May 20, 2011: UPS executives announced that the company hauled in $885 million in profits after taxes in the first quarter of 2011. That’s a 66 percent increase from the $533 million in profits Brown made in the first quarter of 2010.

Revenue jumped seven percent to $12.58 billion. UPS management was already projecting record profits for the year. But after the first quarter haul, they adjusted their record projections even higher.

UPS Freight profits grew the fastest in the first three months of the year, with adjusted operating profit up 44 percent. Operating profit for package operations rose 29 percent.

The company noted that while ground volume decreased, air volume increased. The company has used declining air volume to justify laying off air drivers and clerks and eliminating 22.3 positions in violation of the contract.