I’m Jay Kent, managing director of SLB Performance, a consulting firm that helps companies reduce supply chain costs, implement BI tools, and improve in-stocks and customer service. After 25 years of leading some of the most complex supply chains in the industry, I began advising companies in multiple industries and verticals. To mitigate costs and improve efficiencies, it’s important to understand the market. So twice a month, I’ll share parcel news and thoughts. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to receive the latest newsletter in your LinkedIn notifications.
It’s been an interesting time since the last newsletter. Within a matter of days apart from each other, Target announced that it would invest $100 million into its sortation expansion strategy to expand next-day delivery services while Amazon plans to expand its same-day delivery service by growing its specialized fulfillment center footprint.
USPS
A Reuters story notes that the USPS will purchase 9,250 Ford E-Transit battery electric vehicles and will also purchase an equal number of gasoline-powered models from Chrysler-parent Stellantis. In addition, it also announced that it was ordering more than 14,000 charging stations to be deployed at its facilities.
UPS
- Coyote Logistics, United Parcel Service’s freight brokerage subsidiary, announced layoffs last week as rising interest rates, inflation and a resumption of pre-pandemic consumer spending patterns weaken demand for trucking services.
- ShipStation adds UPS to its UK carrier services. This collaboration gives UK merchants using ShipStation access to UPS’s domestic and international shipping services at discounted rates
- Teamsters Update: Feb 24 – The UPS Teamsters’ supplemental negotiating committees have been at the table with company negotiators throughout the country over the last three weeks. Out of the nearly 40 supplements and local riders, 30 are open — and 27 have met so far. Several others — including the Local 135 Rider, the Local 696 Rider, the Kentucky Rider, the Local 688 Rider, the Local 200 Agreement, and the North Dakota-Minnesota Districts Agreement — have reached memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and have not been reopened. Rank-and-file members sit on all supplemental negotiating committees.
FedEx
- The FedEx Express Master Executive Council (MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) unanimously approved a resolution setting the stage for a strike authorization vote. Contract negotiations between the pilots and FedEx management have stalled, and no future talks are scheduled. The parties have been in negotiations since May 2021. “The decision to move closer to a strike authorization vote is the result of nearly six months of federally mediated negotiations that has led to our disappointment with FedEx management’s actions at the bargaining table,” said Captain Chris Norman, FedEx MEC chair.
- FedEx Express will utilize its aircraft fleet to move priority package volume, while it leans on third-party providers to move less urgent shipments. “What we see going forward is that when you look at the demand profile, there’s going to be increasing demand for deferred traffic, so when we structure our network, we will focus on agility, flexibility and technology,” FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam said at Citi’s 2023 Global Industrial Tech and Mobility Conference.
That’s it for now. Comments are always welcome. Let me know what I missed. Stay tuned for the next newsletter next week, and don’t forget to hit the subscribe button to ensure you receive it in your LinkedIn notices.
-Jay