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UPS paints gloomy economic picture
NEW YORK, March 12 (WorldACD) - Citing worsening economic conditions package delivery company UPS Inc said on Wednesday its U.S. volumes were down in February, which could make it hard to meet its first-quarter earnings outlook.
"If these trends continue through March, our earnings guidance for the first quarter will be difficult to achieve," Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn said.
Atlanta-based UPS said that while U.S. volumes declined virtually across its "entire customer base" in February, its international volumes, including U.S. export volumes, continued to show strong growth. Kuehn also said that the company's international and supply chain units looked likely to meet first-quarter targets.
Like its main rival FedEx Corp., UPS is considered a bellwether of U.S. economic activity, based on the premise that in a robust economy companies and individuals tend to send more packages and that the opposite is true in a downturn.
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