May 31, 2001 -- The Washington Business Journal has reported that "SpeedGreetings, a Bethesda, Md.-based company that sells business-themed greeting cards, announced today it closed a $3 million round of funding and added a pair of its investors and former U.S. Postmasters General to its board. Closing its second round, SpeedGreetings' funding came from the senior management of Bethesda-based mass mailing processor Mail2000, former U.S. Postmaster General Paul Carlin and other private investors. The company, in turn, named Carlin, Mail2000 COO John Kuiper, former U.S. Postmaster General Marvin Runyon and Loren Smith, the Postal Service's former chief marketing officer to its board. Company officials say they will use the funding to bolster development and enhance delivery services."

May 31, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Consignia, formerly the [British] Post Office, is considering outsourcing large parts of its operations, including letter sorting and delivery, to enable it to compete with potential private sector rivals. The proposals are understood to have emerged during an efficiency review by KPMG, the professional services firm, as part of Consignia's efforts to prepare its Royal Mail letters subsidiary for competition. Mail deliveries were thrown into chaos last week by a wave of unofficial strikes over new working practices. Many observers believe that up to 30 per cent of Royal Mail business is vulnerable to competition." See also the story in The Guardian.

May 31, 2001 -- In his most recent commentary for DM News, postal consultant Cary Baer said that "if the postal service is serious about the commitment to reducing its labor complement, then every action it takes needs to be looked at from the following standpoint: Does the action tend to decrease postal labor content? To the extent that rate changes do not encourage additional work sharing, they are a mistake."

May 31, 2001 -- The Africa News Service has reported that "a marketing board to spearhead postal business development in Africa is to be set up. Chief executive officers from 40 African postal authorities made the resolution during a meeting in Dakar, Senegal last week. The board, to comprise 10 postal CEOs, will hold its first meeting in Nairobi at a later date. The board, the statement added, will among other things help African postal authorities to: Ensure a common vision and leadership which will lead to the sharing of experiences, regional cooperation and sustainable growth and Establish partnership to support each other."

May 31, 2001 -- Reuters has reported that "China Post, the state-backed postal services giant, is pushing for limits on foreign and domestic express mail companies as it seeks to regain market share....The turf battle has turned tense in some Chinese cities where postal authorities visited companies and told them they were violating the law...."The issue at stake is whether the China Post Office should have a monopoly over business documents sent or received internationally," said David Cunningham, president of FedEx Asia Pacific. China Post, which has a monopoly on regular domestic mail service, is lobbying to handle all documents of up to 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) and packages of up to 2.5 kg (5.5 lb), industry officials said."

May 31, 2001 -- The Vancouver Sun has reported that the "Canadian Union of Public Employees, Democracy Watch and the Sierra Legal Defence Fund in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice will argue that the secrecy of the tribunals authorized under NAFTA violates freedom of the press - under freedom of expression - under the Charter. The challenge tackles the North America Free Trade Agreement's controversial Chapter 11, which requires governments to treat foreign companies the same as domestic ones....Under Chapter 11, foreign companies have sued governments for lost revenues over what they argue are discriminatory policies. United Parcel Service is suing the Canadian government for funding Canada Post's parcel delivery, for example. In another case, Ohio-based S.D. Myers sued Canada for $10 million US for killing a deal to destroy PCBs from Alberta over environmental concerns. Using Chapter 11, the company argued Canada unfairly discriminated against it. A NAFTA tribunal agreed. Damages have yet to be assessed."

May 31, 2001 -- According to the CommentWire.com, United Parcel Service "can now offer full customs clearance services to shippers of all goods, not just those shipping small packages. The new business, yet to be named will be spearheaded by Fritz, whose $347 million turnover was completed last week. This expansion should enable UPS to compete against the likes of Deutsche Post."

May 31, 2001 -- The British newspaper, The Independent, has reported that "the [British] Post Office is considering contracting out deliveries to a commercial company with the German IT company, Siemens, front runner to take over. The move is one of a range of options included in a review of Royal Mail operations by the accountants KPMG, but would be fiercely resisted by unions. The choice of Siemens would be controversial after the company's involvement in the huge delays in passport applications two summers ago. Contracting out the service could mean postmen's uniforms bearing the logo of a commercial company."

May 31, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that " La Poste, the French post office, is set to form a partnership with Poste Italiane to boost its parcels delivery network in southern Europe."

May 31, 2001 -- As Dow Jones has noted, "race looms large in Malaysia. So when an avowedly ethnic Chinese company like Phileo Allied buys the national postal service with its -- albeit decidedly diminished -- monopoly, its 740 branches and its vast property holdings all over the country, it's bound to raise eyebrows."

