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LOS ANGELES, June 16 (Reuters) - United Parcel Service (UPS) (UPS.N) union employees have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike should contract talks break down after the current agreement ends in two weeks, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said on Friday. The vote is a standard practice in union contract campaigns designed to give leverage to the union representing some 340,000 UPS workers. Tancredi, a partner at consultancy West Monroe, said interdependence between the Teamsters and UPS reduces strike risk. "They get what they pay for," Schreiner said of UPS adding that company delivery drivers, who make about $150,000 annually including base pay and benefits before overtime, "earn it." UPS shares fell as much as 1.5% after the news but quickly pared losses to trade down 0.6% in midday trade.

Persons: Sean O'Brien, Jeremy Tancredi, Tancredi, Rikki Schreiner, Schreiner, Lisa Baertlein, Shivansh, Jamie Freed Organizations: United Parcel Service, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Teamsters, UPS, West, Reuters, FedEx, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, West Monroe, Eagan , Minnesota, Los Angeles, Bangalore

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) employer group declined comment. Manufacturers, automakers and food producers which import or export goods also rely on the West Coast ports. "We urge the parties to quickly ratify the tentative agreement to bring certainty back to the West Coast ports," Shay said. Many of the ports' customers shifted a portion of their cargo to ocean trade gateways on the East Coast and Gulf Coast to avoid potential slowdowns from the Pacific Coast labor talks. After 72 hours, the ILWU and PMA hammered out a deal and credited Su with assisting in the efforts.

Persons: Labor Julie Su, Joe Biden, Suzanne Clark, Matthew Shay, Shay, Su, Lisa Baertlein, Barbara Lewis, Grant McCool, Deepa Babington Organizations: ANGELES, U.S ., Labor, Wall Street, Warehouse Union, Pacific Maritime Association, Biden, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Walmart, Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, Pacific, PMA, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S . West Coast, West Coast, U.S, COVID, West, East Coast, Gulf, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Washington

June 14 (Reuters) - The Longshore union and employers of 22,000 dockworkers at U.S. West Coast ports on Wednesday said they have reached a tentative deal on a new six-year contract, ending 13 months of talks and easing supply chain worries. "The tentative agreement delivers important stability for workers, for employers and for our country's supply chain," Su said in a statement on Wednesday. The tentative deal comes as retailers like Walmart (WMT.N) and Target (TGT.N) are starting to land merchandise for the critical back-to-school, Halloween and Christmas retail shopping seasons. Manufacturers, automakers and food producers who import or export goods also rely on the Pacific Coast ports. West Coast port market share dipped after some customers shifted cargo to rival East Coast and Gulf Coast ports to avoid potential labor disruptions during the negotiations.

Persons: Julie Su, Joe Biden, Su, James McKenna, Willie Adams, Gene Seroka, Lisa Baertlein, Kanjyik Ghosh, Christopher Cushing, Michael Perry, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: ., U.S, Labor, Warehouse Union, Pacific Maritime Association, ILWU International, West Coast, Los Angeles, Walmart, Manufacturers, East, Port of Los Angeles, Twitter, Thomson Locations: . West Coast, San Francisco, California, Washington State, Long, United States, West Coast, East Coast, Gulf Coast, Panama, China, Port of, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

REUTERS/Carlos BarriaJune 9 (Reuters) - The largest U.S. business group on Friday urged President Joe Biden him to intervene immediately and appoint an independent mediator to address a protracted West Coast ports labor dispute. West Coast ports stretching from California to Washington state are critical to U.S. supply chains and the nation's economy. U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark in a letter to Biden cited "continued and potentially expanded service disruptions at these ports heading into peak shipping season." Workers reported for duty on Thursday and Friday at the Port of Los Angeles, officials said. "Operations going into the weekend seem to be the most normal they've been" since labor disruptions started late last week, Los Angeles port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said, adding that the port has limited weekend hours.

Persons: Carlos Barria, Joe Biden, Suzanne Clark, Biden, Phillip Sanfield, David Shepardson, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Potter Organizations: Shipping, Port, REUTERS, . Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Maritime Association, Warehouse Union, Workers, Retailers, Thomson Locations: Oakland, Oakland , California, U.S, West Coast, California, Washington, Seattle, Tacoma, Los Angeles, Long, Port of Los Angeles, San Francisco, East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Asia, Panama

The Port of Long Beach is the second-busiest U.S. container terminal and a key driver of economic activity. That industry accounts for about half of the volume at the nation's container ports and is gearing up for back-to-school, Christmas and key sales events. That facility is majority owned by container shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company SA (MSC). Pacific Container Terminal, owned by Carrix Inc's SSA Marine, was closed on Monday for normal operational reasons having nothing to do with labor, terminal general manager Randy Galosic told Reuters. Many West Coast terminals are fully or partly owned by those shipping companies.

