While most of the rest of the working world gets time off to spend the holidays with their family and friends, many truckers will be working extra-long hours. Right around Christmas time, Americans are frantically ordering and buying all of their gifts with the intention of them arriving in time for Christmas. Someone has to deliver all of these goods, and news flash: it isn’t Santa. Truckers work through the holidays and drive extra hours to make sure your gifts will be under the tree on time.
Making the Holidays Happen
Without the trucking industry, the holiday season would look very different to us. Whether you bought your gifts in-store or online, a trucker has delivered them from one place or another. Truck drivers are responsible for more than delivering goods to restock the shelves for your holiday shopping and delivering gifts you’ve ordered to your door. They also deliver fuel to gas stations and food to grocery stores. So, during the holidays (and every other day), truckers are also making sure you have fuel to get you to your holiday destinations, and food to enjoy at your get-togethers.
2019 Holiday Shipping Surge
Between the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), UPS, and FedEx, each was predicted to move around 30 million packages per day during these last few weeks before Christmas. USPS alone expects to deliver more than 800 million packages total during the holiday season. This is almost one-sixth of its yearly package volume crammed into a little less than a month!
And it doesn’t stop at Christmas. UPS is forecasting a record-breaking year in terms of holiday returns. They estimate 1.9 packages will be moved on January 2nd at the peak of holiday returns.
Thank a Trucker
During this holiday shipping surge, truck drivers sacrifice their time with family and friends to make sure you can enjoy your holidays and receive your goods on time. This holiday season, take a second to thank a trucker for making the holidays happen.
