Your 2025 Holiday Freight Shipping Hub
Tips and Resources for Peak Season
Welcome to your 2025 Holiday Shipping Hub from GlobalTranz! Below, you'll find everything you need to sleigh the peak shipping season with confidence. For many companies, the holiday season shipping rush doesn't actually kick off with Black Friday or Cyber Monday. It often begins much earlier, when rising freight demand impacts nearly every industry — even those not moving holiday gifts.
Think of this hub as your neatly wrapped, go-to resource for navigating the busiest time of year like a pro. Check back often for fresh insights, timely updates and helpful alerts!
Here's a quick look at how our Holiday Shipping Hub will support you:
- Plan ahead — Get the inside scoop on holiday shipping deadlines and scheduling so your deliveries stay on track.
- Manage costs — Learn how to control expenses, optimize rates and anticipate surcharges to better manage holiday season shipping.
- Ship with care — Access proven best practices for packaging, delivery, returns and insurance to avoid holiday shipping delays.
And that's just the beginning — we've packed in much more to help you shine this season!
“Weather doesn’t just slow trucks where it hits. It ripples across the entire network. Stay ahead by watching forecasts and setting clear expectations with your customers.”
— Tal Borovsky, Senior Director of Operations at WWEX Group
Holiday Shipping Deadlines & Scheduling
If there's one thing that defines the shipping peak season, it's deadlines. Timing makes all the difference — not only for keeping customers merry, but also for protecting your operations from costly holiday shipping delays, disruptions and inefficiencies. Here's a rundown of the key holiday shipping deadlines you'll need to plan around.
And remember, winter storms and surging demand can turn even the best-prepared strategy into a lump of coal. Stay off the naughty list by monitoring our service alerts and updates throughout the holiday season shipping rush.
Freight Carrier Holiday Shipping Schedules
A crucial piece of B2B holiday planning is knowing exactly when your freight carriers are operating — and when they’re not. Freight shipping during the holiday season shipping rush has its own quirks, so review this calendar carefully to steer clear of unwanted holiday shipping delays:
Peak Shipping Season Scheduling Tips
In 2025, Christmas Eve falls on a Wednesday and Christmas Day on Thursday. Many companies may stay closed through Friday, so be sure to adjust your shipping cutoffs accordingly. Here’s how to keep your customers merry this year:
Plan fulfillment earlier than usual to stay on schedule for pickups. Always provide carriers with accurate opening and closing times to give them the widest possible pickup window.
Set clear expectations for cutoff dates, transit schedules and potential delays. Share these timelines with customers to prevent issues, build trust and encourage repeat business in the new year.
Take advantage of Saturday service to ship earlier or ease weekday congestion. Adding another operating day can help reduce bottlenecks, provide an extra weekly pickup and keep freight moving. Note: Saturday service may involve a fee.
Stay current. Carriers, shippers and customers all rely on accurate service during the holiday crunch. Monitor carrier service guarantees and delivery windows often, since they may change as the holiday season shipping rush progresses.
Discover 5 ways a 3PL can help you make this holiday season a successful one!
Expedited Services this Holiday Season
Even the most carefully planned Shipping Peak Season strategies sometimes require a last-minute dash through the snow. Here's what to keep in mind:
- Facing a cargo emergency? Explore truckload carriers that provide ad hoc overnight freight services when time is tight.
- Many of our less-than-truckload (LTL) partners also offer reduced transit times, and some guaranteed delivery options may still be available.
Check out our Guide To Expedited Freight Modes.
“During the holidays, more freight means tighter capacity. Give carriers the biggest pickup window possible, get your pickups scheduled early in the day, and you’ll greatly improve the odds of your freight moving out same day. Remember, transit times are only estimates. When time is critical, choose guaranteed or faster services and build in a buffer. Shipping early is the best way to beat holiday delays.”
— Tal Borovsky, Senior Director of Operations at WWEX Group
Manage Holiday Shipping Costs: Key Strategies for Rates, Fees, and Surcharges
The holiday season brings higher demand — and higher costs. While capacity challenges are unavoidable, you can still protect your budget by taking a proactive approach to managing rates, fees and surcharges.
Freight Accessorial Fees
For freight shippers, extra charges can pile up like snowdrifts. Understanding which ones occur most often during the shipping peak season — and how to avoid them — can make your shipping plan far more cost-effective.
