United Parcel Service, Inc. provides package delivery and logistics. The company provides transportation services, primarily domestic and international letter, package and air cargo delivery. Through the company’s Supply Chain Solutions subsidiaries, it is also a global provider of transportation, logistics, and related services.
The company offers a broad range of industry-leading products and services through its extensive global presence, serving over 200 countries and territories. The compa...
United Parcel Service, Inc. provides package delivery and logistics. The company provides transportation services, primarily domestic and international letter, package and air cargo delivery. Through the company’s Supply Chain Solutions subsidiaries, it is also a global provider of transportation, logistics, and related services.
The company offers a broad range of industry-leading products and services through its extensive global presence, serving over 200 countries and territories. The company services include transportation and delivery through its integrated air and ground network, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance.
In 2024, the company delivered an average of 22.4 million packages per day, totaling 5.7 billion packages during the year.
Strategy
The company’s strategy focuses on growing in the parts of its market that value its end-to-end network, including healthcare, business to business (‘B2B’), small- and medium-sized businesses (‘SMBs’), and international. The company is continuing its journey to execute its customer first, people led, and innovation driven strategy.
The key elements of the company’s strategy are customer first is about reducing friction in the customer experience by anticipating and solving for customers' needs; and innovation driven is the company’s focus on leveraging technology to optimize the volume that flows through its network.
Products and Services and Segments
The company operates through two reporting segments: U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The company’s remaining businesses are reported as Supply Chain Solutions. U.S. Domestic Package and International Package are together referred to as its global small package operations.
Global Small Package
The company’s global small package operations provide time-definite delivery services for express letters, documents, packages and palletized freight via air and ground services. These services are supported by numerous shipping, visibility and billing technologies, including the company’s Digital Access Program, which embeds its shipping solutions directly into leading e-commerce platforms, enabling it to reach SMBs and e-commerce markets more broadly.
The company combines all packages within its single, global network, unless dictated by specific service commitments. This enables efficiently scheduled pick up for any service level. The company’s network provides unique operational and capital efficiencies that also has a smaller environmental impact than single service network designs.
The company offers same-day pickup of air and ground packages seven days a week through a broad variety of network access points, including, UPS drop boxes, UPS Access Point locations and The UPS Store locations. UPS drivers can also directly accept packages.
The company offers a portfolio of returns services in approximately 150 countries. These returns services are driven by the continued prevalence of e-commerce that has increased the company’s customers' needs for efficient and reliable returns and are designed to promote efficiency and a friction-free consumer experience.
The company’s global air operations hub is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and is supported by air hubs across the United States (‘U.S.’) and internationally. The company operates international air hubs in Germany, China, Hong Kong, Canada, and Florida (for Latin America and the Caribbean). This design enables cost-effective package processing using fewer, larger and more fuel-efficient aircraft.
U.S. Domestic Package
This segment is a leader in time-definite, guaranteed small package delivery services in the United States. The company offers a full spectrum of U.S. domestic air and ground package transportation services. The company U.S. ground fleet serves all business and residential zip codes in the contiguous United States.
The company air portfolio offers time-definite, same-day, next-day, two-day and three-day delivery alternatives, as well as air cargo services.
The company’s ground network enables customers to ship using its day-definite ground service. The company delivers approximately 16 million ground packages per day, most within one to three business days
UPS SurePost provides residential ground service for customers with non-urgent, lightweight residential shipments. Through 2024, final delivery was often provided by the United States Postal Service (‘USPS’). Beginning January 1, 2025, in order to have more control over its ability to provide its customers industry-leading service, the company has insourced this product.
International Package
This segment consists of the company’s small package operations in Europe, the Indian sub-continent, Middle East and Africa (together ‘EMEA’), Canada and Latin America (together ‘Americas’) and Asia. The company offers a wide selection of guaranteed day- and time-definite international shipping services.
For international package shipments that do not require express services, UPS Worldwide Expedited offers a reliable, deferred, day-definite service option. For cross-border ground package delivery, the company offers UPS Standard delivery services within Europe, between the U.S. and Canada, and between the U.S. and Mexico. Worldwide Economy offers a contract-only, e-commerce solution for non-urgent, cross-border shipments. UPS Worldwide Express Freight is a premium international service for urgent, palletized shipments over 150 pounds.
Supply Chain Solutions
Supply Chain Solutions consists of the company’s forwarding, logistics, digital and other businesses. Serving more than 200 countries and territories, it strategically seeks to provide integration across increasingly complex, specialized and fragmented supply chains.
