UPS misses quarterly estimates on high labor costs, weak small-package demand

United Parcel Service missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, hurt by subdued package delivery demand and higher costs from its Teamsters labor contract.

Shares of the delivery company, seen as a bellwether for the global economy, were down 8% in premarket trading, while shares of rival FedEx fell about 2%.

UPS, FedEx and other home delivery providers have been slashing costs since the end of home-bound consumers' early pandemic e-commerce binge in late 2021.