February 28, 2003 -- The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has scheduled a markup of the Collins' CSRS bill, S 380, for Wednesday, March 5, at 10 a.m., in Dirksen 342.

February 28, 2003 -- Baltic News Service has reported that "Latvia's state postal company Latvijas Pasts is planning revenues this year to exceed spending by just under 1 million lats (EUR 1.6 mln), reported the company's marketing director."

February 28, 2003 -- Eyefortransport.com has reported that "FedEx spokesman Ed Coleman said some service delays were related to the de-icing of aircraft and others were caused by hazardous driving conditions. Coleman said FedEx implemented contingency plans, which included early drop-off times and limited service options, in certain markets depending on the weather."

February 28, 2003 -- According to Air Cargo World, "the United States military gave a small boost to beleaguered airlines when it activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet last month, but most of the world's air cargo users, operators and agents were bracing for a harsh fallout from the deepening confrontation between the U.S. and Iraq. Airlines were predicting steep declines in passenger traffic in the case of full-blown war in the Middle East and freight industry experts say cargo business would see planes grounded and traffic fall off as the worldwide economy grinds down, mirroring the effects of the Persian Gulf War in 1991."

February 28, 2003 -- According to the Puerto Rico Herald, "once considered the ‘Crossroads of the Caribbean,’ Puerto Rico has implemented modern transportation technology to become the ‘Crossroads of the Globe.’"

February 28, 2003 -- Rep. John M. McHugh (R-NY) has been tapped by Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) to lead the Committee's Special Panel on Postal Reform and Oversight for the 108th Congress. The panel will focus on helping reform the outdated postal system, currently mired in almost $15 billion of debt and in the midst of the biggest overhaul since it became an independent government entity under the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. Rep. McHugh is widely known as an expert on postal issues, working six years as Postal Service Subcommittee Chairman on the Government Reform Committee, and continuing to serve as an advocate for postal reform in the past two years since his chairmanship expired and the subcommittee dissolved. The newly formed panel will work closely with the nine-member commission President Bush appointed in December to study the future of the postal industry and help the Postal Service control consumer rates, operating costs and job cuts, and to help ensure universal service rates. Rep. McHugh and the panel will report directly to Chairman Davis, making postal reform a full committee issue.

February 28, 2003 -- AME Info has reported that "FedEx Express Corp. was honoured at the Dubai Quality Award Ceremony this week as one of the first companies in the UAE to achieve certification to the 'Investors in People' Standard."

February 28, 2003 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that "while the winds of war slowed the economy, the U.S. air-cargo industry got off to a good start in January. Volume for U.S. air carriers rose 6.9 percent over January of 2002, as a 7.7 percent gain in freight and express traffic easily offset a 3.5 percent decline in mail, according to the Air Transport Association."

February 28, 2003 -- As the West Australian has noted, "the European Disunion, that loose collection of countries with nothing in common other than a handful of boundaries, has decided it wants to be more involved in life Down Under. The EU's latest wish-list lodged with the World Trade Organisation (two bureaucracies are always better than one) also reveals its appetite for a slice of Australia's public services, with postal deliveries and telecommunications identified as areas which the EU believes would benefit from some of its commercial culture. The EU's desire to spread its tentacles into Australian business should come as no surprise: its short history is already littered with evidence of an expansion policy underpinned by legislation rather than commercial force. Therefore suggestions that its demands are merely an "initial request" and confidential can be dismissed as German humour. But the humour does not detract from the rank hypocrisy of Europe's demands for Australia to open these markets further as well as scrap foreign investment controls while at the same time it continues to implement its own weird and wonderful concept of a free market economy." Mates! Give 'em hell!

February 28, 2003 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) said that it has initiated a daily cargo flight from Hong Kong to its Asian hub in the Philippines."

February 28, 2003 -- Asia Pulse has reported that "Australia's negotiating position for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States will be set out by the Federal cabinet next week. But Australia remains under pressure on the multilateral trade front, with the European Union demanding an end to the Foreign Investment Review Board and the privatisation of Australia's postal and water services."

February 28, 2003 -- A sign of the changing times.... The Economist has reported that "many travellers see a long flight as a welcome escape from the office and what E.M. Forster called 'the world of telegrams and anger'. Not for much longer. On February 18th British Airways began a three-month trial on flights between London and New York offering interactive broadband connections in the air, using a satellite-based system called 'Connexion by Boeing'. A specially adapted 747 now lets passengers use e-mail and surf the internet. A trial by Lufthansa began in January, winning early praise. Japan Airlines and the SAS group will be next."

February 28, 2003 -- Yahoo! U.K. has reported that "Posten, Sweden's Postal Service, reported today that it has achieved peerless scores for national overnight delivery. According to an independent assessment of national postal operators, Posten attained an on-time delivery performance score for First-Class mail of 96.2 percent. Posten also received high marks for domestic parcel delivery. In 2002, on-time delivery for DPD Företagspaket 16.00 business parcels was 97 percent."

February 28, 2003 -- According to Hoovers Online, "the US package delivery company, UPS (United Parcel Service), is considering the possibility of leaving the Mexican market if the proposed new Federal Transport Law is passed later this year. The legislation will ban foreign companies from participating this sector. UPS is currently lobbying among legislators, attempting to demonstrate that the costs of the new law will be higher than any benefits."

February 28, 2003 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that:

• Mike Eskew, chairman and chief executive of United Parcel Service has been sworn in by President George W. Bush to the President's Export Council.
• Deutsche Post's plan to outsource package-delivery services is meeting opposition from German services union ver.di. (See also the report by Dow Jones

February 28, 2003 -- Business Mailers Review has reported that:

• If the Postal Service must file for new rates this spring or summer, it’s highly unlikely the USPS will seek phased rates. the fact that the USPS would have to push up the filing of a phased case by a few months due to the fact it foregoes. A postal spokesman said no official decision has been made, but other officials said the comments that have been received indicated enough opposition to the idea in any upcoming rate case that it has effectively killed the issue. So if a case needs to be filed this spring or summer, it will be an old-fashioned rate case. On the other hand, if Congress does approve legislation to change the way the USPS pays into the CSRS plan, it would allow the Postal Service to hold current rates in place until 2006. That means the next rate case would not need to be filed until 2005. It would give the USPS and its customers two years to more thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of phasing in rate increases.
• The second public meeting of the President’s Commission on the United States Postal Service focused on the efforts of the commission to define a new business model for the Postal Service. After a day of testimony and a wide range of questions, some of them seemingly naïve to old postal hands, it left some observers pessimistic that this commission will tackle the big, hard questions.
• In all likelihood, Murray Comarow [former executive director of the Kappel Commission] is probably right. The President’s Commission on the U.S. Postal Service probably will walk away from the idea of privatization. Why? It’s easy to be afraid of the dark. That is to say, it’s hard to know what could exist in place of a monopoly that has existed for some time.
• One line of questioning that was repeated throughout the day-long presidential commission hearing focused on the Postal Service’s financial transparency. The complaints about financial transparency — starting with those voiced by the General Accounting Office — are not about the volume of data that is made available, but about its usefulness.
• You can find on the Postal Rate Commission’s website the Postal Service’s 2004 Budget to Congress, an annual filing it must make to Congress. One interesting note is the Postal Service’s update to its 2003 budget. It has changed its volume forecast for this year from the original plan of a 1.9% growth in total volume to a 1.4% growth in total volume. Every class of mail except Standard and Parcel Select is now projected to decline this year. To see the 2004 budget, which probably will be updated this summer, go to www.prc.gov under the Feb. 21 Daily Listings.

February 28, 2003 -- The Port Washington News has reported that "Publishers Clearing House has commemorates 50 years in the direct mail marketing business. Neither rain, nor hail, nor sleet nor snow can stop the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes mailings from arriving in your mailbox, thanks to its awesome partnership with the United States Postal Service."

February 28, 2003 -- What?? UPS is in the mail business? You bet! Want to know more? If so, take a look at this item which was passed along by one of our correspondents.

February 28, 2003 -- According to Air Cargo World, "DHL is looking for more American shippers and it expects to find them over the road."

February 27, 2003 -- The Direct Marketing Association says it now has data that confirms "what we have seen for nearly two years now. The USPS (a) is giving up its international lettermail business to the competition on purpose through its pricing, (b) is being slaughtered by the competition, especially in periodicals, and (c) has decided to fight its competition on parcels alone. The International Department of the USPS has clearly decided to concentrate on parcels, and price themselves out of competition for letters, surface and air. Someone no doubt is looking at that lovely revenue per piece number for express parcel post, up 9.80% to USD 1.74 and decided this should be the strategy. Let's not forget that the USPS's rates are not subject to Postal Rate Commission approval."

February 27, 2003 -- Please...say it ain't so. In its response to a challenge from United Parcel Service for the U.S. Postal Service to sponsor a witness who could provide a "roadmap" showing the coherency of the USPS' postal rate proposals the Postal Service wrote that UPS' logic suffered from the flaw that:

They presume that the Postal Service's proposals are intended to constitute a "coherent whole." In reality, the Postal Service in a rate case puts forth a series of proposals that collectively display varying degrees of interrelationship. Depending on where they fit in, individual proposals may be added or dropped very late in the preparation process. To expect such an amalgam to constitute a "coherent whole" is simply asking too much.

February 27, 2003 -- The Congressional Research Service has published an issue brief for Congress on recent matters pertaining to postal reform, and a second brief pertaining to the Postal Service's funding of CSRS. A copies of both briefs have been posted on this site.

