Shipping volume is down 6 to 8 percent from last year, said Albert Lea UPS Operations Supervisor Cory Shea, who expects Christmas shipping volume to also trail last year’s volume. Shea told his drivers to expect a 6 to 9 percent decline in Christmas shipments this year. UPS is the only major shipper of small packages with a base in Albert Lea.

The package shipping industry has a fuel surcharge to keep up with the recent high fuel costs. The surcharge is based on national fuel prices.

“It is 8 percent for ground shipments and 30 percent for overnight shipments,” Shea said. “Fuel costs for UPS are tremendous.”

Last year the company’s fuel costs were in the $4 billion range, including jet fuel, Shea said. UPS tries to save fuel whenever it can by implementing a no idling policy. When the brown package trucks stop for pickup or delivery, the engine is shut off. Right turns are used in congested areas to save time and fuel.

“It’s a trade-off between meeting customer requirements and reducing miles traveled,” Shea said.

UPS of Albert Lea has 15 package truck routes in its territory in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. Half of its business is done in Austin. Distance between stops averages 0.8 miles. A typical route covers 125 miles, with the package cars averaging about 10 miles per gallon. UPS pays for all fuel and maintenance costs on its transportation fleet. Drivers are paid by the hour.

Technology has been a great boon to the company, Shea said. Smart codes on package labels contain detailed information that allows for advanced shipping schedules.

“Tracking and shipment are light years ahead of what they once were,” Shea said. “We know what’s coming at us four or five days ahead of time.”

Christmas shipments make up 5 percent of the UPS annual business for the Albert Lea facility, Shea said. An early Christmas rush from middle to late November mainly focuses on the retail trade. A bigger residential rush begins in mid-December, with heavy volume continuing until Christmas Eve.

“We do all this advertising to get people to ship early for Christmas,” Shea said. “It doesn’t do any good.”

A UPS driver’s job is often stressful, driver Jim Godtland said.

“You have to be a good driver every hour of every day,” he said. “Not everyone else is.”

Godtland has been a UPS driver for 29 years and hopes to retire next year. His route takes him from Albert Lea to Alden, Wells, Easton and the Delavan area before returning home to the company warehouse on East 12th Street in southern Albert Lea. The biggest change he has seen over the years has been in technology.

“Everything used to be done on paper,” Godtland said. “Now it is done with scanners linked to computers. It is a lot easier without all that writing.”

An afternoon crew of dockworkers unloads the package cars, then loads a truck headed for Eagan with a 6:10 p.m. shipping deadline. A preload crew arrives at 4 a.m. to load the package cars for the next morning’s deliveries, and must have the trucks loaded by 8 a.m. Drivers leave around 8:30 a.m.

Val Nikolaus finished her 25-year career as a UPS driver last year. She and her husband, Bob, now split their time between Albert Lea and Florida. She spent 10 years as a substitute driver when others were on vacation. Seniority then allowed her to bid on a permanent route. A five- to 10-year wait for a route is common.

Her usual work week was 40-43 hours, with extra work around Christmas.

“My route took me to Austin every day,” Nikolaus said. “On an average day I would deliver 270 packages and then pick up 150-250.”

Nikolaus made her deliveries in the morning, then picked up packages in the afternoon, working her way through the smaller towns and farms along the way back to Albert Lea. She remembers how people would always help her out when needed.

“I loved my job and I miss the people,” she said. “Many of the customers became good friends of mine.”

The biggest yearly challenge for the drivers is winter. Cory Shea has learned to admire and respect the people he works with, especially when winter storms howl through the area.

“I have worked for the company for 27 years,” Shea said. “I can only remember one or two days that we did not at least try to go out.”

The drivers have tight schedules and hard, physical work to do. Shea thinks his workforce outworks their competition and credits them with the success of the local UPS station.