Federal Express (FedEx) has a near legendary reputation in the shipping world for getting packages to their ultimate destination whole lot faster than anybody else in the delivery game. And while UPS, DHL, and even the USPS have certainly sped up their delivery services as well, FedEx – the company built on the back of “when you absolutely, positively need it there overnight” continues to offer some of the best delivery timelines in the business.
That being said, trying to figure out what your FedEx delivery times are going to look like on a package to package basis can be a bit of an uphill battle. That’s why we’ve outlined this in-depth guide, though.
Below we cover some of the basics you want to know about FedEx delivery times during the week, what the average delivery time looks like, and the kind of speeds you can expect depending on the FedEx delivery service you choose to move forward with. By the time you finish the info below you’ll be almost as much of an expert about FedEx delivery times as the folks that work there are! Let’s jump right in, shall we?
What Are the FedEx Delivery Times During the Week?
As a general rule of thumb (and a companywide policy), FedEx delivers packages between 8 AM and 8 PM (local time) Monday through Friday – to businesses as well as homes – as well as on Saturday and Sunday to residential addresses. This basically means that if FedEx has provided you with a tracking code that says “Delivered by End of Day” the odds are pretty good that it’s going to arrive on that day within that bracket of time.
Sure, every now and again the folks at FedEx may deal with a delay completely out of their control that slows your packages down. Especially right now, with so many packages zipping around the country. For the most part, though, FedEx really does a great job at making sure that their packages move through their delivery infrastructure as quickly as possible and land on your door ASAP.
There’s also a lot of anecdotal evidence out there about FedEx delivery people staying on their route beyond 8 PM to make sure that packages get where they are going on the day that FedEx promised they would be there. This happens a lot around the holiday season when things are particularly silly from the perspective of how many packages are out there, but dedicated delivery people are going to do whatever it takes to make sure that you get your package when you are expecting it no matter what.
As far as FedEx store hours are concerned, though, those are really based off of a case-by-case kind of schedule. You’ll want to contact your local FedEx store directly to see what kind of hours they keep, especially on the weekends.
What Do FedEx Home Delivery Timelines Look Like?
As far as overall FedEx Home Delivery timelines are concerned, you really shouldn’t have to wait any longer than five business days for your package to touchdown on your doorstep – so long as it was sent from an address somewhere in the United States. Deliveries from overseas to be shipped to the continental United States are going to take a little longer (to seven days), just as FedEx packages to Alaska and Hawaii might.
Sometimes FedEx Home Delivery services are able to be made within a single business day throughout the “Lower 48” of the United States. But again, Alaska and Hawaii generally have to wait between three and seven business days to get their packages.
All in all, though, FedEx Home Delivery is one of the fastest and most reliable delivery services in the country. FedEx takes full advantage of their expertise and shipping infrastructure to provide lightning quick deliveries throughout the nation, all without forcing customers to spend a small fortune on shipping, too. That’s a combination that is tough to beat!
It is important to understand, however, that FedEx Home Delivery is exclusively available for residential addresses. While this service takes full advantage of the FedEx Ground infrastructure to move packages from one location to the next until they arrive at their destination, the major difference is that FedEx Ground will service business and residential addresses while FedEx Home Delivery will not.
The separate tracking and movement for FedEx Home Delivery allows it to be just a little bit faster than your traditional FedEx Ground services would be. It’s definitely worth looking into this option if you have a package that meets the requirements (outlined on the FedEx website).
FedEx Delivery Times Broken Down by Delivery Service
To get a real feel for the differences in FedEx delivery times it’s important to break everything down by the specific service that you might choose to take advantage of moving forward.
Below we highlight some of the most popular FedEx services available. This list is pretty comprehensive, but isn’t 100% complete. FedEx offers a lot of different options for their customers to take advantage of when they want to get packages from one destination to the next as quickly and as securely as possible. Still, this list of “rule of thumb” FedEx delivery times should help you choose the right option – especially if you need to get a package somewhere on a very tight deadline.
FedEx Ground
There are a couple of different FedEx Ground options you could choose to move forward with, starting with the standard FedEx Ground for Business purposes. This standard FedEx Ground delivery service has a one to seven business day delivery window for commercial customers, offering between one and five business day delivery for the Lower 48 states in the US and between three and seven business days both to and from Alaska or Hawaii.
This service runs Monday through Friday and guarantees delivery by the end of the “traditional” business day (generally seen as 5 PM local time). FedEx Ground for home delivery (renamed FedEx Home Delivery a few years ago) offers the same kind of delivery timelines to the continental United States as well as Alaska and Hawaii, but because these packages are going to residences and not businesses the daily timeline is a little more wide open.
