United Parcel Service is redeploying its network for peak season after grounding its MD-11 freighters, tapping partner lift and shifting more parcels to trucks while it consolidates flight patterns to protect service. A company spokesperson said UPS has arranged additional wet-leased aircraft, merged some air routes to maximize belly and maindeck utilization, and reconfigured ground linehauls to carry a larger share of volumes through its parcel hub network.
Fresh flight-tracking evidence suggests at least part of the substitute lift is coming from Canada. IndexBox’s analysis on Nov. 19 points to four Cargojet Boeing 757-200 freighters shuttling between UPS’s Louisville Worldport and Hamilton, Ontario—an overnight bridge that plugs into UPS’s cross-border ground grid and preserves next-day commitments in the populous Great Lakes corridor. While neither company has publicly detailed the arrangement, these observed rotations align with UPS’s broader strategy to buy short‑term capacity and backstop it with overnight trucking.
One external headwind also eased this week. The Federal Aviation Administration ended its temporary, shutdown‑related directive to cut flight activity by up to 10% at 40 major U.S. airports, saying operations have returned to normal. That means integrators’ nighttime sort banks should face fewer slot constraints just as the holiday rush accelerates—helpful timing for UPS as it balances added charter lift with heavier ground flows.
Why it matters to trucking: every canceled or consolidated freighter rotation pushes more freight onto highways. Expect tighter overnight linehaul demand into and out of Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago, the Mid‑Atlantic and Southern California gateway markets as UPS injects additional trailers to keep service standards intact. For contract carriers and dedicated fleets, that can translate into higher utilization on predictable hub‑to‑hub lanes; for spot operators, look for late‑evening tenders, compressed dwell at cross‑docks, and stricter appointment discipline as parcel hubs protect sort times. Regional LTL carriers could also see incremental overflow as shippers convert time‑sensitive air moves to premium ground, especially on sub‑800‑mile corridors where trucks can still hit next‑day windows.
Shippers should plan for small adjustments rather than wholesale disruption. The playbook UPS is executing—buying ACMI lift, densifying air routes, and redistributing volume to ground—is designed to preserve service without overpaying for capacity. Practically, that means: earlier pickup cutoffs in a few markets, occasional changes in uplift airports, and more “truck to air” or “air to truck” hand‑offs in the same lane. Communicating forecast changes daily, tendering to contracted windows, and keeping trailer pools balanced at origin will help keep parcel SLA performance steady while the MD‑11s remain parked.
On Wall Street, investors appear to view the contingency plan as manageable: UPS shares hovered around $92.41 in Wednesday afternoon trading, little changed on the day as the company works through capacity substitutions.
Sources: FreightWaves, Supply Chain Dive, IndexBox
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