UPS sees demand for global coronavirus medical supplies, residential deliveries spike
UPS has also greatly assisted those working on the front lines of combating this virus
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
Delivery services, deemed an essential infrastructure, are experiencing a surge in business amid the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
UPS delivery drivers, who are facing longer than normal shifts, are working to keep up with the demand for products and desperately needed medical supplies.
"With businesses closed and with more people sheltering at home, the entire industry is seeing more residential deliveries, there is no doubt about that," UPS CEO David Abney told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria."
AMAZON TO SUSPEND DELIVERY SERVICE COMPETING WITH UPS, FEDEX
Industrywide, package delivery services are seeing an uptick in demand in the shipment of health care supplies and other personal protective gear to hospitals and clinics, Abney said.
Since the outbreak, UPS has been working with companies around the globe to transport testing kits, personal protective equipment and medical devices. The company shipped the first batch of critical care ventilators produced by General Motors and Ventec Life Systems to Chicago area hospitals last week.
UPS is also working with FEMA, Project Airbridge and other government agencies with supply chain and shipping services for critical equipment across the U.S.
However, Abney noted that the company can only provide this pivotal service if they care for their employees working on the front lines.
"Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our people," Abney said. "We have really worked hard to make sure that we educate them, to make sure that we sanitize our buildings and our trucks and to give them proper PPE."
Abney also said the company has implemented policy changes to reduce the amount of contact a delivery driver has with customers, such as temporarily eliminating the need for signatures.