Christmas may be late for those who ordered gifts online

Associated Press

Will Santa’s sleigh be late?

A record number of Americans took to the Web to order holiday gifts after retailers flooded their inboxes with offers of extra discounts, free shipping and easy returns. But a storm bringing heavy winds and snow to much of the Midwest on Thursday — the heaviest shipping day of the year — could mean that some packages might not make it under the tree in time for Christmas. That’s a headache for retailers, shippers and customers alike who already were experiencing problems because of the surge in shipping this year.

So far, no major disruptions have been reported. Wal-Mart, the No. 2 online retailer behind Amazon.com, said no orders have been delayed. GSI Commerce, which handles online shipping for 70 retailers including Aeropostale and Godiva, said they are monitoring the situation hour-by-hour, and so far, deliveries are being made on time. By the time the storm hits the Northeast today, it should be a wintry mix of rain and snow — nothing bad enough to delay deliveries.

Still, the storm’s timing couldn’t be worse for the world’s largest package delivery company, UPS. Thursday is the Atlanta-based company’s busiest day of the year. Before the storm shut down service in some areas, it expected to move 28 million packages Thursday, nearly double an average day.

Both UPS and smaller rival FedEx Corp., which is based in Memphis, Tenn., have extensive contingency plans for blizzards and other inclement weather, including scores of meteorologists on staff to redirect planes and trucks, and planes at the ready to replace others that can’t take off. The storm led UPS to halt all pickups and deliveries in some parts of Iowa and Nebraska. It had to reroute packages destined for the Des Moines airport, from which many shipments are then moved by truck to their final destinations across the Plains states. Instead, it’s moving those shipments out of its hub in Louisville, Ky., until the skies and roads clear, and expects most of the delays to be worked out this weekend.