UPS opens up new Tacoma Regional Hub

Atlanta-based freight transportation and logistics services bellwether UPS recently announced it has finished its Tacoma, Washington-based regional ground package sortation and distribution hub, which it said will continue to facilitate commerce between the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

UPS officials said that this new facility, located adjacent to the Port of Tacoma, will boost its delivery fleet serving the Greater Seattle-Tacoma area, which is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Northwest. And they added that this new hub has added 777,000 square-feet of new automation-driven processing capacity to the UPS global network, as well as adding more than 800 full- and part-time jobs, too.  This new hub is not replacing any existing UPS facilities.

“The new Tacoma regional hub is yet another key addition to the UPS global smart logistics network, allowing us to better serve the rapidly changing business and residential needs of our customers in the Pacific Northwest,” said Joe Braham, president of UPS’s Northwest District, in a statement. “UPS has a long history of being a partner in the economic growth of this region. Tacoma is a gateway to West Coast commerce as well as international trade lanes.”

In an interview, Kim Krebs, Media Relations Manager, said that the Tacoma Regional Hub is one of the investments in UPS' transformation initiatives delivering more automation, increased network flexibility and new technology-enabled solutions that position the company well for a faster and nimbler future.

“The greater Seattle-Tacoma area is growing,” she said. “UPS’s new highly-automated sortation, distribution and local package operation will provide greater speed and accuracy for customers of all sizes doing business across town, across the country or across borders.”

The multi-phase Tacoma Regional Hub project began development in 2017, Krebs noted, adding that while under construction, completed sections of the building were used to help process holiday peak season volume the past two years. And the full facility, including the local package delivery operation, completed construction in April.

As for the biggest benefits of this new hub for UPS’ shipper customers, Krebs explained that along with automation and technology driving improved speed-to-market and added flexibility for how their packages move through the UPS Smart Global Logistics Network, customers will also benefit from the hub’s location.

Other benefits cited by Krebs include: easy access to the UPS air gateway; supporting end-of-runway express services like UPS Next Day Air and UPS eFuulfillment that many e-commerce companies demand; and proximity to the Port of Tacoma, which makes it convenient to international logistics customers looking for support with cross-border and cargo shipping needs.

Other UPS Tacoma-area facilities include a small package operation in Fife, and a UPS Freight terminal in Kent.

From a competitive perspective, for UPS, Krebs said that this new hub is powered by automation, advanced operations, technology, and committed ‘UPSers,’ strategically located to deliver UPS shipping and logistics solutions to small, medium, and large companies in the Pacific Northwest looking to grow their business.