May 31, 2001 -- Dow Jones has reported that the South African government has approved a recommendation by the South African Post Office to cancel a management agreement with a New Zealand company, which it has accused of not fulfilling its contractual obligations. The three-year $23 million contract, signed in 1999 with New Zealand International Limited's international subsidiary Transend, turned sour when the post office reported that it faced losses of up to $84 million. Its management said Transend had failed to ensure the agency broke even by March.

May 31, 2001 -- Pitney Bowes Inc. presented the World Mail Award for Innovation to the United States Postal Service (U.S. Postal Service) during the 12th World Mail and Express Conference in London. The award for its CONFIRM System, which enables tracking on letter post items, was presented at a gala dinner ceremony.

May 30, 2001 -- The Courier-Express-and Postal Market News (CEP News) has reported that "the airline Europe Airpost, a La Poste subsidiary, is expecting a 147.6m euros turnover for the current financial year, according to company president Mr Claude Viet in an interview with Reuters news agency. Around 95% of the turnover is attributed to various domestic flight connections, and Europe Airpost transports approx. 500 tons of letters and parcels per day on behalf of La Poste. Europe Airpost recently became linked with a new joint venture between the French La Poste and Poste Italiane (CEP News 20/01). Apparently the airline was to initially establish a direct link between the main transfer points Paris and Rome and then gradually move into further European routes."

May 30, 2001 -- A copy of the European publication, the Courier-Express-and Postal Market News (CEP News) is posted as a courtesy provided to PostCom members. Our thanks go to the MRU Consultancy GmbH for this courtesy.

May 30, 2001 -- QAS, developers of QuickAddress software and global leaders in rapid addressing systems, has appointed Michael L. Murphy to the top post of its U.S. operations. Murphy, former manager of the United States Postal Service Address Management Office and the National Customer Support Center, was brought on to the QAS management team to provide leadership and direction as QAS establishes a larger presence in North American markets.

May 30, 2001 -- According to Business and Finance, "a standoff has developed between An Post [the Irish post office] and the Irish Minister for Public Enterprise, Mary O' Rourke over whether an interim payment of up to IR 5m should be paid to the country's postmasters to prevent further post office closures around the country."

May 30, 2001 -- "You've got bills." According to the National Post (Canada), "tThat's the message being promoted by the head of Canada Post's Internet subsidiary, as the company officially rolls out promotion and marketing for its Epost service. Though Epost.ca was first announced in November, 1999, it has taken the better part of 18 months for the service to be fully rolled out. As part of the promotion, Peter Melanson, the company's chief executive, will be speaking at a conference on electronic billing today. The company has also launched a marketing awareness campaign that will cost upwards of $1-million."

May 30, 2001 -- The Hong Kong Economic Journal has reported that "Hong Kong's postal authority, plans to make an adjustment in postage rates in the face of increasing operating costs and decreasing revenues. The revised rates are to become effective in October 2001. The authority's operating costs increased by 8.6 per cent from HK$3.34bn in the 1996-1997 financial year to HK$3.63bn in the 2000-2001 financial year, with revenues dropping by 19.6 per cent from HK$4.47bn to HK$3.596bn."

May 30, 2001 -- Community mail boxes have become mail thieves' latest target, a U.S. Postal Service official told KOAT Action 7 News. Residents whose mail is stolen can become victims of identity theft or fraud. Postal officials have recommended to residents that mail not be left in boxes overnight, including neighborhood delivery collection boxes, which have locks.Thefts most often happen overnight.

May 30, 2001 -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's largest airline, said it formed Trimondo GmbH, an online purchasing joint venture with Deutsche Post AG, Germany's state- controlled postal service, to cut as much as 80 percent in costs. The joint venture will create an Internet marketing Web site to obtain supplies in Europe. Over 100 firms will start off using the site, which will market over 2 million items from tools to computer accessories worth "several" million euros.

May 30, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has published in the Federal Register a final rule to help ensure packages of Periodicals and Standard Mail maintain their integrity during transportation and postal processing.

May 30, 2001 -- Several members of Congress sent an "urgent request" to Attorney General John Ashcroft. In the letter sent Thursday, the lawmakers followed up on a request to the Clinton Administration Justice Department last October and renewed their call for a DOJ review of Postal Service actions regarding the regulations imposed two years ago on competitors in the private mail box and executive suite business. At issue are the highly controversial March 1999 CMRA (Commercial Mail Receiving Agency) regulations, which affect the 800,000 predominantly small businesses that use private mailboxes and executive suites. The Postal Service claims the regulations are necessary to prevent fraud. However, opponents argue the Postal Service failed to demonstrate any legitimate need for the rules and that they unnecessarily disadvantage and burden Postal Service competitors.

