Your Evening Briefing: The Big Reason Why UPS Is Outpacing FedEx

Get caught up.

Illustration: Jordan Speer

The job crunch has managed to reveal some interesting things about how companies in America work—or don’t. Take Dave Helminski, a driver for United Parcel Service. Next year, he’ll retire after a four decade-career at the company with pension income equal to the $100,000 he makes right now. His employer has been flush of late, with more money tumbling in despite pandemic disruptions. But over at FedEx, the story is less cheery. The shipper has racked up $450 million in extra costs thanks to labor shortages. And while UPS easily beat earnings expectations and predicts even bigger margins, FedEx has signaled that its profits will keep falling. So what’s behind the divergent fortunes of these two U.S. delivery rivals? Bloomberg Businessweek may have the answer.

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

It’s no secret how well Wall Street has done during Jerome Powell’s tenure as chair of the Federal Reserve—which is a big clue as to why investors are getting nervous about why the White House is taking so long to re-nominate him. Speculation about a replacement is growing.