Tag: UPS

Concerns over Chinese postal law

Posted by | Apr 15, 2008 | |

China should improve transparency of a new law governing the country’s USD 6 billion-a-year express delivery market, say executives at UPS. An updated version of China’s Postal Law, which was promulgated in 1986, is in its ninth version and has been a source of concern for foreign and domestic courier companies pitted againstChina Post, the incumbent.

Ken Torok, UPS Asia Pacific president, noted that transparency surrounding the law’s most recent drafts had deteriorated. There are concerns China could introduce a“universal tax” of 4 percent on overseasentrants.

Torok contrasted the opacity of China’s new postal law with a more open process in India, which is also revising its antiquated regulatory regime and posts drafts on the internet.“When they do that everyone has visibility,”Torok said. “We’d like to seemore of that in China.”

Uncertainty also surrounds how China intends to “carve out the monopoly”. According to an earlier draft of the law, only China Post’s express delivery arm would be allowed to deliver parcels weighing less than 150g– a restriction of particular concernto the incumbent’s domestic competitors.Last October, an increasingly vocaldomestic lobby of state-owned and privatecourier companies that competeagainst China Post took issue with theproposed limit.

Booz Allen Hamilton, a consultancy, estimates China’s express delivery market will reach USD 5.8 billion this year and USD 7.4 billion in 2008.

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UPS & FedEx eye overseas growth

Posted by | Apr 10, 2008 | |

With the U.S. economy waning and its outlook for recovery uncertain, the shipping industry, too, is eyeing overseas growth opportunities to offset tough times at home.

But while bellwethers like UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. seek to reduce their dependency on the wobbly domestic economy, they still cannot afford to stop focusing on their core U.S. operations, analysts say.

UPS cut its first-quarter earnings forecast because of higher fuel costs, a weakening U.S. economy and reduced domestic package volume.

Last month, reported a 6 percent drop in third-quarter earnings and said a slow economy and high fuel prices are expected to continue cutting into profits. It predicted fourth-quarter earnings would be lower than a year ago and its earnings growth would be limited in the next fiscal year.

The company said that by 2010, it intends to increase to 40 percent the percentage of its operating income that comes from its international and supply chain/freight operations. That compares to 32 percent last year.

In turn, it intends to reduce from 68 percent to 60 percent the percentage of its operating income that comes from U.S. domestic operations. UPS is eyeing China, India and Europe for growth opportunities.

FedEx, meanwhile, said last month that it is depending heavily on its ongoing growth overseas. Sales at the company’s cargo airline saw double-digit growth recently primarily because of growth in international express shipments.

But analysts who follow UPS and FedEx said the shippers will still need to rely on their home market in years to come.

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UPS Lowers 1Q 2008 Guidance

Posted by | Apr 8, 2008 | |

UPS today announced it had lowered its first quarter earnings expectations to USD 0.86 or USD 0.87 per diluted share from a previously anticipated range of USD 0.94-to-0.98.

At UPS’s investor conference on March 12, Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn stated that UPS’s earnings guidance for the quarter would be difficult to achieve if lower volume trends experienced in February continued through March. The U.S. economy has continued to weaken, causing a reduction in domestic package volume and a shift away from premium products. Significantly increased fuel costs in the quarter also contributed to the lower-than-expected results.

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UPS Freight employees ratify five-year contract

Posted by | Apr 7, 2008 | |

UPS Freight employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have ratified a new five-year contract negotiated last month.

The contract, with coverage extending to July 31, 2013, covers approximately 9,900 full- and part-time dockworkers and drivers at 136 locations around the United States.

“This contract ensures that UPS Freight can continue moving toward its goal of providing the very best service and value in the trucking industry,” said Jack Holmes, president of UPS Freight. “It’s good for our people, good for our customers and good for the company.”

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OutBound Shipping Announces United States Postal Service Global Shipping Solution (GSS) Interface Integration

Posted by | Apr 3, 2008 | |

OutBound Shipping Systems, a leading provider of automated carrier certified shipping software and solutions has announced today that it has integrated the United States Postal Service (USPS) Global Shipping Solution (GSS) interface into its enterprise shipping software.

OutBound Shipping Systems, a provider of automated carrier certified shipping software and solutions has announced today that it has integrated the United States Postal Service (USPS) Global Shipping Solution (GSS) interface into its enterprise shipping software.

“The integration of the USPS GSS module into the OutBound Shipping System allows our customers to access the easiest method for shipping international USPS parcels,” explained Todd Smith, a lead programmer at OutBound Shipping Systems. “This new module streamlines the oftentimes difficult process of generating the correct paperwork for international shipping with USPS. Our module can accomplish this by capturing the required information for international shipping, including product codes, value, and requirements of the destination country,” he added.

The integration of the USPS GSS module into the OutBound Shipping System allows our customers to access the easiest method for shipping international USPS parcels
Currently, OutBound Shipping Systems’ multi-carrier certified shipping solution encompasses United States Postal Service (USPS), Federal Express (FedEx), DHL, and United Parcel Service (UPS) products and services and also has a less than truckload (LTL) module. The latest edition will feature increased application functionality as well as integration with USPS.

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