Category: UPS News

Pharmacists. High-security gated vaults. Sub-zero refrigerators the size of apartments. Forklifts zipping between rows of floor-to-ceiling boxes, standing several stories high.

This is what the inside of UPS’ main health-care hub in Louisville, Kentucky, looks like: 1.4 million square feet of temperature-controlled space occupying 40 acres down the street from the shipping giant’s WorldPort facility. It’s one of 50 specially designed warehouses catering to shipments of medical drugs, surgical devices, even human material such as blood and stool samples.

A look at the package delivery companies’ plans to deal with peak demand during the shopping season, and what it means for investors.

During most of the year, package delivery companies FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) and United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) attract little attention from the public, but that all changes come the holiday season if they don’t deliver packages on time. However, investors should also focus on the holiday period because dealing with peak demand is probably the biggest variable in both companies’ earnings. Let’s look at what both companies are doing to prepare for peak demand during the upcoming holiday season.