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The new edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, was somewhat mixed, with less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload rates steady, and parcel rates being impacted by fuel surcharge increases and various accessorial charges amid lower demand.

How this simple, sustainable solution could ease the problem of double-parked delivery vehicles.

OnTrac said this new service offering went into effect on Saturday, March 16, adding it is available in 75% of its delivery network, covering 31 states and Washington, D.C., reaching more than 175 million consumers.

Quarterly revenue, at $24.9 billion, saw a 7.8% annual decrease, and adjusted earnings per share, at $2.47, were off 31.8%. Consolidated quarterly operating profit came in at $2.5 billion, which was off 22.5% annually on an adjusted basis.

UPS explained that through this service, its customers can reach more than 620,000 US businesses earlier than its leading competitors, with its guaranteed morning two-day delivery.  

The new edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, highlighted the impact of muted demand for truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel activity, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter.

The USPS cited various investments it has made, in advance of the 2023 Peak Season, including: hiring 10,000 seasonal employees; utilizing 348 new package sorting machines; increasing daily processing capacity to approximately 70 million; moving 95% of volume via more reliable ground transportation, for First Class Mail and more than 95% of First-Class packages; and its new USPS Ground Advantage Shipping Service

Memphis-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider FedEx announced rate increases today for its FedEx Express, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Ground subsidiaries, which will take effect on January 1, 2024. The company also said that, effective September 4, it will officially rebrand “peak” surcharges to “demand” surcharges,

Various reports published late last week indicated that Seattle-based global e-commerce giant Amazon is in the process of rebooting its Amazon Shipping service, which is designed to compete with the parcel duopoly of UPS and FedEx, that it halted at the onset of the pandemic.

This expansion follows the company’s 2022 rollout of a new transcontinental delivery service, which they said is focused on helping retailers reach consumers in the nation’s most populated regions with faster and more reliable home delivery at a cheaper cost, while connecting the companies East and West Coast delivery footprints to move packages from coast to coast in three days (in some cases).

The slowdown in China’s economy, as well as U.S. e-commerce returning from its stratospheric heights in 2022 likely played a role in global parcel volumes slowing in 2022. According to data from global shipping and mailing company Pitney Bowes, global parcel volume reached 161 billion in 2022, a 1% increase from 2021.

Total U.S. logistics costs soared to $2.3 trillion last year, growing 19.6% from 2022 and now representing 9.1% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the newest State of Logistics report.

Late last week, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) said that 97% of its members that work for Atlanta-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider UPS have signed off on authorizing a strike, which IBT said gives the union “maximum leverage to win demands at the bargaining table.”

USPS officials attributed the operating revenue loss to declining volumes seen mainly in the organization’s Marketing Mail and Shipping and Packages categories.

An OnTrac spokesperson told LM that uniting the companies under a single name and brand identity was the final pieces in combining the LaserShip and OnTrac delivery networks.