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Carrier Update: FedEx Pilot Strike, FedEx Increases Fees, West Coast Ports Slow Productivity

 

FedEx

  • With dissatisfaction still echoing amongst its Ground network contractors, FedEx Express pilots and crew members held an informal picket in front of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. The pilots are frustrated over the lack of a contract, which has been under negotiation since May 2021.
  • This news follows last week’s announcement where FedEx pulled their full-year guidance and is projecting fiscal quarter earnings well below previous expectations. In addition, FedEx has announced a general rate increase averaging 6.9% in January, a few percentages higher than what has been experienced over the last several years. It needs to be said that this increase is coming at a time when the parcel delivery networks are expected to be about 10% over capacity (excess capacity over demand) this peak season).

West Coast Ports

  • As the west coast ports are about to wrap up month three without a contract, instances of work slowdowns have been observed. Most recently, these actions were observed in both Oakland and Seattle/Tacoma. Coordinated late starts and unit breaks, as opposed to staggered breaks, reduced productivity. Earlier this month, slowdowns were noted In Los Angeles / Long Beach, where workers refused to operate automated portions of the APM terminal for several days.