United Parcel Service (UPS)
United Parcel Service (UPS) is a prominent global logistics and package delivery service, originally founded in 1907 in Seattle, Washington, as the American Messenger Company by Claude Ryan and Jim Casey. The company quickly distinguished itself through its reliable service and honest delivery estimates, gaining a strong foothold in the Seattle area. Over the years, UPS expanded through mergers and partnerships, developing a large fleet of vehicles, famously painted brown to maintain a uniform appearance and minimize the visibility of dirt.
Today, UPS operates in over 220 countries and territories, delivering more than 23 million packages daily and employing over 500,000 individuals worldwide. With a focus on transportation efficiency and driver safety, the company has become a leader in logistics and transportation, generating significant revenue exceeding $100 billion in 2022. UPS is recognized for its reliability, particularly during peak seasons, and provides services for both individual consumers and businesses. Additionally, the legacy of co-founder Jim Casey is honored through the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which supports community well-being.
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United Parcel Service (UPS)
Company information
- Date founded: 1907
- Industry: shipping
- Corporate headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
- Type: public
The United Parcel Service (UPS) began its life as the American Messenger Company, a small business run by two young entrepreneurs out of a cramped basement. The company quickly grew, developing a reputation in Seattle for hard work, fast deliveries, and reliable estimates. The company grew by merging with other delivery companies, often adding territories and resources to its portfolio through these mergers. Over many decades, UPS earned large contracts with major department stores, and then it began to spread across the United States. It became known for its large fleet of delivery vehicles, each of which was painted brown to minimize the appearance of any dirt and grime.
In the twenty-first century, UPS is one of the largest delivery companies in the world. It delivers packages to more than 200 countries and territories, utilizing a large fleet of jets and trucks. It is regarded as a global leader in transportation and logistics that is constantly striving to make its deliveries in the most efficient manner possible.
History
UPS was started in Seattle, Washington, in 1907 by teenagers Claude Ryan and Jim Casey. Casey had been running deliveries on foot since the age of eleven to support his family, which included two younger brothers, a baby sister, their mother, and their ill father, who died in 1902. He met Ryan when they both worked delivering telegraphs and running errands. The pair knew all the streets of Seattle thanks to their delivery work.
In 1907, Ryan and Casey secured a $100 loan and opened the American Messenger Company, which they operated out of a basement in Seattle. The company hired a small number of employees to deliver messages and packages and run errands for customers. Though many other messenger services existed in Seattle at the time, the American Messenger Company soon became one of the most successful. The company quickly earned a reputation for being more reliable than many of its competitors and for providing honest estimates of when packages would be picked up and delivered. Additionally, the American Messenger Company provided services twenty-four hours a day, each day of the week, ensuring an employee was always available when a business called.
In 1911, the American Messenger Company opened its second location in Seattle. During the Christmas season of 1912, the business grew from employing six messengers to more than seventy messengers. Casey and Ryan continued to search for ways to grow their business. Buying out other messenger services was expensive and difficult. However, the pair found that many messenger services were more likely to accept partnerships and mergers. In 1913, the American Messenger Company merged with McCabe’s Motorcycle Delivery Company, forming Merchants Parcel Delivery, and gaining founder Evert “Mac” McCabe. This added a small fleet of motorcycles to the service, allowing Merchants Parcel Delivery to work more quickly than many of its competitors. Soon after, the company began to add automobiles, a fairly recent invention, to its delivery services. By 1915, Merchants Parcel was the largest delivery company in Seattle. Charlie Soderstrom, a delivery driver who likewise knew the streets of Seattle, bought stock in the company in 1916, giving Merchants Parcel the funds needed to grow. Although Ryan left the company in 1917, Casey’s brother George had joined the business and stepped in to help run it.
Merchants Parcel Delivery began painting its vehicles brown. This was originally intended to provide the fleet with a uniform appearance while minimizing the appearance of dirt and grime on the cars and trucks. The company’s neatly painted brown vehicles quickly became iconic, and the color was soon adopted as official company policy.
