At the beginning of this year, there was talk, and a bit of wishful thinking, that freight and delivery companies would finally shed the last vestiges of the pandemic's wild ride and log a year-end peak season that would return to past patterns.

But as the year progressed, it became clear this peak season wouldn't be business as usual, especially compared with the immediate pre-pandemic era. This year-end rush wasn't normal for truckers that bring the merchandise to warehouses from ports, and it won't be for FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc., which drop e-commerce purchases on doorsteps. In fact, what was once normal may never be normal again.