UPS, based in Atlanta, said Monday that's about a 40 percent increase over normal daily delivery volumes.
It says that for the entire holiday season -- from Thanksgiving to Christmas -- it expects to deliver about 400 million packages around the world, up slightly compared to the 2008 holiday season.
Peak projections from UPS and rival FedEx Corp. are closely watched because they are an indicator of how well the economy is doing, especially in the retail sector.
UPS did not make a peak projection last year, nor did it say how many packages it delivered on its busiest day.