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.
Spencer Patton said he can no longer operate his business past Black Friday unless the FedEx unit renegotiates his contract.
Three delivery contractors acknowledge that some of their peers are struggling. But they maintain the contractor model remains on solid ground.
FedEx Ground contractor Spencer Patton has backed off a request for a 50-cent increase per stop and a 20-cent-per-mile hike for solo and team runs by contractors between hubs.
Temporary Postal Service rate increases on peak-season parcel-delivery services will come down hardest on heavier packages traveling more than 601 miles.
The U.S. Postal Service has reported single-digit drops in shipping activity compared to last year’s more robust pace.
FedEx says it will move up the start date of its peak-season surcharges to Sept. 5.
Delivery carriers Parcel LaserShip and OnTrac have announced residential ground deliveries with day-definite service.
Trade Association for Logistics Professionals will advocate for all contractor interests, not just FedEx Ground, the group’s leader says.
UPS has achieved brand value of $38.5 billion, a 28% increase over 2021.
Transport and logistics giant TFI posted quarterly gains across the board and raised the outlook for the rest of the year.
FedEx Ground could have made Sunday deliveries work if it stuck to its knitting, consultant says.
Share gains come despite another net loss, sharp drop in operating income
The head of the unit says changes to driver contractor agreements must be negotiated individually.
UPS is gearing up for next year’s Teamster negotiations by implementing cost-saving programs.
The Atlanta-based company also reveals a plan to improve on-time performance across its U.S. network.
Unit responds to contractors’ cost concerns by partially ditching the controversial program.
FedEx Ground said it will drop Sunday residential deliveries the week of Aug. 15 in unidentified low-population markets.
The Postal Service says it also will procure 34,000 off-the-shelf vehicles to augment its initial 50,000-unit order of electric vehicles.
Three of the U.S. Postal Service’s nonurgent delivery products will be brought under one umbrella.
FedEx says its new operational integration will drive down costs and push up operating margins significantly.
FedEx Freight’s gains won’t make investors forget about FedEx Ground’s issues, but they help.
New delivery window to be set at two to five days for “Parcel Select Ground” and “Retail Ground” shipments.
Carere will head a new centralized group focusing on digitization.
Abney worked with the postmaster general at New Breed and XPO
FedEx adds Vena, a top rail executive, to its board. It also revises incentive targets and hikes its dividend 53%.
Bala Subramanian will focus more on digital connections than predecessor Juan Perez.
Shippers have a hard time removing early-termination provisions from their contracts.
A new per-package charge has been levied on Standard cross-border ground service.
The company has created a new “baseline” for package-delivery activity, S&P says in assigning its debt an “A” rating.
Rate hikes and a slowdown in online deliveries hit U.S. Postal Service demand in the second quarter.
Freight forwarding, supply chain and express units see strong trade-related demand.
Net sales hit the high end of estimates; shares get whacked in after-hours trade.
The group wants the contract with the Oshkosh unit blocked until the agency prepares a better environmental impact report.
The company may use the program as a steppingstone to deliveries outside its platform.
UPS persevered through a drop in demand during the first quarter, beating analysts’ profit estimates.
The Postal Service will begin to shift first-class package delivery times on May 1.
The company participated in a public-private sector short-sea shipping trial program.
Rising costs prompt Amazon to impose its first-ever fuel and inflation surcharge on sellers.
Major logistics platform E2open’s heavy debt load can be handled by the company’s free cash flow, S&P Ratings says.
UPS’ surcharges close in on rival FedEx’s levies.
The Postal Service rejected lawmakers’ calls to produce a new analysis of its future electric delivery vehicle fleet.
Amazon Labor Union pulls off a stunning victory in New York; a ratification vote in Alabama remains in limbo.
FedEx is cutting the wages of the salesforce supporting the small to midsize customer segment.
Some parcels will be hit with a $31.50 levy on top of the base shipping rate.
FedEx founder will leave the CEO role June 1, succeeded by Raj Subramaniam, the company’s president.
A noted consultant sees FedEx founder Fred Smith dropping the CEO role to become executive chairman; second-in-command Raj Subramaniam would take Smith’s place.
EPS comes in below estimates as FedEx Ground’s operating income declines.
New one-week lag time, down from two weeks, matches FedEx’s surcharge sequence.
Many contractors made investments to move packages that never came.
The executive has entered the Republican primary for Oregon’s new 6th District.
Spiking fuel levies are expected to put more pressure on shippers to either eat higher costs or pass them on to end customers.
Postal Service reform legislation is headed to the White House after the Senate stamped its approval on Tuesday.
Ukraine spillover effects now include higher shipping cost for FedEx.
