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Industry News

Postal Service may get more freedom to raise stamp prices – Associated Press

It may be time to stock up on Forever stamps.

Regulators appear likely to accept the financially beleaguered Postal Service’s request for more freedom to raise the price of mailing letters. It would be the biggest change in the Postal Service’s pricing system in nearly a half-century, allowing stamp prices to rise beyond the rate of inflation.

After a 10-year review, the Postal Regulatory Commission could make its decision next month. It might limit how high prices could go, but the cost of a first-class stamp, now 49 cents, could jump. It’s not known how much.

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Industry News UPS News

FedEx Gift To Holiday Shoppers Is A Lump Of Coal For UPS – Investors Business Daily

FedEx Corp. (FDX) squared off against rival United Parcel Service (UPS) Thursday, announcing that it will skip additional charges for most residential deliveries this holiday season. The package delivery services are locked in a duel as Americans increasingly make their purchases at Amazon.com (AMZN) and other online retailers.

FedEx will, however, slap a fee for packages that are oversized or unauthorized, or require additional handling, the shipping giant said. It noted in a statement that the volume of oversized packages during the holidays has increased by approximately 240% over the past 10 years, and larger, heavier packages now account for 10% of all ground volumes.

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Industry News UPS News

Better Buy: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service – MotleyFool

Both of these package delivery giants are benefiting from the e-commerce revolution, but one is more likely to deliver share price gains to investors.

FedEx and United Parcel Service changed the world by making rapid delivery of goods a reality. Demand for fast shipping has skyrocketed as e-commerce has grown, and both companies have worked hard to capture their fair share of the market. But which of these transportation giants’ stock is likely to be the smarter investment under current conditions? Let’s compare.

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Industry News

FedEx closing all retail office stores in Canada – CBC

Shipping giant FedEx has quietly moved to close retail office stores in all Canadian cities putting more than 214 people out of work and ending three decades of doing business in the country.

FedEx will continue to ship within Canada, but its copy and office supply stores will close Aug. 18.

“We reached the decision to exit the Canadian market after thoughtful evaluations of our business operations and considerations about our future,” a company statement said.

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Industry News UPS News

The Face of America’s Pension Crisis – Motley Fool

By 2025, many large pensions, and the government agency that insures them, could be insolvent, threatening the retirements of millions of Americans.

The Central States Pension Fund covers workers and retirees from a variety of industries, but most of its retirees are truck drivers who worked for one of the thousands of trucking companies that once dominated American highways.

The failure of trucking businesses around the country has left financial scars for Central States. An analysis by Boston College revealed that of the 50 largest employers that participated in the pension plan in 1980, only four were still around in 2014. It wrote in its 2014 analysis that “roughly 50 cents of every benefit dollar goes to pay benefits to ‘orphaned’ participants, those left behind when employers exit.”

Large, healthy, and profitable employers have also bought out of the Central States Pension Fund, exacerbating its financial problems. In 2007, the delivery company United Parcel Service paid $6.1 billion to exit the fund, an amount determined sufficient to pay for the pension payments to UPS retirees who were drawing from the fund. When UPS bought out, Central States was already in poor shape. After the UPS payment, Central States was funded between 70% and 75%, according to a 2008 estimate.