February 27, 2003 -- Pitney Bowes Inc. has introduced SmartMailer(TM) 7.0, a user-friendly mail management software that enables mailers to better manage their mail flow. SmartMailer 7.0 is easy to use and enables businesses to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their mailings with enhanced address database functions and the ability to send combined mailings, and to save money by eliminating duplicate, and reducing undeliverable, addresses.

February 27, 2003 -- Le Figaro (France) has reported that "The 2003 budget unveiled by the French post office (La Poste) was unanimously condemned yesterday by the organisation's trade unions."

February 27, 2003 -- AsiaPulse has reported that "the European Union has proposed that Australia give its Foreign Investment Review Board and privatise postal and water services under a proposal from the European Union." Sheesh! And to think there are those in Europe who are calling the U.S. and the Bush Administration "bullies" and "unilateralists."

February 27, 2003 -- AFX News has reported that "Deutsche Post World Net AG wants to close about 800 postal branches and retain only about 12,000 by end-2004, management board chairman Klaus Zumwinkel said in an interview with Die Welt. He also said the company is planning to outsource its parcel business. It plans to expand its mail business in Europe by making acquisitions, he added. Zumwinkel added the company intends to submit a bid for the Danish sate-owned postal office in the forthcoming tender for the latter's privatisation."

February 27, 2003 -- The TimesCommunity has reported that "rain, heat and dark of night are OK with the post office, but snow is a deal breaker. Mail carriers in rural areas will not set foot out of their trucks or cars to get mail into a mailbox." You want your mail? Clear road access to your box.

February 27, 2003 -- According to Congress Daily, "laying out an ambitious legislative schedule, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Don Nickles, R-Okla., Wednesday said he would like to move the fiscal 2004 budget resolution and reconciliation legislation through the Senate by April 11, just prior to Congress' spring recess. Proclaiming himself still a deficit hawk, Nickles said that as Budget chairman, he would look at the "whole budget," not just discretionary spending, for ways in which to curb government growth. Nickles said he would like to end the "overtly partisan" nature of the budget process and bring Democrats on board this year's resolution. 'I'm concerned about passing it through the committee, but I'm more concerned about passing it on the floor,' Nickles said." Just remember: If all politics is local, make YOUR issue as "local" as possible.

February 27, 2003 -- The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has reported that "two post offices that had been using off-the-shelf baby monitors to record conversations between customers and clerks at service windows removed the listening devices yesterday."

February 27, 2003 -- Direct Newsline has reported that "The two main political parties have more in common than you might think. Despite their differences, both are better at fundraising when they are out of power."

February 27, 2003 -- The National Association of Major Mail Users "NAMMU" (Canada) has reported that:

• The NAMMU Toronto Chapter will host the first 'grass roots' session on the next big thing in customer billing solutions from Canada Post: Pre-authorized Automatic Payment. Building on the significant take up to date on EST (electronic shipping tools) and a panel of customer feedback, attendees will be shown 'what’s in it for me' when they take this next step. Electronic exchange of data from order submission through to order settlement is the objective and will deliver value for the customer and Canada Post.
• The Montreal and Quebec City Chapters are scheduling presentations and the national executive will deliver the presentation to non-chapter members. The Toronto Chapter session Tuesday, March 4 will also shed light on managing the postal relationship in an outsourced environment during a 'best practices' panel session. This topic continues the highly popular workshops on outsourcing management, directly relevant to NAMMU members. Registration and information: NAMMU@sympatico.ca or 1-800-453-1308
• Software developers are reminded that the Software Evaluation and Recognition Program (SERP) will be extending the March 1 deadline for re-certifying software for pre-sort to January 2004. All current software holding recognition status will automatically have the extension applied. This additional time will allow Canada Post to align present Presort requirements to anticipated changes currently under review. The projected release date of the revised version of the Presortation Technical Specification is March 2003. Contact: lesley.donald@canadapost.ca or 1-800-363-3459

February 27, 2003 -- The KMR Group, a Canadian postal consultancy, has reported that "Canada Post and Borderfree Ltd. today announced a partnership that will provide Canadian catalogue and Internet shoppers with broader product selection and a seamless, hassle-free cross-border shopping experience, while supporting U.S. merchants with an integrated technology, marketing and logistics solution for accessing the Canadian marketplace."

February 27, 2003 -- The Nordic Business Report has reported that "the Sweden-based pan-Nordic logistics company Pan Nordic Logistics AB said today (26 February) that it had signed cooperation agreements with the postal services companies in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The agreements covered sales and marketing, Pan Nordic Logistics said. Pan Nordic Logistics, which is owned by Post Denmark and Post Norway, has a similar cooperation agreement with Post Finland."

February 27, 2003 -- The San Diego Union-Tribune has reported that "the men in 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment recently got their first big shipment of mail – six bright orange U.S. Postal Service bags full of letters and small packages. After sorting the items on the dusty floor of a tent, each unit sent a Marine to pick up the group's mail and pass it out to the troops.

February 27, 2003 -- Quebecor World's Logistics Group (QWL) recently launched an e-mail marketing service designed to simultaneously boost the response rate of mail pieces and track them through the postal system. With ResponseBridge(TM), the PLANET bar code scan triggers a customized, targeted e-mail message to the mailer's customers. QWL is first in the print logistics industry to expand the capabilities of PLANET bar coding technology beyond mail tracking and into e-marketing.

February 27, 2003 -- Postmaster General John E. Potter and Hollywood legends Ernest Borgnine, Karl Malden and Gena Rowlands dedicated the new American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes commemorative stamps yesterday at the headquarters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The stamps are available today at post offices nationwide, by toll- free telephone order at 1 800 STAMP-24 and online at http://www.usps.com/shop.

February 27, 2003 -- Le Figaro (France) has reported that "La Poste, the French national postal services group, says it is now able to close the gap with its German and Dutch competitors. The group yesterday approved the budget for 2003 proposed by chairman Jean-Paul Bailly, who also presented a programme of investment worth nearly 1bn euros, to be spent mainly on modernising courier activities."

February 27, 2003 -- The Associated Press has reported that " A group calling itself "September 11" sent terror threats to the U.S., Australian and British embassies in New Zealand warning it has 55 pounds of cyanide to use against American interests if Iraq is attacked, police said Thursday. A squad of anti-terror police is working to find the author of the threat contained in four letters that mentioned the America's Cup yacht race in Auckland. One of the letters, which were intercepted by postal workers at the Auckland mail center, contained cyanide crystals, said counterterrorism police chief Assistant Commissioner Jon White said. Britain's Foreign Office confirmed Wednesday that a suspect package "containing traces of cyanide" had been sent to the British High Commission in Wellington but said it had no information on the group September 11."

February 27, 2003 -- Haaretz (Israel) has reported that "The Postal Authority yesterday asked the High Court of Justice to overturn a Communications Ministry plan to privatize international mail services. The privatization is slated to begin this Sunday. The petition argued that the decision, which was approved by the communications minister, is illegal for two reasons: It contradicts a cabinet decision from July 30, 2002, and the minister failed to consult with the Postal Authority as required by law."

February 26, 2003 -- The markup of HR 735 will occur on Thursday, March 6, in Rayburn 2154, following a 10 a.m. hearing on an unrelated issue. (Thanks to Mailers Council exec Bob McLean for the alert.)

February 26, 2003 -- AllAfricaNews has reported that "crime lords involved in the trafficking of drugs and money laundering through the local postal system are in for a rude shock. Geoffrey Kamali reports that the Police yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with six institutions to combat organised postal crimes involving narcotic drugs and money laundering in the country."

February 26, 2003 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal) has reported that:

• It was announced at the same time that the rating agency Standard & Poor is considering downgrading Deutsche Post due to insufficiently covered pension liabilities. Deutsche Post spokesman Mr Martin Dopychai said that 'to honour our pension obligations will not cause the slightest problem' and that a downgrading would be unjustified.
• A decline in volume for addressed mail was one of the main reasons for the 14m euros (pre-tax) deficit incurred by Norway’s Posten AS.
• Bizpak, a subsidiary of the Swedish Posten AB, has become Lithuania’s best-known parcel service brand.
• According to information from the German Federal Association of Courier, Express and Postal Services (BdKEP e.V.), the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour is obstructing the partial access of Deutsche Post business rivals to postal services.
• Markets in Eastern Europe will be one of the main topics at the 9th European CEP Congress, to be held at the ‘Maritim’ Hotel in Bonn on 25 March. CEP business consultant Mr Horst Manner-Romberg will give a synopsis of the situation in individual countries.

CEP News is without a doubt one of the best newsletters you can find that focuses on the courier, express, and postal market. If you don't get it, when it comes to the CEP business worldwide, you REALLY won't "get it." For more information on a subscription to CEP News, contact the publisher.

February 26, 2003 -- The Tampa Tribune has reported that "FedEx will move its Tampa International Airport operations into a new facility early next month, more than doubling the number of packages it can sort at the airport to 6,000 an hour. The 101,800-square-foot building nearly quadruples FedEx's space at TIA. It will add a centralized dispatch area, allow consolidation of some local FedEx trucking activities and provide a customer service area for express, overnight shipments."

