Pricing increases on parcel delivery helped the U.S. Postal Service in Q1, as parcel volume declined 3.5% to 70 million pieces, while parcel revenue gained 2.4% to $8.84 billion. Overall revenue increased 1% to $21.5 billion, with a net loss of $1.03 billion, an improvement over $1.55 billion a year earlier.
AxleHire, a startup last-mile logistics provider, has partnered with major 3PL and freight forwarder Seko Logistics to enable next-day deliveries directly from Seko facilities, eliminating middle-mile linehauls between hubs, saving time and money for shippers.
UPS reported fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of expectations but earnings ahead of the consensus, while the outlook for 2023 appears challenged and the company is in margin protection mode against falling volumes and other volatility. And CEO Carol Tome optimistically predicted a “win, win, win” outcome with the Teamsters.
Walmart is starting to see demand pick up for its drone delivery service, as the giant retailer has expanded to 37 store-based deployment hubs in seven states and 26 municipalities, with 6,000 deliveries in 2022, an executive told attendees at NRF’s Big Show 2023 in New York.
FedEx Ground plans to cut back Sunday delivery from 80% U.S. coverage to 50% starting in March, as it faces lower volume and the high cost of service on a light day. The company initially cut back Ground service on Sunday to 50% coverage from 95% in August, citing a focus on “improving efficiency and reducing costs,”
The three major parcel carriers had a decent peak holiday season in terms of on-time performance, with service levels comparable to 2019, according to ShipMatrix, not surprising as volumes were lighter even though holiday sales increased, as many shoppers returned to stores. FedEx saw a significant improvement over its 2021 showing.
UPS for the first time is extending its peak surcharges for residential delivery beyond the usual mid-January cutoff, referring to them as by the new designation of “demand surcharges” which will be in place until further notice, while FedEx is not following suit but letting them lapse.
Amazon, facing a continued slowdown in its ecommerce business and under pressure to boost flagging sales, is looking to sell excess capacity on its commercial cargo jetliners used to move goods among its network of warehouses here and in Europe. Meanwhile, both Amazon and Walmart announced multi-state drone delivery.
FedEx experienced another challenging quarter, with lower volumes impacting the top and bottom line, especially in the Express segment, and the company announced further moves to rein in costs and trim operations, including grounding more flights and dialing back capital spending.
The U.S. Postal Service today announced a major upgrade to its planned rollout of electric vehicles to replace its aging delivery fleet, saying the USPS will purchase only EVs after 2026, as the agency bows to significant pressure from Washington and the states to expand and speed up its changeover.