Online retailers and consumers sending international packages this holiday season have several dates to jot down if they want to meet 2024 shipping deadlines and have gifts delivered by Christmas.
The United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and the United Parcel Service (UPS) have each released their holiday shipping deadlines for 2024. Each carrier delivers products for hundreds — if not more than a thousand — of the Top 2000 online retailers in North America. Here’s what you need to know.
USPS international holiday shipping deadlines 2024
Cutoff dates to send international packages vary by the country or region consumers wish to deliver to.
USPS offers three key shipping options:
- First-Class Package International Service
- Priority Mail International Service
- Priority Mail Express International Service
Using the third option, which is the fastest, the last day to ship an order and have it arrive by Christmas is Dec. 16 for:
- Asia/Pacific Rim
- Australia/New Zealand
- Canada
- The Caribbean
- Europe
- Mexico
- The Middle East
It’s slightly earlier — Dec. 9 —for shipments to Africa, as well as Central and South America.
Dec. 9 is also the cutoff date for the First-Class Package International and Priority Mail International services for each area in the bulleted list above. For Africa and Central and South America, that shifts earlier to Dec. 2.
FedEx international holiday shipping deadlines 2024
Meanwhile, FedEx‘s cutoff date for a shipment to arrive by Christmas is Dec. 23 for parcels going from the United States to Canada, Mexico or Puerto Rico. That applies to packages to all three countries using FedEx International Next Flight.
The next-last day — also for all three countries — is Dec. 20, using FedEx International First. For consumers using FedEx International Priority, the cutoff is Dec. 20 for shipments going to Mexico and Dec. 19 for Canada and Puerto Rico. It’s also Dec. 19 for shipments to Canada using FedEx International Priority Distribution.
Dec. 19 is also the cutoff for International Economy and International Connect Plus shipments to Mexico, and for International Priority to Puerto Rico.
Then, Dec. 18 is the holiday shipping deadline in 2024 for International Economy shipments to Canada and Puerto Rico. The next soonest deadline is Dec. 17 for International Connect Plus shipments to Canada.
UPS international holiday shipping deadlines 2024
UPS international holiday shipping deadlines in 2024, as with the other carriers, depend on the country to which the consumer wants to send a package.
The cutoff date for shipments to Canada is Dec. 23, using UPS Worldwide Express. Alternatively, consumers shipping to Canada can use Worldwide Expedited, which has an earlier cutoff: Dec. 20.
For shipments to Mexico, the final cutoff is Dec. 20 using UPS Worldwide Express. Using Worldwide Expedited, the cutoff shifts earlier, to Dec. 19.
UPS advises consumers to check its Calculate Time and Cost page for UPS Standard shipments from the continental U.S. to either Canada or Mexico. It also advises consumers to use the page for shipments from the U.S. to any other destination, noting that “certain destinations may require an earlier ship date.”
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