At the time, most large department stores in Seattle had their own delivery services. As these services were owned internally and not designed for profit, most department stores were reluctant to use external contractors. However, Merchants Parcel Delivery knew that landing larger contracts would allow the company to continue to grow. Company leadership set its sights on landing contracts with large department stores, hoping that longstanding relationships with those businesses would lead to long-term, profitable arrangements.
The first department store to contract with Merchant Parcel Delivery was Bon Marche. The department store was so satisfied with its new delivery service that it soon abandoned its own internal fleet. Soon after, three other major department store brands turned to Merchant Parcel Delivery instead of maintaining their own fleets.
Merchant Parcel Delivery then expanded to Oakland, California, by acquiring Motor Parcel Delivery. To avoid competing with a different company that was also named Merchant Parcel Delivery, the company considered changing its name. In recognition of the many smaller companies that came together to create the parcel delivery giant, the business decided to rebrand itself as United Parcel Service. In many cases, the name was shortened to UPS. Company headquarters relocated to Los Angeles in the 1920s before moving to New York in 1930. Other moves came in 1975, to Connecticut, and finally to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1991.
United Parcel Service continued to expand across the United States, often by acquiring smaller companies. The company continued to contract with large department stores but preferred to take contracts that involved delivering parcels from one business to another. The UPS network focused on efficiency by creating driving routes that avoided traffic and used as few resources as possible. Company leadership believed that by maximizing the transportation economy, their drivers would be able to maximize profits for the enterprise. The company was also intensely focused on driver safety.
Impact
UPS is one of the largest delivery services in the world. In 2023, the parcel delivery service averaged more than 22.3 million parcel deliveries each day. It utilized an air delivery service that controlled a fleet of more than 500 jets and served more than 11.1 million customers. It delivered packages to over 200 countries and territories and employed more than 500,000 people across the globe. In 2023, UPS boasted more than $91 billion in revenue. In January 2025, UPS announced it was number one for on-time deliveries during the busy holiday season for the seventh year in a row, competing against Amazon, the US Postal Service, and FedEx.
Because of this expansive network, UPS is commonly considered one of the most reliable package delivery services. Its services are used both for delivering packages directly to consumers and for delivering materials from one business to another. The service is best known for its large fleet of trucks, many of which are used for short-distance deliveries. All UPS trucks are painted a uniform brown color, making them easily recognizable to consumers.
Founder Jim Casey’s legacy includes the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which he and his siblings established to honor their mother in 1948. The foundation supports children, families, and communities.
Bibliography
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Evans, Katie. “UPS Ranks No. 1 in On-Time Deliveries During the Holiday Season.” Digital Commerce 360, 7 Jan. 2021, www.digitalcommerce360.com/2021/01/07/ups-ranks-no-1-in-on-time-deliveries-during-the-holiday-season. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
Hoover, Gary. “Jim Casey: The Unknown Entrepreneur Who Built the Great UPS.” American Business History Center, 24 May 2018, americanbusinesshistory.org/jim-casey-the-unknown-entrepreneur-who-built-the-great-ups. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
“More Than 100 Years of Innovation.” UPS, about.ups.com/us/en/our-company/our-history.html. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
“Our History.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, www.aecf.org/about/history. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
Placek, Martin. “United Parcel Service—Statistics & Facts.” Statista, 19 Mar. 2024, www.statista.com/topics/4065/united-parcel-service. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
“United Parcel Service.” Forbes, www.forbes.com/companies/united-parcel-service/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
“UPS Beats Competitors in On-Time Holiday Deliveries for Seven Years Straight.” UPS, 27 Jan. 2025, about.ups.com/us/en/our-stories/customer-first/ups-beats-competitors-in-on-time-holiday-deliveries-for-seven-ye.html. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.