February 26, 2003 -- Precision Marketing (U.K.) has reported that "Royal Mail is poised to deliver a shot in the arm to the direct marketing industry with the launch of nationwide trials for the long- awaited 'nominated day delivery' service. The scheme, which some agencies have been calling for years, would allow brand owners to request which day a mailshot drops, and therefore integrate it more closely with other marketing methods, such as outbound telemarketing and DRTV campaigns. Details on how much the service will cost are still under wraps.

February 26, 2003 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "President Bush is preparing to present Congress a huge bill for Iraq costs. The total could run to $95 billion depending on the length of the possible war and occupation." What does this mean for postal?....You figure it out.

February 26, 2003 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that:

• A federal jury in Philadelphia awarded a former FedEx Corp. supervisor $2.3 million after finding that the express company retaliated against her after she complained about sexual discrimination.
• The Federal Aviation Administration has certified a new anti-collision cockpit display system for heavy jets developed by UPS Aviation Technologies.

February 26, 2003 -- NZCity (New Zealand) has reported that "Police are yet to receive a lead in the search for the author of the cyanide letters. The letters, addressed to the British and Australian High Commissions as well as the US Embassy, were intercepted at South Auckland Mail Centre last week. Crystallised cyanide was found in one of the letters which contained terrorist threats if war eventuates against Iraq. Police have been keeping the investigation internal to New Zealand and are yet to enlist the help of the FBI. New Zealand Post claims its health and safety procedures passed the test when the cyanide was noticed last week."

February 26, 2003 -- Aftenposten (Norway) has reported that "Norway's postal service (Posten Norge AS) reported a sharp reversal in fortunes on Monday, blaming it on the rise in e-mail use. Another 3,000 staff positions will likely be cut by 2005."

February 26, 2003 -- Reuters has reported that "U.S. water and electricity utilities could wind up under the control of European corporations if Brussels has its way in world trade talks. 'The bad news is that everything from your town's municipal drinking water to the local electricity utility to the U.S postman are headed for sale on some Geneva 'trade' negotiating table,' Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, said in a statement. Anti-globalization groups worry that the services negotiations could open the door for foreign firms to take over many functions now performed by government."

February 26, 2003 -- The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service will conduct its monthly meeting in Washington, DC, at Postal Service headquarters located at 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, on Monday and Tuesday, March 3-4, 2003. While the Monday meeting is in closed session, the public is welcome to observe Tuesday's meeting. Tuesday's open session is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Ben Franklin Room on the 11th floor. 

February 26, 2003 -- Word has it that House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) plans to markup HR 735 next Thursday.

February 25, 2003 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online.

February 25, 2003 -- DM News postal commentator Cary Baer has noted that "every postmaster general has his own personality, leadership style and objectives. Jack Potter is not unique in having his own persona. But what does seem unique, at least among recent PMGs, is that he really seems to want to run the place. And he is doing it."

February 25, 2003 -- As DM News has noted, "postal rate increases raise the collective blood pressure of the mailing industry whenever they occur. Adapting to new equipment and procedures raises another level of angst among mailers. But one topic is destined to stay in the face of the industry for the next two to three years: Move Update."

February 25, 2003 -- Guaranteed on-time payments(1) and the ability to pay anyone were the most important features to consumers deciding to enroll in the MSN(R) Bill Pay service, according to a recent survey(2) conducted by The Marketing Workshop Inc. with CheckFree Corp.  More than 1,000 respondents revealed that MSN Bill Pay users are more satisfied with the service (88 percent) than consumers using other online bill-pay services (80 percent). The survey also found that scheduling payments ahead of the due dates, tracking payments and paying multiple bills at once are the most-used MSN Bill Pay features. "Online bill pay has officially hit the mainstream," said James Van Dyke, principal and founder of Javelin Strategy and Research. "To take full advantage of this now-proven capability, consumers will benefit by choosing bill-pay providers that offer consolidated bill-pay services along with sophisticated tools for budgeting and tracking spending habits."

February 25, 2003 -- According to Forbes, "Publishers have all but abandoned the business of selling books by sending pitches through snail mail. But Rodale, the family-owned magazine and book publishing company in Emmaus, Pa., thinks it has found a way to make it work."

February 25, 2003 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "as the Bush administration seeks freer global trade in services, the European Union is taking aim at the sector and requesting changes in how U.S. state and federal authorities regulate everything from liquor sales to accounting. The EU also wants the U.S. Postal Service to cede its monopoly over bulk, first-class letter delivery. Both U.S. and EU trade officials declined to comment on the EU requests."

February 25, 2003 -- According to the Economist, "the advertising market is showing signs of recovery. Whether it takes hold will depend very much on events in Iraq."

February 25, 2003 -- Reuters has reported that "German postal giant Deutsche Post DPWGn.DE said on Monday the German cartel authorities were looking into complaints that new contracts with some of its agencies broke competition laws. A Deutsche Post spokesman said the group had been approached by the German cartel office about the complaints and the company had until the end of March to give a formal reply. The group has about 7,000 private agencies like bakeries or grocery stores that also sell postal products, he said."

February 25, 2003 -- Expansion (Spain) has reported that "Correos, Spain"s postal service operator, and Unicef have collected 120,000 kilogrammes of school stationery, which they will donate to children in Bolivia."

February 25, 2003 -- Le Figaro (France) has reported that "Michel Pebereau, chairman of the French banking group BNP Paribas, has urged the French authorities not to turn the French banking sector upside down by allowing the French post office (La Poste) to offer financial services."

February 25, 2003 -- According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "the business mail operation in the basement of St. Paul's main downtown post office will close permanently April 19, forcing hundreds of church, school and other nonprofit groups to drop their bulk mailings at the hub office in Minneapolis near Hwy. 280 and Broadway Av. NE. St. Paul postmaster Tony Williams said Monday that none of nearly 20 postal workers in the unit will lose jobs because of the consolidation, but 'the workers are totally upset' about being reassigned."

February 25, 2003 -- The Times of Malta has reported that "the [Maltese] government is committing itself to taking on 160 of Maltapost's employees, to allow a smooth restructuring at the postal company."

February 24, 2003 -- EuropeMediaNet has reported that "La Poste, the French post office and the second largest postal service company in Europe, is to launch its broadband internet products March 17. At the European level, La Poste is fairly late to the game, as many European postal services already offer broadband internet access – in particular, Deutsche Post, with its T-ISDN xxl product range long since having been introduced to the German market. The state-owned postal company enters a tough and highly competitive market. La Poste will offer high and low broadband (512 Kbits at E44/month and 1024 Kbits at E72/month). More than 13 other intenet providers already offer similar, and sometimes cheaper, ADSL products."

February 24, 2003 -- The Los Angeles Times has reported that "an obscure nonprofit group is transforming the way campaign mail is sent to California voters by selling access to its discount mail permit. By sending campaign brochures through the Policy Issues Institute in Irvine, political consultants save 15% to 20% on mailing costs because of discounts the U.S. Postal Service gives to nonprofits, according to a solicitation sent out by the institute's paid marketer and political mail guru Bill Butcher. Financial records released by the institute show that those savings were significant enough that consultants paid $2.3 million to the institute for such purposes during last year's elections."

February 24, 2003 -- The www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/usps links on The Rebuttal Process form routes you to a "Oops Sorry" page the Commission has set up. Don't know if we can change the form to direct viewers to the right place. The comments are posted at: http://www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/usps/comments/index.html. The link for the February 20, 2003 testimony list is:  http://www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/usps/witness-testimony.html. Also, the e-mail address in the Rebuttal notice is found out:  pcusps_rebuttal@do.treas.gov.

February 24, 2003 -- Traffic World has reported that "automated freight booking is a growing part of the air freight industry but even the companies who run automated systems say it's a tough change from a phone- and fax-based industry. Consumers today have two options if they want to book freight electronically and their options soon will grow to three with the addition later this year of a recently announced Asia-based competitor. These competitors beat out dozens of hopefuls who, during the technology boom of the late 1990s, were eager to capture the electronic freight booking market."

February 24, 2003 -- The Philippine Daily Inquirer has reported that "the Department of Finance yesterday said it was seriously planning to sell this year its equity and assets in Philippine Postal Corp., the sole operator of the country's postal system. The DOF is looking for financial advisers and technical consultants as part of its preparation to sell Philpost as well as to develop four pieces of real estate in Japan."

February 24, 2003 -- Dow Jones has noted, "A new image, Mr. Pitney? Positively, Mr. Bowes! While Pitney Bowes is no doubt mindful of its past, it takes a crack at mapping out its future in a new ad campaign launching Monday that reworks its staid image as a maker of postage meters and tries to capture the notice of business leaders."

February 24, 2003 -- Accorrding to the Federal Times, "David Fineman has been outspoken on the need for postal reform in his eight years on the U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors. Fineman believes some radical changes are needed to keep the Postal Service functioning."

February 24, 2003 -- The Peninsula (Qatar) has reported that:

• War clouds over the region caused by the growing threat of US-led military action against Iraq are not expected to affect the Q-Money 2003 exhibition and conference for investment and financial services, Yacoub Mohammad, Executive Manager of Maraya Public Relations (MPR), the firm organising this event, said here yesterday. MPR and the General Postal Corporation (Q-Posts) yesterday signed an agreement under which the Express Mail Service (EMS) Mumtaz Post has been appointed the official courier for the Q-Money 2003 event, at a ceremony held at the Diplomatic Club yesterday morning.
• The Basle-based Universal Postal Union (UPU) has granted $40,000 to Qatar’s General Postal Corporation (Q-Posts) for upgradation and development of postal services in the country

February 24, 2003 -- The Sunday Times has reported that "Maltapost plc has just issued its Year Pack 2002 - a unique collection of all of last year's stamp issues by the Maltapost Philatelic Bureau, presented in an attractive laminated presentation folder and plastic jacket. The Year Pack, which is available at all Maltapost Branch Post Offices and also from the Maltapost Mobile Unit, contains information in English, French, Italian and German, about last year's issues. Other details, which are also much sought after by philatelists, include the values, designer, stamp sizes and perforation, printing house and printing process."

