FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. are working right into a scarcity of supply vans throughout a report surge in bundle volumes.

Urged by the couriers to buy any vans they’ll scrounge up, leasing corporations are dipping into the used market.

Added demand “is creating shortages” within the rental market, UPS in an e mail whereas emphasizing that the corporate’s personal operations haven’t been damage. FedEx is paying a stipend to its contractors to offset the additional price of renting.

“If there’s a cargo van on the market, we’re attempting to purchase it,” mentioned Brendan Keegan, CEO of Retailers Fleet, which gives automobiles to bundle supply corporations. It expects to have 15,000 vans out for lease at year-end, up from 6,000 a 12 months earlier.

Supply vans are a profitable enterprise for the Detroit 3 automakers and different key trade gamers.

The van drought sprang from pandemic-induced shutdowns at factories that construct the high-ceiling and box-like automobiles — simply as hovering e-commerce ratcheted up demand for dwelling deliveries. FedEx and UPS don’t anticipate the shortage will hobble supply capability. Nevertheless it provides to the rising prices of doing enterprise as COVID-19 rages on, which have prompted couriers so as to add surcharges for the vacation season.

“UPS and others have carried out peak surcharges to assist offset the added expense throughout peak,” the Atlanta-based firm mentioned in an e mail. “Rental automobiles are included inside these bills.”

Rising prices from efforts to hurry deliveries have been a supply of concern for Wall Avenue analysts, at the same time as buyers have rushed to purchase shares in each couriers amid the virus-fueled supply increase. UPS has jumped 48 p.c this 12 months via Tuesday whereas FedEx has surged 93 p.c.

Whole car output is nearing pre-pandemic ranges, but inventories are nonetheless skinny. The variety of all new automobiles obtainable within the U.S. was virtually a million items decrease in October than a 12 months earlier, in accordance with researcher LMC Automotive.

FedEx is providing to compensate a few of its unbiased supply contractors for the prices of getting to hire extra automobiles this 12 months than is typical through the holidays, mentioned Steve Myers, senior vp of operations for the corporate’s Floor unit.

“Lots of our service suppliers, particularly for the height season, have pivoted extra to the rental market,” he mentioned. “So, we work with them on that.” Myers declined to estimate the added prices or impact on revenue margins, as did UPS.

Amazon.com Inc. mentioned it hasn’t seen indicators of a scarcity. And leasing corporations face the chance that demand may very well be short-lived for automobiles that might keep of their fleets for years, mentioned Joel Eigege, vp of rental merchandise for Ryder System Inc. However there’s little doubt that there’s loads of urge for food for automobiles now, he mentioned.

“There’s positively a scarcity of items out there, particularly raised roof cargo vans for supply,” Eigege mentioned.

A few of the bottleneck lies with producers of customized truck our bodies for step vans, which had been affected by the auto plant closures.

Shyft Group Inc.’s backlog for its custom-made automobiles quintupled to $282 million in October from a 12 months earlier, CEO Daryl Adams mentioned this month on an earnings convention name.

Orders from parcel supply corporations are rising sharply, “and clients have been asking us to fill them with urgency,” he mentioned.

Keegan, of leasing firm Retailers, usually buys vans instantly from the automakers however has needed to name sellers across the nation and turned to buying used automobiles. Whereas he expects that manufacturing will catch up, development will stay sturdy.

“Cargo vans will proceed to be our quickest rising asset class,” he mentioned.