(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 16, 2002 ) What takes a full year of planning, the commitment of more than 400,000 people and helps consumers around the world?

The answer: Synchronizing trucks, trains and planes on UPS's busiest day of the year to help customers with their shipping just before Christmas.

The pinnacle of the holiday shipping season - dubbed Peak Day - will come on Thursday, Dec. 19, when UPS safely speeds more than 18 million packages to their destinations. That's the equivalent of one package for every American child under the age of 5. It's about 210 packages delivered every second, and more than a 35 percent surge above UPS's average volume of 13.6 million packages a day.

"For UPS, the holidays are the most challenging and invigorating time of the year," says Cal Darden, UPS senior vice president of U.S. Operations. "Millions of people will depend on UPS and its unmatched global delivery network, and we will respond with top-flight service to get those packages under the tree, on time and intact."

After Peak Day, packages will continue zipping through UPS's residential and commercial ground network through Dec. 24 as Brown fulfills its Santa-related duties right to the end. Volume for UPS air express deliveries actually will crest on Christmas Eve - Tuesday, Dec. 24 - with a global volume of about 4.5 million air packages, more than double the normal average.

To accommodate the surge in volume, UPS has added some 60,000 seasonal helpers to its workforce of 360,000 and more than a dozen large jets to supplement the more than 600 aircraft in operation year-round. More than 1,300 UPS flights will take off each day during Peak Week, a 45 percent increase from a typical week.

And while Santa tracks who's naughty and nice, UPS customers will do some tracking of their own. UPS expects a record 12 million online requests on Peak Day, nearly double the average rate of about 7 million on a typical day. Many of the requests will come from online shoppers, 55 percent of whom choose UPS as their shipper when buying online, according to a recent study by Forrester Research.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS is the world's largest express carrier and largest package delivery company. For 19 consecutive years, UPS has been named "America's Most Admired" mail and package delivery company in a Fortune magazine survey.

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of UPS and its management regarding the company's strategic directions, prospects and future results, involve certain risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, governmental regulations, our competitive environment, strikes, work stoppages and slowdowns (or customer behavior in anticipation of such events), increases in aviation and motor fuel prices, cyclical and seasonal fluctuations in our operating results, and other risks discussed in the company's Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated herein by reference.

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Produced for UPS

Contacts:


UPS, Atlanta
Vanessa Smith, 404/828-4275
vanessasmith@ups.com



Fleishman-Hillard
Dave Moessner, 314/982-7675
moessned@fleishman.com
pressroom.ups.com



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Joseph Nchor
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