February 24, 2003 -- The Federal Times has reported that "the Postal Rate Commission should be given powers to review U.S. Postal Service efficiency and data collection, chairman George Omas told a presidential commission on the U.S. Postal Service on Feb. 20."

February 24, 2003 -- The testimony submitted to the President's Commission on the Postal Service is now available on the U.S. Treasury web site.

February 23, 2003 -- UPS Internet Shipping will be available in India later this year, reports The Hindu Business Line. The service allows small-volume users to produce paperwork and labels online and to ship with little or no consolidation.

February 23, 2003 -- How many potential terrorist targets are there in California? The state attorney general has identified 624 potential terrorism, according to the Los Angeles Times. The list includes the Golden Gate bridge, the Ernest & Julio Gallo winery, and the Long Beach postal service processing plant. The number one target, according to the report, is Los Angeles International Airport.

February 23, 2003 -- "Homeowners around the nation tip their mail carrier $10 to $20 at the holidays," reports the Denver Post. "But it is technically illegal for the carriers to accept, even if the U.S. Postal Service admits it largely looks the other way at Christmas." The paper notes that "Postal Service rules frown on cash tips, said spokesman Al DeSarro, but it happens. "'There are many generous customers out here,' he said. 'A lot of them give cookies or fudge, or even the dreaded fruitcake. And we're appreciative of that.'"

February 23, 2003 -- What will consumers pay for e-mail? Both Yahoo! and Hotmail from Microsoft are trying to convert subscribers from free services to premium programs costing $10 per year. The results? According to The Washington Post, "neither company releases exact e-mail subscriber counts, but both have acknowledged they have fewer than 1 million paid mail accounts."

February 22, 2003 -- According to The Nation (Thailand), "the familiar khaki uniform of postmen will be aof the past next week when the postal service introduces its new uniforma beige jacket and blue shirt as part of its image upgrade ahead of"

February 22, 2003 -- Airborne Express will increase its existing fuel surcharge from 4.3% to 5.1% for all express shipments moving through its transportation network effective March 3, 2003. The surcharge will apply to all domestic, Canadian, and International Express shipments. Airborne will also increase the existing fuel surcharge for Airborne Ground (GDS) and airborne@home shipments from 1.3% to 1.8% on the same date. Previously, other major carriers had anounced increases to begin in March as a result of rising fuel prices.

February 22, 2003 -- Nambia hopes to establish a major postal hub in southern Africa during the next five years, according to the Nambia Economist. The publication reports that while South Africa is now the major mail hub in the region, "due to the Walvis Bay corridor, Namibia could be able to cut down delivery time by up to four days, giving Nampost an advantage. Nampost is already doing this on a limited scale with some customers finding re-mailing from Namibia cheaper than having it done in South Africa."

February 22, 2003 -- The Financial Times is reporting that the French postal service, La Poste, and La Monde, a major newspaper, will begin offering internet access services in March. According to the report, the La Poste e-mail system has nearly 2 million customers.

February 22, 2003 -- "One of the most maligned organizations in our country is the U.S. Postal Service," says columnist Dick Yarbrough in the Post-Searchlight in Bainbridge, GA. "Let me rise to their defense. I had to rely heavily on the USPS for the notification and distribution of my recent book. I give them an "A" for effort and execution. No problems whatsoever. They deserve a better reputation than we give them ...."

February 22, 2003 -- Some 200,000 Indiana residents have been driven to distraction by the inability of the state to deliver licenses in a timely manner. According to the Indianapolis Star, the state contracted with a mailing service to reduce sorting costs from 2.2 to 1.8 cents per license. However, the paper says the deliveries have been delayed and now, quoting an official of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, "We will now be allowing the Postal Service to sort it for us, and we will be paying full price for the postage."

February 21, 2003 -- H.R. 735, a bill to reform the funding of Postal Service has been posted here.

February 21, 2003 -- The British magazine, Marketing,  hasthat "Royal Mail will slash its marketing spend this year by up to30m as part of the latest round of cutbacks to affect the loss-makingRecently appointed marketing and deputy managing director Paul Rich hasa reduction in Royal Mail's marketing spend from about pounds 80m lastto between pounds 50m and pounds 60m during the course of 2003."

February 21, 2003 -- Handelsblatt has reported that "Deutsche Post, the German postal service operator, has announced plans toand streamline its Bonn headquarters. In future, it will concentratemanagement decisions, while day-to-day business will be run mostly from otherIt is planned that the moves will be implemented this year. One pointdebate is the number of staff which will remain at the headquarters. At, it houses a staff of around 2,000, having recently moved into the 'Post'. In future, the package and logistics business of its parent DHL willto Brussels."

February 21, 2003 -- UPS CEO Mike Eskewthe President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service that his company supports "a Postal Service focused on its core letter mail mission that is dedicated to providing high-quality service in the physical delivery of letters, advertising and periodicals." He added that "to the extent the Postal Service competes in the private sector, it must be on a level playing field with proper accounting, transparency, full disclosure and oversight." "As a major user of mail services," said the company, "UPS is committed to a healthy and viable U.S Postal Service, Eskew continued. UPS uses the Postal Service as one of its main avenues of communication with its 360,000 employees and its millions of customers. Additionally, through its mail-related subsidiaries including Mail Boxes Etc., UPS pays over $220 million to the Postal Service each year while at the same time benefiting from package volume generated by catalogs and advertising distributed through the mail."

February 21, 2003 -- William H. Young, president of the 305,000-member National Association of Letter Carriersthe President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service that "universal service, delivering to every household and business in America six days a week, needs to be preserved. It is that delivery network that gives the Postal Service its unique position and is the key to generating the revenue necessary for it to survive. In short, we have to find ways to expand services, not contract them."said for that reason the NALC endorses work sharing and work sharing discounts when appropriate. But he said work sharing must be defined in a far more expansive way than in the 1970s when such discounts began and now must include all technological innovations mailers can deploy to make the processing and delivery of mail more efficient and economical both for mailers and the public. "The bottom line is that the Postal Service cannot turn its back on customers who feel that they can reduce mailing costs by taking advantage of work sharing," Young said. "Work sharing and the full deployment by the mailing community of technology is absolutely necessary to enable letter carriers to complete the essential 'last mile' of the postal journey." 

February 21, 2003 -- The Postal Service can't wait a year to change prices, said chief financial officer Richard J. Strasser. The Associated Press reports that "postal competitors such as Federal Express and UPS put in place smaller, more regular price increases for commercial mail, but the post office is not able to do the same under its current structure. At the same time, he said, the public wants the convenience of not dealing with pennies and odd stamp prices, and would prefer fewer rate rises, but rates that can be divided by a nickel." Strasser also said the Postal Service should have the right to retain profits in strong years.

February 21, 2003 -- Government Executive reports several different views from testimony before the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service.

• Michael Crews, a Rutgers University professor, advocated "commercialization of the government monopoly."
• Commission member, Joseph Wright, said "We better go for the big bang because we are not going to have another chance for awhile."
• Both Gus Baffa, president of the National Rural Carriers Association and William Young, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, want universal service and six-day-a-week delivery continued.

February 21, 2003 -- "After threatening to halt mail delivery in certain Detroit neighborhoods due to safety issues, the Detroit Postal Service said Wednesday that such an idea was now 'off the table' and no longer being considered," according to the Detroit Free Press. Postal officials had considered the service halt "in response to an increased number of complaints of assaults and robberies of postal carriers and vicious dog attacks," said the paper.

February 21, 2003 -- Spam makes strange bedfellows -- AOL and Microsoft are working together to support new federal laws against spam. "Spam," says The Washington Post, "is up fivefold over the past 18 months, leaving the electronic mailboxes of Internet users jammed with billions of unwanted commercial e-mails. AOL blocks 780 million pieces of junk e-mail daily, or 100 million more e-mails than it delivers."

February 21, 2003 -- In a story which likely reflects conditions throughout the northeast, The Washington Times reports that "mail carriers who missed their appointed rounds in the aftermath of the snowstorm last weekend are back on track, postal officials said yesterday, even though many area residents have not received mail since Saturday." The paper says that "postal officials warned it could be a few more days before mail flow in the region returns to normal."

February 21, 2003 -- Sales at the the online USPS Postal Store soared more than 96 percent, from $5.4 million in the 2001 holiday season to $10.7 million in 2002. In fiscal 2002, one million registered customers are expected to generate$38 million in sales for the online site. Online orders for postage stamps and other philatelic items are filled by Stamp Fulfillment Services (SFS) in Kansas City, Mo., the Postal Service's 311,000 sq. ft. underground fulfillment center featuring the Automated Fulfillment Equipment System. SFS also handles orders placed by telephone to 1-800-STAMP-24 and by mail through the USA Philatelic catalog. From November 2002 through January 2003, the SFS shipped an average of 158,000 orders per month.

