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WASHINGTON — Researchers are joining major retailers, logistics firms, city transportation offices and others in the freight industry to reconsider last-mile delivery systems, even reviewing the way they get packages the “final 50 feet” in congested urban downtowns.

Some 1.4 million packages are expected to be sent back to retailers on Jan. 3, according to UPS Inc., which has dubbed the massive return-to-sender day “National Returns Day.”

United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. delivered almost all of people’s presents by Christmas Day, with the former company finishing strong after a bruising late November.

The market for the Tesla Class 8 truck keeps growing as UPS Inc. put in an order for 125 electric trucks, the largest order to date that has been made public.

UPS International President Jim Barber told an Anchorage, Alaska, group the right timing for his first trip to Alaska had come for a number of reasons, including the hub’s expanding importance in connecting to China and Asian-Pacific communities.

It’s that time of year again when online shopping surges and package deliveries soar -- along with costs and customer expectations.

Technology has made it easier than ever to buy gifts online and track the spoils of your spending spree as they make their way from retailers’ warehouses to your doorstep in time for the holidays.

United Parcel Service Inc. says it’s gotten deliveries under control after a surge of online shopping caused some delays following Thanksgiving.

FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. surged the most in more than a year Dec. 4 on expectations that they’ll reap particularly big gains from the tax-overhaul package making its way through Congress.

Golden, Colo., residents could see the unwrapping of a new package delivery system right in the middle of this year’s holiday gift-giving frenzy, with UPS Inc. drivers swapping out their trademark brown trucks for golf carts with trailers.