Stay Up to Date on the Parcel Industry
Unlike freight shipping, which moves goods in large quantities (whole truckloads or shipping containers, for example), parcel shipping moves individual goods essentially one at a time (usually by truck or plane). While both focus on the movement of goods, transportation methods, level of service, and cost can be very different between the two services. Freight is almost exclusively used by commercial shippers, while small- to medium-sized retail shippers usually use parcel freight.
Parcel delivery is a cost-effective, efficient, and fast option for businesses shipping items up to 150 pounds. And, unlike freight shipping, packages are delivered directly to a residential or business address. Check back here for the latest parcel freight industry news.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state would continue plans to enact congestion pricing tolls in New York City, drawing criticism from the Trucking Association of New York.
FedEx is strengthening its air network in Latin America with two new flights linking markets in South and Central America with Miami, the company announced.
UPS’s financial performance bounced back in the third quarter, but it flagged macroeconomic weakness and in-store shopping as potential headwinds for fourth-quarter volumes.
DHL Express says a new aircraft maintenance hangar and extra parking positions now under construction will minimize the amount of time aircraft are out of service and increase capacity at its U.S. superhub near Cincinnati.
A second front will be opened in the legal battle over whether Amazon is a joint employer of drivers along with its delivery service partners.
A challenging parcel environment led to disappointing first-quarter results for FedEx.
National Truck Driver Appreciation Week started Sunday, and businesses and organizations across the U.S. are partnering to show truckers some love.
FedEx Corp. announced a strategic alliance with Nimble Robotics on Thursday to scale FedEx Fulfillment with Nimble’s fully autonomous 3PL model.
The old FedEx and UPS business models aren’t working in a parcel market undergoing radical transformation. The express carriers need to rethink their network strategies as B2C shipping takes precedence and consumers compromise on speed to get lower prices.
DHL is beefing up its aircraft maintenance capacity in Europe.
FedEx will fly fewer aircraft and go to fewer U.S. cities starting this fall as a consequence of the U.S. Postal Service giving its primary air cargo contract to a competitor.
UPS is taking longer than expected to restore profit levels amid slower parcel growth and increased operating costs.
UPS announced on Monday it has entered an agreement to acquire Mexican express delivery company Estafeta.
NullShip Shipping Solutions claims to sell U.S. Postal Service and UPS labels at a steep discount but sold clients counterfeit postal labels, costing one person thousands of dollars in lost goods.
Speedy deliveries and simple return policies are key for a positive customer experience this Amazon Prime Day, says Loop Returns Vice President of Product Kristen Kelly.
Amazon Prime Day 2024 will run July 16 through July 17, with discounts on millions of items across 35 categories for Amazon Prime subscribers.
UPS announced the appointment of Brian Dykes as executive vice president and chief financial officer on Tuesday.
A Baltimore UPS facility is planning to close in August, according to a Maryland state filing, after laying employees off earlier this year.
Parcel analyst Satish Jindel predicts FedEx will opt later this year to spin off the Freight unit to the public market.
Point Pickup Technologies has agreed to sell $100,000 in assets to Delivered, including customer lists, software, transferable permits, books and records, Point Pickup’s website, and promotional materials.
The U.S. Postal Service has kicked off its 2024 National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign – “Don’t let your dog bite the hand that serves you” – in an effort to reduce dog biting incidents for postal workers.
The size of the U.S. Postal Service network could allow the agency to take e-commerce market share from UPS and FedEx.
The U.S. Postal Service will pause some modernization projects for the rest of the year amid “confusion” about the agency’s Delivering for America plan.
Patrick Kelleher becomes DHL Supply Chain North America CEO on July 1, succeeding Scott Sureddin, who will retire Dec. 31.
Hawaiian Airlines won’t fly as many cargo jets for Amazon as expected this year because of supply issues and Amazon’s timing preference for integrating aircraft into the fleet.
UPS is working to transition U.S. Postal Service business from incumbent air cargo supplier FedEx and hire more pilots before the current contract officially ends.
An annual report from Pitney Bowes found that in 2023, U.S. parcel revenue dropped for the first time in seven years despite increased parcel volume.
Express delivery giant UPS is recruiting pilots again after beating out FedEx for the Postal Service’s air transport contract.
UPS will take over flying mail and parcels for the U.S. Postal Service later this year. FedEx is relinquishing the contract but says the move will make it more profitable.
FedEx and UPS have recently announced job reductions as part of ongoing efforts to streamline operations and boost profits.
FedEx said strong cost controls drove its fiscal third-quarter results; its shares soared in late trading.
Satish Jindel, president of ShipMatrix, shares his thoughts on the ways parcel carriers should modernize their networks.
Bad blood between factions in the FedEx pilots’ union is making it difficult to present a unified position in collective bargaining with the company. Some hard-liners are turning against leadership and pushing for a strike to get better terms.
Pilots at FedEx say talks on a new contract are at a stalemate and have asked the National Mediation Board to send the dispute to arbitration.
A new DHL facility in Norfolk, Virginia, will serve eastern Virginia and coastal North Carolina.
The U.S. Postal Service contract is an albatross around FedEx’s neck. The company needs to fly less during the daytime and consolidate more express and ground parcel shipments, Barclays says.
UPS is rationalizing its air network as demand falls, but it is still adding aircraft when it makes sense.
This week on FreightWaves we look at whether UPS is struggling or not; a convoy rallying for stricter border patrol takes over Texas; the FMCSA cracks down on sham towing fees; another trucking company files for bankruptcy and truckers in Mexico strike against cargo theft.