February 20, 2003 -- Speaking at the MTAC meeting in Washington, Richard Strasser, chief financial officer of the Postal Service, said that through AP4 the Postal Service anticipated a billion-dollar net profit. This result will occur in spite of declining revenue and volume, mainly because of very effective cost controls, including a continued reduction in work hours.

February 20, 2003 -- The rapidly-emerging Chinese domestic market is a source of hot competition between FedEx, DHL, UPS and the Dutch company, TNT. TDCTrade.Com says Worldwide Express, with 37% of cross-border express shipments, now leads the pack but the market is expanding and all of the major competitors are seeking more business and marketshare.

February 20, 2003 -- The Wall Street Journal reports that TPG NV, the Dtuch postal and logistics copmany, enjoyed a 2.4 profit increase for the year. Also, says the paper, the company expects single-digit growth in 2003, less than originally projected. The profit from postal operations grew 5.4%.

February 20, 2003 -- Postal services worldwide looking for new ways to increase system usage are turning to the voting booth. "Polling stations are being scrapped in the St Edmundsbury and Waveney districts in Suffolk as part of a Government initiative," says the BBC. "In Norfolk, the King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council has made the same decision." Instead of polling places, citizens will be able to vote by mail, a convenience which government planners hope will raise voting levels.

February 20, 2003 -- A brief strike against the Australian postal service has ended. Asia Post reports that "Australia Post delivery staff today agreed to refrain from taking industrial action over new equipment and reduced rounds in the Sydney central business district. Posties yesterday went on strike for the third time in four weeks in protest against the new mail sorting technology and as part of an attempt to convince Australia Post to reinstate scrapped postal rounds."

February 20, 2003 -- According to Reuters, the German government may sell additional shares of Deutsche Post and Deutsche Telecom later this year in an effort to raise $5.5 billion euros. The news service reports that the government now owns 50 percent plus 26 shares of Deutsche Post while a state-owned development bank, Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW), holds another 18.3 percent.

February 20, 2003 -- "Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees plan to bring a class action suit against United Parcel Service Inc. to stop the planned conversion of Mail Boxes Etc. stores to The UPS Stores," reports the Atlanta Business Journal. UPS, which is headquartered in Atlanta, acquired Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) in 2001. "Currently, MBE uses UPS, Federal Express and the United States Postal Service to ship packages," says the paper. "Under the UPS conversion plan, all packages would be shipped UPS at the mandated lower UPS Store brand. MBE argues that the lower price does not ensure that volume will increase. The number of packages shipped within a given day will not offset the loss of MBE's FedEx and USPS business."

February 20, 2003 -- The good news is that the Royal Mail is doing better than expected; the bad news is that it's losing more than £1 million a day. According to the Financial Times, "Allan Leighton has undermined his own efforts to slow postal market deregulation by admitting Royal Mail Group is set to produce better than expected results for this financial year. His upbeat comments in an interview with the Financial Times come just weeks after Royal Mail warned Postcomm, the regulator, that proposed price controls threatened the group's recovery and restructuring plan." Leighton said that the Royal Post is doing better than expected but still suffering heavy losses.

February 20, 2003 -- German postal employees are learning how to stop dog attacks through psychoanalysis -- for the dogs, that is. The Guardian says German postal workers lost 12,000 working days last year because of dog bites. The postal workers are being trained to recognize dog behavior for signs of danger.

February 20, 2003 -- The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that the 721st Adjutant General Company, a military postal unit called up last week, is headed to Fort Rucker, AL and perhaps elsewhere from that location. The reservists are expected to be on active-duty for a year.

February 19, 2003 -- UnitedService representative and former Postal Rate Commissioner Wayne Schleymade available on this site a rebuttal of the report "Competitionthe United States Parcel Delivery Market," written by Alan(also available here). He said that the author "seeks to provide aanalysis of how American consumer spends some $50 billion annuallyparcels, packages and overnight letters. Unfortunately, author Robinsonhis analysis on a series of faulty assumptions that ultimately provide aview of several fundamental dynamics of the domestic shippingAn exclusive reliance on revenue rather than volume of packages as the's sole indicator of market share contributes to a generalof the industry. The subsequent analysis then proceeds toa variety of essential factors, producing results that not onlythe true size of the market, but overstate the revenue market shareprivate carriers. Finally, the author's discussion of the relationshipprivate and national parcel carriers altogether miscategorizes severaldocumented truths." Readabout it.

February 19, 2003 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal) has reported that:

• Last week the French government gave its consent to an approx. 9% increase in postage rate for standard letters, which will henceforth cost 50 euro cent. The new rate will apply from 1 June this year. La Poste's CEO Mr Jean-Paul Bailly told the press that without the increase La Poste would have incurred a 315m euros loss during the current financial year.
• The German trade union ver.di has offered Deutsche Post an employment agreement with the aim of securing the 240,000 jobs within the company far beyond 2007. The post is currently committed to a ban on outsourcing postal districts until the end of 2003, and termination of employment for operational reasons is not allowed before the end of 2004.
• Changes due to happen within the Japanese post early in April, when the present postal authority is transformed into a government-owned company, will also entail the discontinuation of a number of loss-making services. Those services include New Express Mail and New Super Express Mail, among others, according to the daily Asahi Shimbun (13.2), i.e. same-day and courier services, which the post offers only in selected Japanese cities and which guarantee delivery on the same day or within only 3 hours. The paper believes that the post will focus more on co-operation in future in order to reduce costs. 
• The Spanish post intends to drop "Telegrafos" from its official name. Mr Victor Calvo- Sotelo, CEO of Correos, announced this week that the name change reflected globalisation and liberalisation within the EU. Correos will continue to use the colour yellow for advertising purposes.
• Competitors of Deutsche Post AG gained only a small amount of letter market shares during 2002. This announcement came from Mr Gerhard Harms, deputy chairman of the German regulatory authority for telecommunication and post (Reg TP), in Bonn last week in connection with his presentation of the authority's annual report.
• Fewer and fewer Swedish people use the post office for payment services, according to the findings of the Swedish market research institute Temo, which carries out annual surveys on behalf of the Swedish regulatory authority Post- och Telestyrelsen (PTS). 

CEP News is without a doubt one of the best newsletters you can find that focuses on the courier, express, and postal market. If you don't get it, when it comes to the CEP business worldwide, you REALLY won't "get it." For more information on a subscription to CEP News, contact the publisher.

February 19, 2003 -- Shippers and transport companies are worried that newly-proposed security measures might substantially delay international air cargo, According to the Los Angeles Times, suggested advance electronic notification rules "could severely restrict the operation of overnight air cargo services and companies dependent on 'just-in-time' delivery for their manufacturing lines and retail stores." The proposed rules would "require advance notification on all cargo entering and leaving the U.S. One tentative proposal would require U.S.-bound air carriers to provide cargo data eight hours before loading up a regular flight and four hours before loading up a plane operated by a courier service such as FedEx." Ocean shippers already provide 24 hour's notice to the Customs Bureau.

February 19, 2003 -- In the merge and purge department, a new study indicates that e-mail addresses are changed at the rate of 31 percent annually, causing 53 percent of those consumers to lose touch with personal and professional contacts, as well as preferred Web sites. The survey, conducted by research firm NFO WorldGroup, identified that half of all Web site relationships are lost, on average, due to e-mail address changes. According to the study, e-mail address turnover is driven by ISP switching, job changes and consumer efforts to avoid SPAM. The survey found that young adults (53 percent) are significantly more likely to lose these contacts than older individuals (42 percent). Return Path Inc., a provider of e-mail change of address services, and Global Name Registry, license operator of the .name top-level domain, commissioned the study.

February 19, 2003 -- Netherlands' TPG Post and its unions have reached their first collective bargaining agreement for a new position, mail deliverers. Mail deliverers will provide the "home delivery of mail and will therefore only perform part of the job of the current mail man. In addition to the mail deliverers, traditional mail men will continue to be needed for delivery of special mail and the house number sorting." The pact provides that:

• Employees currently active as mailmen will keep their current benefit package.
• In total, a maximum of 9,000 full time equivalent mail man positions will be replaced by new mail deliverers through natural attrition by the year 2013.
• Mail deliverers will receive a fixed part time employment contract with a base pay almost 10 percent above the minimum wage, fringe benefits, and a pension based on the average wages.

Post says it plans to reduce its annual cost base by EUR 320 million in order to protect itself against a potential volume decline of 20 percent. TPG Post is also planning to achieve savings from further automation of the sorting process (replacing part of the final sorting presently executed by mailmen) and from efficiency measures. TPG Post has already announced the expected reduction through attrition of about 5,000 full-time mailman positions.employs more than 148,000 people in 60 countries. Since 1998, TPG has been listed on stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and New York.

February 19, 2003 -- The New Jersey post office closed last week when an envelope containing a white powdery substance was found will re-open. The Long Hill Township facility was closed Friday as a precaution so that the letter's contents could be fully tested. Newsday reports that the lab tests were negative.

February 19, 2003 -- Do city dwellers subsidize rural citizens? According to a study by Dr. Diarmuid O'Grada the answer is yes. The Irish Examiner says Dr. O'Grada will tell the Irish Planning Institute at its annual conference in Galway that "postal deliveries to rural houses are four times more expensive than for urban houses, yet the charges nationwide are the same." The paper got a different view from Jim Connolly, secretary of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association: "It's the same old chestnut about rural dwellers being a burden on the State. It's been proven to be nonsense." Connolly pointed out that "electricity is produced in rural areas, like Moneypoint in Clare, and then it is transported to urban areas. It's hugely expensive to send it 200 miles to Dublin but you don't hear anything about that from these planners."

