Parcel service failures equal fewer gifts under the tree for many

NEW YORK (AP) – Santa's sleigh didn't make it in time for Christmas for some this year due to shipping problems at UPS and FedEx.

The delays were blamed on poor weather earlier this week in parts of the country as well as overloaded systems. The holiday shopping period this year was shorter than usual, and Americans' tendency to wait until the last possible second to shop probably didn't help either.

Neither company said how many packages were delayed but noted it was a small share of overall holiday shipments.

UPS is not making pickups or deliveries Wednesday and plans to resume normally scheduled service Thursday.

Some FedEx customers are able to pick up packages Christmas Day at their local FedEx Express centers.