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UPS Capital Releases AI Tool to Combat Porch Piracy

| Mike O'Brien

UPS Capital, the financial services and insurance arm of the major carrier, has introduced an AI-powered solution to combat the scourge of porch piracy by creating a score indicating the likelihood of a package being stolen from an address, so it can be diverted to a safer pickup or delivery location. It uses AI and ML to assess billion of data points from deliveries, then creates a confidence score.

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Roadie Expanding Direct-From-Warehouse Delivery Service

| Mike O'Brien

Roadie, a crowdsourced last-mile delivery platform that is owned by UPS, is expanding availability of an app that allows same-day delivery and pickup of ecommerce orders by Roadie drivers from warehouses to local customers, which was launched a year ago by sports apparel retailer Fanatics. The app enables pre-sortation and staging of local orders in a designated area within a facility.

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Amazon Blows Out End-to-End Supply Chain Offering

| Mike O'Brien

At its Accelerate seller conference in Seattle, Amazon announced a raft of interconnected services Tuesday, branded as Supply Chain by Amazon. It handles everything from logistics and forwarding from point of origin all the way to the customer’s door. For the first time, Amazon offers bulk storage, distribution and replenishment across channels from the same inventory pool, including retail stores.

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A Multi-Carrier Approach Is Key During Disruptive Times

| Steve Beda

The possibility of a major disruptive event, such as the Yellow Freight bankruptcy and a potential UPS strike, brought to light the vulnerability of the nation’s supply chain. From COVID-19 to ongoing issues with transportation and labor shortages, the supply chain had been on thin ice. Such scenarios emphasizes the importance of moving beyond a risky, overexposed single carrier approach.

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FedEx 2024 General Rate Increase: Key Takeaways

| Paul Yaussy

FedEx Express package and freight standard list rates for U.S., U.S. export and U.S. import services, and FedEx Ground standard list rates will increase an average of 5.9% as of Jan. 1. The Sept. 7 release of the General Rate Increase marks the earliest announcement in company history. While it’s impossible to analyze every 2024 change, here are some important takeaways for shippers to note and assess.

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FedEx Posts New GRI Early, Lower in Competitive Move

| Mike O'Brien

FedEx, sensing an opportunity against its main rival, has posted a general rate increase for next year three weeks earlier than usual and lower than the current year’s figure, coming in at 5.9%, as UPS is dealing with a new union contract cost that the Teamsters estimates at $30 billion over five years. Analysts believe it will lead to a rethinking of UPS’s approach to its GRI strategy.

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Teamsters Overwhelmingly Ratify UPS Contract

| Mike O'Brien

As expected, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new five-year contract with UPS, giving the 340,000 members at the carrier higher wages for part- and full-time workers, and eliminating a hated two-tier system of driver classification. More than 86% of union members voting said yes to the new contract, the Teamsters said, a record for a UPS deal.

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UPS Revenue Down, Volume Hit By Teamsters Negotiations

| Mike O'Brien

UPS reported a 10.9% dip in second quarter revenue, but still hit its goal of $2.9 billion in operating profit thanks to $889 million in cost reduction compared with 2022. The company also said 1 million parcels a day were diverted to competitors due to concerns about labor negotiations. UPS also lowered full-year guidance mostly due to costs associated with the new contract, the company said.

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USPS Reports $1.7 Billion Loss, Parcel Volume Decline

| Mike O'Brien

The U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $1.7 billion in the third quarter, placing the blame on the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act which was billed as a way to help provide relief for the USPS from the burden of unfunded retiree healthcare benefits. Parcel volume, which had been ticking up quarter by quarter at the USPS for several years, fell 2.3% to 1.7 million pieces, after dropping 5% in Q2.

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UPS, Teamsters Avoid Costly Strike In Major Victory for Organized Labor

| Mike O'Brien

UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters reached a five-year contract settlement today, averting a costly strike of 340,000 members that would have begun a week from today and giving part-time workers the pay increases their leadership had pushed for over the past few weeks, while handing newly energized organized labor a major victory. Starting part-time pay will be $21 per hour.