Love Is In The Air For UPS
MIAMI, Feb. 12, 2008 - Year after year, flowers top the list as the most popular Valentine's Day gift. UPS Americas' facilities have strategically planned and prepared for the upcoming rush of flower shipments, particularly during the seasonal peak period (January 25th to February 7th). UPS imported close to 1.4 million kilos of flowers for the Valentine's Day holiday season - that's more than 24 million individual flowers.
Massive quantities of fresh cut flowers from countries like Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic were imported. Behind the scenes, UPS added 24 extra flights to their regular schedule to handle the increase in volume.
Colombia and Ecuador play a major role as leading flower exporters, accounting for more than 80 percent of the overall flowers exported during the peak Valentine's Day season.
"From our operations in the local markets, temperature-controlled aircraft, facilities, and trained handlers in Miami, UPS is focused on providing the best quality service so that every single flower arrives fresh at their final destination," said Tom O'Malley, Vice President of Air Cargo, UPS Americas.
Fresh cut flowers are the main perishable import item traveling through Miami International Airport (MIA), the leading international freight airport in the United States, during this holiday season.
"This Valentine's Day season, MIA is expected to process more than 85 percent of all flower imports to the United States throughout its facilities, which will contribute an estimated $1.4 billion in annual flower sales. Approximately 56 percent of the imported flowers will be roses," said Christine Boltt, Executive Vice President of the Association of Floral Importers of Florida (AFIF). "The red rose is still the most popular of choices this Valentine's Day, but we are seeing a much wider variety in shades of red and pink in response to consumer demand."
As the core hub for trade between the United States and Latin America, UPS MIA facilities seamlessly coordinate cargo and package movements while offering the most time-sensitive solution for customers. UPS customers tend to prefer handling business from Miami because of the wealth of logistics knowledge and trust in the infrastructure of MIA.
UPS's Trade Direct™ Air services have restructured the traditional perishable goods supply chain process, eradicating prolonged and expensive warehouse stops for repackaging. This service allows UPS to ship finished rose bouquets direct from farms in Latin America to U.S. consumers. UPS manages the entire route including the cargo movement to MIA where the bouquets clear U.S. Customs and Department of Agriculture as a single consolidated shipment and the entry into the UPS small package network for final express delivery across the United States. Customers can also track their shipments throughout the entire process using UPS's Tracking technology.
About UPS
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services. With more than a century of experience in transportation and logistics, UPS is a leading global trade expert equipped with a broad portfolio of solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at www.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
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