Has Christmas been canceled?
12-17-2008, 11:50 PM
#1
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Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: Boeing FO
Posts: 40
Has Christmas been canceled?
WASHINGTON - Looks like Santa's sleigh will be a little lighter this year.
Delivery of packages and mail has been down with the rest of the economy, and the shipping industry is counting on this week — expected to be the busiest of the year — for a final boost to lift it out of its slump before Christmas.
FedEx lowered its annual earnings forecast this month as the recession gripped the globe. UPS decided it would not even try to estimate how much mail it would deliver this holiday season because of "unpredictability in the economy," spokesman Malcolm Berkley said. And the U.S. Postal Service said it expects its holiday mail to fall by 1 billion pieces.
"Christmas as best we can tell has more or less been canceled," FedEx chief executive Fred Smith said in a recent interview. "There's just no two ways about it. The economy is extremely slow."
Reindeer: You've been put on notice.
Holiday shipping typically peaks the week before Christmas as shoppers scramble to make sure packages arrive before the big day. Retailers are also trying to encourage customers to send gifts soon, with more than 100 companies agreeing to a coordinated effort to offer free shipping today.
Weakest in decades?
Retail experts are predicting that sales this season could be the weakest in decades as consumers keep a close eye on their wallets. Sales at stores open at least a year — a key indicator of a retailers' health — fell 2.7 percent in November, according to one industry trade group, the worst performance in at least 30 years. Online retail sales are also expected to remain flat after several years of explosive growth. That's bad news not just for stores but also for shipping companies. Fewer gifts mean fewer packages mailed — and less revenue for shippers.
UPS reported average daily volume was down by 2.6 percent during the third quarter but did not release estimates for the holiday season. However, the company has said that today will likely be its busiest day of the year while air packages will peak on Dec. 22. Holiday traffic will largely determine the company's performance this quarter.
"It's anybody's guess exactly how that comes out, although frankly we do think that people will be conservative this year," UPS Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn said during a conference call with investors in late October.
FedEx said its busiest day was Monday. The company plans to release second-quarter earnings today, and last week lowered its annual earnings guidance to a range of $3.50 to $4.75 a share from $4.75 to $5.25. Although fuel prices have dropped sharply in recent months, the decline has not been enough to offset slowing demand, the company said.
The U.S. Postal Service estimated that it processed about 960 million cards and letters on Monday. It anticipates handling 19 billion pieces of mail between Thanksgiving and Christmas, down from 20 billion last year. For the fiscal year ended in September, the economic downturn drove a $2.8 billion loss for USPS.
Most retailers have deadlines this week for guaranteed delivery by Christmas, according to Shop.org, a trade group for online retailers. But nearly half of retailers said that express orders placed on Dec. 23 will still arrive on time.
Delivery of packages and mail has been down with the rest of the economy, and the shipping industry is counting on this week — expected to be the busiest of the year — for a final boost to lift it out of its slump before Christmas.
FedEx lowered its annual earnings forecast this month as the recession gripped the globe. UPS decided it would not even try to estimate how much mail it would deliver this holiday season because of "unpredictability in the economy," spokesman Malcolm Berkley said. And the U.S. Postal Service said it expects its holiday mail to fall by 1 billion pieces.
"Christmas as best we can tell has more or less been canceled," FedEx chief executive Fred Smith said in a recent interview. "There's just no two ways about it. The economy is extremely slow."
Reindeer: You've been put on notice.
Holiday shipping typically peaks the week before Christmas as shoppers scramble to make sure packages arrive before the big day. Retailers are also trying to encourage customers to send gifts soon, with more than 100 companies agreeing to a coordinated effort to offer free shipping today.
Weakest in decades?
Retail experts are predicting that sales this season could be the weakest in decades as consumers keep a close eye on their wallets. Sales at stores open at least a year — a key indicator of a retailers' health — fell 2.7 percent in November, according to one industry trade group, the worst performance in at least 30 years. Online retail sales are also expected to remain flat after several years of explosive growth. That's bad news not just for stores but also for shipping companies. Fewer gifts mean fewer packages mailed — and less revenue for shippers.
UPS reported average daily volume was down by 2.6 percent during the third quarter but did not release estimates for the holiday season. However, the company has said that today will likely be its busiest day of the year while air packages will peak on Dec. 22. Holiday traffic will largely determine the company's performance this quarter.
"It's anybody's guess exactly how that comes out, although frankly we do think that people will be conservative this year," UPS Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn said during a conference call with investors in late October.