Forwarding
The company is one of the largest U.S. domestic airfreight carriers and airfreight forwarders globally. The company offers a portfolio of guaranteed and non-guaranteed global airfreight services. Additionally, as one of the world’s leading non-vessel operating common carriers, the company provides ocean freight full container load, less-than-container load and multimodal transportation services between most major ports around the world. The company also provides customs brokerage, as well as various related services.
Logistics
The company’s global logistics and distribution business provides value-added fulfillment and transportation management services. The company operates both multi-client and dedicated facilities across its network, many of which are strategically located near UPS air and ground transportation hubs to support rapid delivery to business and consumer markets. The company continues to invest in facility automation to enhance operational efficiency.
The company offers world-class technology, deep expertise and a highly sophisticated suite of healthcare logistics services. With a strategic focus on serving the unique, priority-handling needs of healthcare and life sciences customers, the company continues to increase its complex cold-chain logistics capabilities both in the U.S. and internationally. In furtherance of this strategy, the company has continued to grow organically, making investments in facilities to expand its network, and inorganically, including through the acquisitions of Frigo-Trans and Biotech & Pharma Logistics in January 2025.
Digital and other Supply Chain Solutions businesses
The company digital businesses leverage technology to enable a range of on-demand services. Roadie, the company crowdsourced delivery platform, offers the convenience of same-day delivery and efficient service for packages that are not compatible with its small package network. Happy Returns offers innovative end-to-end return services that leverage The UPS Store network. The company also offers integrated supply chain and high-value shipment insurance solutions through UPS Capital, as well as a range of services through its other Supply Chain Solutions businesses. The company’s services better enable it to meet customers' needs and deepen customer relationships.
Customers
In 2024, the company served 1.6 million shipping customers and more than 10.1 million delivery recipients daily. For the year ended December 31, 2024, one customer, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates, represented approximately 11.8% of the company’s consolidated revenues, substantially all of which was within its U.S. Domestic Package segment.
Government Regulation
The U.S. Department of Transportation (‘DOT’), the Federal Aviation Administration (‘FAA’) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, through the Transportation Security Administration (‘TSA’), have primary regulatory authority over its air transportation services.
The company’s international route operating rights granted by the DOT, and it may apply for additional authorities when those operating rights are available and are required for the efficient operation of its international network. The efficiency and flexibility of the company’s international air transportation network is subject to DOT and foreign government regulations and operating restrictions.
In addition, the company is subject to non-U.S. government regulation of aviation rights involving non-U.S. jurisdictions and non-U.S. customs regulation.
The company’s airport and off-airport locations, as well as its personnel, facilities and procedures involved in air cargo transportation must comply with TSA regulations.
The company participates in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (‘CRAF’) program. The company’s participation in this program allows the U.S. Department of Defense (‘DOD’) to requisition specified UPS aircraft for military use during a national defense emergency.
The company’s ground transportation of packages in the U.S. is subject to regulation by the DOT and its agency, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (the ‘FMCSA’). The company’s ground transportation of hazardous materials in the U.S. is subject to regulation by the DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The company also must comply with safety and fitness regulations promulgated by the FMCSA, including those relating to drug and alcohol testing and hours of service for drivers.
The company sometimes participates in proceedings before the Postal Regulatory Commission in an attempt to facilitate compliance with fair competition requirements for competitive services.
The company’s ground operations are also subject to compliance with various cargo-security and transportation regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including regulation by the TSA in the U.S., and similar regulations issued by foreign governments in other countries. The company activities in the U.S., including customs brokerage and freight forwarding, are subject to regulation by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, the TSA, the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission and the DOT.
As the company uses radio and other communication facilities in its operations, it is subject to the Federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission regulates and licenses the company activities pertaining to satellite communications. The company is subject to a variety of evolving laws and regulations in the U.S. and abroad regarding privacy, cybersecurity, data protection and data security, including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation and China's Personal Information Protection Law.
The company is subject to numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations governing employee health and safety, both in the U.S. and in other countries. Compliance with changing laws and regulations from time to time, including those promulgated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and state agencies, could result in materially increased operating costs and capital expenditures, and negatively impact the company’s ability to attract and retain employees
Disposition
In September 2024, the company completed the divestiture of its truckload brokerage business (‘Coyote’).
Acquisitions
In January 2025, the company acquired Frigo-Trans and Biotech & Pharma Logistics, an industry-leading, complex healthcare logistics provider based in Germany
History
United Parcel Service, Inc. was founded in 1907. The company was incorporated in 1999.