UPS partners with Mexican firm for international shipping

United Parcel Service (UPS) and Estafeta have announced a partnership to provide Mexican businesses with international shipping services.

The new agreement will help small and midsize businesses (SMEs) in Mexico reach more than 220 countries and territories around the world, as well as customers in the United States within one business day.

“The future is about nimble networks and strategic partnerships,” said Nando Cesarone, president of UPS International, in a release. “The timely collaboration leverages UPS’s smart global logistics network and Estafeta’s established presence in Mexico.”

Cesarone added that the new partnership will benefit from the newly implemented United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“As the (USMCA) comes into force to simplify trade for a refreshed North American trade bloc, we stand ready as growth partners to further streamline established supply chains – and open up new cross-border opportunities,” Cesarone said.

Estafeta is a Mexico City-based company and one of the largest courier, express and parcel (CEP) firms in the country. Estafeta has around 3,600 trucks and vehicles.

In February, Estafeta spent almost $10 million purchasing 65 new trucks, including 16 Volvo VNR640 heavy-duty trucks and 49 new Freightliner Cascadia trucks.

The collaboration includes more than 160 Estafeta service points, where businesses can link up with UPS’s worldwide network through a connection to its global air hub in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Estafeta locations include those in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey and Querétaro, territories that in the last few years have been a launching point for Mexican exporters.

Michael Cuesta, marketing director of UPS Mexico, said online sales by SMEs in Mexico have increased since the coronavirus pandemic started.

“With this economic time that we are living in now with the coronavirus, SMEs are looking for support, they are trying to reinvent themselves, they are looking for added value from their logistics partners,” Cuesta said during a video press conference Thursday.

Cuesta added, “We have worked to choose contact points in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Querétaro, cities that have seen significant growth in exports, and when these clients make their shipments they will find integrated services from a single supplier, as well as advice and visibility of the route.”

Atlanta-based UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is one of the world’s largest parcel delivery companies, with a fleet of more than 500 planes and 100,000 vehicles along with hundreds of sorting facilities around the world.

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