1. USPS Hopes to Attract More Commercial Volume
The USPS announced objectives for year 3 of their 10-year transformation plan focus on increasing their viability as a commercial parcel option. Through new facilities, the Postal Service aims to offer new services and increase delivery speed. Part of the plan includes streamlining USPS Retail Ground, Parcel Select Ground, and First-Class Package Service into one service – USPS Ground Advantage.
Faced with declining mail volumes, the USPS is struggling financially, and sees challenging FedEx and UPS for market volume share as an opportunity to rebound.
“I believe we can become the preferred delivery provider in the nation, reclaiming volume we have lost over the years and capturing a significant portion of the future growth in the marketplace,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Article from Max Garland, Supply Chain Dive
2. UPS Reducing Delivery to Rural Addresses
Rural delivery is the most inefficient of all last-mile deliveries. UPS is looking to combat the high costs of rural delivery by piloting a program that reduces the days each week they conduct deliveries in remote zip codes, as reported by Emma Cosgrove of Insider.
According to a UPS spokesperson, only about 1% of U.S. ZIP Codes will be affected.
Article from Emma Cosgrove, Insider (Requires Subscription)
3. UPS Teamsters Strike Could Have Other Impacts
Much has been written about the circumstances surrounding UPS’ negotiations with the Teamsters Union representing more than 350,000 of their workers, as well as the shockwaves a work stoppage would send through the parcel shipping market.
But what other effects could a strike have?
One possibility is that a massive delay in eCommerce shipments would force many online shoppers to return to brick and mortar locations they’ve frequented less in recent years.
Additionally, the UPS negotiations could be a catalyst for other labor unions in the U.S. The Teamsters alone are attempting to organize a movement for Amazon workers, as dozens of Amazon drivers and dispatchers joined the union last month.
John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, says the UPS/Teamsters implications are “huge” for organized labor in the U.S. “There’s greater assertiveness and militancy on the part of a lot of young labor activists and some sectors of the labor establishment. (Teamsters President) Sean O’Brien is representative of that,” Logan said.
Article from Matt Ott and Haleluya Hadero, The Associated Press
