UPS Freight, UPS’ less-than-truckload (LTL) unit, may strike after November 12th unless the union and management can come to a contract agreement. Employees of UPS Freight will vote on a proposed contract between November 9th and 11th. This division is operated separately from other units, so there’s no anticipated impact on UPS express or ground parcel shipments.
To avoid cargo from being stranded in their system, UPS Freight started emptying their network using a step-down approach by number of days in transit. On Thursday, they began refusing freight with five-day shipment windows. Their phased approach will continue every day, and by next Wednesday, November 7, they will no longer accept shipments of one-day freight.
Shippers will be forced to find other LTL carriers during a time of low capacity. Other carriers will likely prioritize existing customers which means new LTL cargo will move at a premium.
Deringer will continue to monitor the situation. If you have questions about a specific shipment, please contact a Deringer service center.
