Delivering the holidays made easy with Purolator's holiday send-by dates and shipping tips

Purolator announces important send-by dates for all Canadian and international deliveries to arrive by December 24

TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2012 /CNW/ - As Canadians prepare for the busy holiday season, Purolator, Canada's leading freight and parcel solutions provider, is making it easier for Canadian families and businesses to check an important item off their holiday to-do lists by delivering helpful packaging tips and key shipping deadlines for sending gifts to family, friends and customers across Canada, the U.S. and overseas.

"We know the holidays can be a very hectic time for our customers, so our priority is to make shipping as simple and problem-free as possible," said Ramsey Mansour, Purolator's Vice President of Marketing. "Whether you're sending a package across town, across the U.S. border or overseas, Purolator wants to ensure business and personal holiday shipments get to where they need to be, on time, every time."

Operating in Canada for over 50 years, Purolator has helped deliver the holidays to millions of Canadians. In keeping with this tradition, Purolator today announced important holiday send-by dates for Canada-wide, U.S. and international deliveries to ensure packages arrive to destinations before December 24.

1. Canada - For delivery within Canada with next day delivery (where available), parcels must be sent by December 21, or December 22 for locations offering Saturday service.
2. United States - For delivery to the U.S. with next day delivery (where available), send by December 21. For shipments to the U.S. via Purolator Ground®, send by December 13.
3. Mexico/The Americas: For delivery to Mexico, the Caribbean, South and Central America, send by December 18.
4. Western Europe - For delivery to Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, send by December 19.
5. Australia - For delivery to Australia, send by December 19.
6. Far East - For delivery to the Far East, including China, Japan and Thailand, send by December 18.
7. Other International Destinations - For delivery to Eastern Europe, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, send by December 14.

When shipping your packages either in Canada or abroad, Purolator offers the following packaging and shipping tips to keep in mind for safe and timely holiday season shipments:

1. Place gifts in the centre of a box or carton, ensuring all items fit well and don't protrude.
2. Wrap all items with protective packaging. Use at least three inches thick for fragile items.
3. Be sure to fill in hollow spaces with bubble wrap and use cardboard inserts to protect edges for gifts such as books and picture frames.
4. Avoid using wrapping paper to ship a gift as it can get damaged during the delivery cycle. Instead, try durable shipping paper and boxes available at your local Purolator Shipping Centre.
5. Affix appropriate labels when required: heavy weight, glass and liquid.
6. Avoid using previously used boxes, which can lose their strength over time.
7. Avoid using glue, masking tape, cellophane tape or opaque tape to seal boxes. These materials may lack strength to hold the package together.  It is recommended that you use plastic, pressure-sensitive packing tape for courier shipments.
8. Never tie a package with string, rope or elastic bands. These items may get caught in processing equipment or torn off, damaging the package.
9. Affix clearly visible shipping and receiving addresses with postal codes to each package in your shipment.
10. Retain your Package Identification Number for easy tracking of your package.

To ship your holiday gifts:

1. Visit www.purolator.com to access Purolator E-Ship™ Online or call 1-888-SHIP-123 to schedule a pick-up.
2. Drop your gifts off at any Purolator Shipping Centre, Shipping Agent or STAPLES location.

About Purolator

Purolator is Canada's leading integrated freight and parcel solutions provider. Celebrating over 50 years of delivering Canada, the company continues to expand its reach to more people, more businesses and more places across the country and around the world. Purolator is proud of its Canadian heritage and is positioning itself for future growth and success. As the recipient of the Logistics Quarterly Third-Party Logistics Sustainability Award, Purolator is growing globally in a sustainable manner while contributing to the well-being of the communities where its over 12,000 teammates live, work and play.

SOURCE: Purolator Inc.

Pascal Dessureault
Manager, Corporate Communications
905 712-1084 ext. 23851
[email protected]