(Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS) expects its automation and expansion plans to add between $1.00 and $1.20 to its adjusted earnings per share by 2022, the world's biggest package delivery company said on Thursday.
Atlanta-based UPS is in the early stages of its $20 billion capital spending project to automate and expand facilities.
"Transformation will lift our earnings, as we generate higher-quality revenue," said Chief Executive Officer David Abney.
The company will increase its sorting capacity in the United States by 350,000 to 400,000 pieces per hour, each year between 2018 and 2020, or about seven times the additional sorting capacity added in 2017, UPS said.
UPS is under pressure to increase margins squeezed by its embrace of expensive last-mile home deliveries of online purchases as it competes with FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX). FedEx makes fewer pricey deliveries, and has more efficient automated package handling and a lower-cost nonunion workforce.