Persons: Biden, dockworkers, David French, TTI, Lee Peterson, Randy Galosic, Lisa Baertlein, Will Dunham, Chizu Organizations: National Retail Federation, Mediterranean Shipping Company SA, Warehouse Union, Coast, Container, Carrix, SSA, Reuters, ILWU, Long, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, West Coast, Southern California's Port, Long, Oakland , California, California, Washington, TTI, Los Angeles, Oakland, Long Beach, West

The West Coast is home to the busiest U.S. container port complex at Los Angeles/Long Beach. Pacific Coast ports are an important engine of the U.S. economy and handle everything from apparel and furniture to agricultural products and automobiles. Some Port of Los Angeles terminals were affected by labor shortages, a spokesperson there said. Meanwhile, West Coast ports have lost cargo to rival ports on the East and Gulf Coasts as shippers worry that a breakdown in talks could strand cargo on ships or in docks. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Will Dunham and Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Willie Adams, Adams, Mario Cordero, Cordero, Friday's, Lisa Baertlein, Will Dunham, Diane Craft Organizations: U.S . West, Pacific Maritime Association, Warehouse Union, ILWU, Twitter, Long Beach, Walmart, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, U.S . West Coast, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, California, Tacoma, Seattle, Washington, Coast, Pacific Coast, U.S, Port, Long, West Coast, Gulf Coasts

Seventy percent of Million Dollar Baby's demand is on the U.S. East Coast, executives said. During the first three months of 2023, West Coast ports handled 40% of U.S. container import volume. Extrapolating that first-quarter data over 12 months would show that more than 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) moved away from the West Coast ports annually, starting in 2021, said Chris Jones, an executive vice president at Descartes Systems Group. Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N) routed 25% of containers away from West Coast ports and has already begun reversing some of that, said Francisco Rodriguez, Colgate toothpaste maker's director of global logistics. Importing to Mexico opens a legal loophole that enables Million Dollar Baby to sell those products to U.S. customers without a 25% tariff.

CHICAGO, May 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. supply chain is healing from early pandemic shocks that sent shipping costs skyrocketing and squeezed supplies of everything from toilet paper to pasta, but more than three years later, material shortages and hiring woes linger. Speakers from Walmart (WMT.N), Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N), Toyota (7203.T) and other companies will discuss their supply-chain strategies at the Reuters Events supply chain conference in Chicago on Wednesday and Thursday, as inflation and interest rate hikes threaten to tip the economy into recession. "Freight costs, logistics, have gone down significantly," said Mario Guerendo, who oversees global supply chain for vehicle engine maker Cummins Inc (CMI.N). After spending whatever it took to keep store shelves stocked during the early days of the pandemic, supply chain executives now are wringing out costs to shelter profits from eroding demand, said Alan Amling, distinguished fellow at the University of Tennessee's Global Supply Chain Institute. "That's a really good thing for the supply chain."

Speakers from Walmart (WMT.N), Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N), Toyota (7203.T) and other companies will discuss their supply-chain strategies at the Reuters Events supply chain conference in Chicago on Wednesday and Thursday, as inflation and interest rate hikes threaten to tip the economy into recession. "We've still got certain sectors that are up and some that are down, which was a feature of the pandemic," Croke said. That's even true within sectors, Croke added, pointing to recent manufacturing data, which remained depressed even as segments like motor vehicles reported gains. After spending whatever it took to keep store shelves stocked during the early days of the pandemic, supply chain executives now are wringing out costs to shelter profits from eroding demand, said Alan Amling, distinguished fellow at the University of Tennessee's Global Supply Chain Institute. "That's a really good thing for the supply chain."

Amazon said the promotion is not a cost-cutting measure and that it applies to customers who have never used Amazon Pickup or have not used that service in the last 12 months. "We offer customers a variety of ways to get their packages, inclusive of delivery and pickup options. The $10 Amazon Pickup promotion isn't new," the company said in a statement. [1/2] One of Amazon's delivery trucks is pictured working on delivery from the Amazon facility in Poway, California, U.S., November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker/File Photo 1 2Increasing use of Amazon pickup locations would help the company bypass costly residential package dropoffs and is "a huge opportunity for Amazon to reduce the cost of delivery," Maciuba said.

