Core Insights - The last mile delivery challenge is increasingly focused on meeting consumer expectations for speed, with nearly 65% of U.S. consumers expecting two-to-three-day delivery as the standard for online orders [1] Delivery Performance - Following the holiday season, 51% of consumers anticipated that holiday shipping would be as fast or faster than usual, indicating a low tolerance for delays [2] - The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) delivered 16 billion mail items and packages within an average of 2.5 days between November 15 and January 9, an improvement from 2.8 days in the previous year [3] - On-time delivery scores improved across the board, particularly in last-mile delivery units, with USPS operating over 18,000 locations nationwide [4] Carrier Performance - USPS, FedEx, and UPS all reported improvements in on-time delivery during December, despite a shorter peak period compared to the previous year, with a 5% increase in total volumes delivered [5] - USPS achieved an on-time delivery rate of 94.1% in December, up from 90.4% in the previous holiday season, while FedEx's rate increased to 95.3% and UPS maintained the highest rate at 97.2% [6] - The overall performance improvement is attributed to excess capacity in the market due to the entry of new independent carriers, which has alleviated some pressure on USPS, FedEx, and UPS [7]