Simpler customs procedures make deliveries within the EU faster and cheaper THE EUROPEAN Union should bring customers in the new member states tangible advantages on the express delivery services market. Insiders say that clients can expect lower prices and faster deliveries. Customs procedures at Slovak-EU borders were abolished from May 1, meaning customers can now avoid chronic customs delays.
Read MoreUnited Parcel Service and FedEx have lost a bid to overturn a ruling that may aid Deutsche Post’s U.S. expansion efforts, which included the acquisition of ground-based operations from Seattle-based Airborne last year. The Transportation Department said yesterday it won’t review an administrative law judge’s Dec. 19 decision that German postal service Deutsche Post doesn’t control Miami-based Astar Air Cargo. UPS and FedEx, the largest U.S. package-delivery companies, argued that the German company’s DHL unit controlled Astar in violation of U.S. law. They can appeal in federal court. The two U.S. companies have sought to block DHL’s expansion in the USD 50.2 billion U.S. ground and air parcel-delivery market, analysts have said. Closely held Astar, the former DHL Airways, carries air cargo linked to DHL’s U.S. ground-delivery network, purchased in 2003 from Airborne.
Read MoreA judge is expected to order United Parcel Service Inc. next week to offer free shipping vouchers to customers as part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company overcharged for package insurance. Under the settlement, UPS would offer vouchers to anyone who can prove they bought “excess value” package insurance between August 1994 and October 2003. The attorneys for the plaintiff argued that the Atlanta-based company charged consumers too much for the insurance. The two sides agreed on a tentative settlement in February. The U.S. District Court judge in New York’s Southern District scheduled a final hearing on the settlement for May 21, after which class participants are expected to begin applying for vouchers. The vouchers expire 180 days after they are issued.
Read MoreUPS Supply Chain Solutions have announced a new service that helps companies properly manage the disposition of used and obsolete electronic goods and components.
Through its new Asset Recovery and Recycling Management service, UPS Supply Chain Solutions oversees the final disposition of these electronics through repair, recycling or disposal in an environmentally safe manner, all while controlling logistics-related activities. The new service tackles the growing problem of how to manage used and obsolete electronic goods, such as computers, cell phones, printers as well as their electronic components.
Read MoreUnited Parcel Service has seen its profitability rise dramatically in the year since rebranding 3,300 postal and business service retailer Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) nationwide into UPS Stores, but the same is not true for some outlets, even with the increased shipping volumes.
Some UPS Stores are struggling with lower margins brought on by the standardisation of lower shipping rates across the board mandated by parent company UPS in the conversion without accounting for the wide discrepancy in rents, insurance rates, and other costs that have to be borne by franchise owners.
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