Measurement and analysis of the second‐day air small and light‐weight package shipping environment within Federal Express

This study measured and analysed the parcel shipping environment within Federal Express. The package sizes and weights monitored in this study represent the ‘light‐weight’ and 'small‐size' packages within the FedEx handling system. Five packages, ranging in size from 0.18 × 0.19 × 0.13 m to 0.36 × 0.37 × 0.31 m, and weighing 1.9–2.5 kg, were shipped, both with and without warning labels with the text ‘Fragile – Handle With Care’. The shipments were done between Michigan and California or Florida using the second‐day air shipment mode. The data showed that neither the package size/weight nor the labels had any significant effect on the severity of drop heights. The highest drop height measured was 1.85 m. The data is presented in terms of drop heights associated with the 90, 95 and 99th percentile of occurrence. Impact orientation is also discussed.