Amidst a highly anticipated strike from the Teamsters Union against UPS, FedEx is encouraging shippers to start shipping with them instead, to lessen the blow when the strike officially starts. They are hoping to be able to fill the need for shipping with the loss of UPS for the duration of the strike so as to not disrupt services too much.

The Teamsters Union and UPS have had ongoing discussions to reach a new agreement, but they recently ended.

The discussion’s ending was not due to the two parties reaching an agreement though, it was due to a lack of an agreement being reached yet. The Teamsters gave UPS an ultimatum to meet their demands by June 28th with their new offer or else discussions would end and a strike would happen. That date has come and gone, and no decision has been reached, so a strike is on the horizon for Teamsters’ UPS drivers.

FedEx described its priority as “protecting capacity and service for existing customers.” They are encouraging people that are considering making the switch from UPS to them to do it now so that the company still has time to adjust and prioritize them in their shipments before they become bombarded with even more shipments that start coming in once the Teamsters actually strike.

Thus far, FedEx has not seen massive growth in its clientele.

Despite this, they are still anticipating an uptick in their client base. The Teamsters have made official statements saying that if they do not have a contract from UPS that meets their requirements by August 1st, then they will officially strike. They chose August 1st as their last day, as the current contract between the union and the shipping company ends July 31st.

Because this strike feels inevitable and imminent, FedEx has had to announce its own restrictions when it comes to new clients that it will take on. They have said that any current price offers that are around for large companies must be signed on by July 17th, otherwise, they will have to withdraw the offer. They will continue to honor those who have contacted them but not yet signed after the 17th, but after that, if they have seen a big increase in the number of customers they serve, then they may have to limit the number of new customers they take on from there.

The CEO of DHL Express, another shipping competitor, has said that they are not trying to gain clients from this situation. He is aware of the fact that they will never be able to sustain even a little bit of the customers that UPS serves and has said that he feels this is an inappropriate way to earn business, saying he wants to earn it the “right way.”