The Direct Marketing Association is downplaying the potential effects a strike against United Parcel Service Inc. might have on the catalog industry.
On Monday, The Teamsters Union voted overwhelmingly to strike if contract negotiations fail with the Atlanta-based package courier, according to news reports.
The industry is better prepared to handle a strike after diversifying parcel delivery services following the last strike in 1997, according to the DMA.
As of last year, UPS delivered 46.7% of catalog packages; the USPS, 38.1%; FedEx, 7.1%, and all other couriers combined delivered 5.2%.
In 1997, UPS delivered 49% of catalog shipments and FedEx 10%. The remaining 13% of shipments were scattered among other couriers. The most dramatic change occurred with the USPS, whose market share grew 10.1% from 28% in 1997.
Five years ago, “we encouraged catalogers not to put all their eggs in one basket and to use other couriers like the U.S. Postal Service and to a lesser extent Federal Express,” said DMA spokeswoman Amy Blankenship.
She noted that a DMA survey of catalogers after the strike revealed that 44% said they would use other couriers with another 44% reporting they would continue doing “business as usual.”
In 1997, the DMA also took out ads in a number of major newspapers like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and USA Today to let consumers know that catalog companies were still in business. Blankenship couldn’t say if the DMA would do the same thing this year if a strike were to occur. “But we’re watching the situation very closely,” she said.
Preliminary results showed that 93% of the UPS Teamsters who voted during weekend balloting support a walk out if an agreement is not reached this summer.
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