United Parcel Service

This article is about the courier company. For the mailing service operated by the U.S. federal government, see United States Postal Service.

United Parcel Service, Inc.
FormerlyAmerican Messenger Company (1907–1913)
Merchants Parcel Delivery (1913–1919)
Company typePublic
IndustryCourier
FoundedAugust 28, 1907; 117 years ago (1907-08-28) in Seattle, Washington, U.S. as the American Messenger Company
FounderJames E. Casey
HeadquartersSandy Springs, Georgia, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Services
RevenueDecrease US$90.96 billion (2023)
Decrease US$9.141 billion (2023)
Decrease US$6.708 billion (2023)
Total assetsDecrease US$70.86 billion (2023)
Total equityDecrease US$17.31 billion (2023)
Number of employees
c. 500,000 (2023)
Subsidiaries
  • UPS Airlines
  • Nightline Group
  • Marken
  • UPS Logistics
  • UPS Mail Innovations
  • UPS Professional Solutions
  • UPS i-parcel
Websiteups.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3][4][5]

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907.[1] Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has expanded to become a Fortune 500 company[6] and one of the world's largest shipping couriers. UPS today is primarily known for its ground shipping services as well as the UPS Store, a retail chain which assists UPS shipments and provides tools for small businesses. UPS offers air shipping on an overnight or two-day basis and delivers to post office boxes through UPS Mail Innovations and UPS SurePost, two services that pass on packages to the United States Postal Service for last-mile delivery.[7][8]

UPS is the largest courier company in the world by revenue, with annual revenues around US$85 billion in 2020, ahead of competitors DHL and FedEx.[9] UPS's main international hub, UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky, is the fifth busiest airport in the world by cargo traffic based on preliminary statistics from ACI, and the third busiest in the U.S. behind FedEx's Memphis Superhub and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.[10] The company is one of the largest private employers in the United States.[11]

  1. ^ a b "United Parcel Service, Inc. 2023 Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  2. ^ Taylor, Charlie (May 3, 2017). "Parcel Motel owner Nightline acquired by delivery firm UPS". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  3. ^ "UPS to Acquire Ireland-based Nightline Logistics GROUP". nightline.ie. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  4. ^ "Exhibit 21 - Subsidiaries Of United Parcel Service, Inc. As of December 31, 2017". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  5. ^ "UPS Completes Acquisition Of Marken". Marken.com. December 22, 2016. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  6. ^ "UPS | 2020 Fortune 500". Fortune. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  7. ^ "How Does UPS SurePost Work?". Shipware. August 26, 2018. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "Find a Shipping Service - UPS - United States". www.ups.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  9. ^ "World Top Courier Companies by Market Value as on 2020". www.value.today. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  10. ^ ACI (April 2021). "World's 20 busiest air cargo hubs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  11. ^ Hess, Alexander E. M. "The 10 largest employers in America". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.