1. UPS Offering Rebates for Shippers Leaving Other Carriers
After losing volume to rival carriers during the Teamsters negotiations, UPS is now offering rebates to cover early termination fees for shippers leaving existing carrier contracts to switch to UPS.
No specifics of the program have been made public, but CEO Carol Tomé has said the costs would be minor.
Article from Mark Solomon, FreightWaves
2. Amazon Expanding No-Added Packaging Shipping
Amazon has announced that next year, they’ll expand the Ships in Product Packaging program to all third-party sellers using the company’s shipping services. The program ships products in their standard branded container – without added packaging. Amazon will even help sellers redesign their packaging to ensure product safety in transit.
The program can lower packaging costs and environmental impact. In a similar effort, Phillips redesigned packaging for a razor to allow shipping without an extra box. The move resulted in an 80% reduction in packaging volume, according to Rachel Montenegro, Senior Program Manager of Sustainable Packaging at Amazon.
Article from Max Garland, Supply Chain Dive
3. UPS Planning Cuts to Non-Driver Jobs
According to a Citigroup analyst report, UPS is planning cuts to non-driver jobs. The headcount reductions would be made possible by improvements in automated package sorting technology. According to Analyst Christian Wetherbee, UPS’ total union labor force could be smaller by the end of the new five-year agreement with the Teamsters.
