January 31, 2004 -- Still to come on the postal reform congressional hearings circuit:

• Senate oversight hearing, February 3, 2 p.m., Dirksen 342
• Senate oversight hearing, February 4, 9:30 a.m., Dirksen 342
• House oversight hearing, February 5, 1 p.m., Room of the Dirksen Federal Court House, 219 S Dearborn Street, Chicago
• House oversight hearing, February 11, 1 p.m., Rayburn 2154.

January 31, 2004 -- The Kyodo News Service has reported that "Singapore's postal services agency is planning to go beyond delivering letters and parcels to offer pawnbroking services, a spokeswoman for Singapore Post Ltd. (SingPost) said."

January 31, 2004 -- The Hindu Business Line has reported that "the Department of Posts (DoP) has introduced nationwide e-post service with a view to bridging the digital divide and bringing the benefit of the Internet technology to the people living in the rural and other remote areas."

January 31, 2004 -- In the latest issue of Mail Automation News, Chris Lien notes that "we've heard this many times, that a personalized mail piece will almost always get more attention than a generic one. That's what one-to-one marketing is all about. But what happens when a mail piece becomes too personal? Well, what we're now beginning to see across the mailing industry is that what was once locally accepted as Standard Mail is now being "upclassed" to First and with it comes much higher postage."

January 31, 2004 -- European sources have reported that "Royal Mail has restructured its marketing team under marketing director Paul Rich as it prepares for competition from market entrants such as Deutsche Post and TPG."

January 30, 2004 -- Reuters has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc., has reported a rise in quarterly earnings, excluding one-time items, on strong domestic and international volume increases."

January 30, 2004 -- As the Federal Times has noted, "about a quarter-million postal employees will be eligible for retirement in the next five years, Postmaster General John Potter told the House Government Reform Committee Jan. 28. And the U.S. Postal Service plans to take advantage of those impending retirements to further reduce the work force, Potter said, though he did not offer any estimates of how much the payroll might be cut."

January 30, 2004 -- Dow Jones has reported that:

• Singapore Post Ltd. has said it plans to launch a new business unit to provide financial services, like the sale of unit trusts and insurance, at some of its branches around June. The postal operator is hoping the combined share of its retail and new financial services businesses will contribute to 30% of total revenue by 2009, while its postal services would account for the remaining 70%. Its retail business unit currently contributes 6% to the company's operating revenue, while mail services account for 79%.
• Switzerland's economy will likely emerge from a recession this year, but reforms are needed to secure longer-term growth, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. The organization calls for the opening of the country's electricity and natural gas markets, as well as the postal and healthcare services industries.

January 30, 2004 -- Keralanext (India) has reported that "postal services including the RMS in the entire northern belt of Kerala remained paralysed as the indefinite strike by employees to protest against the alleged privatisation move entered the seventh day on Friday."

January 30, 2004 -- Business Mailers Review has reported that:

• The Postal Service has quietly challenged the methodology used by the Office of Personnel Management in determining the amount of Postal Service obligation to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the amount of its overfunding to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. The difference between the OPM allocation methodology and the Postal Service methodology is $86 billion. Using the OPM method, the Postal Service has an unfunded liability of $4.8 billion, which results in additional USPS contributions to the CSRS fund. Under the Postal Service's proposed "service ratio" method, there would be a surplus of $81 billion in the CSRS fund.
• PMG Jack Potter said the following need to be part of a reform bill: 1. The outstanding Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) issues need to be brought to completion. 2. Give management the tools to operate as a business. Allow the USPS to adjust its rates annually, which helps prevent sticker shock for customers. 3. We need to have the ability to manage our infrastructure and modernize our system.
• The Postal Service does not anticipate filing a rate case until early 2005, Deputy PMG John Nolan told a recent meeting of the Greeting Card Assn. In addition, the USPS is still considering the idea of phased rate increases.
• The buzz started quietly with a few mailers complaining that business mail entry personnel were denying them Standard Mail rates on mailings they’ve been sending at Standard rates for years. Then postal officials addressed the issue at a recent association board meeting, which was followed by a Jan. 22 Postal Bulletin notice on how to appeal classification rulings involving First Class vs. Standard Mail. Now, First Class vs. Standard Mail is fomenting as the “next big thing” for worried mailers.
• Some international mailers tend to think the current international postage rates will remain the same as they are now until the next domestic rate increase, which is expected to occur some time in 2006.

January 30, 2004 -- The International Herald Tribune has reported that "the attractive little Musee de la Poste in the Montparnasse neighborhood has for 20 years been showing objects related to the admirable French postal system - many, many stamps, of course, but also the story of mail delivery through the ages, as well as such objects as the metal pincer that until the mid-19th century held letters from plague-stricken regions while they were disinfected in boiling vinegar. The museum has recently surged into high drama with a story of unsung heroism and sacrifice: a temporary show called "Pigeon Vole!" (Fly, Pigeon!) dedicated to the carrier pigeon."

January 29, 2004 -- Deepika (India) has reported that "over 6,00,000 Indian postal employees will go on a one-day strike on February 24 in support of their demands."

January 29, 2004 -- The Derby Evening Telegraph has reported that "postal workers have voted to accept a deal aimed at ending a long running dispute over pay. Members of the Communication Workers Union voted by more than 2-1 in favour of a deal covering pay, London Weighting allowances and working practices."

January 29, 2004 -- According to the Denver Post, the city of Denver has begun recycling discarded advertising mail.

January 29, 2004 -- Led by strong volume gains both in the United States and overseas and significant margin improvement within its international operation, UPS has reported a 19% jump in adjusted net income for the fourth quarter after excluding certain items that affect the year-ago comparison. The quarter's performance capped a record year for volume. UPS delivered 3.44 billion packages in 2003, or an average 13.64 million per day.

January 29, 2004 -- Chris Mahoney, senior vice president of global transportation services, spoke at the Canada Air Transport Policy Conference in Ottawa. Mahoney emphasized the importance of air cargo services in discussions on aviation liberalization. Key elements of his address were: the significance of air cargo in the global economy; air cargo as a supply chain facilitator and the role aviation liberalization will play in meeting increasing customer demands.

January 29, 2004 -- According to the Russia Journal, "FedEx has confirmed to TRJ that it is currently facing disruptions to its delivery service from and to Russia, but stressed their causes do not have anything to do with the Russian Customs Committee or with the introduction of a newly adopted customs law in Russia."

January 29, 2004 -- According to Reuters, "U.S. lawmakers warned on Wednesday that taxpayers might need to bail out the U.S. Postal Service unless drastic legislative changes are made to allow the embattled agency to withstand attacks from the Internet and private carriers."

January 29, 2004 -- AFX has reported that "the French senate overnight passed a bill to liberalise the country's postal services. The legislation will allow rivals to establish alternative postal services, initially for letters and, from next year, the state postal monopoly to set up banking and insurance operations."

January 29, 2004 -- The New York Times has reported that "the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation yesterday that would save companies an estimated $80 billion on their pension contributions over the next two years, but it was unclear whether the Bush administration would support the measure. United Parcel Service has already backed away from a measure addressing its pension concerns, saying it does not think the political climate is right. Last year, U.P.S. had garnered considerable support on the Hill for a measure that would have limited its exposure to a type of pension obligations stemming from its participation in plans run by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. But that measure was not included in the bill passed yesterday, and a U.P.S. spokesman said the company had decided the chances for such a measure in an election year were poor."

January 29, 2004 -- As GovExec.com has noted, "postal Service officials asked Congress Wednesday to overturn a provision requiring the agency to pay employees' military service pension benefits." See also the Associated Press, Forbes, Direct, and DM News.

January 29, 2004 -- InformationWeek has reported that "the U.S. Postal Service is at risk as use of E-mail, wireless devices, and the Internet increase, Comptroller General David Walker said Wednesday in prepared testimony before a special House Government Reform Committee panel on postal reform and oversight. The Postal Service also faces increased competition from private delivery companies, some of which have established IT-intensive national ground-delivery systems and a national network of retail facilities. "In this new environment," Walker said, "unless the service's operating expenses can be reduced correspondingly, with a rightsizing of both its infrastructure and workforce, it is questionable whether affordable universal mail service can be sustained over the long term. Raising postal rates to offset this trend may provide an immediate boost to the service's revenues, but over the longer term will likely accelerate the transition of mailed communications and payments to electronic alternatives, including the Internet."

January 29, 2004 -- The Times of India has reported that "The services of the centralised Hyderabad Customer Care Centre functioning from the office of the chief postmaster-general, Abids will be decentralised in respective postal divisions in the city with effect from February 2, 2004 . The decentralisation will help in addressing the increasing number of grievances reported at the centre."

