UPS vs. FedEx?

[Notarealsignguy]

UPS and FedEx is a tired discussion. I'd like to talk about what FREIGHT companies are better than others? Lots of options and some are much better than others.

Same deal, depends on your driver, where you are at and where it is going. LTL services typically have regional strengths. I always use Yellow freight because we have a local rep that I can call with any issues and we get good rates. Its also nice that we can almost always get same day pickups but that may be the case every company though
For partial and full truck load, we use a broker and have used the same guy for 15-20 years. I don't usually shop these things, service and reliability are too important. I have used him for some small partials that could have gone LTL but it doesn't save anything.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Same deal, depends on your driver, where you are at and where it is going. LTL services typically have regional strengths. I always use Yellow freight because we have a local rep that I can call with any issues and we get good rates. Its also nice that we can almost always get same day pickups but that may be the case every company though
For partial and full truck load, we use a broker and have used the same guy for 15-20 years. I don't usually shop these things, service and reliability are too important. I have used him for some small partials that could have gone LTL but it doesn't save anything.

Yellow meaning YRC? I've been using RL Carriers because they go everywhere but sometime freight sits in limbo. YRC has good tracking

 

[CanuckSigns]

I normally use UPS or Canpar, I've had issues with both, but you can't expect a courier not to mess something up from time to time. I have found if you spend a couple extra dollars on the insurance your chances of the package arriving on time without damage is 10x higher, they don't want to pay that out!

Over the Christmas season, we had deliveries backed up for weeks, Purolator had something like 80 54' tractor trailers filled with packages sitting at the depot waiting to be unloaded, they don't even know what truck your package was on! The phone lines we so busy they basically disconnected them, it was insane, all you can do is let your clients know its out of your hands.

We've also had a heck of a time trying to rent standard work vans, aparently Amazon has them all rented on long term contracts, we ended up having to rent a cube truck to pick up some sheets of aluminum a few months ago.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I normally use UPS or Canpar, I've had issues with both, but you can't expect a courier not to mess something up from time to time. I have found if you spend a couple extra dollars on the insurance your chances of the package arriving on time without damage is 10x higher, they don't want to pay that out!

Over the Christmas season, we had deliveries backed up for weeks, Purolator had something like 80 54' tractor trailers filled with packages sitting at the depot waiting to be unloaded, they don't even know what truck your package was on! The phone lines we so busy they basically disconnected them, it was insane, all you can do is let your clients know its out of your hands.

We've also had a heck of a time trying to rent standard work vans, aparently Amazon has them all rented on long term contracts, we ended up having to rent a cube truck to pick up some sheets of aluminum a few months ago.

On that note... have yall seen the price of a storage unit lately?? My 10x20 is maxed out and I went to look for another one for a few months to store some signs... it's over $400/mo for a 10x20.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Yellow meaning YRC? I've been using RL Carriers because they go everywhere but sometime freight sits in limbo. YRC has good tracking

Yeah yrc, used to be yellow and roadway before. Shipments hang with them too, it does with everyone. Everything goes to a break bulk facility, like Atlanta for YRC. For less traveled routes, it may get stuck there for a short time. They also have a dimensional freight quote setup so you don't have to worry about determining freight class.

 

[Elwood "Woody" Smith]

Ever since UPS and FedEx started using subconcrators for Ground, service and quality has went down hill. All ground drivers are not employees of FedEx or UPS. They are independent operators or work for larger ones. Basically it comes down to this, it really depends on who and the quality of our local delivery driver is and then who is the person on the delivery route you are delivering to. We have damages all the time when using ground. When you upgrade to express or even 2-day delivery the quality of services goes up by 1000% because it is a corporate owned service.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Ever since UPS and FedEx started using subconcrators for Ground, service and quality has went down hill. All ground drivers are not employees of FedEx or UPS. They are independent operators or work for larger ones. Basically it comes down to this, it really depends on who and the quality of our local delivery driver is and then who is the person on the delivery route you are delivering to. We have damages all the time when using ground. When you upgrade to express or even 2-day delivery the quality of services goes up by 1000% because it is a corporate owned service.

