Category: Industry News

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Industry News

Amazon giving front-line employees $500 million in bonuses amid coronavirus pandemic – ABC7

Amazon will pay out more than $500 million in bonuses to thank front-line warehouse, delivery and Whole Foods employees for their work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Eligible part-time and full-time employees will receive $250 and $500 respectively while front-line Amazon and Whole Foods Market managers will receive $1,000. Delivery Service Partner owners will receive $3,000, and Amazon Flex drivers who meet a minimum hours requirement will receive $150.

In order to qualify, employees must have worked for Amazon throughout the month of June, Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, said in a note to employees.

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Industry News UPS News

COVID-19 delivery surge strains FedEx service, opening doors for UPS – Reuters

A months-long flood of coronavirus-related e-commerce packages is straining service FedEx Corp, giving rival United Parcel Service Inc an opportunity to steal market share, customers and consultants told Reuters.

While every U.S. package carrier is fighting to manage unexpected demand for home deliveries of bicycles, patio furniture, medicine and food, FedEx entered the pandemic in turnaround mode and is grappling with an inflexible business structure that is contributing to service disruptions in California and Michigan.

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Industry News

A peek into the future: Autonomous trucks are coming, but drivers will still be needed – The Trucker

When it comes to autonomous vehicles, we’re in Level 3, almost to Level 4. That’s according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) “J3016 Levels of Driving Automation” table, which defines the steps going from total human control (Level 0) to total machine control (Level 5).

Back in the 1990s, when trucks first came out with automated features such as blind-spot warnings, the driver was required to react. All the “system” could do was beep, vibrate or light up a warning light (or all of the above). That was Level 0.

At Level 3, drivers have access to devices that steer, brake, accelerate and shift gears for the vehicle. They make the job easier, but the driver must be ready at all times to take over driving duties. Typically, these features are used on the open highway under good driving conditions, with the driver resuming control when leaving the interstate.

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Industry News UPS News

Delivery running late? Here’s how on-time FedEx, UPS are amid COVID-19 – Commercial Appeal

Ground shipping services for FedEx and UPS delivered a lower rate of packages on time in May, new data shows, as the two companies handle an unprecedented surge in packages amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

FedEx Ground delivered 93.3% of April packages on time and 91.4% of May packages on time, according to ShipMatrix, a firm analyzing shipping data. In 2019, its on-time performance was at 98.5% and 94.6% for April and May, respectively.

UPS fared better, as UPS Ground’s on-time performance stayed above 98% in April, per ShipMatrix. But it faltered in May, as UPS Ground delivered 95.4% of packages on time, versus 98.5% in May 2019.

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Industry News UPS News

FedEx Follows UPS in Raising Delivery Prices Amid Package Surge – MSN

FedEx Corp. is following United Parcel Service Inc. with plans to raise delivery prices for residential and large packages, as the coronavirus lockdown spurs people to order more online.

Shippers whose volumes have spiked since February will have to pay an extra 30 cents a package, FedEx said on its website Wednesday, outlining changes that take effect June 8. In addition, the courier will charge an extra 40 cents on “SmartPost” parcels it hands off to the U.S. Postal Service for final delivery, while $30 will be added to shipments of oversized packages.