January 29, 2004 -- According to the Universal Postal Union's Direct Mail Advisory Board:

• In Iran, television stands first in the advertising industry, but Direct Mail is gradually growing in importance. Direct Mail volumes handled by the Post Company of Iran have achieved 46% growth in the last year, and are expected to represent 20% of the total mail volume in the current Iranian year.
• Work is underway to establish a Direct Marketing Association for Middle East / Region, with initial responsibilities for formulating long term DM strategies at the regional level, carrying DM research and studies, coordinating efforts of marketers in the region, providing educational and training tools, encouraging list brokers to populate, update and clean their databases, coordinating with local postal authorities and creating regional awards for DM best practices.
• The Russian Association of Direct Marketing (RADM) and the Russian Post are organizing the IV International Conference "Direct Marketing. XXI Century". It will take place in Moscow, on 27 and 28 May 2004. The Russian Direct Mail and Direct Marketing markets are developing very fast, and the Conference will have international and local speakers. The working languages will be Russian and English. For more information, you can contact Mrs. Olga V. Kryuchkova at OlgaVK@russianpost.ru or the RADM at info@radm.ru.

The Direct Mail Advisory Board (DMAB) is a group of postal and industry organizations, created to foster the development and stimulate the world-wide growth of Direct Mail Markets through strengthening of valued partnerships in the industry. It is part of the Universal Postal Union’s Direct Mail Markets Development Program. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact:Raquel Ferrari, Project Manager, Direct Mail, Directorate of Markets, International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, raquel.ferrari@upu.int.

January 28, 2004 -- From the House Committee on Government Reform hearing on the Postal Service:

• Postal board chairman David Fineman told the panel that a postal "train wreck" is almost upon us, and Congress needs to act. Fineman said the Postal Service is changing and trying to respond to the challenges it faces. He said the Postal Service needs to flexibility to rationalize its network. He said the USPS is changing to make its fiscal reports as transparent as possible. Price caps, he noted, are nothing something to which the Postal Service objects. As far as labor is concerned, he said that everything (benefits and wages) should be put on the collective bargaining table. In addition, he noted, a change in ratemaking is needed, but he expressed doubts about the need for a strong postal regulatory board.
• Postmaster General John Potter told the Committee that the transfer of responsibility for paying the military component of postal employee retirement benefits belongs with the Treasury and not the Postal Service. The release of the escrowed funds from last year's CSRS reform, he said, must be done if the USPS' customers are not to become victims of congressional inaction. He said there has been a significant improvement in management-labor relations. Still needed, though, is a fundamental change in the USPS' business model. The Postal Service needs postal reform that provides postal rate and network optimization flexibilities.
• Postal Rate Commission Chairman George Omas reinforced the call for comprehensive postal legislative reform. He said he supported the idea of providing the USPS ratesetting flexibility, but also endorsed the need for comprehensive regulatory oversight. Part of that oversight should be to help ensure the adequacy of universal service. Establishing a financially transparent Postal Service, he said, was absolutely necessary for effective regulatory oversight.
• Comptroller General David Walker told the House panel that while there have been substantial gains made by the Postal Service over the past two years, more still needs to be done, including the enactment of comprehensive postal legislative reform. Congress, he said, must define the mission of the USPS for the 21st century. Transparency, he said, is key to maintaining accountability. Walker reinforced the call for completing the reform process concerning the USPS' retirement-related obligations. He said Congress should not measure success by how long rates remain unchanged. In certain circumstances, he said, avoiding an increase in rates may be imprudent.
• Treasury Under Secretary Brian Roseboro testimony told the House panel that The U.S. Postal Service would benefit from more financial accountability and disclosure. He said that Treasury believes there is merit to recognizing the aggregate unfunded post-retirement health liabilities and the annual current cost of such liabilities, either directly on the balance sheet or, at least, in notes to the financial statements. 

January 28, 2004 -- Le Monde (France) has reported that "the French government is expected to include authorisation for the creation of a fully functioning bank by La Poste, the national postal services group, in its 2003-2007 development plan for the public company."

January 28, 2004 -- Les Echos (France) has reported that "SUD-PTT, the second largest trade union for La Poste, the French postal service, has criticised the French government's proposed amendment of its plans for the creation of a postal bank in 2005."

January 28, 2004 -- The Herald Sun (Australia) has reported that "parcel deliveries could be hit by a 24-hour strike at the state's parcel sorting centre today. About 250 sorters and drivers are expected to walk out this morning. The strike follows Australia Post's decision to move the parcel sorting centre from Port Melbourne to Ardeer."

January 28, 2004 -- As Congress opens debate over postal reform, a new postal advocacy group called Postal Reform in the Public Interest has been formed. The group will be represented by Bob Walker, former congressman and member of the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service. Postal Reform in the Public Interest represents First Class and small volume mailers. The group supports the principles outlined in the President's Commission's report, including financial transparency, and robust regulatory oversight similar to public utilities commission regulation of other public monopolies. The organizing members include American Business Media, the Greeting Card Association, the Newspaper Association of America, and The McGraw-Hill Companies.

January 28, 2004 -- The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has filed an appeal with the Board of Actuaries. The USPS has noted that when OPM calculated the Postal Service's share of the CSRS obligation in anticipation of PL 108-18, it used a different actuarial formula than the one OPM used for years which allocated a larger share to the USPS. The difference between the old method and the current OPM method represents $ 86 Billion! And the $ 27 Billion that was transferred for military and volunteer service time is based on the new OPM method. Under the old method the military benefits amount would be smaller. As a additional result, the projected $ 78 Billion that was identified in the CSRS legislation as over funding is actually greatly understated compared to the amount that would have resulted if OPM had used the allocation methodology that it used in the past.

January 28, 2004 -- "Reform, Liberalisation and Building Customer Relationships" will be high on the agenda for this year's World Mail & Express Americas event, taking place in Miami in December. The conference promises to be a hotbed for all the postal and express issues in both North American and Latin American markets.

January 28, 2004 -- Business Europe has reported that "Royal Mail has unveiled a new service for SMEs that allows bosses to use direct marketing more effectively. The company has re-launched its website Direct Mail (DM) Online, which offers new features and lets small businesses plan, design and send promotional mail to selected customers. It says the tool is cost-effective but can win extra sales for companies. It says companies that correspond with customers by mail see a response rate of over 10%.

January 28, 2004 -- Clarinet Systems is providing their EthIR LAN infrared (IR) wireless LAN access system for UPS drivers' DIAD III (Delivery Information Acquisition Device) handheld computers in UPS facilities around the U.S. Built specifically for UPS by Motorola, UPS uses approximately 70000 DIAD devices in the field, which mostly are DIAD IIIs.

January 28, 2004 -- The Federal Times has reported that "several large magazine publishers are seeking approval to take over more mail-processing work from the U.S. Postal Service in exchange for cheaper mailing rates. If successful, the change could mean periodical mailers will perform work now done at Postal Service facilities — sorting, applying bar codes, and other work — a process known as work sharing. And some advertising mailers reportedly are seeking similar work-sharing arrangements for standard, or advertising, mail, which makes up a much larger portion of the Postal Service’s business. If successful, these arrangements could bring additional downsizing pressures upon the Postal Service work force and processing operations."

January 28, 2004 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal) has reported that:

• Deutsche Post appears to be back in the black as far as domestic parcel services are concerned.
• Following completion of an audit of its central administration, the board of Sweden's Posten has decided to cut around 250 jobs at the company headquarters. One aim of the restructuring programme launched by Posten AB last year was to shrink central administration.
• Last week the German government came under pressure from the EU Commission to achieve a rapid liberalisation of the letter market. A special report compiled by experts states that 'the postal market lacks efficient competition and equal opportunities'.
• Post Danmark could save an eight-figure sum every year if Danish people were forced to install letterboxes either outside their house or on the ground floor of apartment blocks. At present, only new buildings have letterboxes installed in such a way as to save postmen climbing stairs. 800,000 houses and 650,000 flats still have their letterbox in the door, which makes the postman's round longer and more arduous.
• Last week the mail service Redmail filed a suit against Osterreichische Post before the cartel court in Vienna. In a 20-page statement of claim, Redmail argues that the post blocks the sales channels of competitors and obstructs market access to newcomers. Redmail, which is a joint venture of the Dutch post TPG and Austrian publishers Styria Verlag, argues that the post uses unlawful means in its aim to keep alternative service providers away from the newspaper and magazine delivery market.
• The French GeoPost group has founded a joint venture in Croatia together with the Austrian carrier Lagermax.
• In the wake of its successful market entry in Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia, Österreichische Post now ventures to establish itself in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, too.

Don't be satisfied with a less than complete report on the courier, express, and postal market in Europe. Get your subscription to CEP News, today..

