UPS automates 4 additional facilities ahead of peak shipping season

United Parcel Service has completed the conversion of four more conventional package sortation centers into automated facilities just in time for the busy holiday shipping season.

New or enhanced automated facilities are now operating in Denver, St. Paul, Minnesota; Syracuse, New York; and Portland, Oregon, UPS (NYSE: UPS) said this month in a news release highlighting how it has prepared for peak season.

Automation projects are part of a multiyear initiative to re-architect how parcels move through UPS’s distribution system in an effort to lower structural costs and restore margins. The strategy is to improve efficiency and focus on higher-yield segments over lightweight B2C shipments from large retailers as parcel volume growth slows from pandemic-era highs.

The network transformation involves closing 200 manual sort facilities over five years and consolidating activity into larger, modern facilities able to handle more shipments from larger catchment zones. The downsizing also has led to the elimination of 30,000 positions.

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