UPS to require photo IDs for shipping packages

United Parcel Service (UPS) is now requiring photo identification from customers shipping packages at retail locations around the world, a month after explosives made it onto one of the company's planes.

The Atlanta-based package courier said Tuesday the move is part of an ongoing review to enhance security. The directive will apply at The UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc locations and other authorised shipping outlets.

UPS customer centres have required government-issued photo identification since 2005.

In late October, a printer cartridge on a UPS cargo plane bound for Chicago was stopped in London after explosives were discovered.

The package was later traced to a retail location in Yemen.

The stepped-up security also comes as UPS prepares for its busiest shipping day of the year. United Parcel Service expects to deliver 430 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and 24 million packages alone on its busiest day, projected to be December 22. That's up 60 per cent from a normal day.

"Since retail centres experience a significant increase in business from occasional shippers during the busy holidays, this enhancement adds a prudent step in our multi-layered approach to security," UPS vice-president of small business and retail marketing Dale Hayes said in a statement.

Shares of UPS Inc. rose 66 cents to US$72.35 in morning trading Tuesday after rising to a 52-week high of US$72.42 earlier in the session.

AP