May 29, 2001 -- NETdelivery Corporation, a  provider of digital solutions for next generation online data management, has announced that John R. Walter has joined the Company's Board of Directors. He formerly served as President and Chief Operating Officer at AT&T, where he managed day-to-day operations of long-distance, local, wireless and online services businesses, and was the Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer of R.R. Donnelley and Sons, a recognized leader in the print industry.

May 29, 2001 -- According to PostCom director and secretary Vincent Giuliano, "proposing steep postal rate increases, based on business as usual, would be unwise and counterproductive. While the law requires the Postal Service to obtain sufficient revenues to break even over time, it can no longer continue to rely on postal rates or pricing to be the sole source of these revenues, handcuffed as it is by its statute and pressed by market changes. Charging mailers radically higher rates will only cause a downward spiral in volume, requiring higher and higher rates for the remaining mail. An effective postal system cannot be maintained on that basis. Fashioning the long-term competitive business strength of the Postal Service must be a priority."

May 29, 2001 -- In a letter to the Editor of The Washington Post, PostCom President Gene Del Polito noted that "the problems plaguing the Postal Service have been subject to intensive study over the past six years largely under the leadership of Rep. John M. McHugh (R-NY) during his chairmanship of the House Subcommittee on the Postal Service. It's too bad the Post didn't take the time to study the diagnostic work Mr. McHugh and his colleagues already have done. If it had, the editors would have realized that no amount of regulatory perfecting can set straight the Postal Service's crooked path. If the Postal Service is to thrive, let alone survive, in today's marketplace, it must be transformed into a true, market-driven, competitive enterprise."

May 29, 2001 -- Inquiring minds want to know: When will the Postal Service file its next postal rate case? Increasingly, it's looking as if the earliest a filing may come would be in the October-November time frame. And how much? On average, about 10%. Of course, nobody mails "on average."

May 29, 2001 -- In an editorial, The Washington Post said that "successive postmasters general have asked Congress for more flexibility to raise rates and to pursue and finance new lines of business. A postal reform bill that stalled last year would have done some of that. But what's needed is exactly the opposite: Tighter oversight by watchdogs, including the power to subpoena the postal service for data, and a tighter focus on the traditional task at hand. Numerous analyses of postal woes have suggested that the biggest problem is simply bad management. Investments in automation have produced only tiny gains in productivity; bad accounting and procurement practices may have cost billions in lost revenue over the years. Stricter management and outside oversight also could end the internal cross-subsidies that unfairly undercut some private businesses." Which all goes to prove that despite their years running a Washington landmark, the editors of the Post haven't the faintest idea as to how to rectify the ills that underlie the American postal system. Let's try it again...one more time..."It's the INCENTIVES, stupid!"

May 29, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that according to British Trade and Industry Minister Stephen Beyers, "Consignia, formerly the Post Office, needs to 'up its game' and improve on its unacceptable service. The trade and industry secretary rejected claims that the government was preparing to privatise the company, but did say it was clear that customers were not yet getting the service they demanded. 'The Post Office needs to up its game,' he said. The quality of service really is not acceptable in many situations. Many businesses are concerned about the level of service they get from the Post Office."

May 29, 2001 -- The British newspaper, The Telegraph, has noted that "the [British] Post Office is planning to rebrand its logistics division in the next two weeks, and for the first time customers will be faced with the new Consignia name. The Post Office also is developing a website, branded as Consignia as well, where customers could pay their utility bills."

May 29, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Business Post, the express parcel and mail delivery group, warned that weakness in the technology sector would hit growth in the first half of this year. But the company said cost-cutting initiatives, as well as a five-year partnership with FedEx Express, would bring benefits in the second half."

May 29, 2001 -- Canadian sources have reported that "customers of the Bay and Zellers, the retail chains of Hudson's Bay Company, can now receive their bills online through epost, the world's first electronic post office. The new Mailers join epost as the company introduces a fully redesigned web site and user experience, as well as a national marketing campaign. The Bay and Zellers are added to a growing list of Mailers sending mail through epost's online delivery service, including Canadian Tire, TELUS, Sears, Enersource Hydro Mississauga, Petro- Canada, The City of Toronto, Costco, Radio Shack and many more. Delivering the mail online for Canada Post, epost provides a secure location where consumers can receive, process and manage their mail, including bills, statements, advertising mail and other types of documents."

