MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — In what the company says is the largest expansion of its international shipping portfolio in more than a decade, UPS announced it will begin offering customers three, rather than two, daily time-definite delivery options between Canada, the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

For Canadian business, this enhancement will provide access to flexible delivery times to over 215 countries, UPS says.

The changes, which kick in Jan. 1, 2007, expand the number of morning delivery commit times UPS Canada offers for urgent deliveries to and from cities throughout the world. The courier giant says it will now offer more 9:00 a.m. guaranteed delivery options to more cities within Asia and other global destinations than any other carrier.

“While early morning, morning and end-of-day delivery times have become the standard for deliveries within Canada, importers and exporters have traditionally had only one or two time-of-day delivery options for international air shipments — generally either by 12 noon or by the end of the day,” says the company in a statement. “These new UPS services … will expand those options between North America, Asia, Europe and South America, giving business three time-of-day delivery options in 30 of the world’s most active trading markets.”

The expanded options will make UPS’s international delivery portfolio the most expansive in the industry and will include:

For Canadian exporters, customers will have access to a 9:00 a.m. delivery service to 14 additional countries in Asia and Europe and a 10:30 a.m. or 12 noon delivery to 16 additional countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America.
For the first time, Canadian business will also be able to select a more economical end-of-day delivery service for shipments destined for over 215 countries.

Importers using UPS Worldwide Express Plus, which provides delivery by 8:30 a.m. to Canada, will now be available from over 65 countries worldwide. Businesses will also gain access to the new end-of-day delivery
service, UPS Worldwide Express Saver, for their import shipments from Europe, the U.S., Latin America and Asia.

Each of the UPS Worldwide Express services will be supported by Quantum View(TM) visibility services, which will also be integrated into the newest version of UPS Connect(R) shipping software, UPS CampusShip(TM) and UPS Internet Shipping.

For more info go to www.ups.com