February 19, 2003 -- As much of the East Coast digs out from a massive snow storm, the Postal Service is getting back to its usual schedule. In Vineland, NJ, as one example, The Daily Journal reports that "dangerous road conditions Monday crippled mail relay from the regional postal distribution center in Bellmawr to the Vineland distribution center on Almond Road.Trucks typically arrive three times a day. Only one delivery made it through, and it wasn't until late Monday." In many cases along the storm's path, roads remain impassible and mailboxes are buried beneath mounds of snow. As the local postmaster told the paper: "We're doing the best we can. We told our carriers not to compromise their safety and health."

February 19, 2003 -- How do you communicate with a remote village in Laos? Mail service to Ban Phon Kham is described as "sluggish," says CNN, so the alternative is to use e-mail. But rather than rely on phone lines and electricity, neither of which are locally reliable, the villagers are using a system of five computers that hook-up to the Internet via "WiFI" technology, or wireless connections. As to power, that comes from a bicycle hooked up to a generator. Similar low-cost systems can be located just about anywhere.

February 19, 2003 -- The United States Postal Service is making "Direct Mail Easy" for small and mid-sized businesses in 2003. The Postal Service will deliver on this promise by offering an instructional series of seminars in cities around the U.S. This program is intended to educate small and mid-sized businesses on how to achieve the proven response rates of direct mail delivered at the speed of the Internet. A total of fifty-two seminars will be delivered in 2003. The course material will consist of direct marketing fundamentals including: the use and creation of mailing lists, the ins and outs of lettershop operations, the creation of mail concept/copy, and the complete process of mail preparation.

February 19, 2003 -- Xinhua reported that "Moussibahou Mazou, visiting deputy director-general ofInternational Bureau of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), commended Nigeriaimproved postal services."

February 18, 2003 -- Which companies in the U.S. are most-admired? According to the March 3rd issue of Fortune magazine, Wal-Mart is at the head of the list -- but coming in at #8 is overnight delivery pioneer FedEx. After Wal-Mart the magazine lists: Southwest Airlines (No. 2); Berkshire Hathaway (No. 3); Dell Computer (No. 4); General Electric (No. 5); Johnson & Johnson (No. 6); Microsoft (No. 7); FedEx (No. 8); Starbucks (No. 9); and Procter & Gamble (No. 10). UPS ranked in the top 10 nationwide across all industries in four of the eight attributes used to compile the rankings. The company scored in the Top 10 for the quality of its management; its financial soundness; the quality of its products and services, and its commitment to social responsibility. Within its industry category, UPS ranked No. 1 in each of those four attributes as well as in rankings for its employee talent and use of corporate assets.

February 18, 2003 -- Deutsche Welle is reporting that Cisco Systems will help Deutsche Post "set up a strategic partnership in information technology and better data system efficiency." Detsche Post said the core projects included "web-supported solutions for internal finances and in-house communications."

February 18, 2003 -- According to Federal Times Online, Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y. -- a co-sponsor of the House bill to correct Postal Service retirement overpayments -- says "we owe it to every single postal customer to fix this retirement benefit formula so they're not forced to overpay." The legislation is required, says the news service, "to correct overpayments the Postal Service has been making to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) fund. If uncorrected, the overpayment would eventually be $71 billion. The overpayments were discovered last year by the Office of Personnel Management."

February 18, 2003 -- At least 31 states are now working on legislation which would allow them to collect sales taxes from online retailers, according to The New York Times. A number of large retailers such as Sears, Target and now Wal-Mart collect taxes from online sales, however federal law prevents states from requiring such collections until at least November 1st. To levy a sales tax, states under the 1992 Supreme Court decision, Quill v. North Dakota, must show that a retailer has a physical location ("nexus") within the taxing jurisdiction.

February 18, 2003 -- Fifteen million people in the UK who now collect pension and benefits payments from local post offices will find a new system in place beginning in April. "There will be three ways of receiving payments electronically," reports The Observer, "via an existing current account, by opening one of the new no-frills 'basic' accounts on offer from the high-street banks or via a Post Office Card Account. The idea behind the electronic system is largely that the Government believes it will both reduce fraud and save money in the long term, as well as encouraging people without a bank account to open one."

February 18, 2003 -- Citizens in Pakistan have found a new way to send holiday greetings: the Internet. "According to a tentative estimation, around two million virtual cards were sent on Eidul Azha and three million virtual bouquets and flowers sent on Valentine's Day by Lahore residents to their loved ones," says the Daily Times. "The tradition of sending cards on these occasions is very old indeed, but it seems the slowness and unreliability of the postal system, known as 'snail-mail', is now being circumvented by emails, which cannot be lost and are instant. The result has been a sharp decline in the revenues of the General Post Office (GPO) in the holidays."

February 18, 2003 -- Pos Malaysia, Malaysia's sole postal service provider, is expected to see 4 to 5 percent growth this year, according to The Star. The paper reports that mail volume is increasing 3 percent annually even as the e-mail continues to attract new users.

February 18, 2003 -- A campaign to boycott the commemorative stamp marking a Muslim holiday, Eid, is now underway. United Press International reports that consumers are being urged by bigoted e-mails not to buy the stamp because of claims that Muslims in general are responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11th and other incidents. The article points out, however, that "these attacks were the labor of a few evil extremists, which the majority of Muslims do not condone." The Eid greeting stamp, first issued in 2001, is one of many stamps the Postal Service has devoted to religious themes.

February 17, 2003 -- Business First has reported that "two local conveyor-manufacturing companies are planning sizable expansions after receiving contracts related to a $300 million U.S. Postal Service project. Sandvik Sorting Systems Inc., 500 E. Burnett Ave., was awarded a $35 million contract, and Jeffersonville-based Axmann Conveying Systems Inc. was awarded a $9 million contract by Lockheed Martin Corp. in November. Owego, N.Y.-based Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies, a business segment of Lockheed Martin Corp., is serving as the general contractor on the project for the Postal Service. The federal agency's project to install the Automated Package Processing System (APPS) in 74 postal facilities will begin next year, Saunders said. APPS is the Postal Service's next generation of sorting equipment for small parcels and bundled mail."

February 17, 2003 -- Following astanding tradition of extending mail service to wherever U.S.personnel are located, Marines stationed at Camp Fox in thedesert need not worry about stamps or postal rates. "Outboundfrom this camp of some 4,000 people are free," reports The Free Press of Kinston, NC. "You simplythe word "free" in the upper right-hand corner where the stampbe then drop it in a mailbox or take it to the makeshift postThe perk does come at a price. Because of the camp's remotein the desert, sometimes it can take weeks for a letter tothe States."

February 17, 2003 -- Unlike Santa, the IRS may not know if you've been naughty orbut it does know if you've moved. How? According to The Detroit Free Press, "If you've changedhome or business address, you should notify the IRS to ensure thatreceive any refunds or correspondence. The IRS is now using the U.S.Service's change of address files, but you might want to notifyIRS directly."

February 17, 2003 -- Will a new ZIP code lead todiscord? According to Asia Pulse, Korea Post has issued a newcode for the Dokdo Islands. The islands, says the news service, "are controlled by South Korea but also claimed by Japan" and there arethat the new designation "could give rise to a fresh disputethe territorial claims."

February 17, 2003 -- Stamps.com saidfiscal 2002 it has a net loss was $6.8 million compared with a loss$209.6 million in 2001. The company spent $17.5 million during thequarter repurchasing approximately 4.4 million of its own sharesfinished the year with $172.7 million in cash and cash equivalents,restricted cash and long-term investments.

February 16, 2003 -- Reuters has reported that "DeutscheAG has said it had strengthened its logistics business inand Turkey through two acquisitions. The German postal, express and banking group said in a statement it had the Santiago-based Commercial Safeway SA and Berben Express, a leading Turkish logistics firm. Commercial Safeway controls percent of Chile's airfreight export market with a turnover in of 60 million euros ($64.72 million) in 2002. The company's business is fish, fruit and vegetable exports to the United States."

February 16, -- In South Carolina The State reports that "UPS could be landing cargo flights at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in five to years, requiring further airport expansion and bringing more jobs to the facility. The shipping company is in early talks with East Midlands International Airport in Nottingham, England about some cargo flights to Columbia, where the United Parcel Service employs several hundred people."

February 16, 2003 -- Postal workers in Northern Ireland are considering a strikethree Catholic postal employees allegedly received death threats the Red Hand Defenders last week. The Red Hand Defenders areto be part of the UDA (Ulster Defence Association), according toBelfast Telegraph. The threats were received the one-year anniversary of the death of a postal worker who was shot by the UDC.

February 16, 2003 -- The Star-Ledger reports that a New Jersey post was closed Saturday after authorities found a threatening letter to a Pennsylvania resident that contained a powdery white substance. The paper says the powder leaked as an envelope was being processed Friday night. One test of the powder was negative but a second inconclusive so the facility in the Gillette section of Long Hill was closed. Final results will not be available until Tuesday. The return address on the envelope was fake, the paper reported.

February 16, 2003 -- Will small Tennessee post offices be closed? According toKnoxville News-Sentinel residents of Loneare concerned that their small post office and other rural may be shuttered. "There is no official notice, yet," says the, "but those in the community are apprehensive. Word has filtered to them that the U.S. Postal Service in Nashville is "reviewing" statewide smaller operations, and some of the tiny outposts may be closed".