January 28, 2004 -- The Washington Post has reported that "Congress and the Bush administration are poised to take a hard look at the pension and retirement health care benefits that would be provided to 800,000 employees of the U.S. Postal Service. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) have asked the Postal Service and the Office of Personnel Management to study the workforce-related recommendations made by the White House commission and issue reports by March 1."

January 28, 2004 -- The U.S. Postal Service is working to clarify some of the gray areas of what is defined as First-Class mail in an effort to move mail into the First-Class Mail category, the agency’s most profitable product that has been experiencing declining volume, sources told DM News. See also the report by Direct.

January 28, 2004 -- According to Transport Intelligence, "Deutsche Post stated aim is to become a major player in the UK postal market as it becomes increasingly liberalised. The acquisition of a company with a licence to operate gives Deutsche Post an important foothold in the market. Deutsche Post's move may just be the start of an acquisitive strategy to build market share at the expense of Royal Mail. It is believed that both TPG and Deutsche Post have been involved in the bidding process for Hays postal business, DX Mail, which has been put up for sale by its parent company following the award of a seven year licence. Despite the competition, Royal Mail remains completely dominant, with about a 99.75% market share."

January 28, 2004 -- According to RTE News (Ireland), "An Post workers have not ruled out industrial action in a bid to force Communications Minister Dermot Ahern to establish an Employee Share Ownership Plan at the company."

January 28, 2004 -- Japan Today has reported that "a government panel in charge of postal services policy on Tuesday approved an application by Nippon Express Co to launch a special mail delivery service."

January 31, 2004 -- The Kyodo News Service has reported that "Singapore's postal services agency is planning to go beyond delivering letters and parcels to offer pawnbroking services, a spokeswoman for Singapore Post Ltd. (SingPost) said."

January 31, 2004 -- The Hindu Business Line has reported that "the Department of Posts (DoP) has introduced nationwide e-post service with a view to bridging the digital divide and bringing the benefit of the Internet technology to the people living in the rural and other remote areas."

January 31, 2004 -- In the latest issue of Mail Automation News, Chris Lien notes that "we've heard this many times, that a personalized mail piece will almost always get more attention than a generic one. That's what one-to-one marketing is all about. But what happens when a mail piece becomes too personal? Well, what we're now beginning to see across the mailing industry is that what was once locally accepted as Standard Mail is now being "upclassed" to First and with it comes much higher postage."

January 31, 2004 -- European sources have reported that "Royal Mail has restructured its marketing team under marketing director Paul Rich as it prepares for competition from market entrants such as Deutsche Post and TPG."

January 30, 2004 -- Reuters has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc., has reported a rise in quarterly earnings, excluding one-time items, on strong domestic and international volume increases."

January 30, 2004 -- As the Federal Times has noted, "about a quarter-million postal employees will be eligible for retirement in the next five years, Postmaster General John Potter told the House Government Reform Committee Jan. 28. And the U.S. Postal Service plans to take advantage of those impending retirements to further reduce the work force, Potter said, though he did not offer any estimates of how much the payroll might be cut."

January 30, 2004 -- Dow Jones has reported that:

• Singapore Post Ltd. has said it plans to launch a new business unit to provide financial services, like the sale of unit trusts and insurance, at some of its branches around June. The postal operator is hoping the combined share of its retail and new financial services businesses will contribute to 30% of total revenue by 2009, while its postal services would account for the remaining 70%. Its retail business unit currently contributes 6% to the company's operating revenue, while mail services account for 79%.
• Switzerland's economy will likely emerge from a recession this year, but reforms are needed to secure longer-term growth, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. The organization calls for the opening of the country's electricity and natural gas markets, as well as the postal and healthcare services industries.

January 30, 2004 -- Keralanext (India) has reported that "postal services including the RMS in the entire northern belt of Kerala remained paralysed as the indefinite strike by employees to protest against the alleged privatisation move entered the seventh day on Friday."

January 30, 2004 -- Business Mailers Review has reported that:

• The Postal Service has quietly challenged the methodology used by the Office of Personnel Management in determining the amount of Postal Service obligation to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the amount of its overfunding to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. The difference between the OPM allocation methodology and the Postal Service methodology is $86 billion. Using the OPM method, the Postal Service has an unfunded liability of $4.8 billion, which results in additional USPS contributions to the CSRS fund. Under the Postal Service's proposed "service ratio" method, there would be a surplus of $81 billion in the CSRS fund.
• PMG Jack Potter said the following need to be part of a reform bill: 1. The outstanding Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) issues need to be brought to completion. 2. Give management the tools to operate as a business. Allow the USPS to adjust its rates annually, which helps prevent sticker shock for customers. 3. We need to have the ability to manage our infrastructure and modernize our system.
• The Postal Service does not anticipate filing a rate case until early 2005, Deputy PMG John Nolan told a recent meeting of the Greeting Card Assn. In addition, the USPS is still considering the idea of phased rate increases.
• The buzz started quietly with a few mailers complaining that business mail entry personnel were denying them Standard Mail rates on mailings they’ve been sending at Standard rates for years. Then postal officials addressed the issue at a recent association board meeting, which was followed by a Jan. 22 Postal Bulletin notice on how to appeal classification rulings involving First Class vs. Standard Mail. Now, First Class vs. Standard Mail is fomenting as the “next big thing” for worried mailers.
• Some international mailers tend to think the current international postage rates will remain the same as they are now until the next domestic rate increase, which is expected to occur some time in 2006.

January 30, 2004 -- The International Herald Tribune has reported that "the attractive little Musee de la Poste in the Montparnasse neighborhood has for 20 years been showing objects related to the admirable French postal system - many, many stamps, of course, but also the story of mail delivery through the ages, as well as such objects as the metal pincer that until the mid-19th century held letters from plague-stricken regions while they were disinfected in boiling vinegar. The museum has recently surged into high drama with a story of unsung heroism and sacrifice: a temporary show called "Pigeon Vole!" (Fly, Pigeon!) dedicated to the carrier pigeon."

January 29, 2004 -- Deepika (India) has reported that "over 6,00,000 Indian postal employees will go on a one-day strike on February 24 in support of their demands."

January 29, 2004 -- The Derby Evening Telegraph has reported that "postal workers have voted to accept a deal aimed at ending a long running dispute over pay. Members of the Communication Workers Union voted by more than 2-1 in favour of a deal covering pay, London Weighting allowances and working practices."

January 29, 2004 -- According to the Denver Post, the city of Denver has begun recycling discarded advertising mail.

January 29, 2004 -- Led by strong volume gains both in the United States and overseas and significant margin improvement within its international operation, UPS has reported a 19% jump in adjusted net income for the fourth quarter after excluding certain items that affect the year-ago comparison. The quarter's performance capped a record year for volume. UPS delivered 3.44 billion packages in 2003, or an average 13.64 million per day.

January 29, 2004 -- Chris Mahoney, senior vice president of global transportation services, spoke at the Canada Air Transport Policy Conference in Ottawa. Mahoney emphasized the importance of air cargo services in discussions on aviation liberalization. Key elements of his address were: the significance of air cargo in the global economy; air cargo as a supply chain facilitator and the role aviation liberalization will play in meeting increasing customer demands.

January 29, 2004 -- According to the Russia Journal, "FedEx has confirmed to TRJ that it is currently facing disruptions to its delivery service from and to Russia, but stressed their causes do not have anything to do with the Russian Customs Committee or with the introduction of a newly adopted customs law in Russia."

January 29, 2004 -- According to Reuters, "U.S. lawmakers warned on Wednesday that taxpayers might need to bail out the U.S. Postal Service unless drastic legislative changes are made to allow the embattled agency to withstand attacks from the Internet and private carriers."

January 29, 2004 -- AFX has reported that "the French senate overnight passed a bill to liberalise the country's postal services. The legislation will allow rivals to establish alternative postal services, initially for letters and, from next year, the state postal monopoly to set up banking and insurance operations."

January 29, 2004 -- The New York Times has reported that "the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation yesterday that would save companies an estimated $80 billion on their pension contributions over the next two years, but it was unclear whether the Bush administration would support the measure. United Parcel Service has already backed away from a measure addressing its pension concerns, saying it does not think the political climate is right. Last year, U.P.S. had garnered considerable support on the Hill for a measure that would have limited its exposure to a type of pension obligations stemming from its participation in plans run by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. But that measure was not included in the bill passed yesterday, and a U.P.S. spokesman said the company had decided the chances for such a measure in an election year were poor."

January 29, 2004 -- As GovExec.com has noted, "postal Service officials asked Congress Wednesday to overturn a provision requiring the agency to pay employees' military service pension benefits." See also the Associated Press, Forbes, Direct, and DM News.

