FedEx is touted as one of the most used shipping companies in the world, as it services every single street in the U.S. and more than 220 countries. According to the company, FedEx is responsible for delivering an average of 18 million packages every single day. But with so many packages to ship, it's no surprise that delivery delays can occur often—compounded, of course, by the COVID pandemic and ongoing staffing shortages. In order to combat these issues, FedEx just announced that it is making a major change to its delivery service. Read on to find out what the company is doing differently now, and how it could affect your future deliveries.
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FedEx is testing using electric carts for deliveries.
ShutterstockFedEx is planning to test electric carts as a potential delivery method, CNBC reported on March 25. According to the news outlet, the company will use this method to make deliveries on its signature Express routes in 10 U.S. and Canadian cities throughout the year. The initiative has already started in two cities: New York and Toronto. But FedEx has yet to finalize what other cities will be added as part of the testing program in 2022.
The company is hoping this fixes a major delivery issue.
![New York, New York, USA - March 13, 2013: A parked FedEx Express truck in midtown Manhattan in front of a Fedex Office store in the afternoon. FedEx is one of the leading package delivery services offering many different delivery options. Fedex Office stores act as a shipping depot as well as office supply and service stores. People can be seen on the street. [url=/my_lightbox_contents.php?lightboxID=3623142]Click here for more[/url] New York images and video.](https://bestlifeonline.com/media-library/new-york-new-york-usa-march-13-2013-a-parked-fedex-express-truck-in-midtown-manhattan-in-front-of-a-fedex-office-store-in.jpg?id=53457256&width=980)
iStockAccording to CNBC, FedEx is testing this new method in hopes that it will help one of the company's biggest delivery problems—a lack of parking in the big cities it serves.
"You’re serving skyscrapers and very dense areas. What this allows us to do is cut down on the number of vehicles required to service that route, and have the courier operate in a more efficient manner so they are not going back and forth to a truck,” Russ Musgrove, the managing director for Global Vehicles for FedEx Express, told the news outlet.
And FedEx says it allows couriers to deliver more packages each day.
iStockFedEx is using the EP1 electric cart made by BrightDrop, an electric vehicle and delivery company created by General Motors in 2021. According to CNBC, the tests are already showing positive results in terms of getting packages to customers. The company said that tests in New York and Toronto have shown that a courier is able to deliver 15 percent more packages each day with these electric carts than with a traditional delivery model.
Electric carts might also help when gas prices are higher.
iStockBrightDrop CEO Travis Katz told CNBC that rising gas costs are just increasing interest in electric delivery methods. "Everyone is starting to take a look at this electrification movement and realize the time is now to make a change,” Katz said. "The instability that’s happening in the global oil markets, the surge in prices, is causing everyone to understand that that the status quo isn’t going to work long-term."
This could be good news for FedEx customers, as they're about to be hit with repercussions from rising gas prices. According to Nexstar, FedEx has decided to raise its fee surcharge for three shipping services on April 4: Express, Ground, and Freight. "FedEx regularly reviews its fuel surcharge," the company said in a statement to the news outlet. "This change will allow FedEx to provide customers the best service possible as rising fuel costs add to the cost to serve."
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