Sent Items #219: Market Shifts, UPS Rebounds & The Sold Out Edition

Welcome to the January 18th edition of Sent Items.

If you thought the first week of January was going to be a slow ease-in, Week 2 had other plans. It has been a heavy week for the industry with significant news regarding Fast Group winding down operations, alongside major updates from UPS, Walmart, and the USPS (who decided to raise rates and lock down data in the same week).

Oh, and if you haven't looked at your postage meter lately, USPS rate hikes start today.

On a brighter note, we also hosted our first Matt's Chats of the year (replay below!) and I officially sold out the Austin VIP dinner in record time (don't worry, I'm working on finding more chairs).

I’ll be in Palm Beach this week for the annual BGSA Supply Chain Conference - let me know if you are too!

Let's get into it.

— Matt

Here’s the first unboxing video of 2026!

And here’s the replay to this month’s Matt’s Chats featuring Bryan Corbett (VP of Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Barrett Distribution), Dru Carpenter (Co-Founder, Yuzu), and Courtenay Schick (Head of US Operations, waterdrop). Give it a listen - it was a great conversation!

Now onto some headlines…

Fast Group Winding Down Operations Significant news hit the market last week regarding Fast Group - the parent company of Sendle, FirstMile, and ACI Logistix. Max Garland at Supply Chain Dive reported that the company is winding down operations effective immediately due to capital constraints. It is a difficult moment for the team and a significant shift in the alternative carrier landscape. I fear there will be more headlines this year of smaller carriers going out of business - I’ve seen some rate cards recently and it’s simply not possible for them to make money (and gravity always wins!) Source: Supply Chain Dive

Reminder: USPS Rate Hikes Start Today Consider this your final warning. The USPS January 2026 Price Change goes into effect today, Sunday, Jan 18. The headline stats: Ground Advantage prices are jumping an average of 7.8%, while Priority Mail is up 6.6%. If your 2026 budget was built on 2025 rates, you will want to review your postage metrics Monday morning. Source: USPS

Walmart & Wing: Drone Delivery Scales Up While Amazon is pulling drones out of Italy, Walmart is doubling down in the US. The retailer announced a massive expansion of its partnership with Wing (Alphabet's drone unit), scaling service to 270 stores across the country. The move will bring 30-minute aerial delivery to millions more customers, proving that for Walmart, the "last mile" is increasingly becoming the "last 400 feet." Source: WSJ

Birkenstock's Warning: 2026 Tariffs Will Bite The tariff pain is getting specific. Birkenstock CFO Ivica Krolo warned investors this week that new 2026 tariffs will have a "material impact" on margins that price hikes alone might not fix. It’s one of the first major consumer brands to explicitly flag that the "efficiency" levers have been pulled, and now the costs are likely to stick. Source: Supply Chain Dive

The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) spot rates on Shanghai to New York decreased 10% to $3,568 per 40ft container and those from Shanghai to Los Angeles decreased 7% to $2,909 per 40ft container. Carriers were unable to sustain rates because of weak demand despite upwards pressure on spot rates due to the expected Chinese New Year factory shutdowns next month.

Ocean carriers have put on hold their plans to resume transits via the Red Sea amid escalating protests in Iran and the risk of direct US military intervention, which continues to drive volatility in the region.

Penske Deploys AI to Track Freight While everyone talks about "AI," Penske Logistics is deploying it. The company announced it is rolling out a new AI-based platform (via partner Augment - Harish Abbott’s newco (ex Deliverr)) to track shipments across its massive fleet. The goal isn't just visibility; Penske projects a 30-40% productivity gain by using the tool to automate manual "track and trace" calls and emails. If you’re still calling dispatchers for status updates in 2026, you’re officially behind the curve. Source: Transport Topics

USPS to Restrict Tracking Data Access The Postal Service is tightening its grip on data. Starting in April 2026, the USPS will restrict access to bulk package tracking data, forcing third-party service providers (aggregators, software platforms) to sign new agreements and potentially pay fees for API access. While this won't affect consumers tracking their own packages, it’s a major hurdle for the logistics tech ecosystem that relies on these free data streams to power your dashboards. Source: Supply Chain 24/7

Where I'll Be (Manifest & Austin)

🥩 Austin VIP Dinner (Feb 19) Status: SOLD OUT (But...) The response to the Austin dinner was incredible - we filled all 20 seats within an hour of sending last week’s Sent Items. I then opened another 10 seats and those filled up within hours. However, I am working with the venue to squeeze in a few more spots. If you want to be first in line when they open: 👉 Register Here

🏈 Super Bowl Party @ Manifest (Feb 9) Heading to Vegas early? Come watch the game with us. No pitch decks, just wings and bad refs. 👉 RSVP Here

🍸 Operators Happy Hour @ Manifest (Feb 11) I’m co-hosting a HH specifically for Brand and 3PL Operators. If you run a warehouse or manage a supply chain, this is your tribe. 👉 RSVP Here

Have a great week!

- Matt

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