January 29, 2004 -- InformationWeek has reported that "the U.S. Postal Service is at risk as use of E-mail, wireless devices, and the Internet increase, Comptroller General David Walker said Wednesday in prepared testimony before a special House Government Reform Committee panel on postal reform and oversight. The Postal Service also faces increased competition from private delivery companies, some of which have established IT-intensive national ground-delivery systems and a national network of retail facilities. "In this new environment," Walker said, "unless the service's operating expenses can be reduced correspondingly, with a rightsizing of both its infrastructure and workforce, it is questionable whether affordable universal mail service can be sustained over the long term. Raising postal rates to offset this trend may provide an immediate boost to the service's revenues, but over the longer term will likely accelerate the transition of mailed communications and payments to electronic alternatives, including the Internet."

January 29, 2004 -- The Times of India has reported that "The services of the centralised Hyderabad Customer Care Centre functioning from the office of the chief postmaster-general, Abids will be decentralised in respective postal divisions in the city with effect from February 2, 2004 . The decentralisation will help in addressing the increasing number of grievances reported at the centre."

January 29, 2004 -- According to the Universal Postal Union's Direct Mail Advisory Board:

• In Iran, television stands first in the advertising industry, but Direct Mail is gradually growing in importance. Direct Mail volumes handled by the Post Company of Iran have achieved 46% growth in the last year, and are expected to represent 20% of the total mail volume in the current Iranian year.
• Work is underway to establish a Direct Marketing Association for Middle East / Region, with initial responsibilities for formulating long term DM strategies at the regional level, carrying DM research and studies, coordinating efforts of marketers in the region, providing educational and training tools, encouraging list brokers to populate, update and clean their databases, coordinating with local postal authorities and creating regional awards for DM best practices.
• The Russian Association of Direct Marketing (RADM) and the Russian Post are organizing the IV International Conference "Direct Marketing. XXI Century". It will take place in Moscow, on 27 and 28 May 2004. The Russian Direct Mail and Direct Marketing markets are developing very fast, and the Conference will have international and local speakers. The working languages will be Russian and English. For more information, you can contact Mrs. Olga V. Kryuchkova at OlgaVK@russianpost.ru or the RADM at info@radm.ru.

The Direct Mail Advisory Board (DMAB) is a group of postal and industry organizations, created to foster the development and stimulate the world-wide growth of Direct Mail Markets through strengthening of valued partnerships in the industry. It is part of the Universal Postal Union’s Direct Mail Markets Development Program. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact:Raquel Ferrari, Project Manager, Direct Mail, Directorate of Markets, International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, raquel.ferrari@upu.int.

January 28, 2004 -- From the House Committee on Government Reform hearing on the Postal Service:

• Postal board chairman David Fineman told the panel that a postal "train wreck" is almost upon us, and Congress needs to act. Fineman said the Postal Service is changing and trying to respond to the challenges it faces. He said the Postal Service needs to flexibility to rationalize its network. He said the USPS is changing to make its fiscal reports as transparent as possible. Price caps, he noted, are nothing something to which the Postal Service objects. As far as labor is concerned, he said that everything (benefits and wages) should be put on the collective bargaining table. In addition, he noted, a change in ratemaking is needed, but he expressed doubts about the need for a strong postal regulatory board.
• Postmaster General John Potter told the Committee that the transfer of responsibility for paying the military component of postal employee retirement benefits belongs with the Treasury and not the Postal Service. The release of the escrowed funds from last year's CSRS reform, he said, must be done if the USPS' customers are not to become victims of congressional inaction. He said there has been a significant improvement in management-labor relations. Still needed, though, is a fundamental change in the USPS' business model. The Postal Service needs postal reform that provides postal rate and network optimization flexibilities.
• Postal Rate Commission Chairman George Omas reinforced the call for comprehensive postal legislative reform. He said he supported the idea of providing the USPS ratesetting flexibility, but also endorsed the need for comprehensive regulatory oversight. Part of that oversight should be to help ensure the adequacy of universal service. Establishing a financially transparent Postal Service, he said, was absolutely necessary for effective regulatory oversight.
• Comptroller General David Walker told the House panel that while there have been substantial gains made by the Postal Service over the past two years, more still needs to be done, including the enactment of comprehensive postal legislative reform. Congress, he said, must define the mission of the USPS for the 21st century. Transparency, he said, is key to maintaining accountability. Walker reinforced the call for completing the reform process concerning the USPS' retirement-related obligations. He said Congress should not measure success by how long rates remain unchanged. In certain circumstances, he said, avoiding an increase in rates may be imprudent.
• Treasury Under Secretary Brian Roseboro testimony told the House panel that The U.S. Postal Service would benefit from more financial accountability and disclosure. He said that Treasury believes there is merit to recognizing the aggregate unfunded post-retirement health liabilities and the annual current cost of such liabilities, either directly on the balance sheet or, at least, in notes to the financial statements. 

January 28, 2004 -- Le Monde (France) has reported that "the French government is expected to include authorisation for the creation of a fully functioning bank by La Poste, the national postal services group, in its 2003-2007 development plan for the public company."

January 28, 2004 -- Les Echos (France) has reported that "SUD-PTT, the second largest trade union for La Poste, the French postal service, has criticised the French government's proposed amendment of its plans for the creation of a postal bank in 2005."

January 28, 2004 -- The Herald Sun (Australia) has reported that "parcel deliveries could be hit by a 24-hour strike at the state's parcel sorting centre today. About 250 sorters and drivers are expected to walk out this morning. The strike follows Australia Post's decision to move the parcel sorting centre from Port Melbourne to Ardeer."

January 28, 2004 -- As Congress opens debate over postal reform, a new postal advocacy group called Postal Reform in the Public Interest has been formed. The group will be represented by Bob Walker, former congressman and member of the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service. Postal Reform in the Public Interest represents First Class and small volume mailers. The group supports the principles outlined in the President's Commission's report, including financial transparency, and robust regulatory oversight similar to public utilities commission regulation of other public monopolies. The organizing members include American Business Media, the Greeting Card Association, the Newspaper Association of America, and The McGraw-Hill Companies.

January 28, 2004 -- The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has filed an appeal with the Board of Actuaries. The USPS has noted that when OPM calculated the Postal Service's share of the CSRS obligation in anticipation of PL 108-18, it used a different actuarial formula than the one OPM used for years which allocated a larger share to the USPS. The difference between the old method and the current OPM method represents $ 86 Billion! And the $ 27 Billion that was transferred for military and volunteer service time is based on the new OPM method. Under the old method the military benefits amount would be smaller. As a additional result, the projected $ 78 Billion that was identified in the CSRS legislation as over funding is actually greatly understated compared to the amount that would have resulted if OPM had used the allocation methodology that it used in the past.

January 28, 2004 -- "Reform, Liberalisation and Building Customer Relationships" will be high on the agenda for this year's World Mail & Express Americas event, taking place in Miami in December. The conference promises to be a hotbed for all the postal and express issues in both North American and Latin American markets.

January 28, 2004 -- Business Europe has reported that "Royal Mail has unveiled a new service for SMEs that allows bosses to use direct marketing more effectively. The company has re-launched its website Direct Mail (DM) Online, which offers new features and lets small businesses plan, design and send promotional mail to selected customers. It says the tool is cost-effective but can win extra sales for companies. It says companies that correspond with customers by mail see a response rate of over 10%.

January 28, 2004 -- Clarinet Systems is providing their EthIR LAN infrared (IR) wireless LAN access system for UPS drivers' DIAD III (Delivery Information Acquisition Device) handheld computers in UPS facilities around the U.S. Built specifically for UPS by Motorola, UPS uses approximately 70000 DIAD devices in the field, which mostly are DIAD IIIs.

January 28, 2004 -- The Federal Times has reported that "several large magazine publishers are seeking approval to take over more mail-processing work from the U.S. Postal Service in exchange for cheaper mailing rates. If successful, the change could mean periodical mailers will perform work now done at Postal Service facilities — sorting, applying bar codes, and other work — a process known as work sharing. And some advertising mailers reportedly are seeking similar work-sharing arrangements for standard, or advertising, mail, which makes up a much larger portion of the Postal Service’s business. If successful, these arrangements could bring additional downsizing pressures upon the Postal Service work force and processing operations."

January 28, 2004 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal) has reported that:

• Deutsche Post appears to be back in the black as far as domestic parcel services are concerned.
• Following completion of an audit of its central administration, the board of Sweden's Posten has decided to cut around 250 jobs at the company headquarters. One aim of the restructuring programme launched by Posten AB last year was to shrink central administration.
• Last week the German government came under pressure from the EU Commission to achieve a rapid liberalisation of the letter market. A special report compiled by experts states that 'the postal market lacks efficient competition and equal opportunities'.
• Post Danmark could save an eight-figure sum every year if Danish people were forced to install letterboxes either outside their house or on the ground floor of apartment blocks. At present, only new buildings have letterboxes installed in such a way as to save postmen climbing stairs. 800,000 houses and 650,000 flats still have their letterbox in the door, which makes the postman's round longer and more arduous.
• Last week the mail service Redmail filed a suit against Osterreichische Post before the cartel court in Vienna. In a 20-page statement of claim, Redmail argues that the post blocks the sales channels of competitors and obstructs market access to newcomers. Redmail, which is a joint venture of the Dutch post TPG and Austrian publishers Styria Verlag, argues that the post uses unlawful means in its aim to keep alternative service providers away from the newspaper and magazine delivery market.
• The French GeoPost group has founded a joint venture in Croatia together with the Austrian carrier Lagermax.
• In the wake of its successful market entry in Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia, Österreichische Post now ventures to establish itself in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, too.

