There’s no wonder United Parcel Service Inc.’s has sped up the implementation of its own route optimization and navigation software, known as ORION–it saves the company a lot of miles, and miles are money. Chief Financial Officer Richard Peretz said in a post-earnings conference call with analysts that while third-quarter U.S. delivery stops and volume increased 5.7% from a year ago, with the help of ORION, delivery miles traveled rose just 1.4%. He told MarketWatch in a phone interview, that for each mile saved per day, on average, annualized savings are about $50 million. “Orion is saving us about six and seven miles per driver per day,” Peretz said, which translates to annual savings of about $300 million to $350 million. While it’s not fully implemented yet, the company said 100% of eligible U.S. drivers will be utilizing ORION during the peak season–from Thanksgiving to News Year’s Eve–compared with 70% last year. Given that deliveries in the peak season are expected to increase by about 17% to 700 million, ORION should help save a lot of miles and money. The stock, which slipped 1.1% in afternoon trade, has climbed 12% year to date, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average has climbed 6.5% and the S&P 500 has gained 4.7%.
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