UPS Packs on Flower Power for 2015 Valentine's Day Season

MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Feb 10, 2015) - Business is blooming leading up to Valentine's Day. To get flowers and gifts to businesses and consumers by Feb. 14 it takes a global logistics network helping Cupid.

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is shipping more than 110 million flowers, which equals 10 million pounds, to love birds around the United States. Many of the blossoms come from Latin American countries, primarily Colombia and Ecuador. More than 90 percent of the imported flowers will travel through Miami International Airport where UPS is the largest air cargo carrier. UPS will add 40 additional flights to and from Latin America.

According to the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend an average of $142 on Valentine's gifts, of that, $41 will be used to buy flowers. U.S. consumers are projected to spend almost $19 billion on Valentine's gifts.

"Meeting our customers' needs is at the heart of what we do," said Jose Acosta, UPS Americas Region president of Latin American Operations and Public Affairs. "This year we're transporting more than 200,000 boxes of flowers in temperature-controlled aircraft." Flowers will stay fresh in a 27,000 square-foot refrigerated warehouse at the UPS air cargo facility in Miami where they are inspected and sorted for travel to their final destination.

About UPS
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including transporting packages and freight; facilitating international trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the web at ups.com^® and its corporate blog can be found at longitudes.ups.com. For UPS news, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.

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