United Parcel Service, Inc.
Company History
United Parcel Service History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1907 in Seattle, Washington, United States
When was United Parcel Service founded?
United Parcel Service was founded in 1907 in Seattle, Washington, United States by James E. Casey and Claude Ryan, making it 119 years old.
- Founded
- 1907
- Founding place
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Founders
- James E. Casey and Claude Ryan
- Headquarters today
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Milestones documented
- 12 (1907–2026)
- Current CEO
- Carol Tomé
- Acquisitions
- 3
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1907 | American Messenger Company founded |
| 1919 | United Parcel Service name adopted |
| 1975 | Service to All 48 Contiguous States |
| 1988 | UPS Airlines launched |
| 1999 | UPS IPO |
| 2001 | Mail Boxes Etc. Acquired |
| 2013 | TNT Express Bid Withdrawn |
| 2015 | Acquired Coyote Logistics |
| 2020 | Carol Tome Becomes CEO |
| 2021 | Acquired Roadie |
| 2025 | Andlauer acquisition completed |
| 2026 | Amazon glide-down completed |
- Where was United Parcel Service founded?
- United Parcel Service was founded in Seattle, Washington, United States in 1907. wikidata.org
- Who founded United Parcel Service?
- United Parcel Service was founded by James E. Casey and Claude Ryan.
- When did United Parcel Service start?
- United Parcel Service was founded in 1907.
- How old is United Parcel Service?
- United Parcel Service is 119 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Jim Casey and Claude Ryan started the American Messenger Company in Seattle on August 28, 1907, with a $100 loan. The young company ran errands and delivered messages, then shifted to delivering packages for retail stores. It merged with a competitor, expanded to Oakland in 1919 and adopted the United Parcel Service name. Over the following decades it added common-carrier service across the United States, launched UPS Airlines in 1988, and went public on the NYSE in 1999.
Founders
James E. Casey
James E. (Jim) Casey co-founded the American Messenger Company in Seattle in 1907 with a $100 loan. The business moved from running messages to delivering parcels for local department stores, took the United Parcel Service name in 1919, and expanded across the United States under his long leadership. Casey is credited with the company's emphasis on service reliability, employee ownership, and operating discipline. James E. Casey was born in 1888.
Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan co-founded the American Messenger Company with Jim Casey in Seattle in 1907. The two teenagers started with a handful of messengers and a few bicycles, handling errands, deliveries, and telephone-ordered messages before the company shifted its focus to retail package delivery. Claude Ryan was born in 1889.
Key Milestones
American Messenger Company founded
Jim Casey and Claude Ryan opened a Seattle messenger company with a $100 loan.
Source: about.ups.comUnited Parcel Service name adopted
The company took the UPS name as it expanded to Oakland, California.
Source: about.ups.comService to All 48 Contiguous States
UPS became the first package delivery company to serve every address in the 48 contiguous states in 1975.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMail Boxes Etc. Acquired
UPS bought the retail shipping chain Mail Boxes Etc. in 2001, later rebranded The UPS Store.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgTNT Express Bid Withdrawn
UPS withdrew its 5.2 billion euro bid for TNT Express in January 2013 after the European Commission moved to block it.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAcquired Coyote Logistics
United Parcel Service acquired Coyote Logistics for $1.8 billion.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCarol Tome Becomes CEO
Carol Tome became chief executive of UPS in June 2020.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAndlauer acquisition completed
UPS closed its $1.6 billion acquisition of Andlauer Healthcare Group.
Source: investors.ups.comAmazon glide-down completed
UPS said the reduction of Amazon volume was complete and raised 2026 guidance.
Source: investors.ups.comMajor Acquisitions
Andlauer Healthcare Group
2025Add temperature-controlled healthcare logistics capacity in Canada and the United States.
Roadie
2021Add a crowdsourced same-day local delivery platform.
Coyote Logistics
2015Enter truckload freight brokerage.
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United Parcel Service Company History FAQ
When, where, and how was UPS founded?
UPS was founded on August 28, 1907, in Seattle, Washington, as the American Messenger Company by 19-year-old James E. "Jim" Casey and Claude Ryan in a cramped basement office with a borrowed $100.
How did the company transition from bicycle messages to retail package delivery?
With the spread of residential telephones reducing messenger errands, Casey partnered with Seattle department stores in 1913 to deliver customer purchases using modified Model T Ford trucks, consolidating retail deliveries across the city.
Why did the company adopt the name United Parcel Service in 1919?
Upon expanding outside Seattle to Oakland, California, in 1919, the company adopted the name United Parcel Service (UPS) to reflect unified consolidated delivery, package parcel focus, and customer-first service.
Where did the iconic Pullman brown color of UPS trucks originate?
In 1916, co-founder Charlie Soderstrom recommended painting delivery vehicles the rich brown used on luxury Pullman railroad sleeping cars because it conveyed dignity, professionalism, and concealed road dirt effectively.
How did UPS battle for interstate "common carrier" rights across the United States?
For decades, state regulators and the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) restricted delivery companies to protect railroad freight. UPS waged fierce 30-year legal battles to win nationwide common carrier rights, completing its 50-state service network in 1975.
When was UPS Airlines launched and what is Worldport?
UPS launched its own dedicated FAA-certified airline (UPS Airlines) in 1988. It built its primary international air hub, Worldport, at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, now handling over 400,000 packages per hour.
What was the significance of the 1999 UPS Initial Public Offering (IPO)?
On November 10, 1999, UPS went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: UPS), raising $5.47 billion in what was the largest Initial Public Offering in US history at the time, while preserving employee ownership structures.
What was the 1997 Teamsters strike and how did it affect UPS?
In August 1997, 185,000 Teamsters union workers went on a 15-day nationwide strike over part-time employee pay and pension control. The strike halted US parcel commerce, costing UPS hundreds of millions and reshaping management-labor dialogue.
How did UPS deliver COVID-19 vaccines globally during the pandemic?
In late 2020, UPS Healthcare orchestrated "Operation Warp Speed," deploying ultra-low temperature dry-ice storage freezers and GPS-tracked thermal shipping cases to deliver billions of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine doses worldwide with 99.9% on-time accuracy.
Who was appointed CEO of UPS in June 2020?
Carol Tomé, former long-time Chief Financial Officer of The Home Depot and UPS board director since 2003, became Chief Executive Officer on June 1, 2020, making history as the first female and first outsider CEO in UPS's 113-year history.
What was the landmark 2023 Teamsters labor contract agreement?
In August 2023, UPS and the Teamsters union ratified a historic five-year collective bargaining agreement covering 330,000 employees, averting a threatened nationwide strike by raising full-time driver compensation (wages plus benefits) to an average of $170,000 annually by contract end.
How did UPS win the primary US Postal Service air cargo contract in 2024?
In April 2024, the United States Postal Service (USPS) awarded UPS its primary domestic air cargo transport contract, displacing rival FedEx after more than twenty years and substantially expanding UPS Airlines' domestic payload volume.
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