Supply Chain and Freight

UPS’s Supply Chain and Freight segment includes logistics services, UPS freight business, and financial offerings through UPS Capital. As of December 2012, UPS managed supply chains in more than 195 countries and territories with more than 35 million square feet of distribution space. Because of the complex nature of supply chains, UPS offers the following services: freight forwarding, customs brokerage, logistics and distribution, UPS freight, and UPS capital.

UPS is the second-largest freight forwarding company in the USA and is among the top six internationally. A freight forwarder or forwarding agent is a person or company that organizes shipments for individuals or companies to get large orders from the manufacturer to market or final point of distribution. A forwarder is not typically a carrier but is an expert in supply chain management. In other words, a freight forwarder is a “travel agent” for the cargo industry, or a third-party logistics provider. Thus, instead of transporting cargo, UPS oftentimes just facilitates the movement of cargo ranging from raw agricultural products to manufactured goods. Cargo can travel on a variety of carrier types, including ships, airplanes, trucks, railroads, or all of these modes, and oftentimes not on UPS-owned assets.

UPS Freight is the long-haul segment of UPS providing long distance transportation of packages in all 50 states, several U.S. territories, and Mexico. UPS Capital aids customers in export and import financing, as well as protecting goods and payment solutions.

Finance

For calendar 2012, UPS’s overall volume grew 2.8 percent. The company’s business-to-business volume showed no growth, partly due to the increasing migration of traditional retail to online retail. UPS’s income statements are provided