UPS is shelling out nearly $50 million on temperature-controlled facilities to meet the booming demand for GLP-1 deliveries

United Parcel Service is investing $48 million into 27 temperature-controlled facilities as it continues its push into healthcare services, the freight company announced on Monday. The expansion of these global facilities, which are designed for short-term storage between air and ground transportation, allows UPS to better tap into an emerging $39.1 billion temperature-sensitive biologics market, which continues to grow amid ballooning demand for medication that is required to be stored cold. “This effort—and all of our work in healthcare logistics—extends from a deep understanding that we’re doing more than moving packages,” Kate Gutmann, executive vice president and president of international, healthcare and supply chain solutions at UPS, said in a statement. “We are helping patients access the medications and treatments they need.” The risk associated with improperly stored medicines is high. According to the World Health Organization, temperature problems are responsible for 50% of global vaccine waste and cost $35 billion per year. Among the medications needed to be stored in temperature-controlled units are gene and cell therapies, mRNA vaccines, and GLP-1 injectables. GLP-1s in particular have seen soaring popularity, with one in eight adults reporting using the medication to treat diabetes,weight loss, or another condition, according to KFF data from November 2025. Pharmaceutical companies have raced to meet the growing demand for the medication. Ely Lilly announced in March plans to invest $3 billion over the next decade into expanding manufacturing in China, primarily to increase production capacity for orforglipron, the company’s experimental GLP-1 receptor. Demand for the drug is expected to grow. Starting July 1, Medicare beneficiaries may be able to get some GLP-1 prescriptions for $50 per month under a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services initiative. Freight carriers’ healthcare push UPS’s push into temperature-controlled facilities represents