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The End of Cheap Shipping From China – The Atlantic

By on October 21, 2018 in Industry News

The White House wants to put an end to low-cost shipping from overseas, a move widely supported among U.S. e-commerce sellers.

Every day, Americans buy tens of thousands of cheap products from China—jeans, electronics, things made of plastic. Two months ago, I even bought a wedding dress.

We buy stuff from China mostly because the low cost of living and lax labor regulations allow manufacturers to make products cheaply there. But there’s another reason, too. It’s really cheap to send stuff from China to the United States, which means sellers there can charge barely anything to ship an already-cheap item 6,000 miles across an ocean. Want an eyebrow razor? On Wish.com, a site that sells products directly from China, you can buy one for 95 cents, plus a $2 shipping fee. A similar eyebrow razor on Walmart.com, by contrast, costs $2.62 for a three-pack, but there is a shipping fee of $5.99. According to congressional testimony, at current rates, shipping a parcel to Fairfax, Virginia, from North Carolina would cost $1.94. From Shanghai, it would be $1.12.

Former UPS driver convicted in 2017 rape – Statesboro Herald

By on October 20, 2018 in UPS News

A Bulloch County jury found a former United Parcel Service driver guilty Thursday in the November 2017 rape of a coworker.

Robert Spencer Baird, 45, of North Leah Road, will be sentenced Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. by Bulloch County Chief Superior Court Judge Gates Peed, said Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Catherine Sumner Findley.

After a three-day trial, Baird was convicted Thursday of forcibly raping the female co-worker while working a UPS route in the county Nov. 29, 2017.

UPS employees get a hand from their children to help homebound seniors – The Roanoke Times

By on October 19, 2018 in UPS News

United Parcel Service employees and their children worked together the morning of Sept. 29 to pack supply bags for 77 homebound seniors in Pulaski County.

Thanks to the success of the first project, UPS drivers were eager to have their children take a hands-on approach to making their community a better place to live. Children from infancy up through their teens were on deck to bring smiles to seniors.

“We are helping older people right here in our area that simply cannot leave their home and may not have the money to buy these items that we are bagging today,” said long-term UPS employee J.D. Owens.

UPS, USPS praise move to pull U.S. out of international shipping treaty – FreightWaves

By on October 18, 2018 in Industry News, UPS News

Continuing efforts to fight what he says are unfair trade practices, the administration of President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will pull out of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) treaty. The treaty, agreed to in 1874, sets fees for international shipping of mail and small parcels (under 4.4 pounds) around the world. Since 1969, the treaty has assigned lower shipping rates to developing countries, including China, in an effort to boost their competitiveness globally.

UPS spokesperson Kara Ross sent FreightWaves this statement on behalf of David Abney, chairman & CEO of UPS. “UPS believes the administration took the right step in addressing the inequities of the UPU system of terminal dues. Foreign postal operators should not be given government approved advantages in what is a competitive market. All parties should pay the same parcel delivery rates for the same services from the U.S. Postal Service, regardless of whether the country of origin is foreign or domestic.”