Esther Fung of The Wall Street Journal reports that package carrier rivals are chasing smaller customers in an effort to win market share ahead of a shorter holiday season. Fung Writes:
FedEx and United Parcel Service are escalating their rivalry, competing for parcel volume from some of their smallest customers ahead of a challenging holiday season.
The stakes are high: Thanksgiving is later this year than last, shortening by five days the peak shipping period from Black Friday to Dec. 31. And the total volume of holiday-season packages is expected to continue its decline, after peaking in 2021 during the pandemic.
UPS and FedEx, which began offering discounts to larger customers last year, are now aggressively chasing smaller customers, giving them breaks that are typically reserved for bulk shippers. Until recently, it was unheard of for shippers with less than $500,000 in annual shipping expenses to get a break on fuel surcharges, for example, said Robert Persuit, an executive at ShipMatrix, a shipping consulting firm. Now, he said, “no customer is too small to be considered for discounts.” […]
At UPS, average revenue per package in the latest quarter fell 2.2%, helping drive a 6.5% increase in parcel volume. UPS said it was pleased to win new customers. […]
“We were excited that they were willing to court our business,” said Machiorlette.
The savings this year helped her subsidize return-shipping fees, she said.
Read more here.
