May 1, 2008: UPS announced its profit rose 7.5 percent in the first quarter, though it was affected by the weakening U.S. economy. After-tax profits rose to $906 million, or 87 cents a share, for the January-March quarter, compared to $843 million, or 78 cents a share, for the same period last year.

Revenue in the quarter rose 6.5 percent to $12.68 billion, compared to $11.91 billion last year. UPS said it benefited from strong gains in its international operations. But UPS said it doesn’t expect the U.S. economy to strengthen in the second quarter.

During the first quarter, UPS delivered total consolidated volume of 968 million packages, unchanged from a year ago. UPS said the slowing U.S. economy reduced average daily volume in the U.S. by 0.3 percent for the quarter. It saw volume declines in next-day air shipments.