FedEx, UPS Tackle GOP Gridlock

Package delivery giants United Parcel Services (UPS) and FedEx told Fleet Owner that the Republican national convention in New York City this week will not severely disrupt services in the area

Terrence Nguyen

Aug. 31, 2004

2 min read

Package delivery giants United Parcel Services (UPS) and FedEx told Fleet Owner that the Republican national convention in New York City this week will not severely disrupt services in the area.

See GOP Traffic Lockdown Begins

City officials had maintained an open dialogue with businesses throughout the security planning for the convention, which made effective contingency planning possible, the companies said.

In separate interviews, the package delivery companies shared some similar strategies toward ensuring a comparable level of service throughout the event. Both say they are deploying vehicles that serve as mobile service centers— places where shippers can drop off packages at a drop-off point that “drives away” as needed during street closures.

“We were in good shape with deliveries (yesterday). NYPD and the Secret Service have been moving our drivers around repeatedly, but that has been expected,” said Susan Rosenberg spokesperson for UPS, adding that additional helpers and walkers were dispatched on foot to ensure packages reached the trucks. “We pushed our deliveries to be earlier this morning. The report from (last) morning is all our deliveries were made.”

FedEx spokesperson Sandra Munoz said the company has been in close communications with its customers, explaining where drop-off points and secondary drop locations would be in the event one closes. “We’ve been on this…to make all of our adjustments and to ensure that our customers get the same level of service they’ve always gotten from FedEx,” Munoz said.

Despite the rigorous truck inspections and road closures taking place now surrounding the GOP gathering, the contingency plan the companies are executing is not so far removed from previous situations, such as hurricanes and the Democratic National Convention.

“We’re used to these kinds of events too— we do special venue arrangements all the time, even in trade shows. A lot of times at Madison Square Garden we’ve had had to adjust to operations due to trade shows,” UPS’s Rosenberg said.