May 29, 2001 -- The Japanese newspaper, Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc., has reported that "although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is backed by unprecedented high public-approval ratings, the major bottleneck he has to overcome is how to coordinate policies with other party members and coalition parties, especially on controversial issues, such as the privatization of postal services....Two private panels, and a Liberal Democratic Party task force, all of which Koizumi proposed, will start discussing, as early as next week, the possibility of privatizing the nation's postal services and directly electing the prime minister. The privatization of postal mail, savings and insurance services is Koizumi's long-cherished initiative. However, since the LDP leadership election in April, he has apparently toned down his support for the idea to avoid strong opposition from within the Liberal Democratic Party. Koizumi said he will follow the former governments' policy to shift the three main postal services to a new public corporation in 2003, and has not mentioned what further steps he will take to privatize the public corporation. The prime minister has grown cautious toward the privatization issue, giving consideration to opponents inside the party."

May 29, 2001 -- According to Infolatina, "United Parcel Service (UPS) is preparing for what it expects will be an "avalanche" of international express freight when a proposed Americas Free Trade Agreement goes into effect several years from now, according to a report in Mexico City daily Reforma. UPS currently is taking action in several Latin American countries in order to cope with an expected surge in demand for express delivery services. Such steps include acquisition of local freight carriers, investment in logistics technology and stepping up flight frequencies. UPS Vice President of Marketing for Mexico and Latin America John Menna said the company's August 200 acquisition of Challenger Air Cargo, which serves 21 destinations in Latin America, was an example of UPS's preparations for Americas free trade. UPS in August 1999 acquired the assets of Dominican Parcel Service."

May 29, 2001 -- As The Wall Street Journal has noted, "China's postal service is trying to force domestic and foreign competitors out of lucrative express-delivery services, in an apparent attempt to bolster its position ahead of the more open market that China's entry to the World Trade Organization promises to bring. China Post, through its local branches, has prodded police and licensing authorities to investigate 200 express-delivery companies, said a spokesman for the State Postal Bureau, the government body that runs the country's postal service. Among those investigated so far are foreign companies who dominate international express services: FedEx Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and DHL Worldwide Express Ltd., a unit of Deutsche Post AG."

May 29, 2001 -- As eWeek has noted, "Princeton eCom Corp., Metavante Corp. and Direct Insite Corp. are stressing integration and analysis capabilities of their EBPP (electronic bill presentment and payment) technologies in an effort to win more B2B converts. Princeton eCom earlier this month announced that it had acquired Quicken Bill Manager EBPP software from Intuit Inc. Princeton eCom will continue to offer consumer bill paying through the Quicken product, but another moneymaker for the company appears to be the B2B potential."

May 29, 2001 -- The Business Times (Malaysia) has reported that "communications technology has made so much progress that many of the services of the Postal Department, now corporatised as Pos Malaysia Bhd, have long been made redundant. As far as exchanging missives are concerned, Malaysians are now more likely to communicate with one another and with people from all over the world electronically, via e-mails on the Internet; and of late their mobile phones' short message service facility and "personal digital assistants". But the traditional mail service will remain relevant, vital even, for a long time yet - so long as access to the many new means of communications is less than universal, society is not entirely paperless and small items still need to be transported over distances. And there will be no change in the social contract to deliver a letter from anywhere to anywhere within the country."

May 29, 2001 -- Also from The Business Times (Malaysia) comes the following: "Phileo Allied Bhd, which sold its bank last year, may well be making a return to the financial services industry, and in a big way too, by acquiring Pos Malaysia Bhd. Since 1996, Pos Malaysia has each year seen at least RM5 billion cash flowing through its huge network of branches and mini post offices around the country. This part of the business, rather than the traditional mail operations, is potentially Pos Malaysia's most lucrative asset. The huge cash flow makes Pos Malaysia look more like a credit card company than a logistics one."

May 29, 2001 -- PostMag.Com has reported that "for Jack Potter, Friday June 1st will be like no other day of his life. Jack will reach the summit of success for a career postie and inherit the title of Post Master General. Like many other things about the US Postal Service this title is a throw back to a by-gone age and is just another indicator of the humongous challenges that face Jack come next week."

May 28, 2001 -- According to the German newspaper Die Welt, "German Economics Minister Werner Mueller says that if there is progress within the European Union on liberalizing postal markets, the German government would also change its position on the regulation for Deutsche Post, whose monopoly for letters of up to 50 grams is scheduled to be extended until 2007. The government may then either shorten the period or decrease the weight limit for the monopoly."