Today, peak seasons and traditional consumer habits are something entirely different than they once were. The CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Americas gives insight on how DHL is handling it and what shippers should do.
Has UPS been ill-served by on-going cost-cutting?
FedEx has more cargo jets than it needs for its express package network. Some of those planes will now be used to try and capture a larger share of the general cargo market. In doing so, FedEx will go head to head with all-cargo carriers like Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific and Nippon Cargo Airlines.
Subpar 2023 results and uncertain 2024 guidance sent shares falling.
FedEx and UPS reinstate money-back guarantees on second-day morning air service.
FedEx Express faces more headwinds in its effort to improve profitability as the U.S. Postal Service prepares to drop air routes from contracted service.
Thefts from a storage facility have raised concerns from a government watchdog agency as the Postal Service moves to electrify its delivery fleet.
FedEx Express wants to compensate for a surplus of pilots by lowering guaranteed pay and offering severance packages once a new labor contract is reached. Meanwhile, mechanics are agitating to unionize.
The Teamsters union doesn’t expect a major impact on employment levels from UPS’ closure of a Kentucky sort facility.
Labor peace was won at what will be higher costs for shippers and carriers.
FedEx says it is confident that it has maintained the parcel volumes that moved from UPS.
FedEx’s color-coded air network is designed to bolster FedEx Express’ margins amid continued macro weakness and other headwinds.
DHL ground support workers at the company’s Cincinnati airport hub ended their strike after an agreement on a new contract.
Despite posting operating and net income gains in its fiscal 2024 second quarter, FedEx cut its full-year revenue forecast.
FedEx is following its rivals’ leads with a no-box, no-label returns program.
Striking airport workers at the DHL Express hub outside Cincinnati have picked up support from union members around the country, slowing customer shipments.
UPS’ ground delivery surcharge increase comes amid a continued decline in diesel pump prices.
Less demand and more flexible delivery schedules were key factors in higher performance by UPS and Fedex during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday cycle.
The Teamsters union warned of a strike at UPS’ air and ground hubs if workers were not reinstated.
A former contractor alleges that it was fraudulently induced to sign a contract with FedEx Ground.
UPS’ levies drop to 15% from 15.25%.
Postal Service contractor Matheson Trucking and wholly owned subsidiaries Matheson Flight Extenders and Matheson Postal Services of Sacramento are winding down operations after six decades in business.
UPS has been given until Monday to address the alleged firing of 35 union workers at its ground hub.
Nearly half of survey respondents said that delivery estimates are “potentially unreliable.”
Reelables says technology will eliminate the need for manual label scanning across the supply chain.
Uber’s new feature allows shoppers to arrange for drivers to pick up purchased items and deliver them to a residence.
DHL Express announced high-level personnel changes in its global organization.
Effective Monday, UPS’ surcharge levels for domestic ground parcel and SurePost services will rise by 50 basis points.
Shippers can still expect sizable discounts off OnTrac’s tariff.
Changes in ZIP codes mean that delivery area surcharges will apply to a larger share of the U.S. population.
The U.S. Postal Service is seeking helpers to ensure needy children and families have gifts under the tree on Christmas morning through its Operation Santa program.
Can package sizing be improved? It’s been a long, slow process.
The big boys in parcel delivery are hammering each other for business, consultants say. That’s great news for shippers.
Postal Service tariff rates are proposed to rise between 5.4% and 5.9%, effective Jan. 21.
UPS’ new Supply Chain Symphony platform integrates previously siloed platforms.
The agency is poised to discount rates on shorter-haul parcel services.
Dozens of truck drivers at 10 Roads Express, a major Postal Service contractor, have voted to join the Teamsters in recent months.
At the F3: Future of Freight Festival, strategic adviser Alan Gershenhorn explained how market changes are affecting different transport modes.
Revenue and earnings fell sharply at DHL’s Express and Global Forwarding units.
The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling denying a driver’s request to allow him to operate a smaller vehicle with a softer suspension.
Teamsters union leadership may be willing to accept lost rank-and-file jobs in return for increases in new positions, a labor expert says.
A source wonders if UPS’ new offering is a reconstituted version of an earlier stab at quick delivery.
Amazon’s EPS handily beat estimates, while operating and net income posted four- and three-bagger gains.
UPS’ third-quarter results reflect struggles with macro weakness, volume diversions and higher labor costs.
UPS said it hopes to scale service to as many locations as possible by year’s end.
UPS has set holiday shipping deadlines for deliveries on Dec. 23 or earlier.
TFI’s overall third-quarter results reflect a weak macro environment.
FedEx Ground two-day shipments must ship by Dec. 20 to arrive on or before Christmas Eve.
A Shipware analysis finds the rate and surcharge tables of UPS and FedEx look unsurprisingly alike.
OSM follows the lead of work-share partner U.S. Postal Service in not imposing peak-season delivery surcharges.
Not everyone will agree with the results of project44’s on-time parcel-delivery performance survey, the survey’s leader says.
A report by project44 said delivery performance was the highest since March 2020.
Uber drivers will pick up return parcels and deliver them to postal, FedEx and UPS locations.
DHL Express rate hikes take effect Jan. 1.
Postal Service auditors have advised the agency to boost oversight of contract trucking companies.
Pitney Bowes President and CEO Marc Lautenbach had been at the center of a proxy fight with Hestia.
The on-paper benefits of out-of-home delivery are clear. Customer acceptance is somewhat less so.
Rebates from UPS are designed to offset early-termination penalties from other carriers if shippers return to UPS.
A ShipStation survey found U.S. consumers are more concerned about package theft than late deliveries.
FedEx partners with an AI-powered robotics firm to load FedEx Ground trailers.
