Purolator expects to deliver 46 million packages through its peak season this year, which runs through most of November and part of December, CEO John Ferguson said.
Purolator’s package volume is 10 per cent higher than the courier anticipated, even with an optimistic forecast, Ferguson said.
Total deliveries are up 50 per cent this year compared with last year, while e-commerce deliveries are up between 80 and 100 per cent, he said.
Ferguson said he expects package volume will remain high into the new year, unlike in every other year, when volume declined substantially after the busy holiday season.
He attributed the elevated volume to the second wave of COVID-19, which has prompted new lockdown restrictions in major Canadian cities.
The courier has added more than 3,000 new employees since the start of the pandemic, in an effort to manage a substantial increase in parcel shipping volume.