UPS daily delivery volume increased 5% during Q3

Package delivery company United Parcel Service of America Inc. reported today that average daily package volume increased 5.0% globally to 14.97 million pieces per day during the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

Most of that volume, 12.73 million, is in the United States, where UPS reported a 3.6% increase in packages shipped from the third quarter of 2009. That marks the third straight quarter of growth for U.S. average daily volume. Average international volume grew 13.4%. The company reported revenue of $12.19 billion for the quarter, up 9.3% from the same time a year ago.

For Q3, UPS reported:

• Average daily package volume increased 5.0% to 14.97 million, up from 14.26 million a year ago.
• Total revenue increased 9.3% to $12.19 billion, up from $11.15 billion a year ago.
• Net income of $991 million, up 80.5% from $549 million a year ago.
• The average revenue per package increased 3.7% to $10.27, up from $9.90 a year ago.

For its U.S. package operations during Q3, UPS reported:

• Average daily package volume increased 3.6% to 12.73 million pieces, up from 12.29 million a year ago.
• Total domestic package revenue increased 6.1% to $7.29 billion, up from $6.87 billion during Q3 2009.
• The average revenue per piece grew 4.1% to $8.95, up from $8.60 a year ago. The per-piece revenue of packages delivered via Next Day Air service increased 7.0% to $19.40, up from $18.13 a year ago. The company says the overall revenue per piece growth came primarily through increases in base pricing and higher fuel surcharges.
• Total operating profit of $1.02 billion, up 98.4% from $514 million a year ago.

For Q3 international operations, UPS reported:

• Average daily package volume increased 13.7% to 2.24 million pieces, up from 1.97 million a year ago. The company notes strong growth in Europe, Canada and Mexico.
• Total international revenue increased 10.7% to $2.68 billion, up from $2.42 billion during Q3 2009.
• The average revenue per package declined 1.2% to $17.75 from $17.97 for Q3 2009.
• Total operating profit of $419 million, up 33.9% from $313 million a year ago.

For the nine months ending Sept. 30 UPS reported:

• Average daily package volume is up 3.8% to 14.90 million, from 14.36 million at the same point last year.
• Revenue increased 9.7% to $36.12 billion from $32.92 billion.
• Domestic revenue is up 5.1% to $21.66 billion from $20.61 billion.
• International revenue increased 17.1% to 8.09 billion from $6.91 billion.

The company also noted the broad introduction of its Returns Flexible Access service during the third quarter. The program gives consumers the option to return UPS-delivered packages to retailers via UPS by dropping it off at U.S. Postal Service mailboxes or post offices as well as at UPS pick-up points.

The company is projecting modest growth during the holiday season and raised its full-year guidance. UPS chief financial officer Kurt Kuehn says the company expects adjusted earnings per share to grow more than 50% from last year.