Ups doesn't use contractors for ground shipments

 

[chester215]

Ups has drop off locations at retail stores in our area. (advance auto parts)
It helps to have an alternate place to bring outgoing packages if we miss the driver.

Fedex doesn't seem very organized, many times we have had two different trucks make deliveries to our location on the same day.
Fedex freight had a delivery for us last week. Fedex freight calls to schedule deliveries to be sure someone is there to unload the truck, they were told our receiving hours for freight are from 9am to 3pm. The times were even on the tracking notes. They showed up at 5.

USPS No Way.

 

[JamesLam]

What about price comparison sites like www.Flagshipcompany.com? You can compare rates for domestic service within Canada, US & international options, shipping times, pick-up priority, etc. FedEx or Purolator may be the best deal locally, but CanPar may be cheaper and offer the same service cross country. What are the equivalents to this in the US?

 

[Andy D]

On that note... have yall seen the price of a storage unit lately?? My 10x20 is maxed out and I went to look for another one for a few months to store some signs... it's over $400/mo for a 10x20.

If you don't mind the drive & the mice, I have a huge barn I don't use & it's only $385 a month

 

[Stacey K]

UPS seems to be a bit more on-time with deliveries than Fed Ex. A lot of my Fed Ex packages get "stuck" somewhere. On a personal note, I've had the same UPS and FedEx drivers for 3 years. The UPS guy and I always joke around because he delivers to the shop in the afternoon and then to my house between 4-5. Some days I can be caught having a drink at home when he comes so he gives me crap. The Fed Ex guy is a stick in the mud but does his job lol

 

[Justin Danielson]

We share a building with a couple other businesses and the ups guy always seems to get the right packages to the right lobbies. The fed-ex driver on the other hand, seems to pick at random for each package.

 

[Solventinkjet]

UPS and FedEx is a tired discussion. I'd like to talk about what FREIGHT companies are better than others? Lots of options and some are much better than others.

Believe it or not FedEx Freight has treated us right over the last decade or so. We've never had an issue with delivery and we get good rates. Every time I've strayed and looked for a better rate, we get hosed on the delivery not being on time or the package getting damaged.

 

[petepaz]

we have found they have both gone down hill but FedEx has been more reliable over the past year and a half.
ups got to a point that they told us next day deliveries were not guaranteed but yet they were still charging for them??????

 

[signage]

ups got to a point that they told us next day deliveries were not guaranteed but yet they were still charging for them??????

If you want to pay for a service they told you they wouldn't Guarantee that isn't their fault!

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Ups has drop off locations at retail stores in our area. (advance auto parts)
It helps to have an alternate place to bring outgoing packages if we miss the driver.

Fedex doesn't seem very organized, many times we have had two different trucks make deliveries to our location on the same day.
Fedex freight had a delivery for us last week. Fedex freight calls to schedule deliveries to be sure someone is there to unload the truck, they were told our receiving hours for freight are from 9am to 3pm. The times were even on the tracking notes. They showed up at 5.

USPS No Way.

I had UPS freight show up to my house at 10pm one night!

 

[Solventinkjet]

many times we have had two different trucks make deliveries to our location on the same day.

FedEx Ground and FedEx Express are two entities. If you have both types of packages coming, you will get two trucks and the ground guy will never accept an express package and visa versa.

 

[petepaz]

If you want to pay for a service they told you they wouldn't Guarantee that isn't their fault!

not disputing that but how do you take/charge money for service (a guaranteed service) that you are not going to guarantee and not refund the money?

 

[Andy D]

Do y'all find that FedEx ground is more reliable than their expedited service?
I have a vendor that only offers FedEx, and if I need something quick I can choose faster delivery or faster production... The last two times I choose faster delivery because it was cheaper, but Fedex dropped the ball, if
ground tends to deliver more constantly, I will start choosing faster production.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I'm starting to switch to Fed Ex as I am sick of UPS sticking me with "additional handling charges" for absolutely no reason. And my UPS rep is pretty worthless and won't respond to any messages I leave. I have yet to get a reason why I get hit with these either.