Parcel Express

Three of our top parcel industry sources offer their respective takes on the most consumer-facing segment of freight transportation and logistics parcel and last-mile delivery. Even though pandemic-related conditions have changed, high pricing remains, which is increasingly putting shippers in the position of carefully considering their options.

DHL said it invested $9.6 million into this facility, which it said is comprised of almost 56,000 square-feet of combined warehouse and office space, coupled with 60 positions for vehicles to load and unload shipments around its conveyable sort system.

While the United States Postal Service (USPS) has seen what could be viewed as mixed fiscal year 2023 earnings results, in that it in February it reported 1.0% operating revenue gain and a $1.0 billion net loss, a trio of parcel experts told LM that the organizations is making inroads. These inroads come on the heels of its "Delivering for America 10-Year Strategic Plan” that was rolled out in March 2021 and focused on achieving financial sustainability and service excellence, in order to meet...

Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, a provider of logistics based on-demand, software-as-a-service offerings, is expanding its final-mile services portfolio, announcing this week it has acquired Minneapolis-based GroundCloud, a cloud-based provider of final-mile carrier solutions and road safety compliance tools. The purchase price was $138 million, according to Descartes.

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

After stating in July that it was preparing to cut down on its Sunday delivery services in remote and rural areas of the United States, from 95% to 80% of the U.S. population, Memphis-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider FedEx is now reducing its Sunday delivery footprint to around 50% of the country, according to various reports.

Earlier this week, FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary of Memphis-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider FedEx, said it has expanded its FedEx Freight Direct e-commerce offering for big and bulky items.

In a recent customer notice, Atlanta-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider UPS stated it will be extending its demand-based surcharges past peak season. UPS said that the demand surcharge will extend to packages that require Additional Handling and Large Packages for all U.S. domestic, U.S. import, and U.S. export shipments for qualifying customers. And it added that a demand surcharge will apply to all packages that are Over Maximum Limits for all U.S. domestic,...

The OTP ranges for FedEx, UPS, and USPS, came in at 95.2%, 97.5%, and 94.3%, respectively. ShipMatrix explained that these readings matched up well with the 2019 OTP peak period (prior to the pandemic), with FedEx at 94.6%, UPS at 97.5%, and USPS at 95.6%.

The report, entitled “Making it Count”: Big and Bulky Last-Mile Delivery in the United States,” is the result of a partnership between Armstrong and the National Home Delivery Association (NHDA) and focuses on various trends and themes, including: the usage of independent contractors compared to employee drivers; customer and revenue trends by vertical industry; and the growing use of freight brokerage to source last-mile carrier capacity.

Quarterly revenue—at $22.8 billion—was off 3% annually, and net income—at $788 million—fell 25%. Operating income—at $1.176 billion—was off 26%. Diluted earnings per share—at $3.07—dropped 21%, topping Wall Street estimates of $2.83.

Orlando-based OneRail, a provider of final mile delivery services for enterprise shippers via a delivery fulfillment SaaS platform, announced it has closed its $33 million Series B funding round. This most recent round of investment brings the company’s total capital raise to $54.5 million, going back to its seed round in 2020.

Broken, stressed, strained, and out of sync. All have been featured in recent headlines describing the condition of logistics and supply chain operations.

For Atlanta-based Roadie, an on-the-way delivery service with the nation’s largest local same-day footprint, and subsidiary of UPS, there is always a heightened focus on final-, or last-, mile logistics. That is especially true at this time of the year, to be sure. LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently caught up with Roadie Senior Marketing Manager Will Walker to learn about how the company approaches the busiest time of the year.