Surprising no one, Amazon ended months of speculation by announcing it was leasing 20 Boeing 767 cargo jets from Air Transport Services Group Inc., while at the same time taking a 20% stake in the Wilmington, OH-based company. See what others are saying about this move.
In a move aimed at better understanding the inner workings of the same-day delivery model, UPS has purchased a stake in crowdsourced delivery startup Deliv. Just how UPS will leverage this relationship and what it learns remains to be seen, but it surely has its eye on the burgeoning same-day delivery space, including competitor FedEx’s service for Neiman Marcus and others.
Amazon is once again on the move in logistics and delivery, with Reuters reporting its courier-based Amazon Flex network is making parcel deliveries in addition to the typical everyday goods being sent to Prime members.
Reuters said Amazon did acknowledge that drivers for Amazon Flex in Texas had already begun mixing in parcel deliveries with regular Prime Now orders. Amazon Flex, which allows couriers to sign up for delivery shifts via an app, is currently available in 14 cities including Seattle, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Dallas.
Retail imports based on cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to decline year-over-year for the next few months but the first half of the year should still amount to a 4.5% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
At the same time, import volumes are returning to West Coast ports after the labor issues that plagued the first half of 2015. Busy East Coast ports like New York and New Jersey saw large spikes in the double digits last year, as shippers sought alternate means to ensure product delivery, even if it meant significantly longer transit times.
UPS cited ecommerce growth, tight management controls and automation investments in its record Q4 results, while reaffirming its relationship with Amazon.
Pitney Bowes announced the acquisition of Enroute Systems Corporation, a cloud-based, software-as-a-service transportation management solution provider.
In its continuing march toward setting up its own logistics and shipping operations, Amazon plans to acquire French package-delivery company Colis Privé.
Because of a policy shift and a willingness to turn away last-minute volume, UPS had a better Christmas week 2015 on-time performance record than FedEx.
Luring last-minute shoppers and merchants, Shopify and UberRUSH are offering free same-day delivery until Dec. 24 in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
UPS’s on-time performance fell from Dec. 6-12 compared to 2014, and FedEx and UPS rose slightly according to ShipMatrix, as holiday ecommerce volume flowed.