This year’s holiday peak delivery season will start earlier, putting more pressure on last-mile providers than ever before. That was the prediction of CLDA Board Member, Ruth Correa. This will be her 17th holiday season in the logistics space, and she expects this to be one to remember.
Correa founded two last-mile providers, Tempo Couriers in 2008 and Cheetah Final Mile LLC in 2022. She is the CEO of Cheetah Final Mile, a transportation services company operating in Missouri and Tempo Courier in South Florida. The company focuses on same-day logistics, warehousing and outsourced transportation services. “Thinking Outside the Box” asked her for her thoughts on the upcoming holiday peak delivery season.
Earlier Start to the Holiday Peak Delivery Season
“Because of tariffs, a lot of retailers frontloaded what they bought in before the tariffs took effect,” Correa points out. “I think that will affect when the sale of those items begins this year. Even though the calendar suggests it should be a shorter holiday season, I don’t think that will hold true. I predict retailers will start holiday sales a lot earlier than in the past.”
For carriers, that means they’ll need to prepare for the peak holiday season earlier than ever before. “Everything is going to happen earlier,” she says. “We carriers are going to have to be flexible on the start of the peak season,” she says. “That means, right now, we should be looking at past data to help us optimize routes and reach more points in less time.”
Preparing Now
Correa advises couriers to take immediate action to prepare for peak season. “This is the calm before the storm,” she says. “At our company, we’re doing a lot of cleanup. We’re ensuring that all returns are taken care of. We’re freeing up floor space in our warehouses. We’re also cleaning up our equipment and replacing any that can’t do the job we need.”
On the people side of things, Correa suggests using this time to onboard new drivers. “You want to make sure you have enough drivers ready for the season ahead of time,” she advises. “They need to be onboarded correctly now so that when the time comes, you have a good pool to pick from.”
She also suggests taking a good, hard look at ways to improve efficiencies through technology. “If you’re going to bring in new technologies to improve your processes, now’s the time to start and to get your team trained to make the most of it when peak arrives, whenever it does,” she says.
She points out that while communication is always key, it becomes even more critical during the holiday season. “People have heightened expectations during the holidays because they need to know their items will arrive before Christmas Day,” she points out. “So now is the time to make sure that your processes and your technology are running correctly before that moment arrives. Whether it’s your customer, the shipper, or their customer, the consumer—everyone wants to see where their packages are and where they are along the way. That’s where technology comes in. If you have the right technology in place, everybody has visibility. That’s going to lessen the number of people you need in the office and the number of emails and phone calls you will need to respond to.”
Reach Out to Shippers
Correa expects to reach out to her regular customers starting in October to gather their estimates of what they expect from her company during the peak season. It’s something she does every year, but this year she’ll be doing it earlier. “At the beginning of October, we will be reaching out and seeing what kind of pipeline to expect from our customers,” she says.
Words of Advice
Correa offers these words of wisdom to help last-mile providers weather Holidays 2025:
1) Sleep now because you won’t be sleeping later.
2) Preparedness is key. You cannot be too prepared. Have more than you need.
3) Make sure your technology is up to speed; that everybody knows how to use it, and knows how to make the most of it.
4) Automate as much as you can.
5) Understand route optimization.
6) Add enough independent contractors to your pool now. Ensure that they’re onboarded and that you have all the necessary paperwork. Test them on routes before peak starts, so it’s not their first time during peak.
7) Have the right equipment in place to meet the need and flex when needed.
8) Train your in-house team to meet your customers’ expectations.
Correa sums it up this way: “It’s going to be interesting to see what the consumer does this holiday season. Will the tariffs raise prices enough to curtail sales? Will retailers start offering deals earlier than usual? I know the calendar says the season is supposed to be shorter, but I’m expecting it to start earlier. So what will that mean? Whatever happens, my biggest advice for carriers is to be ready to be flexible. That’s always been the strength of those in this part of the supply chain. I expect this year to be a real test of that resilience.”