May 28, 2001 -- Dow Jones has reported that "China Post is claiming exclusive rights to delivery of all letters and has enlisted local government bodies in an effort to revoke the business licenses of the Chinese operations of foreign delivery giants such as FedEx Corp. (FDX), United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) and DHL Worldwide Express Ltd., a unit of Deutsche Post AG."

May 28, 2001 -- According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, "the Postal Service is hoping its St. Paul (MN) eBay program will increase the potential audience for its undeliverable packages and beef up revenue. In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service collected $2.9 million in total auction revenue, using the money to offset operational expenses at all three centers.

May 28, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Consignia, formerly the Post Office, is considering asking the Postal Services Commission, the independent regulator, for a licence to operate cheap local postal services in competition with its own Royal Mail subsidiary. The project is being compared by Consignia to British Airways' launch of its Go subsidiary, which was set up to protect the company's position in the highly competitive market for cheap flights. Consignia managers say they are becoming increasingly concerned by the damage to the company's competitive position caused by a wave of unofficial strikes against new working practices agreed with the Communication Workers' Union. One of the wags over at the British newspaper, The Independent, has described the scheme as "Royal Mail Lite--a low-cost, no-frills and very definitely non-unionised letter delivery service."

May 27, 2001 -- GovExec.Com has reported that "shipping giant Federal Express will no longer have a lock on government agencies’ express delivery needs, thanks to a new contract announced by the General Services Administration. Under a contract that will expire Aug. 15, FedEx is the only carrier providing the government with next-day and second-day delivery of small package shipments up to 150 pounds, according to Jeffrey Koses, deputy director of the Services Acquisition Center at GSA’s Federal Supply Service. By creating a new multiple award schedule—the first for express delivery since 1983—FedEx’s major competitors, including United Parcel Service and DHL World Wide Express, will be able to bid for the government’s business for same-day delivery, third-day delivery, heavy package shipments and specialty shipping services. And what about the Postal Service? Well...give that one up. The USPS is prohibited under law from the kind of competitive bidding in which its private sector competitors can engage.

May 27, 2001 -- In a decision that will facilitate Teamster organizing efforts, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asserted jurisdiction over bargaining rights at Federal Express Ground Package System, the surface wing of the giant air package delivery company. With less than 1 percent of FedEx Ground’s packages traveling by air, NLRB Region 29 Director Alvin Blyer noted that the subsidiary does not perform services principally for the air carrier, nor are its operations an integral part of the FedEx transportation system. Accordingly, he found that "FedEx Ground is clearly an employer subject to the NLRA [National Labor Relations Act], and that it is unnecessary to refer this jurisdictional question to the NMB [National Mediation Board]," which has oversight under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Specifically, the NLRB ruled that all full-time and part-time package handlers, quality assurance clerks, check-in clerks and data-entry clerks at the employer’s Maspeth, New York, facility constitute a bargaining unit under the NLRA. Typically, airline employees are subject to the provisions of the less union-friendly RLA instead.

May 27, 2001 -- According to The Sunday Times (London), "the Post Office, now known as Consignia, is to be privatised after the election in what will be seen as a radical move by an incoming Labour government. Plans are understood to have been drawn up at the Department of Trade and Industry to move the multi-billion-pound business into the private sector within the next few years. The decision, which, according to government and industry sources, has been discussed with senior Post Office management, will be seen as a remarkable achievement by Labour after the failure of the previous Conservative administration to carry through its privatisation plans....As the new postal regulator, PostComm, moves to open up the market by inviting applications for new postal service licences, Consignia is understood to be considering forming a cut-price subsidiary company for bulk mail deliveries under the new licence system - and thereby stave off competion."

At the same time, the British newspaper The Independent has reported that British "Trade and Industry Secretary Steve Byers has dismissed reports that the Government plans to privatise the Post Office, now called Consignia. The reports suggested such plans had already been drawn up by the Department of Trade and Industry and would be announced later this year after formal agreement between the department and the Treasury."

May 27, 2001 -- The Associated Press has reported that the "U.S. economy limped along in the first three months of the year at a pace much slower than the government previously thought. The biggest drag on growth came from companies struggling to get rid of their unsold goods."

May 27, 2001 -- As the Journal of Commerce has noted, "United Parcel Service has a straightforward message for companies that want to streamline the logistics supply chain: Collaborate or perish. That means bringing external contractors, suppliers and customers in on the process" But all is not rosy with such a scenario, as the Journal noted elsewhere, "the challenge for UPS as it gets bigger and bigger will be its ability to remain flexible in response to customer demands. It needs to look no further than Fritz for a classic example of a company that sought to grow through acquisitions but ended up failing miserably."

