30-Minute Sifted Group Demo Watch Now

Sifted logo

5/29/23 Monday Parcel News Update

by Grayson Gilbert

May 29, 2023

2 min read

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

Grayson Gilbert

Grayson is the Marketing Specialist at Sifted. He leads our earned media efforts, podcast production, and review generation, all the while tracking industry news for our team and clients. His media relations skills have landed Sifted’s thought leaders in top publications like FreightWaves, Supply Chain Dive, PARCEL Magazine, and Yahoo! Finance. Connect with Grayson on LinkedIn here.
Topics

Check out related resources at Sifted.

Amazon Shipping: A FedEx and UPS Challenger

Amazon Shipping: A FedEx and UPS Challenger

In an era full of fast-paced change and challenges in parcel shipping, Amazon is finally throwing their hat into ...
Read More
9/25/23 Parcel News Update

9/25/23 Parcel News Update

1. USPS Won’t Impose Peak Season Surcharges This Year The U.S. Postal Service has announced they won’t implement ...
Read More
9/18/23 Parcel News Update

9/18/23 Parcel News Update

1. Details Emerge on Amazon Shipping At their annual conference for sellers, Amazon execs shed light on a few ...
Read More
USPS Ground Advantage: What You Need to Know

USPS Ground Advantage: What You Need to Know

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has implemented a major change to their service offerings. With the aim of ...
Read More
What’s Next for Shippers: 2024 FedEx GRI Analysis

What’s Next for Shippers: 2024 FedEx GRI Analysis

It’s General Rate Increase (GRI) season once again. In true duopoly fashion, FedEx and UPS have announced the same ...
Read More
2023 Peak Season/Demand Surcharge Guide [FedEx & UPS]

2023 Peak Season/Demand Surcharge Guide [FedEx & UPS]

Please note: This article focuses on Ground and Express charges. For a full breakdown of international and other ...
Read More
9/11/23 Parcel News Update

9/11/23 Parcel News Update

1. FedEx Releases 2024 GRI After previewing a 5.9% GRI, FedEx released the full details of their 2024 rate ...
Read More
9/5/23 Parcel News Update

9/5/23 Parcel News Update

1. FedEx Announces Peak Season “Demand” Surcharges FedEx has announced their Peak Season Surcharges for 2023, and ...
Read More
How the UPS and Teamsters Agreement Will Impact Shippers

How the UPS and Teamsters Agreement Will Impact Shippers

Public criticisms, shifting verbal deadlines, practice pickets… and now, a historic contract. UPS and the ...
Read More
Sifted at Parcel Forum 2023

Sifted at Parcel Forum 2023

In September, some of the supply chain’s brightest minds will gather in Nashville at PARCEL Forum 2023, the ...
Read More
8/28/23 Parcel News Update

8/28/23 Parcel News Update

1. UPS Teamsters Ratify National Master Agreement Rank-and-file UPS workers represented by the Teamsters union ...
Read More
8/21/23 Parcel News Update

8/21/23 Parcel News Update

1. Amazon launching shipping service that offers pickups, no residential delivery fee Amazon is launching Amazon ...
Read More

Are you an FBM (fulfillment by merchant) Amazon seller?

Check out our Marketplace Intelligence solutions to protect your bottom line.

Shipping Insights & Alerts
Get updates and track the things impacting your business most

Decision Support
See how supply chain adjustments pay off before you pay out

Carrier Management
Streamline how you manage your carrier operations and contracts

Business Automation
Let software do what it does better than people can

Seller Insights
Measure and monitor with confidence.

Sales Visualization
Shed new light on your sales data.

Fee Analyzer
Understand the impact of ever-changing FBA fees.

FBA Audit & Recovery
Secure money you’re owed from Amazon.

Blog
Discover news, tips, and industry best practices

DIM Weight Calculator
See how DIM is impacting you

Podcast
Hear from industry experts on LeaderShipping

Customer Stories
Learn how other brands use
Logistics Intelligence

Carbon Calculator
Calculate your CO2 Emissions

Thought Leaders
Meet the people behind the technology

Guides
Download free reports and expert how-tos

Demo
Get a personalized tour of our software

Logistics Intelligence
For parcel shippers

Marketplace Intelligence
For Amazon FBA sellers

Let's get you to the right place!

SIFTED DASHBOARDS
For parcel shippers

AMAZON Marketplace Intelligence

Not sure if you have an account? Email [email protected].