UPS Profit Jumps On Higher Overseas Shipping Volumes
United Parcel Services Inc.'s first-quarter profit jumped 33% as the shipping company reported higher package volume, led by a significant increase abroad.</br></br>UPS, a bellwether of the broader economy, disclosed the better-than-expected preliminary results two weeks ago, and was one of the first to signify a rebound in the freight-transport sector was underway.</br></br>Tuesday, UPS executives said the broad economic recovery appears poised to gain steam, although they described the upturn as more "measured" than dramatic to this point.</br></br>Chief Executive Scott Davis said demand picked up throughout the first quarter, a trend that has continued so far in the second quarter.</br></br>"Economies around the world are showing signs of recovery," Davis said.