FedEx, UPS rush to deliver late Christmas packages post-Holiday

You might be upset that FedEx or UPS didn't deliver that yodeling pickle or runny nose shower gel dispenser in time for Christmas, but, please, have some empathy. In the week leading up to Christmas, UPS alone delivered more than 132 million packages.

Now, as logistics companies, you'd figure delivering on time wouldn't be much of an issue. But, say reps from FedEx and UPS, a record-setting year for online shopping combined with the inevitable last-minute phase of that online shopping hampered their delivery times. Amazon Prime strikes again.

Beyond the deluge of online orders, analysts say that rough weather also delayed usually on-time deliveries. Additionally, the shopping season this year was shorter than average due to the late Thanksgiving we had.

To make up for their lateness, both carriers have come back full-force for Boxing Day, renting U-Haul trucks and upping delivery output to make their already-passed deadlines. Neither, however, will say exactly how many packages they've got to deliver. But, as Sarah Hedgecock over at Gawker notes:

"When all was said and done, the company exceeded even that, although it won't reveal how drastically. A spokesperson said that only a small percentage of packages were delayed, but one percent of 132 million is still over a million late packages."

A million late packages. That's an awful lot of mildly/irrationally upset family members clamoring for the free swag they so rightly deserve from their fellow family members. All the U-Haul trucks in the world won't change that.

Those Amazon drones might, though.

[CBS]