FedEx (FDX) and UPS (UPS) Brace for Today's Huge Delivery Challenge
Today is crunch time for UPS. The parcel company says today alone it will deliver 34 million packages, the most ever. UPS has spent hundreds of millions of dollars preparing for the holidays, aiming to prevent a repeat of last year's mess when millions of parcels were delayed and did not arrive in time for Christmas. FedEx has a 15-person meteorological team in place, making sure the company knows about any weather problems that could affect shipping. UPS automated sorting systems identify ZIP codes, and "swiftly reroute packages in the event of bad weather," reports The Wall Street Journal. "The new technology scans packages and quickly flashes instructions to workers so they can process 15 percent more packages a day." Parcel delivery firms hired thousands more temporary workers than they did last year. The enormous growth in online shopping has transformed UPS operations, which were once geared primary to deal with business-to-business deliveries.
Despite a disappointing start to the holiday shopping rush, with sluggish sales on "Black Friday," overall holiday sales are likely rise 4 to 5 percent compared to last year, analysts say. Lower gas prices put more money in consumers' pockets. A gain for last-minute shopping trips may boost sales at consumer electronics chains and home improvement retailers. This year's biggest losers may be teen retailers. Ambercrombie & Fitch's CEO stepped down this month. Two chains are folding: Delia's and Deb Shops are holding going-out-of-business sales.
The latest report on jobs comes from Gallup. The percentage of Americans saying now is a good time to find a quality job jumped to 36 percent in December, up 6 percentage points from November. This is by one point the highest percentage found since November 2007, before the start of the recession.
Dish Network subscribers are unable to watch Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network because both were taken down in a contract dispute. The Fox blackout is just the latest skirmish as cable and satellite TV providers fight with networks over subscription fees. Dish Network just settled disputes that led to the temporary blackout of some local CBS stations and a separate blackout of the Cartoon Network, CNN, Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies. Dish has more than 14 million satellite TV customers. Fox is urging viewers with emails and tweets to switch to another TV provider. Both sides in the latest spat are blaming each other. Dish blamed Fox for introducing other channels into negotiations despite those not being included in the contract up for renewal. "It's like we're about to close on a house and the Realtor is trying to make us buy a new car as well," Warren Schlichting, Dish's senior vice president of programming, said in a statement. Fox said Dish was to blame for prematurely shutting down the network "in an attempt to intimidate and sway our negotiations."
Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesnow