September 30, 2001 -- Dow Jones has reported that "New Zealand Post Ltd., the government-owned postal services and retailing company, has tightened its policy on staff travel and the selection of external consultants following an audit report."

September 30, 2001 -- The decision by Northwest Airlines to stop shipping day-old chicks as mail because too many were dying has set off a battle pitting animal rights activists against Midwest senators and farmers. Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Russ Feingold, D-Wis., are heading an effort to force Northwest to resume the service, saying family farmers and other businesses depend on cheap delivery of millions of baby chickens, game birds and other fowl. United Airlines and American Airlines stopped shipping animals as mail years ago. Both were negotiating with the Postal Service to resume limited shipments when the Federal Aviation Administration banned mail delivery on passenger flights after the terrorist attacks.

September 29, 2001 -- Dow Jones has noted that "Taiwan plans to corporatize its Directorate General of Posts that is currently governed by the transport ministry, by June next year. Taiwan is considering a Ministry of Finance suggestion to turn the posts unit into a financial holding company, as its businesses encompass postal services, accepting deposits and insurance and funds transfers. Assets of the corporation, which will be 100% state-owned and will tentatively be named Chunghwa Postal Co. Ltd.

September 29, 2001 -- According to Dow Jones, FedEx Corp.'s FedEx Express has received $101 million from the federal government under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to compensate the company for part of its direct losses incurred Sept. 11 when its aircraft fleet was grounded after the World Trade Center attacks. The payment also compensates for related losses expected to be incurred through Dec. 31.

September 29, 2001 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin containing a detailed report on R2001-1) is available on this site.  PostCom's rate charts showing a comparison of present and proposed rates and percentage rate increases are available on this site.

September 29, 2001 -- Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) has shared his latest iteration of postal reform legislation based on input provided by a coalition of mailer and labor organization representatives. You can find his discussion draft of the proposal at http://www.house.gov/mchugh/hot_postalcrisis.html. The draft is intended to ensure that universal mail service would be preserved, that efficiency and regulatory flexibility would be promoted, that fair competition and accountability would be ensured, and that a solid foundation would be laid for future reform proposals.

• For highlights of the proposal, go to http://www.house.gov/mchugh/postal_highlights.htm. 
• For an Overview of the Draft Bill, go to: http://www.house.gov/mchugh/postal_overview.htm. 
• For a Section by Section Analysis, go to: http://www.house.gov/mchugh/postal_section.htm
• For copy of the draft bill, go to: http://www.house.gov/mchugh/_private/EL_025.PDF

September 29, 2001 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that "Emery Worldwide and the Federal Aviation Administration have signed an agreement that could enable the carrier to resume flying its own aircraft by next March. Emery suspended its flight operations voluntarily on Aug. 13 after the FAA threatened to revoke its operating license due to numerous safety violations. Since then the carrier has been using chartered aircraft. Under the new 180-day agreement, Emery and the FAA agreed to work on an expedited basis to try to resolve issues in 31 specific categories. That agreement could then be extended for another 60 days, although the FAA reserves the right to remove Emery's operating authority." See also Traffic World.

September 29, 2001 -- Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "Deutsche Post AG, the German postal services company, has been given permission to complete its takeover of package service company Transoflex. The country's competition authority approved DP's plans to increase the stake from 24.8 per cent to 100 per cent, but under strict conditions."

September 28, 2001 -- According to one postal arbitrator, when it comes to operating a Carrier Sequence Bar Code Sorter, the job belongs to postal clerks--not letter carriers.

September 28, 2001 -- From one seasoned letter carrier's perspective, Bill Henderson got it wrong.

September 28, 2001 -- United Parcel Service Inc. has  cut its third-quarter earnings estimates because of a sharp drop in shipping activity immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.  UPS said in a statement it now expects to earn 45 to 48 cents per share, down from earlier, reduced guidance of 52 to 55 cents per share. The company had already lowered earnings expectations in July.

September 28, 2001 -- According to the Africa News Service, "the [Nigerian] Federal Government has declared its support for the implementation of the Beijing postal strategy by African countries. Minister of State for Communications, Alhaji Haruna Elewa, who dropped the unit at the opening of the annual "conference of Postal Administrators of West African sub-region in Abuja Monday charged African countries to in the spirit of the strategy ensure the provision of a universal postal service. This service he said, should be able to allow customers to send and receive goods and manages from one point to any point in the world. Accordingly, he urged member countries to strengthen the quality of the interautumnal postal network and provide customers with reliable, secure and efficient postal service."

September 27, 2001 -- According to the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, postal "industry regulator Postcomm yesterday encouraged the Post Office operator Consignia to experiment with delivering cash to homes. In a proposal presented to trade secretary Patricia Hewitt, Postcomm chairman Graham Corbett suggested that Consignia emulate its counterparts in Germany, France, Sweden and Denmark that offer a cash delivery service. Reacting to concerns over the risk to postmen of the proposed scheme, a Postcomm spokesman explained: 'We're not suggesting this as a blanket service or something for the back streets of our inner cities but postman could deliver pensions in rural areas for old people who can't get out.'" See also the Financial Times.

September 27, 2001 -- The U.K.'s postal regulator known by the acronym PostComm (our U.K. homonym) has issued its first annual report on the network of post offices: 2000 – 2001.

September 27, 2001 -- UPS Logistics Group, a subsidiary of United Parcel Service Inc., has appointed David Currence as chief information officer. Currence will oversee information technology for the unit's business, taking charge of the company's international supply chain software and technology.

September 26, 2001 -- According to the Des Moines Register, "lawyers have seized nearly $1.9 million from a United Parcel Service bank account to pay off a 1998 discrimination lawsuit won by a former employee."

September 26, 2001 -- Rutgers University's  Center for Research in Regulated Industries has issued its annual "call for papers" from those who are interested in participating at the 10th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics. This is the world's premiere postal conference, when it comes to following the action around the world on postal economics, regulation, and postal reform. The conference will be held on June 5-8, 2002 in Potsdam, Germany. More information on the conference is posted on the Center's web site.

September 26, 2001 -- Rutgers University's  Center for Research in Regulated Industries has published the proceedings of its 9th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics, which was held in Sorrento, Italy. The papers in this text are top notch!! If postal is your schtick, then this book is for you! Check out the information on the Center's web site.

September 26, 2001 -- CEP News (Courier- Express- and Postal-Market News) has reported that:

• "The German federal cartel office is ‘very likely’ to ban Deutsche Post AG from acquiring the majority of the express service company Trans-o-flex (Tof). The case, which is expected to be closed by November, will probably also involve a ban on the acquisition of a 24.8% share. Negotiations are taking place with the post and the majority shareholder, Bayerische Landesbank, with the aim of reducing Deutsche Post’s influence to a reasonable minimum and to ensure the operative independence of Tof."
  
• "The European Union is making a new attempt at liberalising the European postal markets. Mr Fritz Bolkestein, commissioner for the single European market, said last week that the Belgian EU presidency had made ‘a proposal for a modest market liberalisation, which offers possibilities for mutual consent’. The compromise proposal suggests that private mail companies should be allowed to handle standard letters and advertising matter weighing over 100 grams (currently 350 grams) from 1 January 2003. Under those terms 13% of the European letter market would be open to competition. A next step would see the limit reduced to 50 grams from 2006, i.e. 23% of the market would then be open to competition."
  
• "An open feud has broken out on the Spanish letter market between Correos y Telegrafos and the private letter service and letter shop operator Agencia L. Agencia L., which collects and stamps letters on behalf of Correos for a 3% commission on turnover. Correos is said to have granted customers direct discounts on several occasions over the last few months, which is both unlawful and constitutes a breach of contract. Correos denies having granted discounts. Correo says Agencia L. concluded a similar contract with viaPostal, one of Spain’s leading private letter services.ViaPostal intends to install its own mail boxes in around 29,000 kiosks and book shops belonging to the Spanish Sgel chain. A corresponding agreement was concluded between the two companies recently. ViaPostal said that the company’s own stamped envelopes would also be on sale there."
  
• "The Swedish post intends to increase its postage rate. A spokesman for the post confirmed that the increase would be introduced as soon as possible."
  
• "According to the Italian daily ‘Corriere della Sera’ (21.9.2001) Poste Italiane is currently testing plans involving the use of private aircraft for letter distribution. The plans result from ‘the development of the express sector, which has not lived up to expectations’. A new international express product is expected to be introduced in the autumn, based on La Poste’s international network, including its FedEx connection. All transports were to be carried out by a new joint venture, of which the Italian post would hold 51% and the French 49% and using a number of aircraft belonging to the La Poste subsidiary Europe Airpost."

Check out the latest issue of CEP News for the details on these and other news items affecting the courier, express, and postal market around the world.

September 26, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has launched a new service for movers, MoversGuide.com. It's been billed as the "first official online change of address service in this country." Accessible via www.usps.com 24 hours a day, seven days a week, MoversGuide.com enables consumers to change their address online and access a wide variety of products and services needed to plan, move and settle in.

September 26, 2001 -- Escher Group, Ltd., a provider of peer-to-peer messaging and data management solutions, has announced that Jersey Post has selected WebRiposte(TM) to automate the island's post office network and to re-engineer its associated counter and back-office processes. Jersey Post chose WebRiposte as its platform to grow and diversify its revenue base, deliver operational efficiency and improve service. In addition to the software license, Escher Group will provide the Post with legacy-free hardware.

September 26, 2001 -- According to the French newspaper, Le Monde, the "French post office, via its subsidiary holding company Sofipost, has taken a stake in E-Mail Vision, a company specialising in IS for direct marketing campaigns using email and SMS text messaging."

September 26, 2001 -- According to Asian news sources, "the State Postal Bureau (China Post) needs to restructure management systems and business operations in order to become a modern logistics provider. China Post aims to become the country's biggest logistics provider, supported by its far-reaching network and decades of delivery experience."

September 26, 2001 -- KnowledgeNet.com, Inc. has announced that it will provide access to off-the-shelf e-learning IT training to employees of the United States Postal Service (USPS) National Center For Employee Development (NCED). While the Center's estimated target audience is initially 100,000 people, the partnership supports access to KnowledgeNet(R)'s e-learning platform by all 800,000 postal employees.

September 26, 2001 -- The agenda for the October meeting of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors has been posted on the USPS web site. Among the items to be discussed are: Wide Area Barcode Reader Replacement. (Thomas Day, vice president, Engineering); Mail Evaluation, Readability and Lookup Instrument (MERLIN) – Phase 2. (Michele Denny, manager, Marketing Technology and Channel Management); Point of Service (POS) ONE – Stage 3. (Pam Gibert, former vice president, Retail, Consumers and Small Business).

September 26, 2001 -- The PostCom R2001 rate charts for First-Class, Standard Regular, and Standard Regular Nonprofit have been modified to permit percentage increase comparisons between the present Basic Auto. rates and the proposed Mixed-AADC and AADC rates. This should make life a bit easier for some who have to explain what these increases will mean for a business.

September 26, 2001 -- According to Dow Jones, "the Belgian presidency of the European Union is trying to bridge major differences over liberalizing the E.U.'s EUR80-billion-a-year postal market. In a compromise plan to be discussed Wednesday, Belgian Privatization Minister Rik Daems has proposed a three-step process to open the market, with certain exceptions to appease E.U. member states who adamantly oppose losing their monopoly on universal service. At stake is whether the E.U. will eventually force its national postal companies to give up their monopolies in standard and direct mail, and open the market for outward cross-border mail and express mail services."

September 26, 2001 -- The latest innovations in postal technology that are reshaping the postal industry will be displayed when POST-EXPO returns to Geneva, Switzerland from 9 to 11 October 2001. These new generation technologies will assist Posts in years to come to improve and expand their products and services in order to respond effectively to the challenges posed by a rapidly changing business environment. The opening of POST-EXPO 2001 on 9 October coincides with World Post Day, commemorating the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) - the United Nations specialised agency overlooking the world's postal service - 127 years ago in the Swiss capital Bern.

September 26, 2001 -- Transport News has reported that "FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, will open 63 additional FedEx Home Delivery terminals throughout the United States to expand the service's geographic reach to 80 percent of the U.S. population. FedEx Ground will co-locate 56 of the new FedEx Home Delivery terminals with existing FedEx Ground facilities to optimize its network....The FedEx Home Delivery expansion is well timed to help catalog and online retailers serve consumers this holiday season. More than 8,000 shippers have benefited from the service's cost-effective, customer-friendly residential shipping options and unmatched Money-Back Guarantee. With this expansion, FedEx Home Delivery shippers can extend that level of service, flexibility and value to more of their residential consumers." And the USPS is doing its part by making doing business with the Postal Service a much more financially painful proposition.

September 26, 2001 -- The number of Americans buying online will double from 64.1 million as of 2000 to 130 million by 2005, according to a report by research firm eMarketer. Fear of credit card number theft still remains a concern.

September 26, 2001 -- Direct mailer ADVO, Inc. has announced a new joint advertising program with the St. Petersburg Times, Florida's largest daily newspaper.  

September 25, 2001 -- The Postal Rate Commission has adopted a five sets of rules of practice (RM2001-3).

September 25, 2001 -- For the convenience of PostCom members, the Postal Service's charts for its R2001 proposed rates have been posted on this site in Adobe Acrobat, Word, and Word Perfect file formats.

September 25, 2001 -- The Federal Times has published a nice piece on PostCom's President. A copy has been posted on this site. [Warning: It's a big .pdf file.]

September 25, 2001 -- Factoid of the day. "Every dollar spend on Internet advertising results in 35-40 cents less in direct-mail advertising." From the testimony of Thomas Thress in behalf of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS-T-8) in Docket No. R2001-1.

September 25, 2001 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin (including a report on R2001-1) is available on this site.  PostCom's rate charts showing a comparison of present and proposed rates and percentage rate increases are available on this site.

[N.B.] On September 24, 2001, the U.S. Postal Service has filed with the Postal Rate Commission its request for new higher rates (Docket No. R2001-1). The Postal Service has posted a great deal of information about this filing on its web site at http://www.usps.com/ratecase/. If you have a hard time getting at some of the files, a duplicate set of some of the key files has been posted on this site.

• Requested Changes in the Domestic Mail Classification Schedule

• Schedule of Proposed Rates

• Requested Changes in Rates and Fees

September 25, 2001 -- The Postal Service published a proposed rule for public comment in the Federal Register (66 FR 42820-42831) on August 15, 2001. Comments were due September 14, 2001. The comment period is being extended until September 25, 2001.

September 25, 2001 -- French union CGT-PTT has called on technical workers at La Poste, the French post office, to participate in a strike and national demonstrations in protest over plans to externalise this category of employee.

September 25, 2001 -- According to the Financial Times, "the [Japanese] post office, with its bright red mailboxes and bike-riding mailmen, does not generally conjure up images of political scheming. But in Japan the Postal Services Agency has recently caused concern with revelations about the lengths that some of the 18,800 post office chiefs throughout the country are prepared to go to in order to protect their vested interests."

September 25, 2001 -- Dow Jones has reported that "PPT Post, one of the core divisions of Dutch postal group TPG NV (TP), said it has acquired majority ownership of Dutch company Media Development Services for an undisclosed sum. MDS specializes in "target group advice and list management for direct marketing purposes," and had annual sales of EUR3.2 million in 2000."

September 24, 2001 -- The French newspaper, Le Figaro, has reported that "French post office La Poste has announced its third investment in an Internet start-up company. The young company, e-mail Vision, is a specialist in on-line marketing."

September 24, 2001 -- Die Welt has reported that "shares in Deutsche Post, the German post office and logistics company, increased by 20 per cent last week, after rising to 14.12 euros by Friday lunchtime. The company had confirmed its profit forests for the current year, despite the terrorist attacks in the US and gloomy economic prospects. Analysts agreed that the effects of the situation in the US on the company would be limited, as US business accounts for just 6 per cent of turnover."

September 24, 2001 -- The Bermuda Sun has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. won’t have to pay $1.8 billion in back taxes, as a federal appeals court declined the Internal Revenue Service’s request to hear further arguments on the matter. A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta rejected the IRS’s request that the entire court revisit the case. In June, a three-judge panel of the court overturned a 1999 ruling that ordered the world’s largest package-delivery company to pay the tax bill."

September 24, 2001 -- The sad, sad story of the lost promise of Internet-based postage is told in vivid detail by The Wall Street Journal.

September 24, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has petitioned the Postal Rate Commission for an "experimental no-fee trial period for its delivery confirmation service for Priority Mail. If approved, the requested experimental trial will run from December 1 through December 16, 2001." See also the Postal Service's press release.

September 24, 2001 -- The Times of India has reported that "the [Indian] department of posts has decided to discontinue printing of service postage stamps with effect from January 1, 2002 and public postage stamps will be used in lieu thereof. In a statement to the press here on Thursday, the additional director, postal service (technical), Bihar cirle, S N P Sharma, said these stamps will be substituted with public postage stamp."

September 24, 2001 -- The Kyodo News Service has reported that "a [Japanese] posts ministry study panel on Friday issued a draft proposal for a new public corporation slated to take over state-run postal services in 2003 in which it called on the new entity to adopt a performance-based salary system. The panel of the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications also proposes that the new corporation, which will still be affiliated with the government, adopt a system of outside directors. The new corporation will be in charge of mail, postal savings and insurance operations. Employees of the new corporation will also be considered public workers, but their salaries should be determined by job performance and not simply by the government pay structure."

September 23, 2001 -- The Washington Post has reported that "health insurance premiums for federal employees and retirees will rise an average 13.3 percent next year, the Bush administration said yesterday. The 2002 rates are nearly 50 percent higher than what government workers paid in 1998. Officials for the federal employee health insurance program said the rising costs of prescription drugs, greater use of medical services and the aging of enrollees pushed up premium rates."

September 22, 2001 -- Suddeutsche Zeitung has said that "the gloomier world economy and the economic fall-out from last week's terrorist attacks in the US do not seem to have affected the prospects of Deutsche Post, Germany's postal services monopoly. Unlike many other companies, which are lowering forecasts, Deutsche Post sees no grounds to amend its targets for turnover and profit this year, even if there is an escalation in hostilities. It is sticking by its previously-set objective of raising sales revenue and profits to above last year's figures. The markets have applauded the company's successful crisis management." [See also Die Welt.]

September 22, 2001 -- The International Mailers Action Group has reported that "effective September 21, the air transportation system from the United States to foreign ports is resuming 'normal' operations. That is not to say, however, that there will not be some gateways that will experience difficulties. However, the USPS reports that all international airmail is being accepted and transported from the United States using air transportation. This includes Global Express Mail, Airmail, Air Parcel Post, Global Priority Mail, International Priority Airmail, International Surface Airlift and all other airmail. The USPS is contracting for additional planes and expects that matters will improve quite markedly in the course of next week. For more specific information on an area or gateway, please contact Janet Mitchell, USPS International Business, Tel. (703) 292- 3607."

September 22, 2001 -- According to Africa News, "Maanda Manyatshe, the SA Post Office's CEO, whose task it is to clean up the money-losing organisation, is hesitant to use his office to talk about issues he faces. Meetings are convened at hotels or coffee shops outside the Post Office's headquarters in Pretoria, signalling the depth of distrust that permeates throughout the embattled organisation. Fraud and corruption are so prevalent that the elite crime-fighters, the Scorpions, have had to set up a special investigation unit. The National Intelligence Agency and SA Police Service have been called in as well. A loss of more than R850m is to be recorded in the 12 months to March, although the Post Office was scheduled to break even for the first time in its history this year." And Jack Potter thinks he has a tough job.

September 22, 2001 -- Government Executive has reported that "the U.S. Postal Service is poised to raise its rates again in an effort to generate more revenue for the agency, which incurred millions in costs following last week’s terrorist attacks."

September 22, 2001 -- According to the New Zealand Herald, "New Zealand Post's profit is expected to drop 14 per cent to $18 million next year as the costs of setting up the 'People's Bank' eat into earnings. NZ Post yesterday reported an after-tax profit of $21 million for the year to June, down from $21.9 million last year and $3.1 million less than it would have been without costs associated with the bank, due to be launched next year."

September 22, 2001 -- The Irish Independent has reported that Ireland's "telecom regulator's office has set a deadline for An Post [the Irish post office] in a bid to speed up next day delivery of mail. The Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR), which also regulates An Post, has set an interim target for 2002 of a next day delivery of 92pc nationally for all mail and 94pc for all local post. Up to now An Post has not been meeting its own target of 90pc next day delivery for all mail. The ODTR has called on the An Post to submit a plan by April 2, 2001 that would include detailed costed proposals for a target of 97pc next day delivery for first calls letters from January 1, 2003. According to research by Irish Marketing Surveys, 73pc of Irish businesses believe that all business should have the choice of a first class service with next day delivery and a cheaper second class service with delivery within three days."

September 22, 2001 -- According to the French newspaper, Les Echos, "La Poste, the French post office, will launch a large-scale offensive in health insurance and providence. In partnership with French insurer CNP Assurances, by means of Assurposte in which both have equal shares, La Poste will launch a range of six products including health and life insurance."

September 21, 2001 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "the National Retail Federation has cut its outlook for sales growth to 2.2% for the fourth quarter, compared with its earlier forecast for 4% growth. It expects holiday retail sales to rise 2.5% to 3% from a year earlier."

September 21, 2001 -- According to the Wall Street Journal, "the nation's economy, already stalling prior to Sept. 11, is heading into recession. The consensus of forecasters surveyed Wednesday by Blue Chip Economic Indicators is that the recession will last through the end of this year. What happens then is in dispute. Three-quarters of the forecasters think the recession will be no worse than the mild 1990-91 downturn; a quarter think it will be worse."

September 21, 2001 -- Postal officials warned the public Thursday to be wary of con artists pretending to be soliciting money to help people who were hurt or lost relatives in the terror attacks.

September 21, 2001 -- According to the Daily Telegraph (UK), "Consignia may be penalised by Postcomm as much as 10% of its turnover as the former Post Office failed to meet its delivery targets in the first quarter. The company reported that only 86.1% of first class mail met the next-day delivery guarantee for the period, a figure that Consignia needs to bring up to the regulator's 92.1% threshold for the financial year. Reliability this September will be affected by the terrorist attacks in the US, which grounded the company's postal fleet and led to a week-long delay of US deliveries. Disrupted rail services in the UK has also affected Consignia's schedule."

September 21, 2001 -- European sources have reported that "Agencia L, the Spanish company which handles business correspondence, has broken its exclusive contract with Correos y Telegrafos, the Spanish state-owned postal operator, as a result of 'increasing unfair competition practices', which, according to Correos, the company has implemented in recent months through an 'illegal discounts policy'. Agencia L, which collected and franked business correspondence on behalf of Correos, plans to sign a new contract with ViaPostal, a big rival of Correos. It also intends to take legal action against the state-owned postal operator."

September 20, 2001 -- The testimony presented by Postmaster General John Potter and Chief Postal Inspector Kenneth Weaver before the Senate Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services are posted on the USPS web site. The written testimony presented by the Postal Service's Inspector General can be found on the USPSOIG web site. The PMG's oral statement has been posted as well.

September 20, 2001 -- The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has looked into allegations by postmasters that postal craft workers often are paid more than the postmasters that supervise them. In a report issued September 13, GAO said that its review had found that "few craft employees earned more than postmasters, but the adequacy and reasonableness of the pay differences it did find were still unclear.

September 20, 2001 -- FedEx Corp.'s (FDX) fiscal first-quarter net income fell 36% and the Atlanta package delivery company expressed concern about the uncertain state of the economy and potential effects of last week's terrorist attacks. [See also USA Today.] "We've had no layoffs in the Express operation to this point, and we're going to do everything we can in our power to prevent that," said Alan Graf, FedEx chief financial officer, in an interview. "Because we believe that the industry will continue to grow, it would be detrimental at this point to have layoffs and then rehire at a later date."

September 20, 2001 -- Transportation company CNF Inc. has said it expects to report a third-quarter loss amid "significantly'' lower freight volumes and lost revenue caused by last week's grounding of commercial aviation after attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

September 20, 2001 -- The Associated Press has reported that the "U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals won't rehear an Internal Revenue Service appeal of its decision to overturn a ruling against United Parcel Service Inc. The case concerned a subsidiary UPS created in Bermuda in 1983 to provide reinsurance -- a way of spreading risk -- for UPS packages insured for more than $100. A Tax Court judge ruled that the company was a ``sham transaction'' designed to help UPS reduce its federal income tax burden. The appeals court disagreed and ordered the IRS to pursue the case under sections of the tax laws cited by UPS."

September 20, 2001 -- Reuters has reported that "U.S. mail delivery is slowly getting back to normal following last week's shutdown of the aviation system, but isolated customers could experience delays of one or two days, the U.S. Postal Service. 'There could be a few situations where delays could occur,' said postal service spokesman Mark Saunders. "But, by in large, things have improved dramatically from last week."

September 20, 2001 -- According to Dow Jones, "trucking companies have reported that last week's terrorist attacks haven't led to much of an increase in shipments this week. In fact, trucking companies are worried that a decrease in consumer confidence and manufacturing in the wake of the attacks could further eat into already sagging volumes. Some early reports had predicted that the disruption to the nation's air transport system would force more freight to the roads. But for the most part, volumes have returned to levels seen before the incidents."

September 20, 2001 -- Eyefortransport.com has reported that "Australia Post has won an innovation award for its development of a grocery fulfillment service. The postal services won the award at the Australian Freight Awards, hosted by the Victorian Trucking Association, for its development of temperature-controlled vans to service grocery deliveries for Coles Online e-commerce system. The service is a new direction for Australia Post, entering grocery fulfillment as part of its e-commerce expansion."

September 19, 2001 -- Roll Call has reported that "with an eye toward a late-October adjournment, House Republican leaders are planning to send a continuing resolution to President Bush next week that will keep the government open through Oct. 15. Members could consider the CR as early as Monday to keep federal spending at current levels until deals are worked out on individual appropriations bills. Without passage of a CR, the government will shut down -- a possibility that neither party will let happen at a time of war."

September 19, 2001 -- CEP News (Courier- Express- and Postal-Market News) has reported that "consultations have begun concerning the proposed issuing of two further licences, after the two companies Deya Ltd. and UK Mail Ltd., a subsidiary of Business Post Group plc. filed applications for a letter distribution licence. If a licence is granted, the UK Mail service would begin next April as part of the so-called partial access to services. UK Mail plans to use 12 collection points covering postcode areas in and around Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Thames Valley, serving around 5000 existing customers and transporting their letters to the nearest Royal Mail delivery office, from where they would be delivered by Consignia."

September 19, 2001 -- According to CEP News, "the Austrian Österreichische Post AG is preparing for its partition into five independent companies, possible a prelude to a (partial) takeover by another company group. Deutsche Post AG is considered a hot candidate, according to the daily ‘Die Presse.’ The five companies would deal with letters, courier-express-parcels, bulk mail, media post (i.e. newspaper distribution) and post office counters. The restructuring is to take place in three steps and to be completed by the beginning of 2003."

September 19, 2001 -- CEP News also has noted that "according to the German federal minister of finance, Mr Hans Eichel (SPD), a further sale of postal shares through the government is currently out of the question." No more stock sales until the stock price turns more favorably.

September 19, 2001 -- CEP News has reported as well that "there will be an unexpected change among the partners of Chronopost Espana. The joint venture between the Spanish Correos y Telégrafos and the French La Poste subsidiary Chronopost is to be taken over completely by the Spanish post next month."

