The rise of e-commerce has reshaped consumer expectations regarding shipping speed, creating confusion about what qualifies as a “business day” in logistics. The traditional five-day work week no longer universally dictates when packages move or get delivered. Understanding whether a carrier counts Saturday as an operational day is the most important factor for accurately predicting an item’s arrival time. This variable policy across major carriers requires a detailed look at how each one defines its working week.
Defining a Standard Business Day
A standard business day traditionally refers to Monday through Friday, excluding all federal holidays. This definition serves as the baseline for most formal business contracts and is the default calculation for standard ground shipping services. When a carrier quotes a transit time of “three business days,” the recipient should not count the day the package was shipped, nor should they count any weekends or holidays. This conventional framework establishes the minimum operational schedule, though it is often superseded by carrier-specific policies.
USPS Policy on Saturday Shipping
The United States Postal Service (USPS) operates under a distinct model where Saturday is generally considered a standard delivery day for many services. Packages sent via First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express are regularly delivered on Saturday at no additional charge. For delivery time estimation, Saturday is counted as a shipping day, effectively giving the USPS a six-day delivery week for most package services. This capability provides a major advantage for packages shipped late in the week, allowing a Thursday shipment to potentially arrive on Saturday. While delivery is standard, post office retail and processing counter services often operate with limited hours compared to weekdays.
FedEx Policy on Saturday Shipping
FedEx maintains a bifurcated policy: Saturday is a standard service day for certain options but a premium surcharge day for others. FedEx Home Delivery, primarily used for residential deliveries, automatically includes Saturday delivery at no extra fee. This means a package shipped via FedEx Home Delivery on a Wednesday might have Saturday counted in its transit time. For FedEx Express services (such as Priority Overnight or 2Day), Saturday service requires the shipper to specifically select and pay for a separate Saturday delivery option. If this option is not chosen, the package will remain in transit until Monday. Standard FedEx Ground service, which focuses on business-to-business shipping, typically does not include Saturday delivery or movement.
UPS Policy on Saturday Shipping
UPS has expanded its weekend services, making Saturday a standard part of its operational network for ground residential deliveries in most major metropolitan areas. Saturday delivery for UPS Ground packages shipped to a residential address is often included at no additional cost, accelerating the timeline for items sent late in the week. The carrier also offers Saturday pickup services for all service levels, allowing shippers to move volume that would otherwise wait until Monday. Air services, including UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air, treat Saturday delivery as an optional, premium service. Shippers must select the Saturday delivery designation and pay a surcharge. A package sent via standard Next Day Air on Friday will not arrive until Monday unless the Saturday delivery fee is paid.
Calculating Delivery Times with Saturday Included
Accurately calculating a delivery estimate requires knowing the carrier’s policy and the initial ship date, which is defined by the daily cutoff time. If a package is shipped on Friday before the cutoff using a three-day UPS Ground service, Saturday and Sunday are excluded, meaning delivery is scheduled for Wednesday. If the same package is shipped on Friday using a three-day USPS Priority Mail service, Saturday is counted as a business day, and delivery is scheduled for Tuesday. When a package is shipped on a Thursday with a two-day FedEx Home Delivery estimate, the transit days are Friday and Saturday, resulting in a Saturday delivery. The inclusion or exclusion of Saturday shifts the delivery expectation by one or two calendar days.
The Role of Holiday Observance
Even when a carrier includes Saturday as a shipping day, a federal holiday can negate that policy. Carriers generally follow the federal holiday schedule, during which delivery, processing, and pickup operations cease. For the USPS, if a federal holiday falls on a Saturday, the day of observance is shifted to the preceding Friday. This means both Friday and Saturday become non-shipping days, effectively removing Saturday from the transit calculation. Private carriers often follow the same principle, meaning a holiday falling near a weekend will shut down the network and push delivery estimates to Monday or Tuesday.