BrownCafe

In her first 10 months as UPS Inc.’s CEO, Carol Tomé has shaken the Big Brown oak with a ferocity unprecedented in the company’s history. Her moves have been wide-ranging, quick-hitting and counter to the “all-deliberate-speed” and paternalistic mentality that characterized UPS’ culture for nearly 114 years.

The early results of Tomè’s stress test have been positive. UPS has reported two blowout quarters since she took over June 1. UPS’ share price, which has been a major disappointment for much of its 21-plus years as a public company, rose from $91 in March 2020 to $168 a year later and today sits just under $160. UPS acquitted itself well during the record 2020 peak-season delivery cycle, hitting 97.6% on-time performance levels, according to consultancy ShipMatrix.

It should be pointed out that UPS and other parcel-delivery providers had massive business tailwinds during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its favorable impact on e-commerce activity. UPS imposed meaningful peak-season delivery surcharges that boosted its numbers. The carrier also curbed a lot of peak volume from enterprise customers, actions that helped avoid overtaxing its infrastructure but angered big shippers that have been longtime customers.

When you’ve put 200,000+ miles on the odometer in 25 years without an accident, you’re a special driver.

And that’s what UPS thinks of Mesa resident and employee Scott Hamrin, whom the company dubbed one of its 32 “elite drivers” in Arizona who are among 1,412 newly inducted worldwide into its Circle of Honor, an honorary organization for UPS drivers who have achieved 25 or more years of accident-free driving. 

Arizona boasts 147 Circle of Honor drivers with a combined 4,276 years of accident-free driving. Mark Woolston of Glendale is the state’s senior-most safe driver, with 45 years of accident-free driving under his belt. There are 2,255 total full-time UPS drivers in Arizona. 

PO Plus, a San Francisco UPS shipping store, is discussing the United Parcel Service (UPS) impending ban on the shipment of all vaping products in the United States network. Scheduled to start on April 5, 2021, the ban will include all e-cigarettes and vaping products. Vaping and e-cigarettes have been a hot topic since their rise in popularity over recent years, and UPS is the latest carrier to impose restrictions on the product.

UPS defines a vaping product as, “Any product intended for human consumption by inhalation that relies on vaporization or aerosolization.”

The new ban comes as federal and state laws regarding these items are rapidly changing across the United States. The new laws and shipping bans are no surprise, as the products just entered the market only a few years ago, and lawmakers, as well as shipping companies, are starting to establish new policies as ongoing research becomes available.