Package delivery

Welsh entrepreneur Pryce Pryce-Jones formed the first mail order company in 1861.[2][3] He distributed catalogues of Welsh flannel across the United Kingdom, with customers able to order by mail for the first time—this following the Uniform Penny Post in 1840 and the invention of the postage stamp (Penny Black) where there was a charge of one penny for carriage and delivery between any two places in the United Kingdom irrespective of distance—and the goods were delivered throughout the UK via the newly created railway system.[3][4] Price-Jones promised next-day delivery throughout much of the country.[4]

In 1852, Wells Fargo, the first of such services, was formed to provide both banking and express services.[5] These went hand-in-hand, as the handling of California gold and other financial matters required a secure method for transporting them across the country. This put Wells Fargo securely in the stagecoach business and prompted them to participate in the Pony Express venture. They were preceded, among others, by the Butterfield Overland Stage, but the failure of the latter put the business in Wells Fargo's hands and led to a monopoly on overland traffic that lasted until 1869 when the transcontinental rail line was completed. During this period they carried regular mail in addition to the package business, defying the post office monopoly; eventually, a compromise was worked out wherein Wells Fargo charged its own fee on top of federal postage, in recognition of the limitations of the post office reaching all areas easily.

From 1869 on, package services rapidly moved to the rail, which was faster and cheaper. The express office was a universal feature of the staffed railroad station. Packages travelled as "head-end" traffic in passenger trains. In 1918 the formation of the United States Railroad Administration resulted in a consolidation of all such services into a single agency, which after the war continued as the Railway Express Agency (REA).

A part of the FedEx Express fleet in Memphis Airport, its main hub

On 1 January 1913, parcel post service began,[6] providing rural postal customers with package service along with their regular mail and obviating a trip to a town substantial enough to support an express office. This, along with Rural Free Delivery, fueled a huge rise in catalogue sales. By this time the post office monopoly on mail was effectively enforced, and Wells Fargo had exited the business in favour of its banking enterprises.

Motor freight services arose quickly with the advent of gasoline and diesel-powered trucks. United Parcel Service had its origins in this era, initially as a private courier service. The general improvement of the highway system following World War II prompted its expansion into a nationwide service, and other similar services arose. At the same time, the contraction of rail passenger service hurt rail-based package shipping; these contractions led to the cancellation of the mail contracts with the railroads, which in turn caused further passenger cuts. Eventually, REA was dissolved in bankruptcy in 1975.

Air mail was conceived early, and scheduled service began in 1918. Scheduled airlines carried high valued and perishable goods from early on. The most important advance, however, came with the "hub and spoke" system pioneered by Federal Express (now known as FedEx) in 1973. With deregulation in 1977, they were able to establish an air-based system capable of delivering small packages—including mail—overnight throughout most of the country. In response, the postal service initiated a comparable Express Mail service. In the same period, they also began contracting with Amtrak to carry mail by rail. Thus at the beginning of the 21st century, the U.S. consumer can choose from a variety of public and private services offering deliveries at various combinations of speed and cost.

By 2018, parcel carriers are hauling 14% of U.S. goods, up from 10% 25 years ago, and FedEx’s US domestic volume increased 4.9% in 2018, while UPS reported a 3.3% increase and a 5.6% increase in domestic next-day air package.[7]

Transport packaging needs to be matched to its logistics system. Packages designed for controlled shipments of uniform pallet loads may not be suited to mixed shipments with express carriers.

The individual sorting and handling systems of small parcel carriers can put severe stress on the packages and contents. Packaging needs to be designed for the potential hazards which may be encountered in parcel delivery systems. The major carriers have a packaging engineering staff which provides packaging guidelines and sometimes package design and package testing services. [25] Many e-retailers have specific packaging requirements for their suppliers and also offer assistance in package design. [26]

When shopping retail order from a warehouse, such as for online shopping, multiple items are often placed in a single box (secondary packaging) for cheaper and easier transportation and tracking. This creates waste when there is only a single item that could be transported without an outer box (for example something that already has durable retail primary packaging). To avoid this problem, some items are designated in the industry as ships in own container (SIOC) and will receive only a shipping label. Some products are specifically designed as SIOC for environmental or cost reasons.[27]

Package testing procedures include:

• ASTM International D7386- Standard Practice for Performance Testing of Packages for Single Parcel Delivery Systems.

• International Safe Transit Association

Project 3K: Fast Moving Consumer Goods for the European Retail Supply Chain

6-FEDEX-A: FedEx Procedures for Testing Packaged Products Weighing Up to 150 lbs

6-FEDEX-B: FedEx Procedures for Testing Packaged Products Weighing Over 150 lbs

6-SAMSCLUB, Packaged-Products for Sam’s Club® Distribution System Shipment

Procedure 7D: Thermal Controlled Transport Packaging for Parcel Delivery System Shipment

A SF Express delivery truck

Parcel box next to mailbox at the end of a long driveway out in the country

Recipients, if they are to receive packages in a timely and appropriate manner, must accommodate carriers. With the rise of the sharing economy multiple family dwelling with restricted access face difficulties due to increasing volume of deliveries, some of which, such as food, may be time-sensitive. Some have built storage rooms for packages and installed refrigerators.[28]

Recipients often choose to use a high capacity “parcel box” which will store large numbers of items and mail at the same time. Deposited items are securely stored with the use of internal security baffles which allow parcels to drop down into the lower portions of the box whilst restricting the theft of items through the aperture opening.

Frozen delivery: Boxes of fresh oranges and grapefruit delivered at side of street in Winter

Prolonged extreme temperature exposure is an important consideration for delivery of some types of products. Many delivery vans are not controlled for temperature: Delivered items may sit unattended for hours on porches, on driveways, or in mail boxes.

Potential heat exposure may cause degradation to some pharmaceuticals, live plants, foods, paint, cut flowers, chemicals, etc. Packages sitting on hot pavement or in the direct sun can become very hot. Sunlight on enclosed mail boxes can amplify the ambient temperature. For example, the USFDA found that the temperature in a steel mailbox painted black could reach 136 °F (58 °C) in full sun while the ambient air temperature was 101 °F (38 °C).[29]

Similarly, extreme cold temperature can damage or degrade other types of products.

Several options may help. Insulated shipping containers, thermal bags, or special mailing envelopes are sometimes used. Some carriers offer express delivery or “special handling”. Consignees may be required to personally accept delivery to prevent unattended drop-offs. Temperature data loggers, analog devices, and thermochromic inks are available to help identify temperature abuse.

• Shipping list
• Document automation
• Fire sign (address)
• Mail carrier
• Last mile (transportation)
• Package pilferage
• Package theft
• Parcel post
• Delivery drone
• Autonomous car

• A Brief History of the Package Delivery Industry, United States Treasury