Cost of shipping and the route it travels
montanajoe
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Wife and I sent a couple boxes to our family in Spokane. We were told up front the cost of shipping is quite high. Not being able to hand carry it ourselves we went with the shipping. The boxes were sent out by UPS with next day delivery. The packages went out and we got our tracking numbers and recd tracking updates. Now keep in mind the items are going from Boz. to Spokane.
So away they go. Leave Boz. and sent to Billings Mt. What??? Thats 130 miles East of here.
Leaves Billings and is sent to Louisville Kentucky. WTH??? It's now like one a.m. and the packages are in Kentucky. I search for UPS flight patterns, schedules and by golly found info on it. Louisville is UPS international hub for air travel, everything hits Louisville. I also found UPS flight schedules out of Louisville to all points. I wasted time sitting in awe watching the flight board change so rapidly. These were just UPS flights, nothing commercial.
The plane then leaves Louisville and flies direct to Spokane. Off loaded and sent to another hub in Spokane. There its put on a truck and out for delivery. The got the packages at noon their time.
What a route. Yes the cost was high, but no regrets. Kuddos to UPS flight team.
Comments
It must be huge. Watching the flight board on line was amazing.
I am also frustrated at shiping cost but nothing I can do
Flip side it's really amazing the millions of packaged and letters handled daily that make it thru the countless hands and machines and get delivered
JMHO
I think.i am more up set China has the shipping deal from years ago with USA
We can buy a item from China or a vendor like temu it ships free for less that the shipping cost. of the same item from USA seller
I had no idea the route our packages would take in order to go 336 miles northwest of us.
I swear, I'm going to have locust fork handle all my shipping from now on.
Last stuff I ordered online started out in Spokane, then went south to West Jordan, Utah, then north to Boise, Idaho, north some more to Missoula, then back south to me. I'm an hour south of Missoula. I guess it took the scenic route.
Yes sir, some routes are like, huhhh???
It's the main reason I no longer buy any parts from Rock Auto. Pay for next day air, only to have it traipse around the country, and arrive two and a half weeks late. All the parts your car will ever need, as long as you don't need them anytime soon.
Then there's Jet.com. A stagecoach pulled by two snails in a headwind would travel faster.
I’ve tracked packages with tracking code and have wondered how they came up with that route my self, but it seems to work out alright.
I remember trains coming out of Chicago with cars destined for cities up north, we would switch them out in order for other trains and send them back to Chicago to connect with other railroads.
Look up the Jones Act for some legislation that was meant for good, but ended up causing some of the shipping from foreign countries to be cheaper than from port to port within our own, in spite of the much shorter distance.
I think their idea of "late" and my idea is different. Yes, I am still waiting. I have been in McAllen, Texas since October 12 with my mother in hospice. Maybe I should just cruise over to Tucson when I leave and pick it up?
I ordered parts for my Jeep from Oregon. It took them 4 days to arrive.
September 29, 2024
Moving Through Network
In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late
September 25, 2024,3:46 am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
TUCSON AZ DISTRIBUTION CENTER
September 24, 2024,7:57 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
TUCSON AZ DISTRIBUTION CENTER
September 24, 2024,2:10 pm
Departed Post Office
PATAGONIA, AZ 85624
September 24, 2024,12:31 pm
USPS in possession of item
PATAGONIA, AZ 85624
I ordered a part for the evap system on my Merc. It was free shipping. It left Glendale, Az. on the 13th, then to St. Louis, then to Chicago, then into Des Moines on the 19th. I am an hour from Des Moines, so I should have had it Monday, for sure. But, no. On Sunday it departed Des Moines for parts unknown, stopping briefly in Billings, Montana. A few hours ago it checked in from Great Falls so it is still on its westward trek. I only wish I could travel as far as cheaply! Meanwhile, I can't drive the car until I get the part.
Thats crazy