UK carriers suffer from Black Friday and Cyber Monday rush

Records are showing parcel volumes in the UK as struggling as carriers face difficulties keeping up as a result of last-minute changes to available services for e-commerce retailers. This comes as a result of the UK's recent adoption of the American Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions.

This week, e-commerce company eBay extended its delivery estimates for all Royal Mail deliveries within the UK by one working day as a result of "record-breaking" parcel volumes.

Parcel courier Yodel has had to fully suspend its parcel collections as a result of the effects of Cyber Monday, giving the company opportunity to catch up after "unprecedented" parcel volumes.

Hermes, meanwhile, suffered differently this week when a small fire broke out at one of its facilities. The fire, which started on one of its conveyor systems, saw the facility out of action for one day with delays to delivery times of up to five days. Since the occurrence, the company has managed to reduce its estimate to two days. Hermes confirmed: "Further to our hub fire last week we are pleased to announce that nobody was hurt, no parcels were damaged, the hub machines are now repaired and we are fully operational again."