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FedEx Burlington: A black hole for packages?

Shipping delays from FedEx spark frustration in local consumers

By Rena Kingery News Intern

Commodore Patrick didn’t expect FedEx to be a source of anxiety when he moved to Bellingham last year to start an IT consulting firm.

But at the moment that’s his biggest issue as Patrick waits for a part for his first client. The part, a firewall device that costs nearly $1,000, shipped Dec. 31 and sits with a status of “Pending” at the Burlington FedEx station. 

“It’s incredibly frustrating,” said Patrick, adding other businesses likely face similar problems. “This is not an isolated incident.”

No, it is not, based on hundreds of local consumers’ reactions to FedEx delays on social media platforms such as NextDoor and Reddit. Most complaints target a single FedEx distribution center: Burlington. Reviewers on Yelp have complained about the hub near Skagit Regional Airport since 2014. Cascadia Daily News also received dozens of emails from locals experiencing frustrating delays. 

“It’s kind of a package purgatory,” said Frank Catalano, who lives in the Alabama Hill neighborhood.

His Costco shipment of snacks, nuts and other non-perishables sat at the Burlington facility from Dec. 31 to Jan. 5. 

What set Catalano’s package in motion was an online chat on Jan. 4 with Costco during which he asked a customer service representative to get his package “unstuck” from Burlington. The Costco official promised to address the issue, and the package arrived the next day.

“It’s kind of a package purgatory.” — Frank Catalano, FedEx customer

Maleah Brandt, a milker at her parents’ Lynden dairy farm, MyShan Dairy, ordered bladder infection medication for her dog on Dec. 23 from Chewy.com. She expected the package Dec. 30, but after arriving at the Burlington facility on Dec. 29, it stayed put. 

“Every time it would refresh, it would say ‘Out for delivery,’ and I’m like, ‘OK, we’ll see,’” Brandt said.


The medication finally arrived Jan. 13, after sitting in Burlington for two weeks.

Parker Mathews of Bellingham also used Chewy.com to purchase raw dog food that arrived in Burlington Jan. 1. It’s still sitting there, the dry ice used to cool it all but dissipated. 

Another FedEx customer, Blayne Banks from Marysville, said he ordered a Christmas present in mid-November only to have it delayed in Burlington until Jan. 5. When he called FedEx to file a complaint, the representative told him, “Well, Mr. Banks, better late than never, right?”

Let Santa try that excuse.

A truck pulls into the lot at the FedEx regional distribution center.
A truck pulls into the lot at the FedEx regional distribution center on Saturday in Burlington, Skagit County. Countless customers point to the facility as a frustrating shipping sticking point. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, FedEx’s on-time performance was particularly bad at the end of last year. FedEx had an 87.9% on-time delivery rate between Nov. 21 and Dec. 4, a drop of 7 percentage points from the previous year. 

During the same time period, the U.S. Postal service (96.1%) and United Parcel Service (96.4%) fared much better.

Dave Hill, a spokesperson for FedEx, said in an email, “We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers as we work to address weather-related service delays in the Burlington area.” Hill also mentioned constrained labor markets, increased package volume and the ongoing pandemic as reasons for delay. To resolve the issue, the shipping company has been leveraging its seven-day delivery schedule and obtaining “additional delivery resources,” Hill added.

But why do lengthy delays seem to stretch beyond the pandemic and winter weather in Burlington? It could be an issue with the independent service providers that deliver for FedEx Ground. 

“Well, Mr. Banks, better late than never, right?” — FedEx representative

Drivers for FedEx Express, which handles overnight shipping, are paid company employees. FedEx Ground, on the other hand, contracts its delivery services to thousands of independent trucking companies across the country.

Three independent service providers serving Burlington declined to comment about delivery performance. 

“Delivery folks are working hard, especially during the pandemic,” said Ian Robbins of the South Hill neighborhood.

Sympathy aside, Robbins has waited weeks for bags of dog food and meal boxes from HelloFresh. Some never arrived and were never refunded.

Robbins thinks the problem lies in “the organization or management to not hire more people or pay more. If that meant higher costs for shipping, I’d pay it.”

Ian Robbins with his dog Goose in front of their home.
Ian Robbins with his dog Goose at home on Friday. Robbins has waited weeks for bags of dog food stuck at the Burlington FedEx distribution center. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Meanwhile, everyone hopes for better service with the holidays finished, the weather returning to its typical Pacific Northwest gloom and the omicron variant of the coronavirus in retreat.

For Patrick, the return to routine might be enough for him to finally get his firewall component. FedEx recently updated its delivery date to Jan. 19.

“Looks hopeful, but I’m not going to hold my breath,” he said. 

The next day it was marked again as “Pending.”

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