Category: Industry News

Can Big Brown Harpoon Big Blue?

I don’t think it comes as a major revelation that United Parcel Service (UPS), sometimes known as Big Brown for that strange shade called Pullman Brown that resembles nothing known in nature on this planet, hates the Postal Service and would love to see it driven out of business or privatized. Yeah the drivers are cool, regular dudes just working for a living, and usually give mailmen a friendly wave when they scoot by in their significantly smaller but equally packed trucks. The real culprits are UPS executives, Big Brown suits pacing the corporate boardroom floors, peglegs clacking like Ahab when he was pursuing the great white whale, wringing their hands, pulling out chunks of their hair as they agonize over the injustice that someone would charge a reasonable price for package delivery, while at the same time scheming up ways to harpoon Postal competition straight down the old blow hole.

Amazon.com Inc. just took a huge step toward attracting more workers to its operations.

The e-commerce retailer announced it is raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour for all for full-time, part-time, temporary (including those hired by agencies) and seasonal employees across the U.S. The change is effective Nov. 1.

This is likely huge news for the already-tight Louisville labor market, where Amazon, United Parcel Service Inc., Radial Inc., and other distribution and warehousing operations vie for the same type of worker. Amazon has three distribution centers locally — two in Shepherdsville, Ky., and one in Jeffersonville, Ind. — and about 6,500 employees. UPS has its large Worldport shipping hub, Supply Chain Solutions and significant ground operations in Louisville, and employs about 21,000.

Winter is coming, logistics world.

Last week brought the news that Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) had ordered 20,000 delivery vans from Mercedes-Benz. CNN reports that this deal is a big leap from the Seattle-based e-commerce company’s first order of 5,000 vans. Amazon will lease these to third-party partners, who will operate them for last-mile delivery — basically, getting packages from a shipping hub to your house.

This is yet another step in Amazon’s plans to build its own delivery service, and it’s worth watching to see how it will affect United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS). Amazon also is allowing allow people to use their personal vehicles for delivery in some cities.