Here’s Why It Will Take Longer To Get Those Online Purchases – Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Take Note

Even though online shopping was on the rise in the latter half of the 2010s, the idea really took off during the pandemic.

When shopping at stores became a hassle, even the people who would normally run to Walmart, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, or Macy's for what they wanted, started to buy those things online.

On top of being way more convenient, it was often nearly as quick as going to the store.  Yes, you rarely got something the day you ordered it, but it generally came within a few days.

If you are one of those people who love to do their holiday shopping online, we have some bad news.  It looks like it will likely take longer to get the items you order from Amazon, Etsy, and other retailers.

According to an article on the WABI website,  the recent Federal Aviation Administration announcement of a 10% cut in flight capacity across 40 major U.S. airports could make things really rough for  air cargo as the busy holiday season gets closer.

Several of those airports are home to major package distribution hubs.  FedEx has big operations in Indianapolis and Memphis, and UPS’ largest hub, Worldport, is in Louisville, Kentucky.

Coincidentally, that is where last week's deadly cargo plane crash happened.

Late Friday, both UPS and FedEx said they were grounding their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 planes out of caution after Tuesday’s crash, which killed 14 people, including the three pilots on the MD-11 headed for Honolulu.

According to the companies, MD-11 aircraft make up about 9% of the UPS fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet. Patrick Penfield, a supply chain management professor at Syracuse University, called the combination of flight capacity cuts and the MD-11 groundings a major blow for both cargo carriers and shoppers.

Penfield says it could take weeks for UPS and FedEx to get their MD-11 fleets back in service after inspections.  He predicts that by mid-December, when shipping demand peaks, shoppers could see delivery delays of a day or two.

There is some good news, though.  Most of the air cargo is international and that has not been affected by the 10% reduction.  Also, most necessities (food, for example) are shipped by truck or train.  As a result, those will not be affected.

The experts do have some advice, though.  Your best bet is to get your shopping done early.