May 27, 2001 -- Traffic World has reported that "Deutsche Post plans to replace 8,000 of its 12,500 truck drivers in Germany with private sector subcontractors over the next three years. The move, which is expected to save Deutsche Post as much as $87 million a year, is a continuation of the postal service's strategy to outsource long-haul trucking operations." See also Traffic World's report on the new PMG.

May 26, 2001 -- In its most recent editorial, the Federal Times has urged the postal governors to phase in the next round of postal rate increases.

May 26, 2001 -- According to Federal Times, "the governing board of the U.S. Postal Service urged Congress to grant the agency greater authority to set postage rates and labor wages, saying such changes are needed to ensure universal mail service."

May 26, 2001 -- As noted in the Federal Times, "much ink has been spilled on the proposal to join our two postmaster organizations: the National League of Postmasters and the National Association of Postmasters of the United States (NAPUS). It is difficult for either organization to shed 100 years of history, of separation. But times are difficult and we should not be distracted by internal squabbling."

May 25, 2001 -- According to Eyefortransport.com, "U.S.-based package delivery company United Parcel Service (UPS) is preparing for what it believes will be a virtual "avalanche" of international express freight when a proposed Americas Free Trade Agreement embracing the entire Western Hemisphere goes into effect. Countries around the Americas are working toward the goal of signing the agreement in 2005."

May 25, 2001-- Eyefortransport.com also has reported that "Logility, Inc. and Pitney Bowes has announced a strategic alliance and marketing agreement that significantly strengthens both companies' positions in the supply chain management market. Under the agreement, Pitney Bowes will re-market Logility's Voyager Transportation Planning and Management solution and Logility Voyager XES for Collaborative Transportation Management."

May 25, 2001 -- HOT STUFF!! PostCom has learned on good authority that the U.S. Postal Service will NOT file another postal rate increase request before September 2001.

May 25, 2001 -- The Nihon Keizai Shimbun has reported that "the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications will make sweeping changes to the accounting methods used by the three core postal operations when they are taken over by a public corporation in 2003."

May 25, 2001 -- United Parcel Service Inc. is  forming a new business unit to handle freight forwarding and customs brokerage as it completed its $437 million acquisition of the Fritz Companies Inc. The new division, which has not been named, will include San Francisco-based Fritz and seven smaller companies UPS has acquired over the last 18 months. UPS said the new division will be the largest freight forwarding and customs broker in the industry, with annual revenue of $750 million. It will be headed by David Abney, a 27-year UPS employee.

May 25, 2001 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "the drawn-out tussle for control of Malaysia's richest listed entity, Phileo Allied Bhd., took a surprising twist when the company said it would be acquiring the country's postal services in a cash-and-convertible-note deal valued at 800 million ringgit ($210.5 million). In a late evening statement to Malaysia's stock exchange, Phileo Allied said it had signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement with the Ministry of Finance to acquire the national postal-services company, Pos Malaysia Bhd., under the country's privatization program.

May 25, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has published in the Federal Register its final rule regarding the preparation of First-Class, Standard Mail, and Bound Printed Matter flats.

May 25, 2001 -- British Postal workers have voted to end a wildcat strike and prepared to sort and deliver 50 million letters that piled up during the protest over working hours. Members of Communication Workers Union in Watford agreed to end their job action, which had prompted 15,000 postal workers around the country to walk out in sympathy. Nineteen mail centers and 72 delivery offices were paralyzed. As the British newspaper, The Independent, has noted, "the wildcat postal strikes that spread across the country with lightning speed yesterday have their roots in festering discontent among staff at fundamental changes to the Post Office."

May 24, 2001 -- UK post office Consignia has bought a 25.1% stake in a Czech parcel company from Germany's Geis group.

May 24, 2001 -- According to Il Sole 24 Ore, "ETI, the Italian state-owned tobacco company in the process of being privatised, has teamed up with FIT, the Association of Italian Tobacconists and the Italian Post Office to set up a new company in the e-business sector to sell products through the network of tobacconists in Italy. It is to be called Terzia and will be set up with L5bn. ETI will hold a 51 per cent stake, and the remaining 49 per cent will be divided equally between FIT and the Post Office."

May 24, 2001 -- According to The Times (London), "many [British] postal workers say that if it was not for the friendliness from the public, their comparatively lowly paid job would not be worth it. Consignia is uneasy about this relationship despite vaunting its postal workers as one of its greatest assets."

