UPS strike would devastate the global economy, says supply chain expert

July 13th, 2023

Tensions remain high between the United Parcel Service (UPS) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Contract negotiations are at a standstill after talks between the shipping giant and the union, which represents 340,000 UPS employees, fell apart last week.

Teamsters has authorized a strike if a deal is not reached by July 31.

UPS reports delivering an average of 24 million packages each day. If a strike does happen, it would be the largest strike against an employer in the U.S.

On Thursday’s edition of “Closer Look,” John Haber, the strategic channel partner at Transportation Insight, discusses the standstill between Teamsters and UPS and the impact a potential strike could have on the domestic and global supply chain.

“It would be devasting to the global economy,” Haber said. “It’s not just the UPS people, it’s not enough capacity to take on that volume.”