Topic: Parcel Express

In its fiscal first quarter earnings results announced today, the USPS reported controllable income of $353 million, which was down 33% annually compared to $522 million a year ago. USPS said that this decrease was driven by various factors it has cited in the past, including: First-Class and Marketing Mail volume declines, a higher normal cost of retiree health benefits of $140 million, and higher transportation expenses of $109 million.

At its core, Seller Flex is geared toward making more products available with free, two-day delivery while helping to relieve overcrowded warehouses.

Net income for the quarter at $775 million was up 9.7%, and earnings per share at $2.84 were up 8% annually. Quarterly operating income of $1.26 billion was up around 7%.

Fueled by e-commerce, the new state of retail is truly an omnichannel one, and companies will flourish or flounder based on how well their supply chain can meet customer expectations.

A recently released survey by Convey, an Austin, Texas-based provider of cloud-based technology that helps shippers connect disparate data and processes from parcel to freight and first to last mile, highlighted the many delivery-related pain points consumers deal with, especially around the holidays, as well as their delivery and service expectations.

For the past decade and a half, those who predicted the driver shortage have offered their advice on curbing the shortage.

Leading distributors, ecom fulfillment centers, and shippers of every stripe are doing just that, so they can again predict and quote shipping charges with accuracy, and compare shipping rates in real time.

Chicago-based industrial real estate firm JLL said in its “First Look at Industrial” report for the third quarter of 2017 that market indicators continue to see significant increases. One example of this is for rent, which JLL said are being paced by a combination of an increase in warehouse and logistics absorption and “persistently low” market vacancy. Third quarter rents checked in at $5.40 per square foot, which JLL said is an all-time high.

New breakthrough developments, such as drones and driverless vehicles, seem to be everywhere.

Global e-commerce powerhouse Amazon is hard at work on a new delivery service offering that is geared towards making more products available for free two-day delivery while helping to relieve overcrowded warehouses, a Bloomberg report stated today. Citing two people “familiar with the plan,” Bloomberg said that this initiative will drive Amazon more deeply into services typically handled for the Seattle-based company by UPS and FedEx.

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The acquisition is designed to accelerate Pitney Bowes’ expansion into the U.S. domestic parcels market at scale, enabling the company to deliver a broader range of consumer-focused ecommerce and parcel management solutions to retailers, small and medium businesses, and enterprise clients.

The study results indicate rising consumer expectations surrounding online shopping are putting pressure on retailers to deliver on convenience, price, and the availability of products from around the world.

Pitney Bowes recently announced a 48 percent increase in global parcel volume over the last two years, as reported by its second annual Parcel Shipping Index.

Like its biggest competitor, UPS, did in June, FedEx yesterday rolled out a peak, or holiday season, surcharge. FedEx said that it will not apply residential Holiday Season surcharges, save for packages that need additional handling, are oversized, or unauthorized.

Pricing and adjusting networks to meet expected volume gains are key for the duopoly.

Logisticians are continuing to squeeze efficiencies from the U.S. freight transportation system as total logistics costs fell for the first time in six years, an influential new report says.

The advent of the Industry 4.0 brought with it the next phase in the digitization of the manufacturing sector.

During certain weeks in November and December this year, shippers and consumers need to prepare to pay a little more for deliveries handled by UPS in the form of a new peak shipping charge.