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UPS News

United Parcel (UPS) Q1 Earnings: Disappointment in Store? – NASDAQ

Factors Likely to Influence this Quarter

United Parcel struggled in the most recent holiday season, thanks to higher package delivery costs. The escalated costs are likely to hurt first-quarter 2017 results. Foreign currency-related headwinds are also expected to hurt the first quarter results. Unfavorable product mix and weakness in industrial production may dampen the company’s first quarter performance.

However, the company’s decision to hike dividend by 6.4% in the first quarter is encouraging. United Parcel’s efforts to expand and grow its top line also raise optimism. In a bid to speed up operations in the U.K. and European truckload brokerage operations, the company acquired Freightex Ltd in Jan 2017. The expanded product portfolio might aid first quarter results.

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UPS Press Release

UPS Installs Beacons On Package Cars To Improve Loading Accuracy

  • Preload Smart Scan increases efficiency, improves customer service
  • UPS pioneers customized use of Bluetooth technology
  • Error-proofing helps ensure timely delivery

UPS (NYSE:UPS) today said it is installing electronic beacons in its package cars to notify workers if they have placed an item in the wrong delivery vehicle. The initiative, known as Preload Smart Scan, is part of a suite of UPS® projects that will use technology to error-proof package processing operations to ensure timely delivery and customer satisfaction.

 

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Industry News UPS News

UPS, FedEx could be hit hard by Wal-Mart’s click-and-collect discount plan, analyst says – Marketwatch

United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. could be facing significant risk to their business after Wal-Mart Stores Inc.said it would offer discounts to some online orders if customers choose in-store pickup rather than home delivery. Analyst Ravi Shanker at Morgan Stanley said Wal-Mart’s move marks “a seminal event” in the evolution of last-mile parcel delivery for e-commerce.

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Industry News UPS News

Why UPS and FedEx Will Thrive, No Matter What Amazon Does – Motley Fool

What UPS and FedEx have to avoid is being a cheap peak demand shipper for Amazon’s business, particularly during the holidays. Amazon wants to be able to build its own logistics operation it can run full steam, offloading peak demand to companies like UPS and FedEx. But if they’re not compensated appropriately, they’ll lose money building capacity to meet peak need that’s then idle during slower seasons.

But here’s where the duopoly these two companies have in shipping may come in handy. They’ll compete with each other for Amazon’s business, but neither is desperate enough to make Amazon a loss leader as a customer.

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Industry News UPS News

Why drone delivery still has a long way to go before take off – Retail Dive

High-profile drone delivery demonstrations continue, but frequent market use is years away, and hurdles must be overcome.

One of the clearest hurdles to the evolution of drone delivery in the U.S. is the slow and complex process of developing regulatory rules. The Federal Aviation Administration admitted after coming up with initial drone regulations last year that settling on delivery-specific rules will take at least a few years.

That reality probably puts the U.S. drone delivery market behind the market evolution in other countries, but many in the drone delivery sector are not critical of the long timetable.

“The FAA’s timetable is not a gating factor,” Jerome Ferguson, director of autonomous systems at UPS, told Retail Dive. “The FAA is really doing what it is supposed to do in doing everything is can to ensure a safe airspace.” UPS has a representative serving on the FAA’s drone regulation advisory committee, Ferguson said, so it at least has a seat at the table as rules get sorted out.