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It's never that simple. These companies have highly trained staff who can do math, but there are other considerations than just cost effectiveness of the trucks

It's never that simple. These companies have highly trained staff who can do math, but there are other considerations than just cost effectiveness of the trucks. It's a global company and I can't speak for every region but what I've seen in some places is that local infrastructure is lacking to the point that it seriously hinders the business. I.e. angry customers that stop ordering stuff because of repeated frustrations with the delivery companies. And even if UPS and FedEx were super reliable in the US (don't know if they are), it would still be risky to fully bet on them without at least controlling some of the market.

PaulHoule 4y ago
That is a good point globally. UPS, FedEx and the US Postal Service are highly reliable in the US. They used to get their trucks stuck in our driveway (nothing a farmer with a floor jack can't fix) but now they leave packages at the end of our driveway and we bring them in, which keeps the service reliable for the rest of our route. The USPS used to be faster to send letters. What I miss most of all is that there used to be a slot in our town's post office for letters to the nearest city that would go directly there for cost-effective overnight delivery. I liked getting a letter to my bank, or the county clerk that way. Now they send all the mail to Rochester where it is photographed by some machine which provides better tracking but worse speed.
JohnFen 4y ago
> And even if UPS and FedEx were super reliable in the US (don't know if they are) FedEx is problematic in my area. Just the other day, they reported that they delivered a package at my door, when they didn't. Because they reported it as delivered, the $100 I spent is just lost money. I try hard to avoid having FedEx ship anything to me because this isn't the first time this has happened.

PaulHoule 4y ago

That is a good point globally. UPS, FedEx and the US Postal Service are highly reliable in the US. They used to get their trucks stuck in our driveway (nothing a farmer with a floor jack can't fix) but now they leave packages at the end of our driveway and we bring them in, which keeps the service reliable for the rest of our route. The USPS used to be faster to send letters. What I miss most of all is that there used to be a slot in our town's post office for letters to the nearest city that would go directly there for cost-effective overnight delivery. I liked getting a letter to my bank, or the county clerk that way. Now they send all the mail to Rochester where it is photographed by some machine which provides better tracking but worse speed.

JohnFen 4y ago

> And even if UPS and FedEx were super reliable in the US (don't know if they are) FedEx is problematic in my area. Just the other day, they reported that they delivered a package at my door, when they didn't. Because they reported it as delivered, the $100 I spent is just lost money. I try hard to avoid having FedEx ship anything to me because this isn't the first time this has happened.