September 19, 2001 -- According to CEP News, United Parcel Service Deutschland has declared that "entering the letter business is not an option – even after the monopoly has been dropped.’ Mr Wolfgang Flick, CEO of UPS Deutschland said in a interview with the daily ‘Handelsblatt’ that UPS intends to stick with the parcel business and improve its performance through better services."

September 19, 2001 -- Can you believe it? According to CEP News, "United Parcel Service (UPS) is not concerned by Deutsche Post’s expansion plans for the American market. Mr Roland Wallace, director of UPS’ international business, told the ‘Financial Times Deutschland’ that ‘as long as we are involved in fair competition there is no need to worry.’ "

September 19, 2001 -- As postal commentator (and past PostCom Board Chairman ) Cary Baer has noted, the events of the past week demand that the Postal Service rise to something other than business as usual.

September 19, 2001 -- Before the Postal Service seeks to have MERLIN work its magic, the members of the IDEAlliance (formerly known as GCA) Printer’s Operational Issues Study Effort has urged postal executives to give serious thought to a number of mailer concerns. So what will it cost to install and maintain each Merlin machine?  And who will pay that cost, mailers or the USPS?   Here's one estimate.

September 19, 2001 -- According to Dow Jones, "Correo Argentino SA, the consortium running Argentina's national post office, on Wednesday requested protection from creditors, news agency Noticias Argentinas reported. Citing judicial sources, NA said the post office had about $400 million in debts, the bulk of that owed to the state."

September 19, 2001 -- ADVO, Inc. and The Orange County Register has announced they have formed an alliance to offer clients in Southern California a new saturation advertising program on the weekend which combines targeted direct mail and newspaper distribution. Business makes strange bedfellows....Now if someone will only explain this REAL world to the Newspaper Association of America.

September 19, 2001 -- The Postal Rate Commission believes it needs a new Consumer Advocate. Ted Gerarden, the current OCA, has been told he'll lose that job before the Postal Service files its R2002 paperwork next week.

September 19, 2001 -- De Financieel Ekonomische Tijd has reported that Belgian mail company De Post wants to reduce the number of postmen by about 12 per cent but without any forced redundancies.

September 19, 2001 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail is talking to union officials about 'radical' productivity proposals for its London offices to end industrial problems that have damaged its services in the capital."

September 19, 2001 -- Consignia, the British post office, has launched an online campaign to build awareness of its commission-free foreign currency service to customers.

September 19, 2001 -- According to Direct magazine, the Direct Marketing Association has come up with an assessment on the economic impact of the "Attack on America" on U.S. direct marketing and what to expect in the weeks and months ahead.

September 19, 2001 -- According to the Asian news sources, Pakistan's "Federal Communication Minister has said the entire existing countrywide network of Pakistan Post Office (PPO) will be computerised and streamlined to ensure improved, speedy service to the people. He said the traditional postal functions being performed in both the rural and the urban areas of the country were already supplemented with functions undertaken on behalf of the federal and the provincial governments. These include the post office savings bank, postal life insurance, collection of provincial taxes, payment of pensions, etc."

September 18, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has announced that First-Class letters are beginning to take to the air via commercial airliners. It also announced that a toll-free number is now available to assist Manhattan residents and businesses obtain their mail -- including businesses that were located within the World Trade Centers.

September 18, 2001 -- The Argentine government has launched a survey to determine how the issue of e-mail should be treated under the country's legal code, including measures to protect privacy. The survey is being conducted through the Argentine Communications Secretariat Web site at www.secom.gov.ar, where individuals or businesses can view a preliminary draft of a bill to address the issue. The bill equates e-mail to postal mail in terms of privacy protection under the country's constitution.

September 18, 2001 -- The British newspaper, The Independent, has reported that "Consignia (the British post office) warned  yesterday that its ability to provide a universal postal service was under threat after the industry's regulator took the historic step of granting the first licence to a competitor. Senior managers at the state-owned Consignia, formerly known as the Post Office, declared last night that Hays Commercial Services was being allowed to cream off the most lucrative trade. It is the first time the British mail service has encountered competition since the initial monopoly was granted in 1654. Hays has been given a year-long licence to deliver business documents before 8am in parts of London, Edinburgh and Manchester, which have been the preserve of the Royal Mail."

September 18, 2001 -- The British newspaper, The Guardian, has reported that "the Royal Mail is considering scrapping its target of delivering all letters before 9.30am and instead staggering deliveries through the day. Anyone wanting 9.30 delivery is likely to have to pay extra - either a charge on recipients to obtain the service, or possibly a higher postage rate for the sender."

September 18, 2001 -- Gulf News has reported that "the [United Arab Emirates]  General Postal Authority (GPA) has announced a new identity, vision and renewed commitment to serve. The GPA's new identity begins with a new name - Emirates Post - which officials say will be accompanied by a series of other changes and a host of new services, technologies and systems. The service also has a new corporate logo which features a flying falcon - a symbol of the tradition and heritage of the UAE."

September 18, 2001 -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has reported that German postal "stamps with their value indicated in German marks will no longer be valid in Germany after 30 June 2002. It will be possible to swap existing stamps for those with a value marked in euros at Deutsche Post."

September 18, 2001 -- According to Dow Jones, Dutch postal and logistics company TPG NV said it expects limited impact in the short term from the terrorist attacks on the U.S. last week. It said that its Express air network in Europe continues to operate at full capability despite an increase in security measures at many airports. It said its U.S. operations are largely truck-based and haven't been affected materially by the shutdown of air transportation with the U.S."

September 18, 2001 -- A Postal Service update on mail service in New York City has been posted on this web site.

September 18, 2001 -- United Parcel Service has reported that its air and ground network was "operating smoothly around the world."

September 18, 2001 -- Shares of package delivery giants United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. slumped on Monday as investors dumped transportation stocks on the first day of trading since last week's terror attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Airborne Freight Corp., a Seattle-based integrated air express package deliverer, lost $1.36, or 11.2 percent, to $10.80 on the NYSE.

September 18, 2001 -- United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is  reinstating its domestic money-back delivery guarantee. UPS said it also would resume its $1.3 billion stock repurchase plan. The company's board approved the use of up to $1.3 billion to repurchase Class A and Class B shares in May.

September 18, 2001 -- The Dallas Morning News has reported that "the national outpouring of grief and outrage over Tuesday's tragedy has left many companies scrambling to reassess their advertising spending, with some pulling ads and others reevaluating the content and timing of future campaigns."

September 18, 2001 -- The Financial Times has noted that "Royal Mail, the UK state-owned institution, on Monday faced direct competition in its core letters business for the first time in its 350-year history. As part of a shake-up of the postal service designed to increase competition, Hays, the business services group, was licensed to start immediate services in London, Manchester, in north-west England, and Edinburgh."

September 18, 2001 -- Africa News has reported that "a host of foreign postal administrations, including those in France, Canada and the Netherlands, have come forward to offer their expertise and other assistance to the SA Post Office. This comes in the wake of the termination of the management contract forged in 1999 between New Zealand's Transend Worldwide and the SA Post Office. The contract was cancelled earlier this year after the Post Office failed to break even this year, as guaranteed by the New Zealanders. A SA Post Office spokesman said the Post was unlikely to forge another full management contract with a foreign postal organisation."

September 17, 2001 -- The U.S. government has given commercial airlines permission to start carrying freight on passenger flights with immediate effect. The lifting of the embargo is subject to airports and airlines meeting new enhanced security measures, including quarantine provisions. Canada requires a 36-hour minimum hold on all cargo before it flies, and can be held by either the airline, or by a "known shipper" such as a major freight forwarder, or both.

September 17, 2001 -- Mail for residential and business customers serviced by closed lower New York City post offices will be available for pick-up at the James A. Farley Building side lobby, 380 West 33 Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

September 17, 2001 -- A copy of the Postal Service's recent communique to its workers is posted on this site.

September 17, 2001 -- As The Washington Post has noted, "Mail delivery continues to be slowed by reduced flight schedules. But the U.S. Postal Service is struggling to find alternative methods of transportation."

September 17, 2001 -- Dow Jones has reported that "FedEx Express has reinstated its money-back guarantees. the guarantees will be in effect for shipments accepted in the U.S., including FedEx International Priority shipments, as well as for FedEx International Priority shipments originating from most countries outside the U.S. FedEx transports about 3.2 million units of its daily volume of 4.7 million packages by air. It also transports roughly 3 million pieces of Priority Mail and Express Mail a day for the U.S. Postal Service."

September 17, 2001 -- According to Reuters, "the U.S. Postal Service will be able to ship the nation's mail in the belly of passenger airplanes again soon, possibly as early as Monday. The post office, which moves about 163 million pieces of mail by air each day, had to expand its ground network after the FAA barred cargo from commercial passenger planes after the air attacks in New York and outside Washington last week. The leading carriers are now ramping up passenger flight operations but are cutting about 20 percent of their scheduled flights as travelers fear flying after the hijacking of four aircraft, three of which crashed into U.S. landmarks. The postal service had said delivery would likely be delayed one or two days, especially with those articles mailed destined for cross-country locations." The Associated Press has noted that "FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said the agency was working with the U.S. Postal Service to allow a resumption of mail and package delivery aboard passenger aircraft. She said the ban could be lifted as early as Monday but that new rules may require that mail be screened."

