery provider has aggressively expanded its coverage since its launch to compete with carriers like FedEx, UPS and OnTrac. SpeedX currently serves 20 states, Puerto Rico and all major Canadian metro areas. It reaches nearly 10,000 ZIP codes, Townsend said.
"We're right behind OnTrac in terms of coverage of alternative carriers," said Townsend, the former chairman and CEO of regional carrier Lone Star Overnight. "We expect to be ahead of them by the end of the year with our launch schedule."
While SpeedX's delivery coverage concentrates on densely populated markets, it contracts with the U.S. Postal Service to reach more rural markets as well.
The company enters volume into the Postal Service at the sectional center facility level. Those locations operate upstream from the agency's delivery units, which consolidators like Pitney Bowes and OSM Worldwide rely on. As the Postal Service moves to cut down on delivery unit injection, SpeedX sees an opportunity to gain further market share.
"We'll continue to see a lot of other shipper volumes move away from those [delivery unit] models," Townsend said.