May 24, 2001 -- According to Sky News, "strike action by [British] postal workers has spread across the country disrupting millions of letters. A dispute in Watford last week over changes to working conditions sparked the industrial action, which was then taken up by others in Liverpool, Chester, Stockport, Birkenhead, north Wales. The wildcat strikes then spread across all of London's major mail centres on Wednesday. The Royal Mail has apologised to customers and condemned the walkouts."

May 24, 2001 -- Dow Jones has reported that "the European Union Commission Wednesday opened an investigation into whether Belgian postal operator La Poste has abused its dominant market position."

May 24, 2001 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "German power companies will be given a helping hand from the post office to encourage households to switch suppliers - something they've proved reluctant to do so far. Deutsche Post AG has invited German utilities to bid for a retail presence in 11 separate regional areas, and Monday it will open 10 counters in post offices in and near Cologne that will offer power contracts as a pilot project."

May 24, 2001 -- Top Image Systems, Ltd., a digital information recognition, data capture and content delivery solutions company, has announced that Deutsche Post in Haus Service GmbH has selected TiS' Freedom solution for automated data capture from invoices. Based on TiS' recently announced eFLOW Unified Content Platform, Freedom is a software solution that reads, understands and processes incoming supplier invoices without the need to predefine the structure of the invoices.

May 23, 2001 -- The Memphis Commercial Appeal has reported that "approximately 150,000 employees, including management, of FedEx Corp., the holding company, and its FedEx Express and FedEx Services units have had their profit sharing benefits suspended indefinitely. Profit sharing will not be paid out for the second half of fiscal 2001 as well as for the entire fiscal 2002 unless the company's business improves significantly. Most of the incentive plans at those companies have been suspended or curtailed indefinitely....FedEx is also suspending training, travel and meetings that can be viewed as discretionary. Hiring freezes are in effect as well, except in areas critical to the company's operation."

May 23, 2001 -- Asia Pulse has reported that "Hongkong Post said it has forged a strategic collaboration with Visa International, the world's largest payment system, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of a Hongkong Post e-Cert enabled multi-application smart card using Open Platform. Under the MOU, Visa and Hongkong Post will jointly study the suitability of the Open Platform to support Hongkong Post's e-Cert and its Public Key Infrastructure, and the suitability for an Open Platform smart card to carry a Hongkong Post e-Cert as a medium to authenticate the identity of the holder. The two parties will also explore possibility of running smart card pilot programmes with Visa member financial institutions using Open Platform and Hongkong Post e-Cert. In the future, consumers will be able to authenticate and sign digital documents and to make payments via www.esdlife.com by just one single e-Cert enabled smart card. Card holders will enjoy extra convenience as they can also access ESDlife e-government and personal services through the 100 ESD Kiosks installed at Hong Kong's most convenient locations such as MTR and KCR stations, ParknShop supermarkets, government offices and shopping malls."

May 23, 2001 -- Business Day Thailand  has reported that the "chairman of the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), Kraisorn Promsutee, said after a board meeting yesterday that all aspects of the postal services would be improved, to ensure its survival following privatization. Postal fees, however, would remain unchanged. Other postal services are to be improved in order to compete with rivals, such as Direct Mail where the postal workers can receive and deliver mail direct at the homes of customers. In addition, the post office may branch out into other telecommunications-related businesses."

May 23, 2001 -- According to The Scotsman, British "post office workers could face at least 100,000 job losses and the privatisation of mail deliveries in Glasgow and Edinburgh if they refuse to improve their industrial relations record, the new postal watchdog warned yesterday.Postal staff and management were said to be "running out of time" to end the lengthy series of stoppages and appeared to be "simply incapable of change", the regulator, PostComm, claimed. Martin Stanley, head of PostComm, compared Royal Mail to Rover's Longbridge plant's staff problems, which had resulted in 30,000 redundancies."

May 23, 2001 -- While shares of Internet retailers may be trading on stock markets at what look like fire-sale prices, consumers appear oblivious to the turmoil and are continuing to increase their online shopping. An analysis released today by Jupiter Media Metrix added to recent research that suggests the pace of consumer spending online has more to do with the economy as a whole than with the fortunes of struggling dot-com companies.

May 23, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Deutsche Post, the German mail and logistics group, on Tuesday said it would cut about 7,500 jobs from its transport division by 2004 and outsource the affected functions, in an attempt to reduce its wage bill by E100m ($88m) annually." See also the report by Agence France Presse.

