The parcel industry is enjoying steady growth due largely to the popularity of e-commerce transactions. Management consultants at McKinsey & Company, maintain that the parcel market in the U.S. is set to double by 2025, with same-day delivery and instant delivery to account for one-fifth of the demand. Furthermore, a new study reveals that one in two customers is willing to pay extra for faster delivery.  

Texas is among the busiest states for commercial truck transportation in the U.S. The congestion, inbound traffic volumes and security concerns from its southern neighbor all contribute to its high volume of truck transportation. The volume of cargo traffic and private vehicle traffic in many areas has grown faster than the public road infrastructure. Texas has seven of the top 25 freight bottlenecks in the nation, located in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. Truck traffic over congested public roads contributes to major economic and quality-of-life challenges. Engineers at Texas A&M have designed a possible solution to these traffic issues. 

It appears to be that Amazon is attempting to compete with the drive-up convenience of stores, like Wawa and 7-11, and the selection of Wal-Mart and Target. Their plan is to invest in brick and mortar locations, and for customers seeking even more convenience, some locations will have drive thru capability where online grocery orders will be delivered to the customer’s car. 

Effective Jan. 2, 2017, FedEx will change the formula used to calculate rates on domestic air or ground parcels based on their dimensions, rather than their actual weight. Currently, FedEx determines a package's dimensions by multiplying its length, width, and height in inches and dividing the sum by 166. On Jan. 2, the divisor resets to 139.  Clearly, a lower divisor produces a higher net number, in this case, by about 15%.  Accessorial charges such as fuel surcharge will be computed using this larger weight calculation as well.  

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Jet.com, Inc. announced their entry into a definitive agreement for Wal-Mart to acquire Jet for approximately $3 billion in cash − a portion of which will be paid over time. Additionally, $300 million of Wal-Mart shares will be paid over time as part of the transaction.

UPS is adding 300 self-service package-pickup lockers across the country to solve a problem annoying both UPS and its customers: missed deliveries. The move is intended to address several issues facing the delivery giant including the cost of missed deliveries, theft of left packages and the anticipated increase in residential deliveries from online orders. 

Amazon has forever changed the way we purchase consumer goods. Amazon launched Prime Now, its super-fast local delivery service, via its mobile app nearly a year and a half ago, and now the company is bringing the service to the web. Amazon's PrimeNow.com is the new website that lets customers place orders to be delivered within one to two hours, expanding the service beyond the mobile app for the first time. The scars from Amazon's retail onslaught are evident in mostly all brick and mortar retailers. The convenience and now speed seem to be a more attractive option than a visit to the mall. Macy's, Sears and Nordstrom reported dismal earnings, and retail share prices have plunged.

The Panama Canal Authority announced its new locks are going to be opened in June 2016, nearly 2 years beyond the original target date. The massive, multibillion-dollar project had originally been scheduled to end in October 2014 but has been successively pushed back. It has suffered construction and labor problems, legal issues and the discovery of fissures in one of the widened locks.

On-demand delivery continues to set the standard expectations of today's consumer. To meet the demand startup, Dispatch has designed and is manufacturing motorized autonomous delivery vehicles for use on sidewalks and pedestrian spaces. Dispatch co-founder Uriah Baalke has said, “Our goal is to fulfill the demand for low cost local delivery and build a system that can scale and that can operate in all locales efficiently.”

During 2015, the Ports of New York and New Jersey handled 6,371,720 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) or 3,664,013 cargo containers, an increase of 10.4 percent compared with 2014. The record volumes allowed the port to maintain its position as the East Coast's busiest port, with nearly 30 percent of the total market share, PANYNJ officials said in a press release.