February 16, 2003 -- Who says the Postal Service is behind in the electronic age?to Government Computer News, the Postal's eFleet card system was one of five finalists to receive "best-in-show" status at the Excellence.Gov awards. eFleet automates credit card expense monitoring and processes invoices,other features. The contest, sponsored by the CIO Council, the Advisory Council and E-Gov at the Web-Enabled Conference in, drew 110 government contestants.

February 15, 2003 -- DCMilitary.Comreported that "recently, the Air Force began recognizing civilianfor the level of support they have given to the U.S. military and ARC, by presenting them with letters of appreciation and "E" pins,lapel pin representing the employer-Air Force relationship in defense of theThe United Parcel Service, the first company to be presented with the E, has about 500 employees currently serving on active duty. UPS has continuedprovide benefits to those employees while serving in the military."

February 15, 2003 -- Bloomberg reported that "FedEx Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and rivalcargo carriers don't have to replace cockpit doors unless U.S. security decides the action is needed, under legislation approved by Congress. The airlines backed the legislation, which may save them millions of dollars. Federal Aviation Administration has ruled since early 2002 that such must meet the same April deadline as passenger airlines to install that resist bullets, human force and some explosives.

February 14, 2003 -- Il24 Ore has reported that "Massimo Sarmi, managing director of thepost office (Le Poste), has announced that his company's turnover rosearound 4 per cent in the second half of 2002. Speaking to the Italian senate,Sarmi explained that a slight drop in the volume of mail has been off-set byperformance of Le Poste's value-added products and the development of new"

February 14, 2003 -- USPSV.P. of Government Relations Ralph Moden thanked members of theand House for bipartisan legislation introduced Feb. 12 that would allowUnited States Postal Service to reduce its payments to the Civil ServiceSystem (CSRS). In a statement released today, Moden noted thatthis legislative change, the Postal Service could overfund CSRS by more$70 billion, according to separate audits conducted by the Office ofManagement and the General Accounting Office. 'We are grateful to theSenators and Representatives for their quick action in introducingtwo pieces of legislation and look forward to working with the SenateAffairs Committee and the House Committee on Government Reform onthat is so important to the Postal Service and that will benefitfamily and business in America,' Moden said."

February 14, 2003 -- Dow Jones has reported that "DeutscheAG has acquired Dutch express delivery company R.P. Holding BV for anprice - its second expansion in the Netherlands in eight"

February 14, 2003 -- The Institute of Economic Affairsannounced its 6th Annualon European Postal Services, which is scheduled to be held the th & 18th March 2003, Princesa Sofia Inter-Continental, Barcelona With anday on Electronic Postal Services - 19th March 2003. This year'sprovides an ideal forum to hear from and question the leading globalplayers, as well as meet your colleagues to debate the future of theat such an exciting juncture. Key issues to be addressed include: Drivingand competition across Europe Responding to an increasinglymarket Profitability: driving down your cost base Postal: generating new product lines Electronic postal services.

February 14, 2003 -- Les (France) has reported that "the price of a stamp will rise from to 0.50 euros in France from June 1. Yesterday the French post office (La) presented a budget for 2003 which included losses of 315m euros. Thein stamp prices is expected to generate additional revenue of 410mper year."

February 14, 2003 -- The SanUnion-Tribune has reported that "the re-branding of Mail Boxesstores to United Parcel Service outlets is getting first-class flak fromindependent postal-service stores that worry they will be buried by unfairUPS said Monday that it will offer hefty incentives to its MBEwho agree to convert to the UPS Store brand, including lowercosts they can pass on to customers. Those price breaks and other, however, will not be available to small independent operators thatUPS and other carriers such as FedEx and Airborne Express. Anothershop owner in the region accused UPS of trying to build a monopoly on theof small-business people."

February 14, 2003 -- AirWorld has reported that "the U.S. Department of Transportationits compensation to cargo operators hurt by the September 11 terror, sending new funds to air forwarders, including $8.9 million to EagleLogistics and some $3.5 million to forwarding units at United ParcelThe latest round of payments also included smaller checks to someforwarders, including $23,334 to Alaska Air Forwarding and $12,243 toFreight Systems, as well as payments in the tens of thousands of dollarsseveral regional cargo carriers. UPS, which was given $81.2 million in theround of payments, got $2.3 million for UPS Air Forwarding Inc. and $1.15for its Fritz Cos. subsidiary. The DOT also approved a loan guarantee ofto $90 million to Evergreen International Airlines, which asked for $148.5, and was considering a $33 million loan request from Gemini Air"

February 14, 2003 -- Read more about the Postal Service'sMail advertising plans in AdWeek.

February 14, 2003 -- Suddeutsche (Germany) has reported that "Deutsche Post (DP), the Germanservices company, has issued a total of 5.6 million bonus shares towho held on to their investment until the end of November 2002.means that the vast majority of the approximately 6.5 million shares to beby the company will have been distributed. DP announced at its flotationit would issue 1 bonus share for every 15 held until the end of theperiod."

February 14, 2003 -- EuropeMedia reported that "Russia now has around 6,600 public-access internetin post offices across the country, says Ilya Genkin of theservices department of the Russian Communications Ministry. Thisa six-fold increase from the start of 2002. An initiative to haveinternet access at all of Russiaþuuu&FE40,000 post offices was started in, 2001."

February 14, 2003 -- Triangle Conferences will be holding17th World Mail & Express Conference in the magical and þuuuuEternal Cityþuuuu Rome, on the 13-15 May 2003. Not only is it a city of outstanding grandeur,and history, it is also the home of our hosts, Poste Italiane.information is available online from Triangle.

February 14, 2003 -- As Direct has noted, "mailer groups were pessimistic that two billsWednesday in Congress would avert a new postal rate case being filedyear."

February 14, 2003 -- The Puget Sound Business Journal hasthat "Airborne Inc., which just three years ago was so anemic itripe for acquisition, is now harvesting the fruits of new strategies.of the Seattle-based air express company now seems almost prescient indecision to bet the company's growth on lower-priced second-day air, and even slower ground shipments by truck, rather than the company'sovernight express.

February 13, 2003 -- Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would correct a funding mechanism problem that could cause the U.S. Postal Service to over-fund its contributions to the Civil Service Retirement Fund by $78 billion. The legislation encourages the Postal Service to use the savings to avoid postal rate increases until at least 2006 and to begin paying off its debt to the U.S. Treasury.

February 13, 2003 -- Eyefortransport.com has reported that "Carriersnet, a company working on a comprehensive solution to terrorism threats in international shipping, has announced that it is "almost there" in plugging gaps posed by current U.S. measures"

February 13, 2003 -- Danzas Group, the logistics arm of Deutsche Post World Net, signed an agreement with Berben Ekspress Nakliyat, a leading logistics company in Turkey. Berben Ekspress, with headquarters in Istanbul, has been an agent of Danzas in Turkey for several years. The company will be fully integrated into a new company called DHL Danzas Air & Ocean. The transaction is subject to approval of  Turkish authorities.

February 13, 2003 -- The U.S. Postal Service has expanded Parcel Select drop ship hours from 5am to 7am and from 10am to 4pm in many of our largest Destination Delivery Units (DDU). To locate the new DDU Parcel Select acceptance hours and physical drop ship locations, go to http://www.usps.com/shipping/acceptance.htm

February 13, 2003 -- The Daily News (Zimbabwe) has reported that "the top management of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), has been accused of endangering the parastatal's future through mismanagement."

February 13, 2003 -- According to Les Echos, "the French post office, La Poste, is to present its business plan for 2003 today. The government has still not decided whether to increase the price of stamps, however. If the price is increased from 0.46 euros to 0.50 euros, the group's accounts will reach break-even point. If the price is increased to 0.52 euros, moreover, the accounts will show a slight profit. If the price remains the same, La Poste's results will include a loss of 350m euros."

February 13, 2003 -- Business Day (South Africa) has noted that "9 out of 10 internet users who took part in a survey on electronic billing would prefer to receive their bills online rather than via traditional snail mail. Of the companies and individuals quizzed in the poll, 76% would prefer to receive their bills via e-mail, while 17% would prefer to access their bills on a website. This is in direct contrast to US behaviour, where most internet users prefer to access bills on the websites of their billers or to receive a consolidated set of bills on the banking websites." Clearly, a difference in cultures.

February 13, 2003 -- The House and Senate bills sponsored by the leadership of the House and Senate postal oversight committees have been assigned numbers. The House bill is H.R. 735 and the Senate bill is S.380.

February 13, 2003 -- Poste Italiane has selected Baltimore Technologies' Baltimore UniCERT(TM) to provide its customers with public-key infrastructure (PKI) security applications.

February 13, 2003 -- The Chicago Sun-Times has noted that "on Monday, fans of Leo Burnett's 'Brought To You By' campaign for the U.S. Postal Service will get to see the debut 30-second television spot from the USPS's new agency of record, Draft/Campbell-Ewald, a new entity made up of staff from DraftWorldwide/Chicago and Campbell-Ewald in Warren, Mich. 'Timer' is a much more straight-ahead spot with less of an emotional hook than several commercials produced in the waning days of the tumultuous Burnett era at the USPS. The new spot goes behind the scenes to track a package shipped by USPS Priority Mail from Dallas to New York City. As we follow the package's path, the point is made via voiceover that Priority Mail is quick and affordable, two of the postal service's key selling points, according to Draft/Campbell-Ewald creative director Mark Simon."