Don't be satisfied with a less than complete report on the courier, express, and postal market in Europe. Get your subscription to CEP News, today..

January 28, 2004 -- The Washington Post has reported that "Congress and the Bush administration are poised to take a hard look at the pension and retirement health care benefits that would be provided to 800,000 employees of the U.S. Postal Service. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) have asked the Postal Service and the Office of Personnel Management to study the workforce-related recommendations made by the White House commission and issue reports by March 1."

January 28, 2004 -- The U.S. Postal Service is working to clarify some of the gray areas of what is defined as First-Class mail in an effort to move mail into the First-Class Mail category, the agency’s most profitable product that has been experiencing declining volume, sources told DM News. See also the report by Direct.

January 28, 2004 -- According to Transport Intelligence, "Deutsche Post stated aim is to become a major player in the UK postal market as it becomes increasingly liberalised. The acquisition of a company with a licence to operate gives Deutsche Post an important foothold in the market. Deutsche Post's move may just be the start of an acquisitive strategy to build market share at the expense of Royal Mail. It is believed that both TPG and Deutsche Post have been involved in the bidding process for Hays postal business, DX Mail, which has been put up for sale by its parent company following the award of a seven year licence. Despite the competition, Royal Mail remains completely dominant, with about a 99.75% market share."

January 28, 2004 -- According to RTE News (Ireland), "An Post workers have not ruled out industrial action in a bid to force Communications Minister Dermot Ahern to establish an Employee Share Ownership Plan at the company."

January 28, 2004 -- Japan Today has reported that "a government panel in charge of postal services policy on Tuesday approved an application by Nippon Express Co to launch a special mail delivery service."

January 27, 2004 -- The Financial Times (U.K.) has reported that "mail chiefs today admitted they could be forced to pass on higher delivery costs to business customers in the Capital unless they can win an exemption from the city's planned road tolls. The Royal Mail has told city chiefs it will be among the worst hit by the introduction of road tolls, and claims it could add at least GBP 150,000 to the cost of its business delivery operation every year. The group has asked that its delivery vans be exempt from the GBP 2 toll crossing both the inner and outer cordons proposed in the Capital."

January 27, 2004 -- Les Echos (France) has reported that "according to a study by JP Morgan carried out in October 2003, French post office La Poste has 12 per cent of deposits in France, ahead of private banks BNP Paribas or Societe Generale, but well behind Credit Agricole and Caisse d'Epargne. For months the private banks have complained about the planned extension of La Poste's activities to the insurance, consumer credit and mortgage segments."

January 27, 2004 -- DM News has reported that "consumers prefer mail for receiving documents, letters, new product announcements and offerings and confidential communications such as bank statements and financial reports, according to a survey released yesterday. The study by International Communications Research is the third mail preference survey commissioned since March 1999 by Pitney Bowes, Stamford, CT, a vendor of mail solutions for businesses. The study found that despite the rise in households with access to e-mail -- from 34 percent in 1999 to 62 percent in 2003 -- 66 percent of respondents prefer regular mail for documents, letters and messages, up from 62 percent in 2001. The survey asked respondents what communications method -- mail, e-mail or telemarketing -- was their least preferred. More than 60 percent chose telemarketing."

January 27, 2004 -- Dow Jones has reported that "Deutsche Post World Net AG (DPW.XE) said Tuesday it is acquiring U.K. postal company Speedmail International for an undisclosed price. The acquisition will be made via Deutsche Post's U.K. subsidiary, Deutsche Post Global Mail."

January 27, 2004 -- The New York Times has an interesting story on the tiff between Japan and South Korea over the issue of a postage stamp.

January 27, 2004 -- As Marketing Sherpa has noted, the message counts, but so does the medium...and it's cost. For instance, Matthew Lesko's markeing team couldn't make any medium besides TV really pay off. They've tested postal mail, and broke even at best. Telemarketing worked, with an average 2.5% conversion rate, but only to current customer lists."

January 27, 2004 -- The Associated Press has reported that:

• Shipping giants FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. are asking the Department of Transportation to reject a federal administrative law judge's ruling that Astar Air Cargo Inc. is owned and controlled by a U.S. citizen, not a German company. FedEx and Atlanta-based UPS made the comments in a filing Friday that served as a response to the law judge's Dec. 19 ruling. Final authority rests with the DOT, which has not said when it will decide.
• Nothing stops the U.S. Postal Service from making its appointed rounds, not even a postcard addressed simply as "On Top of a Big Hill." The postcard was mailed by a bookstore in Bridgeport to Helen English of Elkins, notifying her that a book she had ordered had arrived. It was addressed, "Mrs. English, On Top of a Big Hill, Elkins, W.Va. 26241."

January 27, 2004 -- The Australian has reported that "Victorian postal sorters and drivers have refused to relocate to a new state mail centre and could stop work this week in protest at the move. About 250 Melbourne postal drivers and sorters could walk off the job on Thursday if Australia Post continued to refuse to negotiate job losses, pay and conditions which had arisen as a result of the relocation of the mail centre, Communications Union Victoria branch secretary Joan Doyle said."

January 27, 2004 -- The Irish Examiner has reported that "the Communications Workers Union is due to march to the Dáil today in protest at the Government's failure to implement an employee share ownership plan. The union said the Government negotiated the plan with postal workers three years ago. It said An Post employees were promised a 15% stake in the company in return for changes to their work practices, but the Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats coalition has since reneged on the agreement."

January 26, 2004 -- The Russia Journal has reported that "FedEx's erstwhile strictly regular, scheduled parcels-delivery services have been disrupted in Russia for the past two weeks. This has forced several companies, which had ordered shipments of vital documents from abroad for their Russia-based offices, to put off vital operations and other important corporate decisions."

January 26, 2004 -- The Jerusalem Post has reported that "the Postal Authority is looking for a potential partner to establish a press that will compete with Be'eri Printing, which is a partner in an "illegal" bulk mail letter dispatching company that competes with the authority's postal delivery service. The new press would offer companies and organizations envelopes and dispatch of bills and other materials at a reduced price, he said."

January 26, 2004 -- Information regarding next week's House Government Reform postal task force hearing on the Postal Service has been posted on this site.

January 26, 2004 -- According to postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "worksharing can be thought of as nothing more than affording customers competitive postal network access. Since many posts now (or soon will) have to contemplate giving its competitors network access, logic would dictate their asking why they shouldn't provide customers with a similar opportunity."

January 26, 2004 -- The U.S. Postal Service has kicked off a whale of a furor over a "blitz" by some of its mail acceptance people denying the entry of mail formerly accepted as Standard Mail. Mailers have been told that what was qualified for Standard yesterday must go as First-Class today. Anyone who has been hit by such a ruling is encouraged to contact PostCom.

January 26, 2004 -- As the Federal Times has noted, "on top of investigating crimes such as mail fraud, identity theft and child pornography, the Postal Inspection Service has a relatively new problem to contend with: bioterrorism."

January 26, 2004 -- Unstrung has reported that "Air-Q Wi-Fi Corporation, a Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) Internet access provider, announced today that it had reached an agreement in principal with MyMart, Inc., a privately-held, San Marcos, CA-based Internet access firm, to install Wi-Fi hot spots in 1,000 locations of a nationally-known chain of postal centers. MyMart currently provides wire-line Internet access in kiosks in each of the target postal center locations."

January 26, 2004 -- Global Business Services, Inc.'s subsidiary, Postal Connections of America, a rapidly growing network of franchise postal and business services stores, has awarded the area franchise for the six Chicago-area counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. Postal Connections franchise stores provide shipping, packaging, copying, mail receiving, and other services needed by small office/home office businesses and busy consumers, offering them convenience and an alternative to the Post Office. Global Business Services, Inc. is headquartered in Beverly Hills; its subsidiary, Postal Connections of America, is based in San Diego, and has been franchising stores since 1999.

