Online retailers and consumers alike need to know carriers’ holiday shipping deadlines if they want gifts delivered on time in 2024.
The United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and the United Parcel Service (UPS) have each released their holiday shipping deadlines for 2024. Each carrier delivers products for hundreds — if not more than a thousand — of the Top 2000 online retailers in North America. Here’s what you need to know.
USPS holiday shipping deadlines 2024
In the continental U.S., the last day to ship a package and have it arrive at its destination by Christmas varies by USPS service.
For USPS Ground Advantage and for First-Class Mail, the holiday shipping deadline in 2024 is Dec. 18. For Priority Mail, consumers have until Dec. 19. That extends to Dec. 21 for Priority Mail Express.
And for Alaska and Hawaii, those dates are slightly earlier. For packages to arrive by Christmas, consumers have until Dec. 16 for USPS Ground Advantage shipments, Dec. 18 for First-Class Mail, Dec. 19 for Priority Mail, and Dec. 20 for Priority Mail Express.
FedEx holiday shipping deadlines 2024
For FedEx, the last same-day delivery date (for eligible shipments) before Christmas is Dec. 24 this year. And for FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, or Extra Hours deliveries, the cutoff date is Dec. 23.
That moves up a bit for FedEx 2Day and 2Day AM, the cutoff for which is Dec. 20. The exception is for optional Saturday pickup that can be extended to Dec. 21, and that comes with a $16 surcharge per package. The cutoff for FedEx Express Saver is Dec. 19.
Meanwhile, FedEx Ground has different cutoff dates depending on how many days of shipping the consumer selects for his or her package. For one-day shipping, the cutoff is Dec. 23. However, for two-day shipping, the cutoff is Dec. 20. From there, the cutoff moves one day earlier. Three-day shipping’s cutoff is Dec. 19, four-day shipping’s is Dec. 18, and five-day’s is Dec. 17.
Those are similar time frames to FedEx Home Delivery. For one-day shipping, the cutoff is still Dec. 23. However, for two- and three-day shipping, it’s Dec. 20. For four-day shipping, the cutoff is Dec. 18, and it’s Dec. 17 for five-day shipping.
The Air Freight service’s holiday shipping deadlines are not the same in 2024 as the Ground division’s. For Air Freight, the last date for one-day freight is Dec. 23. For two-day, that’s Dec. 20, and for three-day, it’s Dec. 19.
The cutoff for one-day less-than-truckload (LTL) is Dec. 20. From there, it’s Dec. 19 for two-day, Dec. 18 for three-day, Dec. 17 for four-day, and Dec. 16 for five-day. For FedEx Freight Economy, the single cutoff is Dec. 11.
UPS holiday shipping deadlines 2024
Like with the other carriers, for UPS, the holiday shipping deadline for 2024 depends on which service a consumer uses. The cutoff shipping date to have a package arrive by Christmas Eve is Dec. 23 for consumers who select UPS Next Day Air.
For those who select 2nd Day Air, the cutoff is Dec. 20. For UPS 3 Day Select, the cutoff is Dec. 19.
UPS advises consumers to check its Calculate Time and Cost page for its Ground service’s cutoff date this holiday shipping season.
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