The Global Port Tracker now expects U.S. container imports of 10.4 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) for the first half of the year, a reduction of nearly 4% from its prior forecast. If imports hit that new target, it would mark a 23% drop from the first half of 2022, according to the forecast released by the National Retail Federation and maritime trade consultancy Hackett Associates on Monday. Uncertainty spawned by high inflation, Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and recent bank failures are weighing on trade, Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. "Our view is that imports will remain below recent levels until inflation rates and inventory surpluses are reduced," he said. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] One of Amazon's delivery trucks is pictured working on delivery from the Amazon facility in Poway, California, U.S., November 16, 2022. Increasing use of Amazon pickup points would help the company bypass costly residential package dropoffs and is "a huge opportunity for Amazon to reduce the cost of delivery," Maciuba said. Amazon worked for years to train consumers to expect fast, no-fee deliveries and returns. As the company tightens its belt after a period of explosive growth, it has made numerous moves to reduce delivery-related costs across the company. Amazon late last year hiked the price of its annual Prime subscription that includes free shipping benefits by $20 to $139.

REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciLOS ANGELES, April 17 (Reuters) - United Parcel Service (UPS.N) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union will on Monday start U.S. private sector labor contract talks covering roughly 340,000 U.S. drivers, package handlers and loaders at the global delivery firm. The powerful Teamsters union wants an agreement that shares billions of dollars in UPS pandemic profits with workers, exerts leverage over other negotiations and helps to recruit new members - including Amazon warehouse workers. UPS, the world's biggest parcel delivery firm and No. "Failure is not an option," Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien told a rally on an April 2 in Boston. These are the first labor talks for both O'Brien and UPS CEO Carol Tomé.

Meanwhile, BlackRock is part of another group investing $650 million to build chargers along freight routes. Because port real estate is at a premium, most early drayage charging projects will be "behind the fence" on trucking company property, experts said. Electric trucks cannot operate without chargers, but it does not make sense to build chargers if drivers are not using electric trucks. Prologis, the biggest U.S. warehouse owner, created its mobility business to install electric truck chargers and solar panels. "A marriage between real estate and energy infrastructure" will be needed to accelerate the transition to electric-powered trucking, Prologis Mobility's Holland said.

☆ Employers say union is disrupting work at Southern California seaports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Major shippers - including suppliers to retailers including Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and Home Depot Inc (HD.N) - have been diverting cargo from the West Coast to rival seaports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico to avoid potential work stoppages. "These actions have slowed the start of operations throughout the Southern California port complex," PMA said. The disruption coincided with a routine monthly "stop work" meeting on April 6, Los Angeles Port Director Gene Seroka told reporters on a conference call on Wednesday. "The collective bargaining agreement between the union and the employers guarantees these monthly meetings, which are dedicated to addressing the union's proceedings," Seroka said. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Teamsters said that only 10 of 40 supplements to the national contract have been resolved since those regional talks started in January. "We have clearly stated our intentions to UPS from the beginning that there would be no national negotiations until these regional contracts are completed," Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said in the statement. Those contracts define provisions not included in the national agreement, including paid time off, overtime, work hours, seniority and discipline language. UPS said discussions around national negotiations and supplemental agreements often take place at the same time. "We are committed to reaching an agreement that provides wins for our employees, the Teamsters, UPS and our customers," UPS said.

The move to integrate FedEx Ground, its outsourced package delivery arm, with the FedEx Express overnight air delivery business was announced almost a year after activist investor D.E. FedEx Express is already handling FedEx Ground's pickup and deliveries in Alaska and Hawaii - fueling concerns that Ground contractors in the lower 48 states could be let go. John Smith will become president and CEO of U.S. and Canada ground operations at FedEx Express and assume leadership of surface operations across the FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight businesses from April 16. FedEx Freight will continue to provide freight transportation services as a standalone company under the Federal Express Corp banner, the company added. Shares in FedEx, which also announced a 10% dividend boost on Wednesday, were up about 2% in mid-morning trade.

☆ FedEx to fold operating divisions into one organization in cost-cutting push
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FedEx had come under criticism from investors last year for its subpar performance compared to UPS, which has a unionized workforce. In response, FedEx outlined extensive plans to cut costs, including parking planes and reducing headcount. The phased transition announced Wednesday will ultimately bring FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Services and other FedEx operating companies into Federal Express Corporation and will be headed by present Chief Executive Officer Raj Subramaniam, the company said. John Smith will become president and CEO of U.S. and Canada Ground Operations at FedEx Express and assume leadership of surface operations across the FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight businesses, effective April 16. FedEx Freight will continue to provide freight transportation services as a stand-alone company under the Federal Express Corp banner, the company added.

