Sorting of Fastway parcels stuck in transit to continue into next week

50,000 deliveries stuck in system after sudden collapse of firm

The painstaking process of sorting parcels stuck in transit after the collapse of Fastway is continuing, almost a month since the delivery firm went into receivership.

The painstaking process of sorting parcels stuck in transit after the collapse of Fastway is continuing, almost a month since the delivery firm went into receivership.

Nuvion Group, the parent company of Fastway, went into receivership on October 28, with 300 workers directly affected, and close to 700 subcontractors and franchise delivery workers left in limbo.

The sudden announcement of its closure left 50,000 items stuck in transit in logistics channels across Ireland. 

Now, final delivery or return to the individuals and business who posted the parcels is now expected to be completed next week. 

As of last Friday was they are over two thirds of the way through.

When Fastway entered receivership, Interpath, the receivers of parent company Nuvion, centralised 50,000 items at a warehouse in Portarlington to be sorted. 

Portarlington was chosen as it was between two of Fastway's central sorting offices, in Dublin and Cork. 

Two years ago, Fastway invested €5m in its depot in Little Island in Cork, the second largest courier base in the country, while it opened a 120,000sq ft facility, in Greenogue Business Park in Rathcoole, Co Dublin.

Originally the sorting process was expected to take a fortnight but it has now continued for a further two weeks. 

"It's a very complicated process," a spokesperson for the receivers Interpath told the Irish Examiner. "It seems to be in a good place now after all the initial confusion and challenges."

Fastway handled 25m parcels annually. Its exit from the market has meant businesses and consumers turning to other delivery companies entering a key period. 

An Post said it was already on course for the record predictions before delivery firm Fastway went into receivership.

“An Post’s ‘Christmas Peak’ operations and resource plans were finalised months ago in anticipation of record parcel volumes from existing customers. As a result we may not be able to accommodate all additional service requests from new customers at this time,” an An Post spokesperson said. 

“That said, we are doing everything possible to support SMEs in need of delivery solutions by putting arrangements in place to handle additional volumes.”