** Shares of parcel delivery firm UPS UPS.N on track to drop more than 20% for 2024, marking their third straight year of decline

** Customers' ongoing switch to slower, cheaper deliveries has continued to trouble UPS, forcing it to look at cost-cutting measures to counter fall in demand

** Co announced to cut more than 12,000 jobs in January; in June, it sold its freight brokerage business, Coyote, to RXO RXO.N for $1.03 bln

** UPS fell short of estimates for quarterly profit once in last four quarters, but missed revenue estimates thrice in same time period - LSEG data

** Extreme weather events such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton also impacted co's services throughout 2024

** However, UPS in April won USPS contract over rival FedEx FDX.N, with co expecting contract to be profitable in its first year and throughout the more than five-year deal

** Analysts believe co to be headed in right direction for 2025, with fundamentals and stock price having bottomed

** FedEx's shares up 10.9% YTD

(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru)

((Abhinav.Parmar@thomsonreuters.com;))