Guide to Shipping Services

For the average consumer, the major difference between UPS and FedEx is the color of the truck.  Each offers a variety of service level options, against which the consumer may weigh the cost versus the time in transit to select the service level that best meets their needs.  However, I deal with these guys every day.  I like both companies, most of the time, but I think FedEx is a step ahead.  Here's an example of why.

Today, UPS released the following zip codes as being affected by severe weather, and will not honor any delivery guarantees to these locations:

North Carolina
28701- 28909

Tennessee
37601 - 37699

Virginia
20101 - 20198
20598
22003 - 24658
24201 - 24377

Delaware
19701 - 19980

Maryland
20588
20601 - 21930

District of Columbia
20001 - 20098
20201 - 20586
20590 - 20597
20599
56901 - 56972

West Virginia
25401 - 25446

New Jersey
08701 - 08831

Pennsylvania
18901 - 19496

FedEx reported none, and apparently intends to deliver their packages on time, without using the weather as an excuse.  Especially this time of year, when everyone is sending packages that need to be there for Christmas, a weather delay that moves your delivery from Christmas Eve to Monday, December 28th is kind of significant.  That being said, UPS Ground is more reliable than FedEx Ground to begin with.  So, here's the breakdown:

Best: FedEx Express services
2nd: Any UPS service
3rd: FedEx Ground
4th: Spee-Dee Delivery (regional carrier) or pigeon (if available)
5th: United States Postal Service
6th: Experimental attempts using telekinesis, transporter beams, or magic.
7th: Take it in the packing lot, crush it violently with a big hammer, and forget about it.
8th: Same as #7, but then put $40 through your paper shredder.
9th: DHL

Addendum:
My FedEx sales rep, Larry French (the greatest sales rep ever) pointed out that FedEx Ground delivers to something like 36.5% of domestic addresses a day faster than UPS Ground.  (I am not sure if that was his exact stat.)  Therefore, you could make a very good argument that FedEx Ground should come ahead of UPS Ground.  If you include that, we would divide UPS express services from their ground service, and put FedEx Ground in between.  My personal experience, however, tells me that UPS Ground is superior in meeting their delivery commitments for residential deliveries, thus my rankings above.  :)