AeA Discount Shipping Program UPS Freight discount to remain at 62%

UPS completes acquisition of Overnite Transportation, begins massive rebranding into UPS Freight.

AeA Discount Shipping Program members now benefit from services and discounts from FedEx®, Yellow Transportation, and UPS Freight—with no minimums or obligations!

UPS Freight announced May 1, 2006 that it had completed its acquisition of the Overnite Corporation, and began its rebranding of the company to UPS Freight. AeA Discount Shipping Program customers should begin seeing the new UPS Freight uniforms on drivers immediately, and will gradually begin to see the newly branded trucks as UPS Freight transitions them over time.

“The transition from Overnite to UPS Freight will happen gradually over the next few years, so don't be alarmed if you see an Overnite truck, and the driver has on a new UPS Freight uniform and is carrying UPS Freight invoices,”said John Finucane, executive vice president of PartnerShip, the company that developed and manages the AeA Discount Shipping Program.

What won't change are the large-freight discounts and the customer service AeA members are accustomed to shipping with the AeA Discount Shipping Program through PartnerShip.

“The carrier's external changes as it moves from Overnite to UPS Freight will not affect AeA member benefits through the AeA Discount Shipping Program,” Finucane stressed. “Your 62% PartnerShip UPS Freight discount will remain the same as it was with Overnite, and the PartnerShip staff will continue to work with UPS Freight and all carriers on your behalf.” Customers also can continue to monitor their shipments from pickup to delivery on PartnerShip's web site at www.partnership.com.

The rebranding from Overnite to UPS Freight includes a move to the UPS logo; new colors—a gray reminiscent of the Overnite gray combined with UPS's signature brown, and the launch of a new website for shipping and tracking, www.upsfreight.com. The facilities and fleet, which includes 22,000 trailers, will be rebranded to UPS Freight over the course of several years.

The transition to UPS Freight has led to the deployment of new technology, most significantly the introduction of UPS's DIAD, the hand-held computer used by drivers to improve customer service and ease shipment tracking.

It is also important to note that UPS Freight operates independently of the UPS ground small package division. FedEx remains the preferred small package carrier of the AeA Discount Shipping Program. Currently no program discounts are available with UPS ground small package division.

The AeA Discount Shipping Program still offers AeA members their familiar discounted shipping services through FedEx for small package shipping and Yellow Transportation for long-haul LTL shipments. If you have any questions regarding Overnite’s transition to UPS Freight, or if you would like additional information about the AeA Discount Shipping Program, please call PartnerShip at 800.599.2902, visit partnership.com, or email us at sales@partnership.com.