Why FedEx Is Gaining Ground

摘要

It's late morning in San Francisco's South of Market district, and Ramon Umali quickly steers his green-and-violet Federal Express truck into a U-turn. One of his biggest customers―online adult-toy retailer MyPleasure.com―just rang his cell phone with a last-minute plea: Does he have room in his truck for 600 boxes of Aqua Arousers, Violet Raptures, and Kama Sutra Weekender Kits? And could he pick them up before 1 p.m.? No problem! This is the new FedEx, able to turn on a dime―on the ground. And it's pulling customers away from its biggest ground-delivery rival, United Parcel Service. Its secret? Umali and the 14,000 other U.S. drivers for FedEx Ground don't work for Federal Express at all. Unlike the Teamster-backed drivers at UPS, FedEx Ground drivers work as independent contractors; they own and insure their own trucks, manage their schedules, and get paid by package volume, not by the clock. "I feel like this is my own business," says Umali, who sold his restaurant-supply company to become a self-employed driver for FedEx Ground.