Despite concerns rivals are gaining ground, United Parcel Service Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eskew said on Wednesday he was optimistic about the package deliverer's growth prospects in 2005.
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( W* G; o/ R0 Z' s, cAtlanta-based UPS (Research) has been battling in the past year to overcome a perception that it is underperforming FedEx Corp. (Research), its main competitor, in the giant U.S. ground delivery market. / T1 n7 h0 {( v4 R0 g4 H
2 K% z- K+ W# C2 O% @& }While UPS remains the leader in the U.S. ground delivery market, its volumes in this key area grew a sluggish 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, down from 2.5 percent growth in the same period in 2003.
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"We had a tough December, but we're optimistic about this year," Eskew told reporters on Wednesday after a speech to an Atlanta business group. Eskew, who took over the reins of UPS three years ago amid a downturn in the U.S. economy, said he was confident it could fend off FedEx, which has been boosted by its purchase of retail printing and document management firm Kinkos.
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"We like our position," he said. "We have a lot more stores and our stores have done great."
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* {. d' S2 a2 k; _Eskew also said he expected UPS to continue acquiring other smaller companies in an effort to expand in supply chain management, freight forwarding and other key areas of its business. ' k5 L! C! B8 [* e
) h6 L* G, k' v3 C K2 y' o1 X* SShares of UPS rose 42 cents to close at $76.65 on the New York Stock Exchange. FedEx was up $1 to end at $96.64 on the NYSE. |