I often hear stories of customers looking to have either conveyors or replacement parts shipped Next Day Air or Second Day Air. Since UPS is our normal small parcel carrier, our customer service reps often point them to ground shipping instead of air.
As you can see from the map above, we can ship ground to most of the Great Lakes region in just one day. It would arrive by the close of business the following day instead of by 10:30 AM with normal Next Day Air, but in many cases that’s good enough — especially when you consider the savings (see below).
It gets even better when you’re considering Second Day Air. We can ship ground to most of the Eastern half of the country in two days. Packages arrive by the close of business — just like standard Second Day Air deliveries.
The price difference between UPS’ air and ground services is significant. Check out the chart below, comparing the estimated cost to ship a typical 60 lb. package:
| Next Day Air (10:30 am) |
Next Day Ground (5 pm) |
Second Day Air (5 pm) |
Second Day Ground (5 pm) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | $132 | $25 | N/A | N/A |
| Charlotte, NC | $215 | N/A | $87 | $29 |
Certainly, if you need something by 10:30 am tomorrow, go for Next Day Air, just be prepared to pay for it. But if a slightly later delivery would work for your schedule, consider switching to ground.
Download a detailed PDF map of UPS shipping times from our facility to see how long it would take a package to get to your location via UPS ground (the map is approximate and for UPS deliveries only, please check with UPS for shipping times for your specific ZIP code and shipping method).
This is a good tip to remember any time you’re having something shipped from us or anyone else. It’s an easy way to save a good chunk of change from your budget without adding much (if any) delay. Visit UPS Ground Maps to get the time-in-transit to (or from) and ZIP code.