☆ FedEx to outline plans for fiscal 2024, 2025 cost reductions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, April 5 (Reuters) - FedEx Corp (FDX.N) on Wednesday will lay out the next steps in its plan to slash $4 billion in permanent costs by the end of fiscal 2025. Executives at the Memphis, Tennessee-based package delivery company last month said they were on track to hit $1 billion in permanent cost cuts this fiscal year ending May 31 - putting FedEx well on its way toward its 2025 goal. Most of those cost savings have come from FedEx's Express division that offers next-day delivery and contributes the largest share of company revenue. Among other things, FedEx has parked Express planes, retired older MD-11 aircraft and laid off 10% of officers and directors to reduce costs. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ongoing supply shortages threaten U.S. infrastructure and war efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Lisa Baertlein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"One of the big issues as we're trying to ramp up the military industrial base is having enough electronic components," Miller said. Companies that make war weapons like shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles are awaiting U.S. funding before starting new production for Ukraine. "Any general shortage in semiconductors will affect defense," said Brad Martin, director of Rand Corp's National Security Supply Chain Institute. On the other hand, ongoing demand for auto and farm equipment has kept stocks of microchips that act as electronic brains in that machinery tight. "As we've moved through the past year or so, we have seen gradual improvement in our supply chain, including semiconductors ... Short-term disruptions will continue to happen," GM spokesman Dan Flores told Reuters in an email.

The supply chain woes that sent costs soaring and spurred shortages of everything from toilet paper to passenger cars are easing for retail-focused industries, but remain stubbornly persistent in important growth sectors like autos, machinery, defense and non-residential construction, experts said. "One of the big issues as we're trying to ramp up the military industrial base is having enough electronic components," Miller said. Companies that make war weapons like shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles are awaiting U.S. funding before starting new production for Ukraine. "Any general shortage in semiconductors will affect defense," said Brad Martin, director of Rand Corp's National Security Supply Chain Institute. "As we've moved through the past year or so, we have seen gradual improvement in our supply chain, including semiconductors ... Short-term disruptions will continue to happen," GM spokesman Dan Flores told Reuters in an email.

☆ Amazon, other retailers revamp 'free' shipping as costs soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Lisa Baertlein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Alyssa PointerLOS ANGELES, March 24 (Reuters) - There is no such thing as free shipping. "The days of free delivery are numbered," Ken Morris, managing partner at Cambridge Retail Advisors, said of the fast-changing retail marketing tool. It is an open secret that most retailers raise product prices to subsidize free shipping. Postal Service hitting record levels, the industry where nearly three-quarters of e-commerce companies offer some sort of free shipping is rethinking the financial cost of habituating shoppers to free shipping. While retailers like Amazon and fashion purveyor Asos Plc (ASOS.L) have raised thresholds for fast shipping, others are dropping free shipping altogether or taking product prices up again.

☆ Vietnam's VinFast says three sales executives have left EV company
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Phuong Nguyen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Lisa Baertlein/File PhotoHANOI, March 17 (Reuters) - Vietnamese electric-vehicle (EV) start-up VinFast said on Friday three senior sales and customer-service have left the company this week. In a statement to Reuters, VinFast said Gareth Dunsmore, deputy chief executive for global sales and marketing, had left "due to personal reasons and we respect his decision". VinFast has been selling the first batch of VF8s, rebranded as the City Edition to account for the lower range, on lease in California. In June, VinFast said it had ended its contract with Franck Euvrard, the predecessor as deputy CEO for global sales to just-departed Dunsmore. VinFast lost $2.1 billion in 2022 on revenue of $634 million, it said in a registration statement for an IPO.

☆ As US importers liquidate and destroy unsold goods, ports eye shipping turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Lisa Baertlein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Executives at Walmart (WMT.N), the largest U.S. importer of containerized goods, say they have made progress clearing unsold goods. Nevertheless, they remain cautious about consumer spending as inflation gobbles up money otherwise spent on goods, and recession and other "unknowns" threaten. Meanwhile, importers are selling products for pennies on the dollar to liquidators or offering steep discounts in customer email blasts. The Port of Los Angeles handled 331,811 20-foot (6-meter)equivalent units (TEU) of goods in February, a 36% year-over-year drop led by plummeting imports. "How much (improvement) remains to be seen," said Seroka, who added that ongoing West Coast port labor talks are also weighing on results.

Fedex has been wringing costs from its bloated operations by shuttering offices, cutting jobs, reducing flights, grounding airplanes and canceling profit-sapping Sunday deliveries in far-flung areas. "Our cost actions are taking hold, driving an improved outlook for the current fiscal year," Chief Executive Raj Subramaniam said in a statement. Adjusted income for the fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28 came in at $865 million, or $3.41 per share. Earnings per share were down $1.18 from the year earlier, but 68 cents higher than analysts' average estimate. FedEx shares jumped 11.3% to $227.12 in after hours trade.

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