September 17, 2001 -- Britain's Hays Plc, whose business services range from staff recruitment to transport logistics, has won a license to provide niche postal services in competition with Royal Mail. The license covers the collection and sorting of mail sent by customers of Hays' existing document exchange service (DX), an early morning delivery of letters sent by DX customers to other business premises, and the delivery of light items to named customers of Hays's Mailine service. See also the Postcomm web site. At the same time, according to the Financial Times, "Royal Mail has urged the postal regulator to give it the freedom to compete in the business mail market with Hays."

September 17, 2001 -- Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "the terrorist attacks in the US will hit the accounts of DHL and Danzas, subsidiaries of German postal and logistics company Deutsche Post. Chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel said that US imports and exports would be affected by the flight restrictions imposed after the attacks. The resumption of normal flight traffic has been put back as additional time is needed in order to impose stricter security measures at airports. Not only logistics companies, but also manufacturing companies, will be affected by the flight restrictions."

September 17, 2001 -- According to the German newspaper, Die Welt, "competition on the deregulated German energy market is taking another step forward, with electricity supply contracts now available at branches of Deutsche Post AG, the post office. With an initial contract of 350 kilowatt hours at prices below those offered by local suppliers, Deutsche Post aims to win over 100,000 electricity customers within six months."

September 17, 2001 -- Associated Press has reported that "the Post Office is once again accepting mail from other nations, ending a ban on foreign packages and letters that began after the twin attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. People should expect delays of up to three days on most foreign mail, said Mark Saunders, a spokesman for the Post Office. All facets of the Post Office's service have been hampered by the attacks on Tuesday and the increased security that has resulted."

September 17, 2001 -- The British newspaper, The Independent, has reported that "bidders are lining up for the pounds 300m-a-year contract to manage the vehicle fleet of Consignia, the new name for the Post Office. Earlier this month it was announced that state-owned Consignia would outsource its fleet, which includes the 40,000 cars and vans within Parcelforce and Royal Mail."

September 16, 2001 -- MailingStuff.Com has posted a page that can provide the latest information from all the airlines that operate out of the United States. Kudos to Scott DeMayo for taking the time to cobble this page together.

September 16, 2001 -- You can read the report on the PMG's reorganization in the Federal Times.

September 16, 2001 -- According to SiliconValley.Com, "banks and other financial institutions are considering whether to assess late fees on mortgage, credit-card and car-loan payments that are late because of slower mail delivery." See also the press release from American Express.

September 15, 2001 -- According to former House post office committee chairman William Clay (now a legislative consultant to the American Postal Workers Union) and William Burrus (APWU Executive Vice President), "Bill Henderson has it wrong."

September 15, 2001 -- According to InternetWeek, "for more than a century, Spiegel Inc. has sold its goods through catalogs. But it was limited to customers who didn't mind the extra effort involved in returning merchandise. Now, Spiegel is about to change that. Starting next month, a service called The ReturnValet will let Spiegel customers return merchandise purchased through all of its catalogs and Web sites, including Eddie Bauer, Newport News and Spiegel Catalog, at local postal centers. Cataloger Lillian Vernon is already using the service, offered by Newgistics Inc."

September 15, 2001 -- The Chicago Tribune has reported that "major shippers continued working to restore expedited delivery services, while logistics firms grappled with backlogs from the nation's unprecedented mid-week air shutdown. The grounding of planes carrying everything from fresh flowers and computer equipment to company payrolls and mail forced more packages onto trucks this week, causing a disruption that industry experts say will take days to unsnarl. 'There's a big backup all over the world of freight,' said former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Samuel K. Skinner, CEO of Chicago's USFreightways Corp., a global logistics and trucking company. 'It's going to take awhile to work it down.' Still, major shippers including United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. not only said they were operating near-normally Friday, but reported having cleared out most of their backlog of mail and packages after resuming air operations Thursday."

Septem ber 15, 2001 -- The Associated Press has noted that "mail movement, slowed or halted in some areas by the ban on commercial aviation, is resuming, but delays will still occur. The Postal Service is obtaining additional space on Amtrak trains, using its own fleet of 210,000 vehicles and contracting for additional space with 7,000 trucking companies."

September 15, 2001 -- According to Traffic World, "war came to America last week and the nation's transportation system was among the early casualties."

September 15, 2001 -- Traffic World has reported that "angered by layoffs and alleged violations of union contracts, Emery Worldwide pilots set up informational pickets outside Emery headquarters in Redwood City, Calif., and an operations center in Dayton, Ohio."

September 15, 2001 -- "Facing a cargo ban, U.S. passenger airlines focused their efforts Thursday on returning diverted freight and goods stored in airport warehouses to their customers," Air Cargo World has reported. "Airline executives are also working with the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure that they are in full compliance with FAA security guidelines once the agency decides to lift the ban. The FAA imposed a similar ban during the Gulf War, and considered a similar move in the aftermath of the TWA crash off Long island several years ago."

September 15, 2001 -- According to TransportNews.Com, "UPS has restored its U.S. air operations and has moved all Next Day Air(R) packages impacted by the tragic events of the past week. The company expects its international operations into and out of the United States to return to normal this weekend."

September 15, 2001 -- Canada Post has said that it "is making every effort to maintain business as usual and deliver items as quickly as possible. However Transport Canada has imposed interim conditions that restrict the carriage of mail on passenger aircraft. As a result contingencies are being implemented. Mail normally carried by aircraft has been diverted to trucks and railroad, which could have an impact on service standards. Every effort is being made to minimize any delays. Mail to and from the United States is moving on highway services. All international air despatches will be held until further notice. Unfortunately, Canada Post is not able to offer an on-time guarantee delivery of its products until normal operating conditions resume."

September 15, 2001 -- The Associated Press has reported that "there's no bread or milk on the shelves in Nome, and late-arriving child support checks are worrying some parents. Three days into nationwide restrictions on civilian and commercial aircraft, many Alaskan communities reachable only by air are running low on supplies. And those who count on the Postal Service are finding that the terrorist attacks on the East Coast have done what snow, rain, and gloom of night could not. The arrival of mail in Alaska has slowed to a trickle from the estimated 2 million pieces handled daily." TransportNews.Com has reported, though, that "Alaska Airlines officials said the airline plans to operate 100 percent of its intra-Alaska flights today, and is preparing to operate 100 percent of its flights tomorrow between Alaska and the Lower 48."

September 15, 2001 -- Emery Worldwide, the heavyweight cargo transportation subsidiary of CNF Inc., has resumed limited air operations on Thursday night, and expects to operate its normal schedule tonight. Emery reported that it is using all-cargo airlines and charters to move priority shipments to international markets other than Europe, but is experiencing backlogs as a result of the current and indefinite unavailability of space on international passenger airlines.

September 15, 2001 -- According to Die Welt, "Deutsche Post AG, the German post office and logistics company, is to offer customers power supply using electricity from renewable sources from next week. The German companies Lichtblick and Unit Energy are co-operating with Deutsche Post on the project. Deutsche Post has already carried out a test phase in the Cologne area in the last few months and it was met with a positive response from customers."

September 15, 2001 -- InformationWeek has posted its summary rating cargo carriers on the basis of their innovations in logistics and transportation.

September 15, 2001 -- According to SchedNet.Com, "United Parcel Service (UPS) has said that the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) tentative decision to award new Hong Kong "fifth freedom" rights to Polar Air Cargo misses an opportunity to enhance international trade while bringing additional jobs to the US. The company said it was disappointed with DOT's decision and urged DOT and the State Department to immediately begin discussions with the government of Hong Kong to secure additional fifth freedom rights for US carriers."

September 15, 2001 -- The Economist has noted that "no industry will be affected as swiftly or as directly by the attack on America as the airline industry. The fact that hijacked commercial aircraft were the terrorists' weapons will transform airport and aircraft security in the United States, incurring huge costs. But the attack also came just as many airlines, suffering from a big fall in business travel, were struggling to remain solvent." [Commercial airlines carry the bulk of the nation's First-Class Mail.]

September 14, 2001 -- According to postal commentator Gene Del Polito, the USPS needs to explore more creative ways of maintaining and expanding its retail presence.

September 14, 2001 -- The presentation by the Postal Service's Chief Financial Officer to the Board of Governors at its September meeting has been posted on this web site.

September 14, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service will re-open the following post offices in downtown Manhattan on Friday, September 14, and mail delivery in those ZIP Codes will resume as conditions permit. [See the Postal Service's press release for complete information.]

September 14, 2001 -- The Washington Post has published a list of questions and answers on the state of mail delivery..

September 14, 2001 -- The Los Angeles Times has reported that "the Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily banned mail and cargo from all passenger flights, forcing mail delivery onto the ground and delaying checks, bills, documents and other first-class items. About a quarter of the 650 million pieces of mail that the U.S. Postal Service handles each day has been redirected from passenger planes to trucks, pushing back deliveries by 24 to 48 hours for the foreseeable future." See also the Postal Service's press release on this matter.

September 14, 2001 -- San Diego TV station KGTV has said that "it could take the United States Postal Service up to two weeks to fully restore regular mail delivery in the wake of the total grounding of air traffic after Tuesday's terrorist attacks."