With fuel levies generously padding the carriers’ top lines, shippers shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon.
A Postal Service reform package passed by the House on Tuesday would eliminate massive financial burdens at the agency while maintaining a unified package and mail network.
The U.S. Postal Service reported a widening net loss in the fiscal 2022 first quarter due to higher compensation and benefits costs. Transport costs rose 9% due to higher fuel expenses.
Pitney Bowes’ Nita Lathia becomes head of marketplaces for Passport.
While major parcel carriers offer a one-size-fits-all service under the guise of simplification, ACI Logistix applies a consultative approach.
UPS posted its best quarterly operating profit in its history. It also declared a 49% dividend increase.
Host John Kingston also looks at renewable diesel, which might not be as plentiful as envisioned.
A confluence of critical events will determine if the company can deliver on its margin improvement pledge.
The Project Evolve initiative may take UPS’ visibility tools further than they’ve ever gone before.
The omicron variant is depleting aircrews at FedEx just as it has among passenger airlines, resulting in customer delays for both industries.
A collaborative effort kept the delivery Grinch at bay this peak season.
UPS matched last year’s performance, while the Postal Service improved considerably, ShipMatrix says.
Fuel levies hit two weeks before other surcharges and eight days after 2022 rate increases.
Strong performances by UPS and the Postal Service cap a quiet peak season.
The levies on various services come three weeks after annual rate increases kick in and one day after peak-season fees drop off.
Optimizing a broader carrier base can work wonders for shippers. The trick is how to balance new partners without tossing the benefits of the old ones.
More parcel processing capacity and earlier holiday shopping schedules are key factors in the agency’s improvement, ShipMatrix says.
FedEx’s Express and LTL units delivered solid performances, while the bottom may have been hit at its Ground unit.
Volume and yield gains powered the Express and LTL units, while staffing shortages and operating inefficiencies continued to hurt the Ground unit.
New York City has released several blueprints on its freight future during the de Blasio administration.
It has been a wild ride for GlobalTranz, with ownership shifting multiple times in just a few years.
Shipware will deepen SIB’s shipping analysis portfolio, while Shipware clients can get spending needs addressed beyond parcel delivery, Shipware’s co-CEO said.
FedEx to join UPS in imposing special-handling delivery surcharges based on a shipment’s length-of-haul.
The increases, to take effect Dec. 26, will be highest among parcels in the 1- to 5-pound range.
FedEx and UPS suspended guaranteed delivery refunds when the pandemic hit. As shippers chafe under erratic service levels, they face the possibility that some programs may never return.
The top executive’s departure comes as the carrier struggles to efficiently process an avalanche of holiday traffic.
The company plans to recruit would-be entrepreneurs to provide trucking services in five countries, according to The Information.
An Office of Inspector General report said a shortage of commercial truck drivers may compromise the Postal Service’s surface transport capability.
The regional parcel delivery carrier becomes the private equity firm’s 10th “logistics and infrastructure services” investment.
The investigation makes progress after between 300 and 400 parcels were found in a wooded ravine last week.
Through noon ET, U.S. shoppers have spent 7% more than they did on 2020’s Black Friday.
President Biden intends to replace Postal Service governors in a move aimed at ousting Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, according to reports.
FedEx is forecasting a 10% increase in package deliveries during the holiday shipping season.
A decisive lead in the east and victories in the central and southern regions set the table for a landslide victory.
The firebrand leader holds a strong early advantage in an election in which about 15% of members cast ballots.
The unit plans to add facilities in the Netherlands, Germany and Mira Loma, California.
AskWaves: The behemoths ordinarily shouldn’t be concerned about a national delivery network forged out of the OnTrac-LaserShip merger. But these are not ordinary times.
The agency plans an array of parcel-delivery rate increases soon after the yuletide ends.
The purveyor of wild-caught seafood avoids the use of airfreight, and relies on barge, truckload and parcel to hit its tight delivery commitments.
The agency looks to the nationwide rollout of same-day and next-day package services to remain viable.
The company expects record 2021 earnings and boosts its 2023 bottom line forecast by $700 million, to $9.24 billion.
The company announced a 5.9% general rate increase for next year, but that has no bearing on the pain many shippers will feel.
Fuel levies on U.S. customers to rise 100 basis points for air and ground services, source says.
Both companies see their financial results weighed down by higher labor costs and operational disruptions due to staffing shortages.
CEO Jassy says Amazon faces billions of dollars in additional costs during the fourth quarter.
Company shoots out the lights in the third quarter with soaring profits and EPS.
UPS boosts its 2021 operating margin guidance to 13%.
