Should You Worry About Drones?
Drones are sexy. We get it. The idea of drone delivery feels like the future, and it’s true that drone technology has made progress in specific industries. For example, Amazon’s drone division is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate as an airline. Real estate, agriculture, law enforcement, and shipping and logistics are just some of the industries that have increased their usage of drones.
However, drones are simply not a viable solution to the last-mile package delivery industry and likely will not be for many years.
Why Drones Won’t Work for FedEx Ground Delivery
There are many reasons why drones are not effective, specifically in the FedEx Ground industry. These reasons include the quantity and size of packages, the distance required, the general risks to or from the public, and lack of policy and regulation.
Package Size and Quantity
As fun as it is to think of drone delivery, it’s not a realistic mode of transportation for the types of packages FedEx Ground delivers.
If you ever have the opportunity, we encourage you to walk through a FedEx Ground terminal and pay attention to the packages on the belts and next to the trucks.
FedEx Ground delivers trampolines, couches, sets of tires, and more. In fact, FedEx is known for delivering these large, “incompatible packages”—packages that do not fit onto a 4-foot wide conveyor belt. In reality, you would need a helicopter to deliver some of the large and heavy packages that FedEx Ground services.
In addition to the size and weight of the packages, also keep in mind that FedEx Ground operations typically make hundreds of stops and deliver thousands of packages a day. A single suburban route can carry hundreds of packages on board a delivery truck whereas a drone may be able to carry a single package at a time.
The FedEx Ground network as a whole services millions of packages a day. It’s unrealistic to think that hundreds of thousands or even a million drones could efficiently service the network just for one day.
“When you walk through a FedEx terminal you realize the size of many FedEx packages is wildly incompatible with drone delivery.”
Drones Cannot Cover the Standard Service Area
Not only is drone delivery a poor solution for incompatible packages, the mechanics of drone delivery are complicated for most packages.
A FedEx Ground terminal typically covers a radius of 150 air miles. When you think about drones making a 300-mile round trip to deliver one package on the far end of that radius, it seems improbable. Drones making those types of trips would experience significant battery life issues. The further you travel also increases the risks to both the drone and the customer property should something go wrong.
Potential Hazards for Drones
Drones traveling hundreds of miles from the point of origin would frequently experience conflict with other aircrafts, changing terrain, and wildlife.
Weather can also be a significant deterrent to drone delivery. Everyone can agree that cardboard boxes do not hold up well in the rain, and various parts of the country encounter different weather patterns that have to be accounted for. The idea that a whole city or region does not get their packages because of a slightly rainy day would be unacceptable in the eyes of FedEx Ground or its contractors.
Potential bad actors also have to be acknowledged. The risk of someone shooting down a drone or interfering with it is a very real possibility. Particularly in rural regions where hunting and shooting for sport is common, a lone unmanned drone carrying a package could be a tempting target.
Lastly, let’s not forget the impact on safety and public opinion. The idea of drones flying over residential households, crowds, and other public areas might make some individuals very uncomfortable. If something were to go wrong for any of the reasons we’ve discussed or something else entirely, you cannot guarantee the safety of anyone below on the ground. To this point, drastic changes to federal and aviation policies would have to take place long before this technology could be widely used outside of specific applications. Similar to the automated vehicle debate, the policies and regulations to control what happens when a human being is injured as a result of a technological failure still has a long way to go before the general public would be accepting of this type of widespread use of drones in our skies.
While the development of drone technology will continue to improve in these areas, and could prove to have minor applications in this space, it won’t be cost effective or even remotely practical in the near future.
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