UPS has announced that in preparation for this year’s Peak burst, they have hired 100K temporary seasonal employees to help handle the load. They have also added 20 additional 747-8 and 767 aircraft. UPS now has the ability to handle 700,000 additional packages per hour of automated sortation capacity in their new Super Hubs. They also have updated processing and delivery facilities.
UPS has continued to upgrade its air and ground capacity as part of a previously announced capital investment plan. The company has certainly learned from past experiences and will not let Peak Volume Bursts overwhelm their performance this year. They have also announced that UPS shippers will benefit from no additional residential peak surcharges this year unlike a few of their rivals.
However, they have announced the annual General Rate Increases (GRI) for 2020, which will be taking effect on December 29th 2019. It’s interesting that the average GRI is fairly matched for the duopoly – FedEx & UPS. It will be approximately 4.9% on average across all service levels. Depending on the service levels utilized, actual or billed shipment weight, and the zone shipped to, the actual increases can be more than the 4.9% per the announced increase.
AMS has negotiated a favorable agreement with UPS that may help offset some of the GRI in 2020. As the new rates are provided, we are here to help our clients manage their 2020 freight expenses. If you would like to schedule a time to go over these changes, just contact your account manger to schedule an appointment with the Freight Freak.
All of us at AMS wish you a most prosperous Peak Season and a wonderful Holiday Season.
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About the Freight Freak:
John Bevacqua is the VP of Logistics at AMS Fulfillment. His area of excellence is in creating distribution and fulfillment operations that function as a capable interface between suppliers, retailers, and wholesale distributors. His experience includes developing and leading FedEx/ Kinko’s Distribution Services into the FedEx post acquisition, USA Wireless Technologies, and a top Logistics Management company. He has also worked with third party fulfillment companies, preparing him for his current position with AMS Fulfillment.
