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OAKLAND, Calif. — Representatives from UPS Inc. and Walmart Inc., two of the country’s largest fleets, said electric vehicles can provide environmental, economic and community benefits, which make efforts to work through challenges surrounding duty cycle, charging infrastructure and cost worthwhile.

UPS Inc. and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Oct. 25 the parcel delivery company will begin a pilot project aimed at reducing congestion downtown and addressing air quality concerns. Delivery drivers will use electric pedal-assist cargo bicycles with a customized modular trailer attached to the back of the bike.

UPS Inc. reported strong revenue growth and higher profits in the third quarter, despite international headwinds from currency valuations, rising fuel costs and ongoing investment in transformation initiatives.

ATLANTA — UPS Inc. is looking to the future with its new Southeast Metro Automated Routing Terminal. About the size of 19 football fields, the automated facility can be expanded to increase the 1,700 packages a minute it is able to process now.

UPS Inc. plans to hire as many as 40,000 seasonal employees nationwide when it holds a one-day hiring blitz, the package delivery giant announced Oct. 15. UPS will hold 170 job fairs Oct. 19 and hire employees on the spot.

Negotiations were scheduled to resume between UPS Inc. and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters after they reached a tentative five-year labor agreement last month covering 250,000 drivers, loaders, package sorters, dockworkers and operations team members.

More than five weeks before its contract with UPS expires Aug. 1, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Atlanta-based shipping giant announced late June 21 tentative agreement on a five-year contract that industry officials say could pave the way for UPS to begin Sunday delivery service.

UPS Inc. announced an additional $130 million investment in compressed natural gas vehicles, including 400 semi-tractors and 330 terminal trucks and five more fueling stations — underscoring the company’s role as a major catalyst for wide-scale adoption of natural gas vehicles.

UPS Inc. will increase its over-the-maximum limits and the oversize pallet-handling surcharge to $650 from $500 beginning June 4.

UPS Inc. reported double-digit gains in the first quarter as a result of the strength of its global business as well as economic conditions.