September 14, 2001 -- According to The Wall Street Journal, "air-freight carriers moved to resume normal flight operations as the nation's skies reopened, but it will take days to get packages, high-priority mail and other air cargo moving at full speed again. FedEx Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and other air-freight carriers, forced to ground their planes after the attacks Tuesday, made at least some of their regularly scheduled flights Thursday night. They said they plan to quickly increase their air operations to help clear the logjam of cargo caused by the shutdown. The cargo business of passenger airlines could take much longer to recover."

September 14, 2001 -- United Parcel Service has said it expected to run a "full up" air operation within the United States Thursday night and as a result, would deliver almost all of its backlog of Next Day Air® express packages by Friday morning. All other air packages will be delivered by early next week. "UPS's integrated air and ground network allows us to clear our system of any backlog rapidly and to provide our customers the best service possible in these trying times," said UPS Chairman and CEO Jim Kelly. "We've kept most of the air packages moving via our ground network the last two days so we have a good headstart. We'll get most of our delayed express volume delivered Friday morning."

September 14, 2001 -- - FedEx Express has said it is repositioning its aircraft this morning as airports open and plans to begin air operations this afternoon. We are optimistic that we will be able to resume near normal operations tomorrow to the extent that safety precautions and regulatory agencies allow. All other operating companies, FedEx Ground, FedEx Custom Critical and FedEx Freight, are operating normally with the exception of portions of Manhattan and Washington, DC.

September 14, 2001 -- Purolator Courier Ltd. (Canada) has announced to its customers that because it has the most extensive ground network of any courier in Canada, it is able to move customers' packages throughout most of Canada. As air cargo operations cannot commence until Federal Authorities lift flight bans, Purolator has proactively taken all of its air cargo and moved it to its extensive ground network thereby allowing customers' packages to keep moving. Guaranteed delivery times have been temporarily suspended.

September 14, 2001 -- According to e-Commerce Times, "in the world of e-commerce, much of what made up normal daily activity has been put on hold. And experts say it might be a while before things begin to look normal again. Experts say that because of the magnitude of Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the speed at which developments unfold, consumers will be distracted for at least days, if not weeks, to come. E-commerce sites have not been ignored altogether. Amazon.com, which cleared out its home page to make room for a Red Cross donations link, had seen more than 65,000 people make donations by early Wednesday. In all, more than US$2.1 million had been pledged. However, it will probably take a long time for U.S. consumers to snap out of their shock and sorrow. Economists differ on the long-range impacts of the crisis, with some predicting that a recession is now all but certain. Others say the American economy might emerge stronger than ever. E-tailers face several issues of their own, notably that cross-continental shipping has slowed due to the closing of America's airports."

September 14, 2001 -- According to Europemedia.net, "seven main Belgium banks and the Postal Services have founded Ecertio, a company that is to produce digital certificates to serve as digital signatures. The founders will offer digital certificates to their own clients but will not exclude providing the service to large, international, organisations at a later stage. Cost efficiency is the main reason for the common initiative. The Postal Services owns 28 per cent of the new company. The banks share the remaining 72 per cent. Certificate applications may differ from party to party and may be integrated into services such as online banking and an electronic mailbox system. The new company will begin production in October."

September 14, 2001 -- The Irish Times has reported that "the postal order, for years the [Irish] State's most used fixed value payment method, will be discontinued by An Post from October 1st. The pre-printed postal order and money order will be replaced by a new postal money order, which will be printed on-demand for the precise value required. An Post said changes in personal financial management, especially the growth in use of cheques and banking cards had led directly to a drop of almost 60 per cent in sales of postal orders over the last 10 years."

September 14, 2001 -- The Kyodo News Service has reported that "a senior Japanese posts ministry official has said that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has told the ministry he wants the Financial Services Agency (FSA) to conduct regular inspections on a new public corporation slated to take over state-run postal services in 2003. Kosaka said Koizumi also asked that the new postal entity be subject to corporate taxes once it becomes a public corporation. The public corporation is expected to take over the mail, postal savings and insurance operations in 2003. Koizumi has long argued the state-run postal services should eventually be privatized."

September 14, 2001 -- The British Post Office and Government formally launches the Your Guide pilot project in Leicester today, with Consignia Chairman Neville Bain and Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt both heralding the pilot project as an important step towards building a modern, sustainable network of post offices. The Your Guide service - a GBP 30 million jointly funded initiative between Government and Consignia - brings together useful information and services from across central and local Government and the voluntary and private sectors, including jobs and training, benefits and entitlements and local information.

September 14, 2001 -- AirCargo World has reported that "Nippon Cargo Airlines and United Parcel Service have expanded a code-share agreement that permits NCA to purchase space on UPS flights. The expanded accord allows the Japanese carrier to put cargo on flights from Louisville, UPS's principal hub, to Japan. The arrangement will cut a full day off the delivery time of NCA shipments originating in Georgia and the Carolinas."

September 14, 2001 -- According to The Economist, "union leaders say the government’s plans for private provision of public services are a disaster for the public and the workers. That’s not how it looks in practice."

September 14, 2001 -- The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) is scouting for Zimbabwean companies and individuals interested in offering postal services to rival the state-run Zimbabwe Postal Company (ZIMPOST).

September 14, 2001 -- According to Africa News, "the Ethiopian Postal Service (EPS) disclosed on Friday that it has made price increment on postage. Ato Getahun Atnafu, public relations officer of EPS told The Daily Monitor that the new price adjustment is aimed at improving the quality of services EPS provides to its customers."

September 13, 2001 -- The R2002 rate case will be filed formally by the U.S. Postal Service with the Postal Rate Commission on Monday, September 24, 2001. PostCom will publish comprehensive rate comparison charts once this information is made available.

September 13, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service is posting information about mail service during the national emergency. See also the report by Reuters.

September 13, 2001 -- Inter@ctiveWeek has reported that the U.S. Treasury Department has unveiled a system to let companies and individuals file tax returns and pay taxes via the Internet The system also will allow taxpayers to check the status of their taxes anytime on the Web, and to have quarterly estimated taxes deducted automatically from their bank accounts.

September 13, 2001 -- The Wall Street Journal has noted that "disruptions stemming from Tuesday's terrorist attacks -- including the grounding of air-freight carriers for a second day -- began to slow an American economy that increasingly relies on lean inventories and last-minute parts shipments. But executives and independent analysts said the economic impacts may be minor and short-lived if delivery services can resume flights Thursday or Friday."

September 13, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has informed mailers that it has consolidated its five regional classification support centers into three.

September 13, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has asked for a supplement appropriation to pay the USPS up-front for the federal government's revenue forgone liability.

September 13, 2001 -- United Parcel Service (UPS) has said its ground network is operating in a normal fashion and has expanded to handle many of the express packages that typically would move by air. Deliveries and pickups are occurring, and ground and air packages are being accepted and moved as expeditiously as possible using UPS's extensive, integrated transportation network. Service has been restored to Washington, D.C., but deliveries continue to be limited in parts of Manhattan.

September 13, 2001 -- The Evening Standard (U.K.) has reported that "a new radio station is being launched this week in 14 post offices across the capital in a bid to keep disgruntled customers entertained as they wait for their stamps. Post Office Live will play a range of music, from classical to the latest charttoppers, as well as news bulletins, weather reports, competitions and lifestyle items. During its four-week trial, more than 400,000 customers are expected to experience the service, which will also advertise a variety of inhouse products and services."

September 12, 2001 -- The latest PostCom Tech-Notes, this one dealing with the Postal Service's new revenue deficiency policy, has been posted on this web site.

September 12, 2001 -- Postmaster General John Potter said that mail continues to flow to its destinations and post offices throughout the country ARE OPEN to serve customers. Once the FAA allows commercial flights to resume and carry mail, the Postal Service will use all existing means to keep the mail moving to the American people and businesses.

The U.S. Postal Service has said that "currently all mail destined for New York City is being held at the origin offices. Throughout the rest of the country postal employees were asked to remain on duty and to increase their attention to the safety and security of the mail. To that end, First-Class Mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail will continue to be accepted at normal collection points." Ground transportation systems will function as normally as possible.

Until circumstances allow, there will be no mail delivery in most neighborhoods below 14th Street in Manhattan. Arrangements are being made for business and residential customers to obtain their mail from various locations in Manhattan. Notification will be issued once these sites are determined. Postal employees, who work in the Church St. processing center, are directed to report to the Morgan Processing and Distribution Center, located at 341 Ninth Avenue (at 30th Street). Employees, who work in Customer Services below 14th Street, are instructed to report to the James A. Farley  Building (Manhattan General Post Office), located at 421 Eighth Avenue (at 33rd Street).

September 12, 2001 -- CGI Group (CGI) has been selected by Canada Post to enter into negotiations for the creation of a jointly owned information technology (IT) services company. It is planned that the new firm will provide IT services, including e - business solutions, to the Canada Post group of companies, including Purolator Courier Limited and Progistix Solutions, as well as to other postal organizations worldwide.

September 12, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has announced that "due to the current emergency situation in New York, no mail will be collected from street mailboxes today, September 11, or Wednesday, September 12, in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Any customer wishing to mail items must bring them to a post office. Mail delivery in Manhattan will be attempted as long as letter carriers can gain access to the building. Where mail cannot be delivered, customers will be notified where their mail can be picked up. Outside the affected areas, post offices will be open regular hours. Postal services will continue throughout the New York metropolitan area as transportation allows."

