An Amazon delivery driver arranges containers in his truck.
Photo: Ross D. Franklin/Associated PressU.S. logistics hiring soared in January on continued strength in the consumer economy, with delivery and warehousing companies adding 20,000 jobs in sectors tied to e-commerce.
Courier and messenger payrolls grew by 14,300 last month, extending an 11-month hiring spree, according to seasonally adjusted preliminary employment figures the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday.
The hiring in the first month after the holidays followed revised growth of 6,700 parcel-sector jobs in December. The Labor Department previously reported that courier and messenger companies had cut 9,400 jobs from November to December.
Newsletter Sign-up
The jobs growth comes as delivery giants United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. are ramping up weekend delivery service to handle surging e-commerce volumes as more consumers shop online.
UPS posted a 9% jump in shipments in the fourth quarter on increased business from Amazon.com Inc. At the same time, the online behemoth is delivering more of its own packages through a growing network of delivery contractors driving Amazon-branded vans.
“Amazon has almost tripled within a year the number of people they have delivering for itself,” said Satish Jindel, president of ShipMatrix Inc., which analyzes package-shipping data. FedEx and regional delivery providers such as OnTrac and LSO Inc. are also bringing on more delivery drivers, he said.
Hiring among warehouse and storage operators also picked up in January, as companies added 5,700 positions to a sector that includes online fulfillment centers and industrial distribution facilities. Warehousing growth has slowed in a tight labor market, with payrolls increasing by 20,400 between January 2019 and January 2020 after adding 115,000 jobs in the previous 12-month period.
Trucking companies added 3,200 jobs last month. It was the strongest growth in a year and came as freight operators contend with slack transportation demand amid sluggish industrial activity.
U.S. employers overall added 225,000 jobs in January, exceeding expectations and setting the stage for economic growth in the coming year. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.6% and wages increased 3.1% from a year earlier.
The gains were led by growth in construction and in educational and health services jobs, offsetting tepid growth in goods-producing industries that push freight through logistics networks.
Manufacturers cut 12,000 positions last month, including a decline of 10,600 jobs at motor vehicle and parts companies. While factory activity expanded last month according to the Institute for Supply Management, the group warned that growth could be hard to sustain, pointing to weakness in supplier deliveries, inventories and imports.
Orders for new Class 8 heavy-duty trucks that haul cargo long distances declined 12% last month from December, according to preliminary figures from transportation data provider ACT Research, extending a monthslong slump that has thinned out backlogs at truck and components factories.
Last month Volvo AB-owned Mack Trucks said it plans to lay off 305 employees at its Lower Macungie Township, Pa., assembly plant, or about 13% of employees at the facility, which assembles all Mack trucks for North America, according to media reports.
Write to Jennifer Smith at jennifer.smith@wsj.com
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
"last" - Google News
February 08, 2020 at 01:55AM
https://ift.tt/38biVQj
Parcel, Warehouse Companies Added 20,000 U.S. Jobs Last Month - Wall Street Journal
"last" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rbmsh7
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Parcel, Warehouse Companies Added 20,000 U.S. Jobs Last Month - Wall Street Journal"
Post a Comment