UPS announced it will implement peak season surge pricing to offset the cost of a huge spike in its shipping volume during the extreme rush at the end of the year. FedEx has not yet announced a similar move. See what the move means, what industry observers are saying and UPS’s rationale.
The U.S. Postal Service, as it has for years, reported an overall loss in the second quarter due to declining mail volume and ongoing pension obligations, while its parcel delivery business continues to grow by double digits. See what else came out of the results, and how moves by major carriers may affect its parcel business.
UPS recently announced it was adding Saturday pickup and delivery for its ground division, initially in 15 markets and expanding to 4,700 U.S. cities and towns by the busy holiday season, and to 5,800 locations next year. Multichannel Merchant talks with Jerome Roberts, vice president of marketing for UPS, about the rationale for the expanded service and its implications.
FedEx has expanded its FedEx First Overnight service to more than 4,400 zip codes across the U.S. With this expansion, the service now reaches more than 32,000 zip codes for next-business day delivery, representing 92% of the business population in the U.S.
A European Union court ruled that the European Commission wrongfully blocked UPS from acquiring Dutch carrier TNT Express in 2013, which paved the way for rival FedEx to pick up TNT in 2016
Amazon plans to build a $1.5 billion air hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport in Hebron, KY, part of its ever-growing logistics enterprise. Observers continue to believe Amazon’s endgame is to handle shipping and distribution not only for its own fast-growing ecommerce business but for other retailers as well.
UPS has acquired British firm Freightex to gain entry into the European truck brokerage market. This comes eight months after FedEx closed its acquisition of Netherlands-based TNT Express. See what a UPS unit executive had to say about the rationale behind the move, how it will be integrated with Coyote Logistics and how it’s positioned in the European market.
Two months after a similar move by FedEx, UPS announced changes to its dimensional weight pricing schedule – with a twist. See what other changes UPS made, how they stack up against FedEx and what it means for merchant shippers.
The recently announced rate changes from FedEx reflect both the continual cat-and-mouse game with main rival UPS, as well as a bigger hit on ecommerce shippers as carriers look to recover the higher cost of moving more and more online orders. See what analysts and experts have to say about the impact of the new rates.
FedEx rate increases for 2017 have been announced by the carrier, including an average increase of 4.9% for ground and home delivery, and 3.9% for U.S. domestic, U.S. export and U.S. import services. See what other changes the carrier is making.