Investing.com - Package delivery company FedEx (N:FDX) said on Monday that it expects to see a record number of shipments during this year's busy holiday season, driven by rising retail sales and a jump in ecommerce.
The Memphis-based company said it expects to handle 317 million shipments between Black Friday, traditionally the busiest U.S. shopping day of the year, and Christmas Eve, an increase of 12.4% over the previous year.
The National Retail Federation has predicted retail sales in November and December - excluding automobiles, fuel and restaurant sales - will increase 3.7% to $630.5 billion after a 4.1% increase last year. The NRF said online retail sales could increase up to 8%, to as much as $105 billion.
FedEx said that it expects to see three spikes in package volumes during peak season, on Cyber Monday and the first two Mondays in December.