January 26, 2004 -- European sources have reported that:

• Swiss Post International (SPI) has appointed a franchisee in Sweden as part of its plan to expand in countries offering substantial market potential without having to develop an infrastructure of its own. The new, Swedish franchisee is Mail & Logistics Sweden AB, an independent provider of international mailing services. It joins a Spanish franchisee, ABC Mail, and franchisees in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong which work with SPI’s Asian branch, SPI Singapore. Franchisees operate under the Swiss Post brand offering SPI’s range of services, which include international despatch of business and bulk mail, and distribution of newspapers and magazines.
• CTT Correios de Portugal is to outsource its infrastructure information systems to IBM and its communications to Portugal Telecom.
• Pan Nordic Logistics (PNL) is to integrate its Swedish operations fully into its product portfolio by rebranding Expressgods services as CarryOn Business. PNL, owned by Norway Post and Post Danmark, also has links with Posti, Iceland Post and the three Baltic postal operators. It aims to be express and parcels market leader in the Nordic region.

January 26, 2004 -- The agenda for the February meeting of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors is available on the GPO web site.

January 26, 2004 -- According to Reuters, "music downloads will render the ubiquitous compact disc all but obsolete in the next five years. By 2007 or 2008, CDs will be something only old people have."

January 25, 2004 -- The Asahi Shimbun (Japan) has reported that "government postal workers will soon find their loads a bit lighter after the posts ministry authorizes limited competition to its mail delivery service Over the weekend, the ministry finalized a plan to permit Nippon Express Co. to deliver packages in a certain size and weight class."

January 25, 2004 -- The New York Times has reported that "Vice President Dick Cheney called Saturday for greater global unity to fight terrorism, halt the spread of illicit weapons and promote democratic trends in the Middle East, in the Bush administration's most significant appeal yet to disaffected allies who opposed the Iraq war. Klaus Zumwinkel, chairman of the German postal service, Deutsche Post, said that Mr. Cheney "increased the market share of positive sentiment toward the United States."

January 24, 2004 -- USPS LinkOnline has reported that "a new centralized Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) claims investigations office will located in Tampa, FL. The office will consolidate USPS EEO investigations under one manager. It will use a staff of professional EEO analysts to monitor investigations conducted by private independent contract investigators. The new office reports to Labor Relations V.P. Tony Vegliante. The independent contractors will bring neutrality to USPS EEO investigations - a long-held goal of the Postal Service."

January 24, 2004 -- The National Association of Postmasters of the United States has reported that "the NAPUS National Office is receiving an increased number of complaints from Postmasters about the way the core requirements part of the new pay-for-performance system is being interpreted by some of their managers."

January 24, 2004 -- The Japan Times has reported that "Japan Post will begin offering an improved international express mail service next month featuring enhanced user-friendliness and lower stamp costs."

January 24, 2004 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online.

January 24, 2004 -- Fox News Business has reported that "FedEx Corp., the huge express company pushing into ground deliveries, has said it was broadening tests of a low-cost parcel service using U.S. mail carriers for home deliveries. Best-known for overnight document deliveries between businesses, Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx is increasingly challenging United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) in transporting packages by ground as growth has eased in express services. UPS, which is by far the bigger player in U.S. ground deliveries, has already introduced a stripped-down service for big commercial shippers trying to inexpensively reach rural homes and other thinly populated destinations. Each service carries the packages mostly in their own transport systems and then drops them at U.S. Postal Service (search) facilities. U.S. mail carriers then deliver the FedEx and UPS packages to homes and small businesses along their routes."

January 23, 2004 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "in the hills of northeastern Cambodia, five men on motorcycles are connecting rural villages to one another, their government, medical specialists and the Internet. Using wireless Internet technology and a storage-and-transmission device strapped to their motorcycles, the deliverymen drop off and pick up e-mail and Internet-search requests by driving near solar-powered electronic outposts along their rural route. Traveling daily along five different routes throughout the province, the e-mailmen drive near the rural access points for a handoff with their onboard access point, powered by the motorcycle's battery. Back in Banlung, the deliverymen hand off their electronic mailbag to the satellite dish that relays the messages to the Internet. Named for the Hindi word for post or postal, the rural network is known as DakNet."

January 23, 2004 -- The BBC (U.K.) has reported that "mail deliveries in parts of London are still being hit by unofficial industrial action."

January 23, 2004 -- According to The Telegraph (U.K.), "the last-minute dash to the Post Office to buy a book of stamps could be a thing of the past after Royal Mail announced an online stamp service yesterday. Customers will be able to download stamps from the internet using a desktop computer, and then post their letters in the usual way. Small businesses will be able to add their logo to the stamps."

January 23, 2004 -- Startups.co.uk has reported that "Royal Mail has launched a new service allowing small businesses to design and co-ordinate direct mail marketing campaigns to relevant customers."

January 23, 2004 -- The Financial Times (U.K.) has reported that "TPG, the Netherlands' post and logistics group, yesterday protested at Dutch government plans to freeze mail prices for three years as part of a vision for market liberalisation."

January 23, 2004 -- Le Figaro (France) has reported that "the French parliament's economic affairs commission is planning to introduce an amendment to the bill concerning reforms to the French post office, La Poste, when the legislation is debated by the French senate next Wednesday. If it is adopted, the amendment will enable La Poste to set up a credit institution governed by existing law. Such a reform would effectively turn the French post office into a financial institution like any other in France, with the right to provide consumer credit."

January 23, 2004 -- Home Page Ghana has reported that "the door-to-door delivery of mails by the Ghana Post Company Limited will commence by June this year."

January 23, 2004 -- Comptroller General David Walker told the Christian Science Monitor that in his "view, the federal government is an amalgamation of...policies, programs, functions, and activities over several decades which made sense when they were enacted...but which over the decades have never been subject to a fundamental review, re-assessment, re-engineering, re-prioritization. There are a number of areas out there that cry out - for example, infrastructure. The federal government has huge excess infrastructure, it is not just in the Defense Department it is also at the Postal Service, the VA (Veterans Administration), and many civilian agencies....(another example is) disability programs."

January 23, 2004 -- The Associated Press has reported that "reports of Internet-related fraud now account for more than half the consumer complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission. Identity theft - stealing someone's personal information for financial gain - was the most common complaint."

January 22, 2004 -- Making email more reliable.... According to CNET, "America Online is testing an antispam filter intended to accurately trace the origin of e-mail messages, a move that could bring new accountability to the Net if it proves reliable."

January 22, 2004 -- The Center for Research in Regulated Industries-Rutgers University will be holding its 12th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics at the Jurys Cork Hotel, Cork, Ireland on June 2-5, 2004. For more information, contact Michael A. Crew or Jeremy T. Guenter at 973-353-5049 or email Jeremy Guenter at crri@andromeda.rutgers.edu.

January 22, 2004 -- The House Committee on Government Reform will be holding a hearing on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building on "Answering the Administration’s Call for Postal Reform - Part I." Once again, Committee Chairman Tom Davis has appointed Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) to serve as Chairman of a Special Panel on Postal Reform and Oversight. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) will serve as its ranking minority member. Serving also on the panel will be Reps. Dan Burton, Edward L. Schrock, Candice S. Miller, Tim Murphy, Marsha Blackburn, Major R. Owens, Edolphus Towns, Carolyn Maloney, and Wm. Lacy Clay.

January 22, 2004 -- PostCom has posted on this site a collection of papers that should serve as a primer on the upcoming discussion and debate on postal legislative reform.

January 22, 2004 -- According to postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "this is the year in which Congress supposedly is finally going to get serious about and pass meaningful postal legislative reform. Still unanswered, however, is what the House and Senate will propose? On which formulation will they agree? And, finally, how will the Postal Service, the mailing industry, and postal labor respond to the proposals that will be set forth?"

January 22, 2004 -- MobileMag has reported that "Fujitsu Laboratories has succesfully made a prototype electronic paper which is comparable to regular copy paper in brightness and thickness. Fujitsu hopes to have the paper in regular production by 2006. Several characteristics of the paper have been developed; ease of reading, ease of portability, durability and improved brightness and contrast of the paper. The new developments have made the electronic paper with a white ratio of 80 or above and a contrast ratio of 15 or above. When compared with regular photo-copy paper there is very little difference. When the power is turned on and off with colour and text being added to the paper, and then subsequently turned off, the paper still retains the material that was written on it using a built-in memory function. The power function of the electronic paper is a special energy saving device suited for this application."

January 22, 2004 -- Dutch Minister Brinkhorst of Economic Affairs has released his vision on the postal market in the Netherlands. The key elements of the postal vision are:

• Full liberalisation of the postal market in 2007 (conditional upon full market liberalisation in the UK and Germany)
• Price freeze until 1 January 2007 on the mandatory postal services previously subject to price control
• From 2007, a Universal Service will be subject to a price cap system based on inflation or consumer price index
• Universal Service Obligation after liberalisation restricted to single items at fixed rates; obligation to deliver bulk mail letters up to 50 grams for a transitional period
• Competitors and customers to be treated equally in terms of rates and conditions

TPG recognises that the postal vision provides clarity on the most important aspects of postal regulation and gives a long-term framework for the development of the postal market in the Netherlands. In particular, TPG is pleased with the policy regarding liberalisation as this properly addresses the pace of liberalisation in Europe and specifically in the UK and Germany, where liberalisation is also scheduled to take place in 2007.

