UPS to Ship 300 Packages a Second Today

With Christmas just days away, shipping giant UPS (NYSE:UPS) is ramping up for its biggest delivery day of the year on Thursday.

After delivering more than 120 million packages around the world this week, Atlanta-based UPS said it expects to deliver nearly 26 million packages on Thursday alone -- equaling 300 packages delivered each second.

UPS, which is the largest shipping company in the world, said it will add more than 400 additional flights per day this week and process 3 million express shipments on Thursday through its Louisville Worldport facility. UPS also brought in about 55,000 temporary workers to help deal with the extra demand.

The extra preparations give last-minute shoppers an extra day to ship their gifts on time to arrive for Christmas.

UPS also said it managed more than 58 million online requests on Tuesday, its busiest tracking day of the year.

Shares of UPS gained 0.52% to $72.85 ahead of Thursday’s open. The company’s stock was off 0.15% on the year as of Wednesday.

Rival FedEx (NYSE:FDX) already experienced its busiest day of the year, which occurred on December 12.