Oh Santa Clause! You had the best package delivery services in the world. Even though you brought my gifts all the way from the North Pole every year, and stuffed every package for every child in the whole world in your little red bag, I never got even one broken toy from you on Christmas morning, but when I turned eight and discovered that you were not real, and when my Grandparents moved out of town, I started occasionally getting some of my presents with dents and dings on them. I miss your perfect delivery Santa. –Sample letter from dissatisfied Christmas enthusiast

The truth is, most people, at one level or another have to rely on holiday shipping to get their packages from point A to point B. Getting those packages where they need to go runs the risk of having them arrive late or worse, broken. So, if you are planning to use package delivery services and want to have your packages arrive on time and in good shape, who should you go with? The answer, surprisingly, has a technical answer.

Recently, a company ran a secret survey by placing sensors in packages and sending them through the three major shipping services. After gathering the data from the sensors, the company determined that UPS was the best overall shipper. Their shipment techniques arrived on time or early in every trial. During transit, UPS prevented package flips more than FedEx or USPS, and UPS also kept their packages climate controlled more effectively.

Because Christmas is a popular season to ship perishables and toys with numerous components, UPS has the best handling performance. Since their parcels arrive on time, they are closest to Santa’s perfect performance. Since Santa is not real, UPS is the best in the game.

This holiday season, take a load off and let UPS (or FedEx or the USPS: they are all good) ship your parcels. In the busy season, mistakes do happen, but for the tremendous volume of action, shipping is a highly safe endeavor. In all likelihood, the worst problem you will have to worry about is if you got the right gift for that special person.