January 22, 2004 -- EUBusiness has reported that "the Dutch government offered on Thursday to fully liberalize its postal services by 2007, two years ahead of the EU timetable, provided that Britain and Germany did so too."

January 22, 2004 -- Among the nominations sent by the White House to the U.S. Senate was "Albert Casey, of Texas, to be a Governor of the United States Postal Service for a term expiring December 8, 2009, vice Tirso del Junco, term expired, to which position he was appointed during the last recess of the Senate."

January 22, 2004 -- The Daily Tribune has reported that "earlier this month, the U.S. Postal Service announced that it would be eliminating the long-running program that allowed senior citizens to purchase stamps and mail packages without having to drive to the post office. Postal officials claimed the truck, which served dozens of senior apartments and activity centers in Oakland and Macomb counties, was no longer economically efficient and should be discontinued. Shannon LaBruyere, spokeswoman for the postal service, said at the time the decision was announced that the truck was cost-intensive and since customers could utilize other services - including the Internet - the vehicle had outlived its usefulness."

January 22, 2004 -- As the New York Times has noted, "ensuring the integrity of a Microsoft Word document can be tricky. Hackers and pranksters have made a hobby of exposing security flaws in the software, often altering what appear to be protected files. But a new service shores up security with an adage that is at once novel and old-fashioned: let the post office handle it. The Postal Service, Microsoft and a technology company called Authentidate have developed a system called Electronic Postmark for verifying that a document's content is the same as when a user saved it. The service, introduced in October, is in some ways more a notary public's stamp than a postmark, intended particularly for those affixing their electronic signatures to documents relayed online."

January 22, 2004 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal) has reported that:

• Pension schemes set up in the 1990’s could end up as a belated billion-euro burden for Deutsche Post AG. The EU competition authority in Brussels intends to publish a leading decision that enacts for the first time that the transfer of retirement liabilities to the government represents a form of assistance liable for reimbursement.
• Deutsche Post has stopped the development of its new product medicalPack. The letter service was intended to meet the special needs of mail order pharmacies, such as DocMorris. A post representative confirmed that the product development had been stopped but pointed out that there were already parcel solutions, which covered all requirements as far as tracking & tracing and second delivery** were concerned.
• Legal advisors to the Danish company Forbruger-Kontakt, one of Post Danmark’s business rivals in the field of advertising matter, say the Danish competition authority is treating them unfairly.
• EP Europost AG & Co. KG has defended the registration of its brands 'EP EasyMail', 'EP Sample', 'EP EasyLetter', 'EP Press', 'EP Letter' and 'EP Magazine' against opposition from Deutsche Post AG.
• On 15 January, Nigel Stapleton took over the chairmanship of the British regulator Postcomm. He succeeds Graham Corbett who has chaired Postcomm since the organisation was created in 2000.
• DHL intends to transfer much of its British consignment volume onto rail.

Don't be satisfied with a less than complete report on the courier, express, and postal market in Europe. Get your subscription to CEP News, today..

January 22, 2004 -- e.logistics magazine has reported that "users of international postal services are becoming increasingly demanding, and at the same time less likely to choose their own national carrier as a matter of course. These are two key findings emerging from a new report, International Mail Survey - Trends & Prospects, which has been produced jointly by consultancy Triangle and the Direct Marketing Association."

January 22, 2004 -- Suddeutsche Zeitung (Germany) has reported that "Deutsche Post, the German postal service, is planning to order 4,000 new vans from Adam Opel AG, the German car manufacturer, this year. The order is said to be worth tens of millions of euros."

January 22, 2004 -- Japan Today has reported that "Japan Post President Masaharu Ikuta rejected Wednesday a call from the Japanese Bankers Association for the abolition of the postal savings system, saying the system is indispensable for maintaining the nationwide postal network."

January 21, 2004 -- According to SwissInfo, "trade unions have warned of massive job cuts at the Swiss Post Office as part of plans to reorganise the country's postal services. A union leader said up to 1,500 positions were at risk over the next three years. He also accused the management of planning to reduce salary costs. However, the Post Office said it had to adapt to the market and customer needs in a bid to remain competitive. Last year, it announced restructuring plans would lead to 3,200 job being axed."

January 21, 2004 -- National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) President Vincent Palladino and Executive Vice President Ted Keating will urge Congress to move to enact postal reform legislation during dual appearances before House and Senate committees in early February. Palladiono will appear before the House Special Panel on Postal Reform and Oversight at a February 5 hearing in Chicago. Keating will testify before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington a day earlier on February 4.

January 21, 2004 -- The Postal Rate Commission has declined a request to initiate a proceeding to consider the jurisdictinoal status of 14 services provided to the public by the Postal Service without prior Commission approval.

January 21, 2004 -- Here you go! As one the National Association of Letter Carriers has aptly noted:

Taxpayer subsidies to the USPS were phased out between 1971, when they covered 23 percent of costs, and 1983. Today, an appropriation to the Postal Service proportional to that paid in 1971 would cost nearly $16 billion annually. The USPS is authorized to receive compensation of $460 million per year for operating unprofitable post offices, but has not requested or received this "public service" subsidy in more than 15 years. The direct savings to taxpayers: $10.6 billion through 2002.

January 21, 2004 -- According to Entrepreneur.com, "a national alliance of nearly 200 Mail Boxes Etc. stores, under the auspices of a nonprofit support and advocacy group called the Platinum Shield Association, are now locked in two California lawsuits in Los Angeles Superior Court with parent company United Parcel Service-Mail Boxes Etc."

January 21, 2004 -- Globes (Israel) has reported that "Power Paper Ltd. has announced that it will license Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) BiStatix technology for use in a new radio frequency identification (RFID) smart label system. The company, which develops printable microelectronic devices, said that combination of Motorola’s technology with Power Paper’s printable, micro-power source paves the way for the ultimate low-cost printable RFID label."

January 21, 2004 -- Reuters has reported that "getting online is not easy in communist-run Cuba, where the state strictly controls all Web servers and recently announced plans to crack down on illegal Internet access. E-mail accounts are available at the Cuban Postal Service, but writing to friends abroad comes at price: A three-hour prepaid card costs $4.50 (2.46 pounds), one-third of the average Cuban monthly wage."

January 21, 2004 -- RR Donnelley Logistics has announced that it has earned a five-year contract from LaSalle Bank, one of the Midwest's largest banks with nearly $58 billion in assets, to manage the expedited delivery of check deposits and mail for processing between all of the bank's 140 Chicagoland area branches and three operating sites. This is the second five-year contract that LaSalle Bank has awarded to RR Donnelley Logistics since the companies first began working together in 1998.

January 21, 2004 -- CNET has reported that "America Online will launch a promotion Wednesday that lets its members download full-feature films through Movielink for 99 cents a title." It'll give Netflicks (and the Postal Service) a run for the money.

January 21, 2004 -- According to the Wall Street Journal, "consumer demand for traded goods throughout the world -- as well as the push to outsource noncore tasks -- has produced one of the strongest markets in five years for freight forwarders. These outfits make up a montage of publicly held and private global businesses that, for a fee, deal with the increasingly complex regulations and patterns of world trade. They ensure that anything coming in or out of a country is insured, legal and documented, and isn't held up at customs houses or lost in transit."

January 21, 2004 -- According to The Independent (U.K.), "Adam Crozier, the football-loving chief executive of the Royal Mail, has, by all accounts, a service contract to die for. It might not be quite in the league of a Beckham or an Owen, but it is said to have enough bells and whistles on it to make any rival chief executive as sick as a parrot. Unfortunately, none of this can be confirmed one way or the other because Mr Crozier refuses to make his contract available for public inspection. It is secret and in remaining so it becomes one more example of the double standards which Royal Mail employs."

January 21, 2004 -- The U.S. Postal Service has announced that "starting Feb. 1, Carrier Pickup will expand to city carrier-only ZIP Codes that are on the My Post Office system."

January 21, 2004 -- Standard & Poor's has been selected by Japan's Postal Services Agency to provide qualitative investment fund evaluation services for the agency's defined contribution pension plan. Through its financial services branch, the Postal Services Agency is the single largest holder of personal savings deposits in Japan.

January 21, 2004 -- Expatica Germany has reported that " Deutsche Post AG said Tuesday no decision had been made on moving the European hub of its DHL express package carrier from Brussels airport to a new location - but that the German city of Leipzig was in the running if it chose to quit Belgium."