September 12, 2001 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "the shutdown of the U.S. air-traffic system paralyzed millions of packages, high-priority mail and other cargo moving through U.S. skies. Even if the shutdown ends quickly, it could take days to clear the logjam in the nation's high-speed freight network."

September 12, 2001 -- Airborne Express has said that it "will continue operations, including pickups and deliveries, in areas where the crisis has not precluded such activity. However, the current FAA shutdown of the national air network precludes the operation of Airborne's fleet of aircraft within the United States until further notice. We are in continuing contact with the FAA as to the status of our flight operations for today's pickups."

September 12, 2001 -- The Kyodo News Service has reported that "the [Japanese] Postal Services Agency plans to temporarily stop taking new orders for express mail and other services bound for the United States. The agency plans to return all mail already accepted at post offices after contacting the senders"

September 12, 2001 -- Business Times (Malaysia) has reported that "Bank  Simpanan Nasional Bhd (BSN) plans to use its stake in Pos Malaysia Bhd to tap the postal service's wide distribution network and services."

September 12, 2001 -- According to Precision Marketing, "Direct mail in Japan could be delivered by private delivery firms if plans to privatise the postal service in 2003 go ahead. Mail delivery is currently handled by the state post office, but proponents of the plans wish to open up the service to private parcel- delivery companies. Observers claim the ministry will only agree to collection and delivery of letters above a certain weight to the private sector."

September 12, 2001 -- Marketing Week has noted that "Osterreichische Post AG, the Austrian post office, has unveiled a new store format called Post.at. In addition to traditional postal services, the outlet offers a range of up to 1,000 office and stationery products, books and CDs. Four Post.at outlets are currently operating, the latest of which opened in Vienna last week."

September 11, 2001 -- The Governors of the United States Postal Service have authorized the immediate filing of a request for new higher postal rates.  Here are the details as we  now know them:  Overall the USPS will be requesting an 8.7 % increase. For First Class mail, the USPS will be asking for a 3 cent increase on the price of a First Class stamp, which equates to an average 8.2 % increase.  For Standard Mail, the increase would be 7.3%, for Packages, 9%, for Periodicals, 10.0%, for Priority Mail, 13.5%, and for Express Mail, 9.7%.  

Text of the Postal Service's official announcement
The Comments of Robert Rider, Chairman of the USPS Board of Governors
The Comments of Postmaster General John E. Potter
Comments on Capital Spending Plan and Request to Congress
R2002 Press Release and Rates

See other reports by the Associated Press, Reuters, and The Washington Post.

September 11, 2001 -- The Postal Service has issued a media advisory announcing a news conference today at 11:30 a.m. at  USPS Headquarters. Board Chairman Rider, Vice Chairman Fineman and PMG Potter will discus decision made during today's closed session--presumably concerning the next rate case. 

September 11, 2001 -- China Post has reported that "the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) recently approved for the Directorate General of Posts (DGP) to deliver express mail on behalf of Chung-hwa Express Co., Ltd. to mainland China....Chung-hwa Express Co., Ltd. is a privately held company with investments from DGP, China Airlines, EVA Airways, TransAsia Airways, T-JOIN Transportation Co. Ltd., and Hsin Chu Transport Co....Chung-hwa Express delivers express mail and parcels to mainland China in a similar way to other courier services such as DHL or Federal Express. However, Chung-hwa Express routes its express mail through a third country."

September 11, 2001 -- DM News has reported that "with the fall holiday mailing season in full swing, it's clear in the mailing community that last autumn's flurry of direct mail activity may not happen this year. More catalogers and direct mailers are cutting their circulation this fall. For example, Lillian Vernon Corp. said that September circulation will be down 5 percent from last year. Other companies may send about the same amount of fall mail as they did last year. The U.S. Postal Service is anticipating the same volume as last year, and major printer R.R. Donnelly said it is seeing the same volume at its plants as last fall."

September 11, 2001 -- Mike Eskew, who assumes the duties of UPS chairman and CEO in January 2002, will discuss his company's position on Postal Service competition. He'll talk about the state of affairs at the U.S. Postal Service and why he believes giving the agency greater commercial powers is bad policy. His talk will take place  Friday, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. at the National Press Club National Press Building (13th Floor) 14th & F Streets NW Washington, DC.

September 11, 2001 -- According to Norma Nieto, Principal Consultant, Mail, Packages and Freight PricewaterhouseCoopers, "in spite of slowness of deregulation, and the trend towards reregulation, competition is continuing to intensify. Even within existing regulatory and ownership frameworks, the bar for performance is being raised as governments expect a positive contribution and seek to enhance the value of their post prior to privatisation. The conventional wisdom several years ago was that regulatory reform was necessary if posts were to become more commercial and competitive. However, we are seeing that many posts have made great strides in competition in the absence of formal regulatory reform, largely due to the creative use of acquisitions and alliances.

September 10, 2001 -- According to the Financial Times, the British postal regulator, PostComm, will vote this week on whether to end Royal mail's 350-year-old monopoly on delivering most letters. The PostComm board will decide whether to overturn 350 years of postal history by ending Royal Mail's legal monopoly on most letters. If the board gives the go-ahead - and the signs are that it will - its decision will have enormous implications, not least for Royal Mail, once an arm of government under the wing of the Post Office, now part of the state-owned" Consignia group.

September 10, 2001 -- The British newspaper, The Independent, has reported that "Consignia, formerly known as the Post Office, is to restructure its internal operations radically by allowing private companies to manage operations worth about pounds 1bn a year. The move is likely to incite postal strikes across the country when workers object to what they see as 'back-door' privatisation."

September 10, 2001 -- Royal Mail managing director of stamps and collectables Mark Thomson is to head Consignia's e-enterprise unit. He will be replaced by Gavin Macrae, currently Royal Mail's global director of international services.

September 10, 2001 -- Dow Jones has reported that according to "a spokesman for Dutch postal group TPG NV, it is 'logical' that its chairman, Ad Scheepbouwer, be named as the new chief executive of telecommunications company Royal KPN NV. KPN said earlier Monday that it is in 'far advanced talks' with a candidate to become the new CEO, replacing Paul Smits, who hasn't yet resigned."

September 8, 2001 -- France's Sorbonne university has launched a degree course in professional letter writing because a generation addicted to brief e-mails and mobile phone text messaging has forgotten how to pen their own.

September 7, 2001 -- Here are the main features of  PMG John Potter's headquarters reorganization. (See the organization chart [now more readable] that's been posted on this site.) Here are some of the more notable changes. Anita Bizzotto has been named as the Postal Service's new Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President. Nick Barranca has been named Vice President for Product Development. Stephen Kearney will be the vice president for pricing and classification.  Charles Bravo will take over as the USPS' Chief Technology Officer, but will be reporting to Chief Financial Officer Richard Strasser.. Michael Jordan has been named acting Vice President for Sales. Pam Gibert (formerly, will be retiring). Missing from the new reorganization chart: John Kelly (formerly, President, Expedited and Package Services), Robert Krause (formerly Vice President, E-Commerce), and John Ward (formerly, Vice President, Core Business Marketing). 

The Mid-Atlantic regional office in Arlington, Va., and the Midwest regional office in St. Louis will be closed. From the Mid-Atlantic region, offices in the Richmond, Va., area will be supervised from Washington, and the Carolinas, Kentucky and West Virginia offices will report to Pittsburgh. Midwestern offices will be divided between the Great Lakes region, headquartered in Bloomingdale, Ill., and the Western region in Denver. The net result of the changes will be the elimination of 20% of the officer corps and 20% of the postal career executive staff. 

See also the report by The Washington Post, Associated Press, GovExec.Com, and the Postal Service's own press release.

September 7, 2001 -- Dynamex Inc., a provider of same-day transportation and logistics solutions in the United States and Canada, has announced that it will launch a unique portfolio of same day inter-city air and ground transportation services.

September 7, 2001 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available on this site.

September 7, 2001 -- According to the Journal of Commerce, "United Parcel Service remains interested in making acquisitions to expand its menu of services. UPS has made 20 acquisitions in the past year. Most of the have been very, very small but some - notably its takeover of Fritz Cos. - have greatly expanded UPS's capabilities in freight forwarding and customs brokerage. UPS is working very aggressively to improve Fritz' information technology platform."

September 7, 2001 -- Dow Jones has reported that "It's crunch time at Federal Express Corp. The world's biggest express transport company is feeling the heat of a worldwide economic slump. Deliveries are down, earnings are slipping and so too is its stock price."

September 7, 2001 -- The Irish Times has reported that "An Post [the Irish post office] has high levels of sick leave among its staff....An Post had experienced difficulties recruiting and retaining staff at mail depots.  Officials said "there is a diminished pool of labour available and in many cases people are more choosy...[and An Post has] had difficulty getting people."

September 6, 2001 -- The Senate Committee on Appropriations has included the following language in its report on S. 1398:

The Committee commends the Postal Service for its previous efforts to improve service and promote efficiencies, which are critical to providing universal mail service throughout the United States. The Committee is eager to learn more about other new and innovative ways to serve the public and enhance USPS operations. Accordingly, the Committee requests that the Postal Service provide the Committee with a report 90 days after enactment detailing and supporting the Postal Service’s position as to the scope of its existing authority under title 39, United States Code, and title 39, Code of Federal Regulations, to introduce and provide new products and services (including the introduction and provision of new products and services on an experimental or market test basis) and to enter into negotiated service agreements with individual customers or groups of customers. Such report shall detail any efforts to use such authority within the past 24 months.