February 13, 2003 --  Expansion (Spain) has reported that "German bank Deutsche now has around 500,000 clients in Spain, 20 per cent of which were acquired through the network of the Spanish post office, Correos y Telegrafos. The state-controlled postal company has had an agreement with the German bank since 8 February 2002, with the aim of marketing Deutsche's products in its branches. In the four years since the agreement has been in place, the post office has managed to find 130,000 clients for the bank, earning a commission for each one." Now there's a thought! The postal service getting paid for getting customers for others instead of the other way around. Beats trying to sell ice to Eskimos.

February 13, 2003 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that:

• Deutsche Post AG has acquired a 5% stake in Sinotrans Ltd. (Q.HSA), one of the largest logistics companies in China, for EUR52.5 million.

• The great Internet tax holiday may be about to end.

February 13, 2003 -- According to the U.S. Postal Service, "the past holiday mailing season was the best ever for customers who used our Delivery Confirmation service, thanks to a combined effort by Marketing and Information Technology."

February 13, 2003 -- Le Figaro (France) has reported that "Jean-Paul Bailly, chairman of La Poste, the French national postal service, will reportedly try to show the group's board today that without an increase in the price of stamps, there is no chance of a return to profit in the current year. Mr. Bailly is trying to convince the government representative to give on-the-spot approval for a price hike, for authorisation in a later board meeting."

February 13, 2003 -- The Asahi Shimbun (Japan) has reported that "when the newly created Japan Post throws out its predecessor's letterheads and office stationery in April, a number of the Postal Services Agency's money-losing services will also go to the waste heap. Although it may appear a case of too little, too late for some critics, the ongoing review of post office operations suggests bureaucrats are finally taking seriously the growing competition they face from the private sector."

February 13, 2003 -- There's a rumor circulating on Capitol Hill these days. It's the claim that United Parcel Service was behind an effort to sandbag Congressional efforts to fix the Postal Service's CSRS funding issue. PostCom has it from UPS reps at high levels that the rumor has absolutely no basis in fact!

February 13, 2003 -- GovExec.Com has reported that "several members of Congress joined together Wednesday to introduce legislation to change the system under which the Postal Service makes payments into the Civil Service Retirement System on behalf of its employees. The bills, introduced in both the House and Senate on a bipartisan basis, are aimed at fixing a problem that came to light last November." See also the McHugh Report.

February 12, 2003 -- Members of the House Government Reform Committee have introduced critical legislation to correct a retirement benefit formula in current law that would force the U.S. Postal Service to unnecessarily increase postage rates. By modernizing the way the agencyþ&FE s retirement benefits are calculated, the lawmakers will prevent a $71 billion overpayment by the U.S. Postal Service to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). And by reducing the Postal Serviceþ&FE s annual obligation to CSRS, the next postal rate hike could be postponed by at least three years. The legislation was introduced by Rep. John McHugh (R-NY); Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA); Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA); and Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL).

February 12, 2003 -- According to David Porter of Garment Care, Inc., of those surveyed "53% said  the USPS should eliminate Saturday delivery; 71% the USPS should not raise the price of postage; 50% said they should install smartboxes. What's "smartbox?" Good question. For the answer, go to http://www.smartbox.com.

February 12, 2003 -- A copy of the comments of the Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) submitted to the President's Commission on the Postal Service has been posted on this site.

February 12, 2003 -- Les Echos (France) has reported that "Jean-Paul Bailly, chairman of La Poste, the French national postal services group, has to deliver a draft budget for 2003 to his board of directors tomorrow. His task has been made more difficult, however, by the fact that the finance ministry has not yet agreed to the group's request for an increase in the price of postage stamps."

February 12, 2003 -- South American Business Information has reported that "OCA the second leading postal company in Argentina, in the hands of a group of banks lead by Deutsche Bank, has a new board of directors. All the new executive body of OCA comes from people who already worked in the company. The new director is Alfredo Romero. OCA which was owned by investment fund The Exxel Group is now administrated by a trust in which 9 banks participate. The Exeel Group acquired OCA from a group of companies in 1997. OCA had debt of almost US$200mil with the banks that form this trust. Exxel already lost 7 companies (some of them are the bakery company Fargo, the record chain Musimundo and the ice cream chain Freddo). These companies are all tin the hands of banks."

February 12, 2003 -- In its comments to the Presidential Commission on the Postal Service, the Mailers Council said that "as the commission members consider ways of addressing the Postal Serviceþ&FE s problems, we believe the following six recommendations would help revitalize this institution that we consider a vital business partner: (1) Continue universal service (2) Improve productivity (3) Enhance mailer options (4) Enhance postal compensation (5) Improve financial transparency and (6) Invest in technology. The Mailers Council also has updated and published its report on "Postal Productivity."

February 12, 2003 -- Here's a nice piece on the conversion of Mailboxes Etc. stores to the UPS name.

February 12, 2003 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal) has reported that:

• The EU Commission is preparing for the universal introduction of VAT on postal services. A spokesperson for the Commission said on Friday that concrete plans would be published in March.

• Deutsche Post AGþ&FE s inter-German parcel business is evidently still loss-stricken. For several years the postþ&FE s business rivals have claimed that the inter-German parcel business showed heavy red ink. In the course of hearings in Brussels, the post was accused of unlawfully subsidising its parcel deficits with letter monopoly proceeds.

• At the same time there are increasing signs indicating that Deutsche Post AG plans to restructure its German parcel service entirely. Even if a selling of the parcel segment must be ruled out þu one reason being the Universal Service Obligation, which states that the post must carry parcels (up to 20 kilos) - sources close to the post believe that the parcel network may be outsourced, as is the case with the Deutsche Post subsidiary Trans-o-Flex.

• The EU Commission has decided to formally urge the Netherlands to investigate those parts of TPGþ&FE s articles of association, which grant the Dutch government preferential rights. The Commission believes that the government as holder of the golden share could exercise considerable influence upon and possibly even control the company management when it comes to financial decisions. Such a situation could discourage other EU investors from participating in the company.

• The Norwegian government intends to bring proposals regarding a further liberalisation of the postal market before the parliament at the end of this month. Posten Norge CEO Mr Kaare Frydenberg warned that the opening of the market must not be pushed excessively.

• Fedex and La Poste intend to continue and possibly intensify their co-operation.

• The German trade union ver.di, which represents the staff of Deutsche Post Euroexpress and DHL, intends to demand a 5% pay rise during the impending wage negotiations.

CEP News is without a doubt one of the best newsletters you can find that focuses on the courier, express, and postal market. If you don't get it, when it comes to the CEP business worldwide, you REALLY won't "get it." For more information on a subscription to CEP News, contact the publisher.

February 12, 2003 -- Keep your eyes open. This is the link you should be checking to find comments submitted by various parties to the Commission on the Postal Service: http://www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/usps/comments/index.html

February 12, 2003 -- Dow Jones has reported that "Mitsui-Soko Co., a warehouse and transport company, said Wednesday it will team up with Japan's Postal Agency to offer parcel delivery services. Mitsui-Soko said the two parties aim to offer a full range of parcel delivery services - from storing inventory to handling payments - from April." See also the Kyodo News Service.

February 12, 2003 -- The Evening Express (U.K.) has reported that "thousands of North-east homes could face disruption to their post. Royal Mail staff are set to vote on staging a 24-hour walkout on Good Friday. More than 700 workers from the Aberdeen, Laurencekirk and Peterhead depots are set to be balloted. The dispute has arisen because Royal Mail wants to scrap Good Friday holiday pay. The two sides have failed to reach agreement since last year, when a strike was averted at the last minute."

February 12, 2003 -- In its latest Newslink communication to postal employees, the Postal Service said that "itþ&FE s been three years since Publication 804, Drop Shipment Procedures for Destination Entry, made its debut. It will be updated and rewritten this year. Thatþ&FE s where you come in. If you receive drop shipments at a BMC, SCF and DDU or if youþ&FE re involved with the drop-ship appointment process, USPS would like to hear from you. Got a suggestion? A better procedure? Send an e-mail to PVDS@email.usps.gov by Feb. 28."

February 11, 2003 -- ADVO has announced that its America's Looking For Its Missing Children(R) program has directly helped the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to safely recover 22 children in the past 30 months, since the 100th child was recovered just over two years ago. ADVO created the program in 1985, in partnership with NCMEC and the United States Postal Service. Since then, one in seven children whose photographs have been featured nationwide on the company's cards -- a total of 122 -- have been safely recovered by law enforcement. Today, more than 94 percent of consumers are familiar with ADVO's missing child card, making it the most recognized piece of mail in America.

February 11, 2003 -- The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF), along with WLF's Economic Freedom Law Clinic at Geo rge M ason University School of La w, filed form al comments with th e Pos tal Rate Commission urging the Commission to determine whether the United States Postal Service has the statutory authority to engage in a variety of com mercial activitie s offered to th e pub lic that fa ll outside the P ostal S ervic e's mandate to deliver the mail. WLF further argued that even if the Postal Service can legally engage in some of these commercial activities without the Commission establishing the rates for these services, the Commission should, at a minimum, establish rules to require the Postal Service to provide a full accounting of the costs and revenues of these services, particu larly in light of the fact that many of these activities are op erating at a financial loss. These losing commercial ventures are being subsidized by postal patrons who pay for first-class postage. At the same time, the Postal Service is unfairly and illegally competing with the private sector who sell these same products and services.