How Does UPS Standard Compare To UPS Ground? (Find Out!)

UPS Standard Compare To UPS Ground

 

For moving items that must be delivered quickly, UPS Ground is another cost-effective option. It does not expedite shipping times or ship overnight to their destinations to ensure recipients receive their packages in a timely manner. Ground shipments generally take between 1 – 5 business days to arrive at the destination, with most shipments averaging around 3 business days delivery time.

Key Takeaways

  • UPS has expanded its business model and now offers standard and ground shipping for the convenience of their customers
  • Ground shipping involves the physical transfer of goods from one location to another using a truck
  • There are two primary types of shipments for ground shipping: Standard and Parcel Post
  • The price of UPS Ground shipping starts at $8.76 and increases depending on the weight, size, and location of the destination
  • Ground shipping is slower when packages must travel to higher ground shipping zones and the farther away any given zone

What Is Ground Shipping?

Ground Shipping

Shipping involves the physical transfer of goods from one location to another, whether it’s an airplane, train, truck, or boat. Ground shipping involves using a truck. Because road or rail travel is less expensive than air transportation and more reliable than water routes, trucks are commonly used for this type of shipping. There are two primary types of shipments for ground shipping: Standard and Parcel Post. Depending on their size and weight, items can either be shipped as a Standard package – which includes priority handling but not insurance – or as a Parcel Post package – which offers both options with an item that weighs up to 130 lbs. Besides getting the products out to your customers safely and on time, Kiala also focuses on helping you meet all applicable laws so you can offer fast and reliable delivery while being in compliance with everything your business needs!

When choosing a shipping method for your items, there are many options available such as 3PLs and other third-party logistics companies that can help increase reach. Factoring in time to receive your item along with inventory management, you’ll be able to use the best shipping methods for your business so as to optimize delivery times whether it’s from anywhere from 1 hour to 3 days!

UPS Ground shipping is a cost-effective option when you want to ship your products in large quantities to multiple destinations. Prices start at $8.76 and increase depending on the weight, size, and location of the destination. Additionally, select locations offer Saturday Delivery via UPS Ground, guaranteeing that customers can receive their deliveries on weekends as well. A good example of this is when shipping out of our Chicago distribution center via UPS. If you were to ship across the country using their services, the map below showcases how long it would take.

What Is Standard Shipping? 

 Standard Shipping

Freight shipping services are both similar and different. They meet the same needs, in that they provide affordable and efficient shipping of products to locations overground, but they’re not the exact same thing. Both standard freight and ground freight can fit the bill when you need your goods shipped quickly and economically. The main difference lies in their capabilities; standard shipping will have a range of planes and may be able to handle multiple shipments at once, while ground shipping would likely only be able to do one shipment at a time.

Standard shipping can be extremely quick with our 1-2 day delivery service for packages going to major cities, although for some destinations we recommend our 3-5 day shipping option to ensure it arrives on time. Regardless of delivery choice, you can save money by choosing an authorized UPS Access Point location where you can literally pick up and drop off packages at your convenience without any additional fees!

Similarities – UPS Standard VS UPS Ground 

The two shipping service options described are identical. They are considered to be the standstill priority shipping option with UPS. The only difference between them is that UPS Ground shipping is used for shipments in transit between all 50 states of the U.S., Alaska, Puerto Rico, and APO (aka: military) addresses, whereas UPS Standard shipping is used for shipments traveling from the four corners of The United States (48 Continental States) as well as Canada, Mexico, and other International destinations.

The U.S. Postal Service has an exception for letters entering the United States from a foreign country, which includes Mexico and Canada. Although these mail pieces are considered international mail, they are not subject to any documentation requirements. This means no entry summary, no customs declaration, and no Customs form of any kind is needed or used for such mail pieces. The only details about the mail piece that gets documented when crossing the U.S./Canadian border is its value – either $25 or the amount paid by the sender (or weight if it’s below $25) but never both! There have been cases where a shipper accidentally processes a shipment using UPS Standard that is being shipped between two U.S locations, and due to this hiccup, these shipments were handled as UPS Ground packages. 

Why Choose UPS Ground Shipping Over UPS Standard And Other Options?

Many shoppers may get discouraged while they’re still on the fence about whether they’re going to proceed with their purchase. If you have a little bit more time to wait, ground shipping helps you speed your order up with fast 2-day shipping that’s low in cost, which gives customers without much urgency a nice way of showing that thanks for their patience.

There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding ground shipping. One thing you should know about is the approach that it speed. When we think about ground shipping, our gut instinct is to imagine slower transit times – as if it takes longer for cargo to travel across the country compared to shipping in airfreight. There are some cases when this is true, but not always – because where you ship from could mean the difference between your goods owing up at their destination overnight or in a few days

Ground shipping is slower when packages must travel to higher ground shipping zones and the farther away any given zone is, the higher the cost of shipping and vice versa. The post office creates shipping zones that have to be considered by retailers. Zone 1 will typically be the closest area to a retailer’s distribution center while Zones 5 thru 9 will increase in distance from the retail store or CS site.

If your customers are in the same zone as your warehouse, then you’re able to ship orders faster and cost-effectively via ground shipping. If you use ShipBob services, they offer more affordable shipping rates and fulfillment options by splitting inventory across multiple fulfillment centers in different regions of the US right now! This is all done without having to manage your own warehouses but instead through ShipBob’s economies of scale.

Final Words 

If you need to ship packages via UPS, there are a number of options that might be best for your business. For short-term or mid-term deliveries within a 1-3 day range, you can use the ground shipping service – which is a budget-friendly option that gets items there pretty quickly. Ground shipments typically arrive within 2 hours – 3 days and the average delivery time is within 2-3 business days. The drawback here is that if customers need their products faster than this, they may miss out entirely.

References:

https://www.ups.com/us/en/support/shipping-support/shipping-services/domestic.page
https://blog.stamps.com/2020/11/04/ups-international-service-comparison/

Last Updated on October 30, 2022 by Magalie D.

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