Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

USPS proposes temporary rate hike for peak season

Price adjustments anticipate heightened package and shipping demand, extra handling costs, officials say.

usps-796059_640-2.jpg
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
By Supply Chain Quarterly StaffAug 12, 2021
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
See Full Bio

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is proposing a temporary price increase for key package products for the 2021 peak holiday shipping season. The temporary adjustments are similar to steps the agency took in 2020 that anticipated increased peak-season package and shipping demand, which the agency says typically results in extra handling costs. The USPS filed notice of the proposed change with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) this week.

The planned peak-season pricing, which was approved by the Governors of the Postal Service on August 5, would affect prices on commercial and retail domestic competitive parcels: Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select, USPS Retail Ground, and Parcel Return Service. International products would be unaffected.

Pending favorable review by the PRC, the temporary rates would go into effect at 12:00 a.m., Central Time, on Oct. 3, 2021, and remain in place until 12:00 a.m., Central Time, Dec. 26, 2021, according to USPS officials.

“This seasonal adjustment will bring prices for the Postal Service’s commercial and retail customers in line with competitive practices. No structural changes are planned as part of this limited pricing initiative,” the agency said in a statement. A full list of commercial and retail pricing is available on the agency's website.  



ArticleMoveTech & InfrastructureE-CommerceLogistics Services
usps
ArticleMoveTech & InfrastructureE-CommerceLogistics Services
usps

Recent

Report: Supply chain redesigns should focus on balance, speed, and strength
Featured

Report: Supply chain redesigns should focus on balance, speed, and strength

More Stories

AI image of a dinosaur in teacup

The new "Amazon Nova" AI tools can use basic prompts--like "a dinosaur sitting in a teacup"--to create outputs in text, images, or video.

Amazon to release new generation of AI models in 2025

Logistics and e-commerce giant Amazon says it will release a new collection of AI tools in 2025 that could “simplify the lives of shoppers, sellers, advertisers, enterprises, and everyone in between.”

Benefits for Amazon's customers--who include marketplace retailers and logistics services customers, as well as companies who use its Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform and the e-commerce shoppers who buy goods on the website--will include generative AI (Gen AI) solutions that offer real-world value, the company said.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

An illustration of five trucks connected by lines and hubs to give the appearance of a network.
Blog

How an advanced TMS optimizes supply chain performance

Plan

Starbucks adds risk management program to help protect its supply chain

photo of worker at port tracking containers
Plan

Trump tariff threat strains logistics businesses

SKU rationalization: Finding the right balance between too many and too few
Plan

SKU rationalization: Finding the right balance between too many and too few

Logistics economy continues on solid footing
Logistics Managers' Index

Logistics economy continues on solid footing

Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in November, continuing a steady growth pattern that began earlier this year and signaling a return to seasonality after several years of fluctuating conditions, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index report (LMI), released today.

The November LMI registered 58.4, down slightly from October’s reading of 58.9, which was the highest level in two years. The LMI is a monthly gauge of business conditions across warehousing and logistics markets; a reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of top business concerns from descartes

Descartes: businesses say top concern is tariff hikes

Business leaders at companies of every size say that rising tariffs and trade barriers are the most significant global trade challenge facing logistics and supply chain leaders today, according to a survey from supply chain software provider Descartes.

Specifically, 48% of respondents identified rising tariffs and trade barriers as their top concern, followed by supply chain disruptions at 45% and geopolitical instability at 41%. Moreover, tariffs and trade barriers ranked as the priority issue regardless of company size, as respondents at companies with less than 250 employees, 251-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-50,000 and 50,000+ employees all cited it as the most significant issue they are currently facing.

Keep ReadingShow less
diagram of blue yonder software platforms

Blue Yonder users see supply chains rocked by hack

Grocers and retailers are struggling to get their systems back online just before the winter holiday peak, following a software hack that hit the supply chain software provider Blue Yonder this week.

The ransomware attack is snarling inventory distribution patterns because of its impact on systems such as the employee scheduling system for coffee stalwart Starbucks, according to a published report. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Blue Yonder provides a wide range of supply chain software, including warehouse management system (WMS), transportation management system (TMS), order management and commerce, network and control tower, returns management, and others.

Keep ReadingShow less
drawing of person using AI

Amazon invests another $4 billion in AI-maker Anthropic

Amazon has deepened its collaboration with the artificial intelligence (AI) developer Anthropic, investing another $4 billion in the San Francisco-based firm and agreeing to establish Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary training partner and to collaborate on developing its specialized machine learning (ML) chip called AWS Trainium.

The new funding brings Amazon's total investment in Anthropic to $8 billion, while maintaining the e-commerce giant’s position as a minority investor, according to Anthropic. The partnership was launched in 2023, when Amazon invested its first $4 billion round in the firm.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2024.