ATLANTA - United Parcel Service is facing tougher competition from FedEx, which was launched as an overnight air carrier, but has expanded its trucking fleet and seen its ground volume jump 33 percent in the most recent quarter. <br>
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It's an approach that UPS has used in the past. <br>
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The Atlanta-based delivery company started as a trucking business, but invaded FedEx's territory in the late 1980s when it began its own airline. Since then UPS air shipments have grown steadily. <br>
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A transportation consultant, Satish Jindel, said ``Both companies want to offer a full menu of products so that they can convince their customers to give them all of their business. UPS has been using that strategy very successfully for years, and now FedEx is doing the same thing.'' <br>
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FedEx Ground, the Memphis-based company's trucking subsidiary, reported a 33 percent increase in package shipments in the quarter that ended August 31st. It followed a 15 percent jump in daily ground volume for fiscal year 2002. <br>
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The recent quarter was helped by a possible Teamsters strike at UPS. The two agreed to a new contract in July, but about four percent of its package volume, or 500,000 daily packages, went to competitors in the weeks before the agreement. <br>
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FedEx says it expects to keep a significant portion of the 150,000 additional daily shipments it gained.
