Amazon Accelerate 2023 stage feature

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.

USPS old mailboxes

GAO to USPS: Strategic Plan Could Be Managed Better

| Mike O'Brien

The Government Accounting Office (GAO) issued a harsh critique of the U.S. Postal Service and its efforts thus far to implement a 10-year strategic plan aimed at improving performance and turning around mounting losses that run against a government mandate for the USPS to be self-sustaining. The agency took issue, saying its strategic process to implement the plan was “robust and effective.”

UPS driver steps off stepvan feature

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.

USPS DDU exterior feature

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.

USPS linehaul truck feature

USPS Network Plan Includes Insourcing of Linehaul Work

| Mike O'Brien

A U.S. Postal Service plan to insource all line hauling of mail and parcels between hubs and local delivery units, which had been handled by contractors, will be completely phased in by 2025, according to a source with knowledge of meetings with USPS officials. The USPS says “some” contract carriers will be affected by the change, which is part of its 10-year Delivering for America overhaul plan.

UPS logo on truck feature

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.

UPS delivery driver feature

UPS Training Nonunion Workers to Hedge Against Possible Strike

| Mike O'Brien

UPS has begun training nonunion workers among the manager ranks to step in as drivers and package handlers, should a contract settlement with the Teamsters fail to materialize before the July 31 deadline, a move that has angered the union as talks remain stalled with about two weeks remaining. The union president also said they don’t want or need the White House to mediate in the talks.

USPS delivery vans

Experts Give New USPS Ground Service Thumbs Up

| Mike O'Brien

The U.S. Postal Service this week launched a new service called Ground Advantage that seeks to win back some of the parcel volume lost to FedEx and UPS when the major carriers insourced much of what they once handed to USPS Parcel Select Ground, which is being folded into the new offering.

DHL eCommerce KC FC feature

DHL eCommerce Expands with KC Facility

| Mike O'Brien

DHL eCommerce Solutions, addressing growing demand for its USPS consolidator business, has transferred operations from St. Louis to Kansas City, MO, as part of a national expansion plan. By the time the $330 million project is completed in mid-2024, DHL eCommerce will have a 19-node, 2.3 million-square-foot U.S. network.

Lou DeJoy at NPF 2023 feature

DeJoy Details USPS Network Overhaul

| Mike O'Brien

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy detailed how his team is working to implement an extreme makeover of the U.S. Post Service’s distribution and delivery network, in an effort to “unwind” past mistakes that created inefficiencies and hobbled its ability to execute on its mission.