After reading and reporting in our update about USPS last week, our own Paul Huppertz and Brad Grimsley gave Mike O’Brien of Multichannel Merchant several points about the impact on our industry. Read the piece, here.
Brad Grimsley, a parcel spend consultant with Argon & Co., said any shipper surprised by these increases “wasn’t paying attention.”
“Capacities for parcel deliveries have been stressed over the last several years as more consumers pivot to ecommerce,” Grimsley said. “UPS and FedEx raise rates every year and all including DHL are making investments in their parcel infrastructures. USPS is no different in that regard.”
Paul Huppertz, also with Argon & Co., noted that the USPS is close to break-even operationally if you back out the massive pre-funding of retiree health benefits, an albatross the carriers don’t share. “Maybe USPS isn’t as inefficient as we tend to think when we hear about massive losses every quarter,” Huppertz said.
As of September 8, 2020, Crimson & Co (formerly The Progress Group/TPG) has rebranded as Argon & Co following the successful merger with Argon Consulting in April 2018.