UPS hopes acquisition will smooth Canada-U.S. freight moves

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 5, 1999) — United Parcel Service, the world’s largest package delivery company, plans to acquire Trans-Border Customs Services, a full-service brokerage specializing in Canada-to-U.S. trade. The agreement expands UPS’s services along the northern border, allowing it to provide customs clearance for all cross-border shipments, regardless of carrier or mode of transportation, the company said.

Since 1994, UPS has provided full service brokerage for all northbound shipments into Canada.

Headquartered in Champlain, N.Y., Trans-Border operates more than 25 offices stretching from Michigan to the eastern seaboard. In addition to handling the customs documentation and duties required to transport deliveries across the border, the company also offers warehousing and logistics solutions. Trans-border will now become part of UPS Customhouse Brokerage, one of the five largest customs brokers in the world, operating in 15 U.S. cities and 31 countries worldwide.

“We are proud to be associated with a company that brings experience, a strong customer base and a variety of services to the table,’ said Phil Hughes, vice president of UPS Customhouse Brokerage. “This makes UPS a one-stop-shop for the U.S.-Canada trade community.”

The Trans-Border acquisition broadens UPS’s geographic scope, enhances its portfolio of services and provides UPS the additional resources needed to expedite cross-border shipments. UPS’s new, full-service offerings allow it to build on its established small shipment business, and expand to accommodate large truck, air, rail and ocean freight. Both Canadian and U.S. companies can now concentrate on their core businesses and turn to UPS for complete shipping solutions.

UPS maintains the largest in-house customs brokerage operation in the express industry, with 2800 employees worldwide. UPS Customhouse Brokerage was established in 1985 to support UPS’s global transportation network.