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Parcel and 3PL employers seek labor for winter peak push

Low unemployment rates could complicate hiring for DHL, Geodis, USPS, UPS, Walmart.

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Parcel carriers and third party logistics providers (3PLs) are hitting full stride in their annual rush to hire temporary workers for the holiday peak shopping season even as the nation’s jobless claims fell this week near an 18-month low point, stoking worries that the simmering pandemic recovery could be hindered by labor shortages, since so few people are looking for work.

Specifically, statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor showed that the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance in the week ending September 4 sank to 310,000, a decrease of 35,000 from the previous week's revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020.


Likewise, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said September 3 that the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.2% in August, down from 5.4% in July. That figure is higher than the pre-pandemic low point of 3.5% in February 2020, but still low by historical standards.

Despite that small labor pool, transportation and warehousing employers are hanging out the “for hire” sign. 

DHL eCommerce Solutions said in August that it plans to hire 2,800 workers to sort parcels during the coming holiday peak season, a seasonal surge that is more than three times the amount it hired at this time in 2020.

The transport and logistics provider Geodis said last week that it plans to hire 4,200 seasonal workers to bolster its warehousing and distribution center capabilities through 2021 as online shopping continues to surge to record heights. "As our industry continues to face significant ongoing challenges such as labor shortages, skyrocketing e-commerce demand, and global shipping disruptions, we are increasing our workforce to ensure we can successfully navigate today's supply chain dynamics and support our customers through peak season,” Mike Honious, GEODIS in Americas President & CEO, said in a release.

And the U.S. Postal Service is currently hiring for more than 40,000 seasonal positions as preparations continue for the 2021 winter holidays, the agency’s peak season for mail and package deliveries, the agency said September 8.

As competition heats up for U.S. laborers, some logistics employers are sweetening the offer by dangling the possibility of permanent positions.

Parcel delivery and logistics giant UPS Inc. is hiring more than 100,000 seasonal employees to support the anticipated annual increase in package volume that will begin in October 2021 and continue through January 2022. While most of those full- and part-time jobs—primarily package handlers, drivers, driver helpers and personal vehicle drivers—may come with an expiration date, UPS said that many will last longer. Over the last three years, about one-third of people hired by UPS for seasonal package handler jobs were later hired in a permanent position when the holidays were over, the Atlanta-based company said.

In fact, just a week earlier, retail giant Walmart said it was likewise hiring 20,000 new workers across its supply chain operations, but that the jobs were permanent positions divided between full-and part-time capacities for tasks including order fillers, freight handlers, lift drivers, technicians, and management positions.

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Logistics gives back: February 2025

Here's our monthly roundup of some of the charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics space.

  • For the sixth consecutive year, dedicated contract carriage and freight management services provider Transervice Logistics Inc. collected books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines for Book Fairies, a nonprofit book donation organization in the New York Tri-State area. Transervice employees broke their own in-house record last year by donating 13 boxes of print and video assets to children in under-resourced communities on Long Island and the five boroughs of New York City.
  • Logistics real estate investment and development firm Dermody Properties has recognized eight community organizations in markets where it operates with its 2024 Annual Thanksgiving Capstone awards. The organizations, which included food banks and disaster relief agencies, received a combined $85,000 in awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
  • Prime Inc. truck driver Dee Sova has donated $5,000 to Harmony House, an organization that provides shelter and support services to domestic violence survivors in Springfield, Missouri. The donation follows Sova's selection as the 2024 recipient of the Trucking Cares Foundation's John Lex Premier Achievement Award, which was accompanied by a $5,000 check to be given in her name to a charity of her choice.
  • Employees of dedicated contract carrier Lily Transportation donated dog food and supplies to a local animal shelter at a holiday event held at the company's Fort Worth, Texas, location. The event, which benefited City of Saginaw (Texas) Animal Services, was coordinated by "Lily Paws," a dedicated committee within Lily Transportation that focuses on improving the lives of shelter dogs nationwide.
  • Freight transportation conglomerate Averitt has continued its support of military service members by participating in the "10,000 for the Troops" card collection program organized by radio station New Country 96.3 KSCS in Dallas/Fort Worth. In 2024, Averitt associates collected and shipped more than 18,000 holiday cards to troops overseas. Contributions included cards from 17 different Averitt facilities, primarily in Texas, along with 4,000 cards from the company's corporate office in Cookeville, Tennessee.

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