The US economy can't function smoothly without UPS. Here's what a strike would mean

[Omaha Steve]

https://omaha.com/news/nation-world/business/ups-strike-us-economy/article_6685c17c-ccc6-5bb9-bb45-c5dea6aeae28.html

By Chris Isidore, CNN 2 hrs ago

New York (CNN) — UPS isn’t just another large shipping company. It carries 6% of America’s gross domestic product in its trucks. It also plays a central role in the smooth movement of goods the economy depends upon, feeding supply chains that are only recently recovering from disruptions that drove that drove up prices in the past couple years.

That’s why there is so much at stake in contract negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters union. Without a deal, 340,000 Teamsters are preparing to go on strike at the nation’s largest trucking company starting August 1.

“This strike is a serious threat to the US economy,” said Patrick Anderson, president of Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan think tank with expertise in the economic costs of strikes. “The sheer scale of the number of people and the breath of impact across the country is very serious. And the degree to which us economy has become dependent on fast delivery of small items that can be carried by UPS hasn’t really been tested.”

The years since the start of the pandemic have been very good financially for UPS (UPS), as the surge in online shopping lifted it to a record adjusted operating profit of $13.9 billion, last year, up from $7.4 billion in 2018, the year the last contract was negotiated.

FULL story & video at link above.



A delivery man pushes a cart full of packages to deliver to an apartment building.
Andrew Harnik/AP/FILE

[underpants]

1. This could be really bad

Macro as well all the stock when own in them.