With more consumers than ever doing their holiday shopping online, UPS expects to deliver a record 527 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The projected volume is 9 percent more than last year’s record level of 480 million, UPS says. To prepare for the increased demand, the company today announced it will hire 55,000 seasonal employees in the U.S.
Delivery services and online retailers, alike, are busily preparing for the holidays by bulking up their fulfillment operations. Last week, FedEx reported it will hire 20,000 temporary workers to keep up with holiday demand.
But while FedEx expects its busiest delivery day to be Green Monday—which falls on Dec. 10 this year—UPS predicts its busiest day will be Dec. 20. On that day, UPS expects global volume to reach 28 million packages, almost double its typical daily volume.
UPS says that, because more people are doing their shopping online, the peak volume will likely come in the final two weeks before Christmas.
Last-minute shoppers can ship as late as Dec. 21 for delivery by Dec. 24—a Monday—using the company’s next-day service.