UPS Profit Surges 90% on Higher Package Volume
Author: Bob Sechler</br></br>United Parcel Service Inc.'s second-quarter profit jumped 90%, driven by Asian trade and what the company said was a moderate but steady U.S. recovery.</br></br>UPS boosted its full-year profit forecast to between $3.35 and $3.45 a share, from $3.05 to $3.30. The company's stock was up 5.8% Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange at $63.48, its highest level since late May.</br></br>Other U.S. shipping companies have forecast a return to the typical, fall peak shipping season after the global recession sapped strength in recent years. The global networks of Atlanta-based UPS and rival FedEx Corp. make them barometers of international trade.</br></br>"I think there's pretty good confidence out there," UPS Chief Executive Scott Davis said on a conference call Thursday. "I think overall our shippers feel pretty good."