UPS Freight accelerates shipping in 11 Southeast states

RICHMOND, Va. — UPS Freight reports it has reduced transit times on nearly 1,000 traffic lanes originating in metropolitan areas in the Southwest and Southeast to points across the United States.

Transit times have been reduced by one or two days from points in 11 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The customer improvements are being made without adjusting rates, the company said.

The latest round of enhancements follow the more than 8,000 lanes that were improved nationwide by the company in 2007.

Similar network improvements, in a phased plan, will be made throughout other regions of the country later this year. Specific lane enhancements and updated time-in-transit maps may be viewed on ltl.upsfreight.com.

Examples of the network enhancements include placing all of New England under a two-day delivery umbrella from Memphis, Tenn., and shipments from Charlotte, N.C., reaching destinations as far as Dallas and Columbia, Mo., in two days.

“There are clear customer benefits here,” said Jack Holmes, president of UPS Freight. “The expedited times allow customers to reduce the inventories they’re carrying. And the introduction of more direct routes also means that less handling of the freight is required.”

UPS Freight is one of the largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers and a leading truckload (TL) service provider in the United States with over 215 service centers and 18,400 employees. UPS Freight’s fleet includes 29,000 tractors and trailers.