Learn more about accessorial fees in our 8 Tips on How To Reduce Freight Costs.
Tariffs this Peak Shipping Season
Market uncertainty is always a shipping challenge, and those pressures often intensify during the holiday season shipping rush. This year, shippers must find strategies to offset new U.S. tariffs. Get 9 Tips To Offset the Impact of Tariffs and How a 3PL Provider Can Help.
Other market trends impacting the logistics industry include:
- Freight recession leftovers that are reshaping pricing and available capacity
- Workforce shortages that slow operations across carriers and distribution centers
Each of these factors can drive up costs, disrupt transit schedules and affect customer satisfaction. That's why having a proactive strategy — and the right logistics partner — makes all the difference. By teaming with a 3PL, you can build supply chain resilience, unlock new efficiencies and adapt quickly as market conditions shift.
Ship With Care: Packaging, Returns and Insurance Tips
The holidays aren't only about speedy deliveries. They're also about protection, presentation and preparing for the inevitable wave of returns. Here's how to ensure your shipments spread cheer — and not headaches — during the holiday season shipping rush!
Prepare pallets properly
It’s worth reviewing freight packing best practices. From choosing the right materials to stacking and securing loads carefully, well-prepped pallets can prevent costly damage and unwanted delays.
Guard against cargo theft
Theft often spikes during the holiday period, and cargo theft has been rising again this year. Stay ahead by knowing which goods are targeted most often, strengthening security both in facilities and in transit, and having a plan ready if theft occurs.
Winterproof your logistics
Cold weather, icy roads and rough driving conditions create risks for fragile or temperature-sensitive freight. Take proactive measures to insulate and protect your shipments so winter weather doesn't leave your operations out in the cold.
“In 19 years, I've never seen freight theft escalate like this. It's no longer just smash-and-grabs. It's full-on operations with spoofed emails, impersonated carriers and digital reselling on Amazon and Facebook Marketplace.”
— JJ Lewis, SVP of Truckload at WWEX
Protect Your Business this Holiday Season — with Shipping Insurance
It's always wise to safeguard your investments, but the holiday season shipping rush is definitely not the time to play Scrooge with protection. You may pack your freight with care, yet added coverage ensures peace of mind. Be sure to check out these resources for extra confidence this season:
For extra protection this Holiday Shipping season, remember to always:
- Take photos of outbound freight to simplify the claims process.
- Keep packaging intact until claims are fully resolved.
Don't get caught unprotected — insure your freight shipments and keep your holiday season wrapped up with confidence.
Holiday Season Shipping FAQs
GlobalTranz delivers proven reliability, strong carrier partnerships and expert logistics planning to help businesses navigate the shipping peak season with confidence, ensuring shipments arrive safely and on time!
Yes. GlobalTranz provides claims assistance, proactive shipment monitoring and experienced support to resolve issues quickly, minimizing disruption and protecting your freight during the holiday season shipping rush.
GlobalTranz offers multimodal solutions, carrier diversification, freight consolidation and advanced visibility technology, giving shippers the ability to control costs, improve efficiency and meet critical holiday shipping deadlines with confidence.
Cutoff dates vary depending on carrier and service level. GlobalTranz provides customers with updated schedules and expert guidance, helping businesses plan accurately and avoid costly holiday shipping delays. Check back to this holiday hub throughout the season.
Rates typically rise due to surging demand and limited capacity. Planning ahead, consolidating loads and partnering with a trusted 3PL like GlobalTranz helps manage costs and maintain reliability during the peak shipping season.
Shippers should book early, remain flexible with pickup and delivery schedules, consolidate shipments when possible, and use real-time visibility tools to reduce bottlenecks and minimize costly holiday shipping delays.
A 3PL like GlobalTranz leverages strong carrier relationships, advanced technology and an expansive network to secure reliable freight capacity, ensuring shipments move even during the busiest holiday shipping period.
GlobalTranz delivers responsive customer service, proactive communication and expert problem-solving to quickly resolve disruptions, keeping freight moving and minimizing business impacts during the shipping peak season.
See How GlobalTranz Helps You Navigate the Shipping Peak Season
From reverse logistics to B2B holiday fulfillment strategies, GlobalTranz provides the expertise, technology, and proven holiday shipping best practices to help you manage the season with confidence. Backed by decades of logistics experience and a nationwide network of carrier partners, we make sure your holiday supply chain runs seamlessly — from the first scan to the final mile