FedEx said its busiest day was Monday. The company plans to release second-quarter earnings today, and last week lowered its annual earnings guidance to a range of $3.50 to $4.75 a share from $4.75 to $5.25. Although fuel prices have dropped sharply in recent months, the decline has not been enough to offset slowing demand, the company said.
The U.S. Postal Service estimated that it processed about 960 million cards and letters on Monday. It anticipates handling 19 billion pieces of mail between Thanksgiving and Christmas, down from 20 billion last year. For the fiscal year ended in September, the economic downturn drove a $2.8 billion loss for USPS.
Most retailers have deadlines this week for guaranteed delivery by Christmas, according to Shop.org, a trade group for online retailers. But nearly half of retailers said that express orders placed on Dec. 23 will still arrive on time.
12-22-2008, 02:45 PM
#4
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Joined APC: Aug 2006
Position: MD-11
Posts: 66
Not Christmas but maybe the bid..
FedEx Delays Freighters
12/22/2008
Thomas L. Gallagher
Web Editor
FedEx will delay delivery of 11 Boeing freighters for up to 17 months.
In December 2008, FedEx reached an agreement with Boeing to defer the delivery of the B777F aircraft, the company said in a footnote to its quarterly report filed last week with the SEC.
On the revised delivery schedule, FedEx will accept delivery of four B777Fs in 2010, as previously agreed. In 2011, Boeing will deliver only four, rather than the 10 originally planned. Five more will arrive in 2012 and two in 2013.
The revised payment schedule will result in the deferral of approximately $275 million of commitments from 2009 to future periods.
The company expects capital expenditures to be approximately $2.4 billion in 2009 and to include spending for aircraft and related equipment at FedEx Express, facility expansion at FedEx Ground and revenue equipment at FedEx Freight.
12/22/2008
Thomas L. Gallagher
Web Editor
FedEx will delay delivery of 11 Boeing freighters for up to 17 months.
In December 2008, FedEx reached an agreement with Boeing to defer the delivery of the B777F aircraft, the company said in a footnote to its quarterly report filed last week with the SEC.
On the revised delivery schedule, FedEx will accept delivery of four B777Fs in 2010, as previously agreed. In 2011, Boeing will deliver only four, rather than the 10 originally planned. Five more will arrive in 2012 and two in 2013.
The revised payment schedule will result in the deferral of approximately $275 million of commitments from 2009 to future periods.
The company expects capital expenditures to be approximately $2.4 billion in 2009 and to include spending for aircraft and related equipment at FedEx Express, facility expansion at FedEx Ground and revenue equipment at FedEx Freight.
12-22-2008, 03:06 PM
#6
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Position: MD-11 Captain
Posts: 4,304
So now we've found out about the delayed CAN opening AND the delayed 777 deliveries from the news media?
It would be nice if flight Management kept us worker-bees advised of this sort of career/monthly schedule/bid altering stuff. Does this mean we'll find out this bid has also been canceled from the news media?
Who's the SCP? Do we have a SCP?
It would be nice if flight Management kept us worker-bees advised of this sort of career/monthly schedule/bid altering stuff. Does this mean we'll find out this bid has also been canceled from the news media?
Who's the SCP? Do we have a SCP?
Last edited by MaydayMark; 12-22-2008 at 03:19 PM.
12-22-2008, 03:10 PM
#7
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2007
Posts: 151
Originally Posted by Huck
I'm confused. I thought the first one was coming in June '09. "O" said so two weeks ago in RGS.
Maybe that is "fiscal" 2010. I don't know....
Maybe that is "fiscal" 2010. I don't know....
You are correct about fiscal year. Also, the deferral of airframes is mostly based upon the delayed delivery schedule from Boeing.
12-22-2008, 03:10 PM
#8
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2006
Position: 727 F/O
Posts: 142
Looks like more cuts. A quote from a recent internal B727 email. Enjoy.
"This time last year I sent you an email discussing some equipment that the Boeing was slated to receive. Unfortunately most of this “way cool” gear has either not survived the axe man or has been put on hold due to any number of problems."
I guess we now have to bring our own "way-cool" sani-wipes.
"This time last year I sent you an email discussing some equipment that the Boeing was slated to receive. Unfortunately most of this “way cool” gear has either not survived the axe man or has been put on hold due to any number of problems."
I guess we now have to bring our own "way-cool" sani-wipes.
Last edited by JDriver; 12-22-2008 at 03:16 PM.
12-22-2008, 03:28 PM
#10
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2007
Position: protecting my license until I get the next job.
Posts: 122
Originally Posted by Huck
In RGS we were told that sat phones are a requirement on the 727, so we can go to flag ops. So you get that at least....
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