Category: UPS News

A keynote session at the “Groundbreakers 2021: Breaking New Ground” conference hosted by San Francisco-based real estate investment trust company Prologis this week touched upon both the pain points and the opportunities that the Covid-19 pandemic has created for the supply chain.

The session featured Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam and Carol Tomé, CEO of Atlanta-based global transportation and logistics bellwether UPS, two leading industry executives. And they both talked about the impact of the ongoing global supply chain issues on their respective companies.

Tomé said that UPS delivers small packages to 2% of the world’s GDP and 6% of the United States’ GDP on a daily basis, but the pandemic, she said, brought about a steep change in demand.

“We were flooded with volume that we did not expect to see until 2023,” said Tomé. “A year ago, we had to hire 40,000 people into our network to handle that demand, in the face of Covid and keeping everyone safe. The supply chain issues are real. If you go upstream, not downstream, which is where we play, from raw materials to manufacturer, with so much of that outside the U.S. and then flowing into the U.S., you see [things] really jammed up.”

Several customers awaiting deliveries of their new redesigned MacBook Pros are being told that their shipments are being delayed due to “mechanical” issues impacting UPS, a courier used by Apple to ship its devices worldwide.

“A mechanical failure has caused a delay” is the message several customers are being told when they track their new MacBook Pro shipment. Customers on the MacRumors Forum are also reporting that UPS is sending emails to customers informing them of unknown mechanical failures and that estimated delivery dates will vary depending on the conditions on the ground.

The mechanical failures, possibly about aircraft, are causing shipments of MacBook Pros, and presumably, other consumer electronic devices, to be left stationary on the ground in cities in China. Some shipments are still on-the-ground in Shanghai and Seoul, South Korea, and publicly available flight records show few UPS flights scheduled to depart either city today, at the time of writing

Criminal charges were filed this week against an employee at UPS accused of stealing over $100,000 in jewelry and other valuable metals.

The case began when a manager at the UPS Distribution Center on 86th Street noticed an employee allegedly stealing shipping boxes starting in September. IMPD was then asked to investigate leading to the suspect being arrested.

At the end of his late-night shift, police claim a UPS truck driver would repeatedly enter high-value trailers and steal boxes of expensive jewelry.

“He knew what to look for and he would grab the packages he wanted and take them out of the facility,” said IMPD Detective Keith Hartman.

United Parcel Service, Inc. ( NYSE:UPS ) released third quarter results yesterday. The stock price gained nearly 7% after the company beat consensus estimates on the top and bottom line and raised full year guidance.

Highlights from the quarterly results:

• Consolidated revenues were up 9.2% year-on-year, to $23.2b. This increase was off a high base set a year ago, and 27% higher than the third quarter in 2019.
• Diluted EPS were up 18.3% year-on-year at $2.71.
• US Domestic segment operating profit up 28%.
• Full year guidance for revenue growth raised to 13.8%.
• Full year guidance for operating margin raised to 13%.

The market evidently approved of these results and is anticipating a strong holiday season despite the ongoing supply chain issues.

 

United Parcel Service reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue on Tuesday, bolstered by strong e-commerce demand that has allowed the delivery firm to raise shipping prices and cherry-pick more profitable customers.

The company also raised its full-year adjusted operating margin target to about 13% from about 12.7%, ahead of the holiday season.

Shares of Atlanta-based UPS were up about 2% before the opening bell.

UPS and rival FedEx Corp are delivering record number of e-commerce packages amid labor shortages since Covid-19 shifted shopping online.