UPS expands capacity in three North America-based locations

UPS said last week it has made significant facility enhancements in three North American markets, which it said was spurred on by strong demand in the retail, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors.

The facilities UPS is expanding are in Calgary, Alberta, Hebron, Ky., and Mira Loma, Calif. UPS officials said that investments into these facilities will add roughly 478,000 square-feet to the UPS global supply chain solutions network, which is made up of 528 facilities and about 31 million square-feet. These facilities provide various services for shippers, including: warehousing and fulfillment, inventory, transportation and returns management, custom kitting and packaging, and store-ready displays.

UPS Vice President of North American Distribution Stephen Hydrick told LM that its customers in the retail, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors were seeking flexible warehousing and distribution space in strategic locations for their businesses.

“Our customers are seeking the flexibility to scale their businesses up and down as the market requires,” he said. “The occasional spikes in demand related to new product launches, seasonality and less predictable events has driven demand for contracted space for these industries in recent years.”

And he added that the main benefit of these expansions for shippers is location in that these facilities more customers with access to strategic warehousing/fulfillment locations.

When asked how long these respective expansions had been planned, Hydrick said that UPS opened its first building in Hebron in 1997 and has been expanding ever since. Mira Loma came later and the single client facility in Calgary was added in 4Q13.

“We’re really not targeting an end date for the build outs,” he said. “For example, we finished our addition to Hebron in 3Q13 before expanding again in Q4. We’ll expand our campuses as needed to ensure we’re keeping pace with our customers’ growth.”

Hydrick also shared some shipper benefits for each location UPS is expanding:
Mira Loma, Calif.: This location is one hour from the two largest seaports in the U.S., five minutes from the LA/Ontario Airport and UPS regional package/freight air hub, within eight miles of four major freeways, and only fifteen minutes from transcontinental rail connections. Additionally, this location provides shippers with access to Southern California’s growing population base for fulfillment and employment;
Hebron, Ky.: This location offers customers access to 62 percent of the U.S. population within two days via UPS Ground service and 64% of the U.S. population within two days via UPS Freight. It is within 600 miles of 30 major metro markets, five miles of the Cincinnati airport, falls within a region served by three major railroad systems and is intersected by three interstate highways, including I-75 - one of the busiest trucking routes in North America; and
Calgary, Alberta: This location specifically meets the need of customers in the healthcare space, offering a 2-8 degrees Celsius cooler (160 sq. ft.) The healthcare-specific capabilities will enable access into the area for healthcare companies looking to expand their business here.