UPS Sees Improved Holiday Demand

ATLANTA (TheStreet) -- United Parcel Service(UPS Quote) said Wednesday the U.S. holiday season is likely to be better than expected and it plans to raise rates in 2010.

"The consensus is flat, but I believe it will be slightly better than that," UPS CEO Scott Davis said of holiday demand. Speaking at a business luncheon in Singapore, Davis said he sees a gradual recovery in the global economy, Reuters reports.

The news from UPS, the world's biggest package delivery company, comes a day after rival FedEx(FDX Quote) forecasted it would ship 13 million packages on Dec. 14, which it expects to be its busiest day this year.

That would be up more than 8% from the total of about 12 million packages shipped on its peak day last year. That was the busiest day ever for FedEx, due in part to a growing partnership with the U.S. Postal Service.

Both FedEx and UPS generally release their holiday peak predictions this month. Neither company made predictions last year, citing economic uncertainty.

UPS could release a more specific prediction later this month.

-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York .

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