NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — You may need to start thinking about when you should ship presents for the holidays.
Delays in the U.S. supply chain have raised the question of whether shipping companies will be able to meet demand.
FedEx CEO Fred Smith said they’re going to be able to meet demand if they have enough employees.
FedEx has processed 90,000 employee applications since November 1.
He said the "inability to improve infrastructure over the last 20 years" was a key factor and praised Congress for passing the bipartisan infrastructure deal on Friday.
Another issue employers face is how to deal with the new federal COVID-19 vaccine or testing mandate for companies with more than 100 employees.
U.S. Commerce Secretary said consumers should "call FedEx" if they wanted to ensure that their packages would arrive in time for Christmas, but Smith is confident his company will be able to make holiday deliveries on times if they work hard.
"We're ready, assuming that we can get the employees. The lack of employees, particularly since last spring and into the summer, partially because of the Delta variant and partially because of the stimulus which hit right before the Delta variant,” Smith said.
Smith forecast that FedEx will deliver 100 million more shipments this holiday season than they did in 2019.