Instead of delivering between 8 AM and 5 PM on Monday through Friday, FedEx Home Delivery offers package delivery between 8 AM and 8 PM throughout the week – including Saturday as well as Sunday. FedEx Ground Economy is a less expensive alternative, though it’s usually use for lighter weight packages and is a little bit slower. FedEx delivery times for this specific shipping option are between two and seven business days the across the country (including to Alaska and Hawaii).
FedEx Two or Three Business Day Delivery
Commercial customers taking advantage of FedEx Business delivery services can choose 2Day or 3Day delivery as well, with 2Day Business customers also having the opportunity to lock in “AM” business delivery in the morning.
The delivery times for both of these services (excluding the morning delivery mentioned above) usually sit between 8 AM in the morning and 4:30 PM in the evening – though sometimes that 4:30 PM delivery window closes at 5 PM instead.
For the 2Day AM delivery window, though, customers can spend a little bit more money to guarantee that there FedEx packages arrive before 10:30 AM the next morning (when sent to business addresses) and before noon when being delivered to residential and rural addresses.
These shipping solutions are available Monday through Friday, but they also can be taken advantage of as Saturday Pickup services from a local FedEx distribution office, FedEx store, or package/parcel locker.
FedEx Next Business Day Delivery
FedEx First Overnight is a lightning fast delivery service from the folks at FedEx, guaranteeing that a packages delivered as the first thing the very next day – guaranteeing delivery by 8 AM, 8:30 AM, 9 AM, or 9:30 AM at the very latest (depending on the ultimate destination).
FedEx Priority Overnight is only slightly slower than First Overnight (and a little less expensive), guaranteeing delivery by 10:30 AM to most businesses and by noon (or 4:30 PM at the latest) to residential and rural addresses.
FedEx Standard Overnight is the “lowest” of the overnight delivery options from Federal Express, promising delivery by 4:30 PM (to businesses) and 8 PM (to residential addresses) the day after a package goes out.
FedEx Same Day Delivery
Same-day delivery options from FedEx include Cross City and Cross Country, with delivery timelines that are completely wide open on a 24/7 basis.
This is the fastest delivery options available from the folks at FedEx as well as the most expensive, but it guarantees that packages sent out early in the morning are going to be delivered that same day (or in the middle of the night/next morning, depending on how far away the ultimate destination is).
Tracking and Managing Your FedEx Delivery
The FedEx Delivery Manager service (available totally free of charge from FedEx) is a great way to better track and manage your FedEx delivery as it moves from its original location to your doorstep. Not only are you going to get more advanced tracking capabilities when you take advantage of the services, but you’re also going to be able to pause your delivery and have it held at a FedEx location (great for situations where you will be home on an emergency basis), can have the package intercepted if you will be in the area, and so much more.
You can even have your package rerouted to FedEx Partner Locations – like a local Walgreens or Dollar General, or a FedEx Office location – and then help there in a parcel locker for up to seven days. The alert system built into the FedEx Delivery Manager is very robust and super easy to setup, too. Every time your tracking information updates your package will as well, and you can even see (somewhat in real time) your package moved closer and closer to your doorstep when it is out for delivery. The fact that these tools are available at no cost make them a no-brainer to take advantage of, especially if you are expecting to use FedEx quite often forward.
Take Control of Your Mailbox with US Global Mail
At the end of the day, though, if you want extreme control over your mailbox – not just what comes by a FedEx, but mail delivered by the USPS, packages shipped by UPS, and parcels that are sent through DHL (or any other shipping organizations) – you’ll want to check out US Global Mail. The modern mailbox solution, US Global Mail has been offering virtual mailbox services for more than 20 years – limiting the headache, hassle, and stress traditional mailboxes bring to the table.
Providing all clients with a “permanent” physical street address that doesn’t have to be updated with every move (not a PO Box number), the safety and security customers enjoy with US Global Mail is top-tier. On top of that, every single package, every single parcel, and every single piece of mail that comes through your virtual mailbox gets scanned and digitized.
Copies of those scans are sent to your US Global Mail private dashboard as well as to your email address, helping you to better manage your mailbox without having to physically visit it every time something new comes in.
Add in the ability to forward your mail anywhere you’d like (at up to 80% off of traditional shipping prices), the chance to deposit checks into your bank account automatically and securely, and so much more and you’ll soon see why so many people have already made the decision to move forward with US Global Mail accounts.
If you’d like to learn a little more about the types of services available from this virtual mailbox company, or have any questions that you’d like to have answered, don’t hesitate to contact US Global Mail today. They’ll be able to walk you through all the advantages of using this service, but don’t be surprised if you sign up for an account right on the spot. You won’t regret it!