May 23, 2001 -- As PostMag.Com sees it, "the USPS seems to be en-route to some kind of financial meltdown. Rate increases are coming at an alarming pace; the user-industry is screaming ever loader that enough is enough; competitors are taking advantage of its inability to respond to a rapidly changing marketplace, and; substitution of bills, invoices, payments, etc., by electronic alternatives is a very real phenomenon. Add to this a pinch of new-PMG and a sprinkle of new-Government and we have a recipe for disaster."

May 23, 2001 -- ADVO, Inc. has announced an agreement with Conley Publishing, Inc. to distribute its Milwaukee Post publications. Conley Publishing, owner of several daily and weekly community newspapers in the greater Milwaukee area, will begin utilizing ADVO's ShopWise shared mail package to distribute the Milwaukee Post to approximately 110,000 households in Milwaukee County. The new distribution arrangement will begin in late May.

May 23, 2001 -- In a move to sharpen its business focus, the leader in Internet-based postage, Stamps.com Inc. has announced that its iShip multi-carrier shipping service assets have been acquired by United Parcel Service, Inc. The transaction is part of a Stamps.com strategy announced last month to focus the company's attention on its core mailing and shipping services for small business and home offices.

May 22, 2001 -- Postal commentator Gene Del Polito says that at no time in the history of the U.S. Postal Service has an incoming postmaster general more needed the help and support of those he serves. It's time, he said, to rally 'round.

May 22, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that "HongKon Post has threatened a postage increase after its United Kingdom counterpart allegedly exploited a loophole to set up a delivery company in the SAR, causing it to lose $9 million in the first three months of the year. Incoming mail from the UK plummeted 36 per cent in the period compared with that of last year, Hongkong Post said."

May 22, 2001 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "Dutch postal and logistics group TNT Post Groep NV (TP) is in talks over the sale of its non-core activities in France."

May 21, 2001 -- It's official! John E. (Jack) Potter has been named the 72nd Postmaster General of the United States. See also the write-up in The Washington Post.

May 21, 2001 -- According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Postal Service has slipped in a recent satisifaction ranking compiled  by the University of Michigan School of Business National Quality Research Center.

May 21, 2001 -- The American Planning Association (APA) has  endorsed the introduction of the Post Office Community Partnership Act by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) in the House, and by Sens. Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in the Senate. Previously introduced in the 106th Congress, the revised bill is widely supported by a bipartisan group of 57 original cosponsors and by 82 percent of registered voters, according to a December 2000 APA poll. The Act, (H.R. 1861, S. 897) outlines community participation procedures for any proposed closing, consolidation, relocation and construction of a post office and requires the Postal Service to comply with local zoning, planning and other local land use laws.

May 21, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Postcomm, the new [British] postal services regulator, announced last week that it has begun consultation on the issue of a short-term licence to G3 Worldwide Mail (UK) for collection of the company's international mailing service. The licence would last for a year, while Postcomm finalises its longer-term licensing policy."

May 21, 2001 -- According to the British newspaper, Western Morning News, Britain's Government yesterday faced fresh embarrassment over its pledge to save the post office network, as new figures showed that closures are running at record rates. New figures produced by the Department of Trade and Industry yesterday showed that a net total of 547 post offices closed in the year to the end of March - the highest figure for more than 20 years. The number of closures is well above the 381 recorded in the previous year, which was itself a major increase on the previous average of around 200 closures a year. The closure rate was particularly serious in rural areas, where 435 post offices closed last year.

May 21, 2001 -- The Associated Press has reported on an idea one hopes would catch on. "Letter carriers in Lafayette County will soon be carrying wireless phones to inform authorities of emergencies they encounter along their routes. Jackson-based Cellular South will supply 21 cellular phones and free air time to letter carriers in the Abbeville, Oxford, and Taylor post offices. The phones will be preprogrammed with connections to the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, their respective post offices and the county's E-911 office. 'Carrier Watch' was conceived by TRIAD, an organization devoted to promoting safety and increase awareness of potential threats against senior citizens."

May 21, 2001 -- The New Zealand Herald has reported that "unfazed by the troubles plaguing its South African venture, New Zealand Post is exploring new expansion into the Balkans through its international consultancy arm Transend Worldwide. The initial focus would be the shattered postal systems of the former Yugoslav republics, tying New Zealand expertise to Greek access to the war-torn region."

May 21, 2001 -- Check the latest of what's new on PostInsight.Com. Check the presentation by Theo Jongsma, CEO, TNT International Mail and Elaine Mackintosh's presentation on "web-based hybrid mail."