September 6, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has begun the bargaining process with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). In his statement at the opening photo-op as published by his organization's magazine, Postal Record, NALC President Vincent Sombrotto said that letter carriers must be "appropriately rewarded" for their hard work. He also said that carriers deserve credit for their service on the front lines of postal reform.

September 6, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is seeking to pre-qualify sources capable of providing a Rotating Pallet Lift Table.

September 6, 2001 -- According one British Labour leader in an editorial written for the Guardian, "Labour needs to spell out its commitment to public control of public services." Americans should read this apologia for public control of public services. It will an argument that will be replayed in the American postal reform debate.

September 6, 2001 -- Well, it's really no surprise. According to the Japanese paper, Daily Yomiuri, Japanese ministries that have been targeted for privatization are putting forth plans of their own to serve their own bureaucratic interests. "All of the plans," the paper reported are "aimed to 'overcome the reform plans by converting (the public corporations) into other entities'...The plans aimed to maintain the government's involvement in the new entities, and 'only proposed superficial changes,' a  ministry official said. A common reason why the ministries and agencies wanted to maintain public corporations was because they believed this special form of business entity is necessary to help carry out government policies and serve public interests."

September 6, 2001 -- According to the Kyodo news service, "Officials at small-scale regional post offices across Japan spent a total of 3.4 billion yen in wining and dining in fiscal 2000, reported sources close to the posts ministry. The figure was part of the combined 91.2 billion yen that the ministry allocated to about 19,000 such post offices and some ordinary post offices. An official at the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said the combined amount is an 'appropriate level.' The ministry said the government checks on the use of the funds at each post office around once a year. It has also told the offices to curb spending on wining and dining by their officials. But the ministry failed to check on the use of the funds at all regional post offices, according to the sources. There are nearly 19,000 regional post offices in Japan, accounting for 76% of all post offices, many of them only offering services at the counter. The number of ordinary post offices in the country totals about 1,300."

September 6, 2001-- The Nikkei news service has reported that "the [Japanese] postal service is under intense pressure to drastically reform amid growing criticism triggered by the arrest of a number of high-ranking postal officials for illegal activities during this summer's upper house election campaign. Rumors were circulating even before the July 29 election that postal officials were involved in the campaign of a ruling Liberal Democratic Party candidate opposed to the privatization of the three postal services -- mail, savings and insurance -- despite a ban on electioneering by central government officials. But the Postal Services Agency did not clamp down on such activities, saying that no officials were involved in campaigns in an illegal manner. It did not even conduct an in-house inspection when a number of officials were arrested."

September 6, 2001 -- Knight-Ridder has reported that "a grassroots movement to organize its mechanics continues to sprout at Memphis-based FedEx Express. The move is to organize under the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which also represents aircraft mechanics and other employees at Northwest Airlines Corp. They are seeking to become the second union at FedEx; the FedEx Pilots Association, representing 3,800 pilots, is the first."

September 6, 2001 -- The British newspaper, The Independent, has reported that according to Consignia, "postage prices will rise for most customers if the industry regulator introduces competition to the Royal Mail....Consignia, formerly the Post Office, said the regulator seemed intent on encouraging "cherry picking" of profitable business customers. This, it claimed, would mean the death of the Royal Mail's universal service obligation, which guarantees delivery to any address in the country at a uniform price." See also the report in the Financial Times.

September 6, 2001 -- As The Washington Post has noted, "Internet bill paying might seem like a no-brainer, but it's still mostly a head fake. Lots of things are that way online, because Web-ifying daily life has turned out to be much harder than it seemed. Financial institutions have been trying for years to move the simple chore of paying bills from your kitchen table to your computer. Even the U.S. Postal Service and Web portals got into the act with bill-paying services last year. But even though analysts are once again heralding this as the breakout year for Internet bill paying, most Americans are not chucking their checkbooks just yet. Consumer adoption remains surprisingly low."

September 6, 2001 -- Yet, as The Washington Post also has reported, "people and companies can now pay all federal taxes on a secure Web site that promises greater convenience and reduced paperwork. The initiative already operational opens to all U.S. taxpayers a Web site that is part of the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, or EFTPS. The site, www.eftps.gov, has collected more than $1.9 billion in taxes during the past year, primarily from businesses in a pilot program.

September 6, 2001 -- CEP News has reported that "the Slovenian post is currently negotiating with Direct Parcel Distribution, the international organisation of Deutscher Paketdienst (DPD) concerning a cooperation renewal and extension. The post is a co-operation partner of DPD in Slovenia, but their contract expired in April. DPD says the current negotiations concern the transformation of the co-operation contract into a franchise agreement. The simultaneous discussions regarding a co-operation between the French DPD parent company La Poste and the Austrian DPD partner Post Austria are said not to involve Slovenia. The Austrians recently announced (CEP News 33/01) that they were setting up their own parcel distribution network in Slovenia." 

September 6, 2001 -- Consignia [the British post office] has responded to the consultation paper on competition by the postal regulator, Postcomm, by stressing that it wanted all customers to have greater choice. It said that it "believes its products and services will compete strongly if competition is introduced in a fair way." It said that its Regulator [Postcomm] risks falling into the trap of assuming any increase in competition will automatically be good for all customers."

September 6, 2001 -- Now this'll do a lot for Europe's information economy....The Wall Street Journal has reported that "the European Union's legislative body Thursday will consider a ban on 'spam,' which is unsolicited e-mail, and 'cookies,' which collect information on individuals surfing the Web. The parliament will also look at other perceived threats to privacy."

September 6, 2001 -- According to The Wall Street Journal, "three of Europe's leading postal services - France's La Poste, Deutsche Post AG of Germany and TPG of the Netherlands - are following the scent of opportunity and going all out to expand their venture-capital activities. La Poste, already a leading financial services provider in France, is on the look out for partners to invest in a new venture-capital fund to back Internet and e-commerce ventures, and TPG, formerly TNT Post Group, has invested 100m euros in the corporate venture fund LogiSpring which invests in technology start-ups in the logistics sector. Deutsche Post, for its part, with a controlling stake in the U.S. delivery firm DHL, is eager to reinvent itself as the provider of a comprehensive global logistics and e-business solutions service, and has to this end already invested in the Atlanta-based logistics-software company Viewlocity and the Swiss direct-marketing firm IQA AG."

September 6, 2001 -- According to eCommerce Times, "the difference between a satisfied online shopper and a disgruntled one often hinges on the crucial last step in the e-commerce process -- the timely and economical delivery of merchandise to consumer doorsteps."

September 6, 2001 -- The U.S. Postal Service has announced enhancements to its eBillPay and Priority Mail services that tie electronic financial transactions to the Postal Service's traditional delivery of packages. They include:

• Pay@Delivery - Similar to the existing Collect-On-Delivery (COD) service offered by the Postal Service since 1913, this feature's main purpose is to make access to traditional Postal Services easier and more convenient by combining electronic payments with Priority Mail and Delivery Confirmation services. Sellers of merchandise at online auctions can, for example, print out the buyer's address label with Delivery Confirmation barcodes from their personal computer and drop off the package at any of over 38,000 post offices. Buyers of merchandise at online auctions can send their money to the seller online and have the money released electronically when the mail carrier delivers the package and scans the Delivery Confirmation barcodes. Available on the Postal Service web site, CheckFree will offer Pay@Delivery to its financial services customers as a standard feature. Also, individuals selling merchandise online can now place the Pay@Delivery logo and link on their web site to offer this convenient and secure payment and delivery option to their customers.
• Send Money - Similar to a domestic Postal Money Order, which has been available to the American public since 1864, this feature enables anyone to send money to anyone else using the Internet. This person-to-person payment addition will allow customers to send money securely to anyone with a checking-enabled account and an email address. Like Pay@Delivery, individuals selling merchandise online can place the logo and link on their web site to offer convenient and secure payment and delivery options to their customers.
• USPS Electronic Postmark - Combining tamper detection with a time-and-date seal applied by the Postal Service, the Electronic Postmark verification provides trusted, third-party proof of when a payment was initiated. Every payment transaction processed through USPS eBillPay, Pay@Delivery, and Send Money will be postmarked - when they are created and sent, when they are changed and when they are canceled. The Postal Service has been postmarking mail since 1775.

September 6, 2001 -- Sending a resume? How will you do it? Regular mail or email? Bob Levey from The Washington Post has some advice from the experts.

September 6, 2001 -- CNET.com has reported that "Yaga, a start-up that provides peer-to-peer distribution has acquired online payment company MagnaCash and will give consumers and merchants a safe way to transfer money over the Web. MagnaCash will let consumers process transactions safely and anonymously when they access digital content such as audio, video, software and music over the Web. MagnaCash can track and disperse money to the people who deserve to be paid royalties based on the usage of their products."

September 5, 2001 -- The Associated Press has reported that "FedEx Corp.'s smaller business customers can save 10 percent on many express services by going online, the delivery company announced Tuesday in a bid to extend discounts to firms that usually don't qualify for them. Customers can apply for the discount through Nov. 30 by signing up for the FedEx Ship Manager program at the Memphis company's Web site, www.fedex.com. The new program may improve volume for FedEx Express, which decreased 9 percent during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.