The last time UPS workers walked of the job more than two decades ago, it crippled the shipping company. An emboldened union is threatening to do the same, and this time the disruption would be far greater.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says his plan to dramatically increase postage rates could spell trouble for some businesses relying on mailing and shipping costs that have been kept low at the expense of the Postal Service’s financial stability.
The new rates, which cover stamps and other mail items including periodicals and advertising mailers, are poised to take effect July 9 unless overruled by the postal regulator.
A coalition of more than 400 business groups sent a letter to congressional leaders Monday urging them to step into the stalled talks because of fears about the devastating potential impact of a strike.
The company warned it will likely miss Wall Street’s profit target for its fiscal first quarter that ended Aug. 31. And it said it expects business conditions to further weaken in the current quarter amid weaker global volume.
The railroad trade group said a strike would idle some 7,000 freight trains a day run by CSX, Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern and other railroads and disrupt passenger operations nationwide.
The mail agency’s board of governors approved a peak-season plan to increase the costs of commercial and retail parcels from early October through late January to capture the bustling holiday shopping season when packages crisscross the country.
Metal hardware has been in short supply the last couple of years, and one item in particular has bedeviled Amish craftsmen: drawer slides.
For months, motorists have felt the pain of high gasoline prices. Many might not know that they’re also absorbing the impact of much costlier diesel in the form of higher priced goods.
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act passed the Senate unanimously via voice vote and garnered bipartisan House support.
It should come as no surprise that pandemic-related supply chain challenges have also had a major impact on the life sciences industry.
The new pier will help increase port productivity by up to 60% and help maintain 1,000 jobs in a town of about 7,000 people, the U.S. Department of Transportation said.
One of the busiest trade ports on the U.S.-Mexico border remained effectively closed Wednesday as frustration and traffic snarls mounted over orders by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott requiring extra inspections of commercial trucks.
The plan largely ignores White House calls to replenish the mail-service fleet with electric vehicles and has drawn sharp criticism from the Biden administration, Democratic lawmakers and environmentalists.
With its growing staff, Indianapolis-based logistics firm Spot Freight plans to expand into the recently-renovated Capital Center.
For trucking fleets—which move 70% of the U.S.’s freight tonnage—the sudden jump in prices is set to hurt smaller operators who have to cover the extra fuel cost on the spot and wait for surcharges to be reimbursed, American Trucking Association Chief Economist Bob Costello said.
Congress would lift onerous budget requirements that have helped push the Postal Service deeply into debt and would require it to continue delivering mail six days per week under bipartisan legislation the House approved Tuesday.
The relentless drive to optimize created brittleness—single points of failure where one disruption could cause the entire business to collapse.
Nearly 3.4 billion parcels are expected to crisscross the country this holiday season, representing an estimated increase of about 400 million compared with last year.
U.S. Postal Service officials say they have the staffing and resources to handle the coming onslaught of holiday packages, and avoid a repeat of the disastrous 2020 season that brought mail delivery to a crawl.