January 21, 2004 -- The Financial Times (U.K.) has reported that "Royal Mail's prospects will become clearer over the next few months as the postal market opens up to meaningful competition for the first time. Talks between Royal Mail and its rival UK Mail will set a precedent on how much private sector operators will have to pay to use the postal network. The figure for this 'access charging' will be crucial in determining how attractive the market is to new entrants. Companies such as Deutsche Post and TPG, of the Netherlands, are keen to start delivering business mail in Britain. But Royal Mail will try to hold on to some of this lucrative trade to offset losses from its universal postal service."

January 21, 2004 -- Le Monde (France) has reported that "the Paris finance ministry is postponing the publication of a report on the savings products offered by La Poste, the French post office, and Caisse d'Epargne and Credit Mutuel. The aim of the study, commissioned in the autumn of 2003, was to see if the commission paid to these groups by the state is in line with the real costs of the products."

January 21, 2004 -- As Forbes noted, "in many parts of the U.S., the old real estate axiom 'location, location, location' could also be 'ZIP code, ZIP code, ZIP code.' When they were first introduced by the U.S. Postal Service in 1963, ZIP codes were intended to make mail delivery faster and more effective. ZIP codes, an aptly coined acronym for zoning improvement plans quickly developed a different sociological meaning that its creators may never have imagined. Because they often broke down cities and towns along geographical fault lines that separated one neighborhood from another, they became instant delineators of wealth and status. Today there are tens of thousands of ZIP codes across the country. Some have become fashionable, while others have been relegated to the perimeters of prestige--or even further down the property pecking order."

January 21, 2004 -- As one writer cautioned in Directions Magazine, "don't believe that addresses are things of the past. In its zeal to create a “new economy”, the Internet (at least some sites on the Internet) has forgotten the value of an address. People have an address, and even virtual businesses need an address to be incorporated and operate."

January 21, 2004 -- One veteran postal watcher shared the following findings from his review of Checkfree's announcement of earnings:

(1) Electronic bill payment is growing rapidly. (2) Growth in users is even faster Year-to-year growth in active users is 43%. This is most likely due to more banks offering the service for free. Also, because user growth is rising faster than transaction growth, the data suggests that electronic bill payment is attracting more people who pay a limited number of bills per month (The average # of bills paid per month per user is 9.28 down from 10 a year ago. (3) Year to year growth is 33% Today 78% of all bills that are paid by a user online are paid electronically, this is up from 73% a year ago. (4) The price that outside services are paying for Checkfree's service per transaction is going down. The big banks that do some of the processing themselves are now paying $0.36 or less than the price of a stamp. (This is down from $0.46 last year) Smaller banks are now paying $0.87 which is down from $1.00 per transaction. As the price goes down, more banks will be inclined to offer electronic bill paying for free, increasing the speed at which electronic bill payment is accepted. (5) Electronic bill delivery has grown by 272%. While volume is still very small (only 18.5 million bills) its rate of growth is remarkable.

January 21, 2004 -- According to CBS MarketWatch, "there are several reasons why Americans avoid paying bills online. Many consumers fear security lapses or are put off by the lengthy registration process. If you are one of these consumers, you may want to look at online bill payment again. Banks and vendors, eager to eliminate the waste of paper checks, have made online billing safer and more convenient." There's that....And there's that the Postal Service isn't doing much to keep the mail business.

January 21, 2004 -- UPS Chairman and CEO Mike Eskew has been elected chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council, the principal organization of U.S. corporations engaged in business relations with the People's Republic of China.

January 20, 2004 -- The Postal Rate Commission is proposing (Docket No. RM2004-1)to amend its rules to define the term "postal service." A copy of the Commission's proposed rulemaking can be found on the PRC web site.

January 20, 2004 -- Global Business Services, Inc.'s, Postal Connections of America (PCA), a rapidly growing franchise network of postal and business services stores, reports record unit growth with 17 opened or sold franchises in the second quarter, ending December 31.

January 20, 2004 -- Dow Jones has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) will buy Yamato Transport Co.'s (9064.TO) stake in a Japanese joint venture set up by the two companies in a bid to promote its brand image in Japan and beef up services amid fierce competition. UPS will buy the 49% stake in UPS Yamato Express Co. held by Yamato Transport, the Japanese firm said Tuesday. The venture will become wholly owned by the U.S. company as a result."

January 20, 2004 -- The Wall Street Journal has quoted one source who has said that "NASA is "a government-sheltered corporate-supported monopoly that will fight competitive enterprises with all its considerable clout and resources." He approvingly cites journalist Andrew Stuttaford's quip that NASA today is 'little more than the postal service in a space suit.' Its highest goal is not the stars but bureaucratic survival." Ooooo! That hurts!

January 20, 2004 -- According to Network World, "while many businesses are just now turning to Linux as a server platform, the technology has delivered for the U.S. Postal Service for several years. The Postal Service has used penguin power since 1999 to streamline the "snail mail" process. More than 900 Linux machines currently sort in excess of 670 million pieces of mail per day in the Postal Service's 250 mail-sorting sites around the country." Power to the penguin!

January 20, 2004 -- This Day News (Nigeria) has reported that "the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST), said it has concluded plans for the computerisation of the services of all the post offices across the country, just as it claimed that it has achieved 80 per cent success of 72-hour delivery of inter-state letters. Speaking yesterday on the occasion of the commemoration of the 24th anniversary of the Pan African Postal Union (PANU), the Postmaster-General of the Federation, represented by Mr Hussaini Charity Ato, said the computerisation project when completed, would engender such services as cash transfer aimed at facilitating payment of pensions to retirees."

January 20, 2004 -- DM News has reported that "a new performance-review system for 70,000 U.S. Postal Service managers will result in improved mail operations, postmaster general John E. Potter told the Washington Post last week. 'If our people are happy, our customers will be happy because service will be up and costs will be down,' Potter said, according to the Post. 'If we have unhappy folks, the system will be sending a message that they haven't performed. To me, that is truly a breakthrough -- that we're able to get through the entitlement culture and get to people and say, 'OK, listen, there is no more mystery here. This is what your job is. These are the indicators that you are being held accountable for.' ' The system began at the start of the postal fiscal year, Oct. 1, but was not publicized by the postal service."

January 20, 2004 -- Alpine Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alpine Air Express Inc., and the third largest regional cargo airline and transportation logistics company in America, with an owned fleet of 29 airplanes and annual sales of $10M+, has announced an extensive network consolidation. Due to its multiyear contract with the U.S. Postal Service, Alpine has re-designated some of its bases of operations in the western United States."

January 20, 2004 -- As the Washington Post has noted, "Tom Davis and Rep. John M. McHugh (R-N.Y.) will begin the first of three hearings on the U.S. Postal Service this month. The goal is to come up with legislation to help it get on a steady financial footing to survive the Internet age. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) plan to work together on similar legislation. Collins, who held postal hearings last year, plans to continue them with an early February examination of the postal workforce -- about 800,000 full- and part-time employees."

January 20, 2004 -- The Marietta Daily Journal has reported that "Feed the Hungry Foundation received a grant from the UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of United Parcel Service on Dec. 16. The grant will be used to help provide over 1,000,000 meals annually to 15,000 to 18,000 families throughout Atlanta and much of north Georgia."

January 20, 2004 -- The Louisville Courier Journal has reported that "the Louisville-based Independent Pilots Association will resume contract negotiations with UPS Tuesday with a new president and negotiating committee."

January 20, 2004 -- According to Financial Times Deutschland, "Osterreichische Post, the Austrian postal service operator, is reported by a press source to be planning to end its contract with the Austrian parcel forwarder Direct Parcel Distribution (DPD), and to award the contract for parcel forwarding in Austria to DHL, a subsidiary of the German postal service operator Deutsche Post. The Deutsche Post subsidiary already carries out forwarding abroad for the Austrian state postal operator. Deutsche Post is believed to be interested in participating in the privatisation of Osterreichische Post, which is expected to take place in the medium-term future. Owing to the current value of the Austrian postal operator, estimated at 500m euros compared with the 1.5bn euros targeted by the state, and to resistance on the part of employees, privatisation is not expected to take place in the immediate future."

January 20, 2004 -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany) has reported that "Deutsche Post AG, the German postal service, has reduced its stake in GFT Technologies AG, the German internet service provider, from 12 per cent to under 5 per cent. The sale of the shares is said to form part of Deutsche Post's strategy of limiting investments to activities which form part of its core business."

January 20, 2004 -- According to Handelsblatt (Germany), "Deutsche Post AG, the German postal service, may have to pay back subsidies granted by the German government for its pension schemes. The German government had provided the company's pension funds with considerable financial support during the 1990s; this was necessary as Deutsche Post had retired 25 per cent of its officials early, with the aid of expensive settlements, when the company was privatised. The competition authorities in Brussels are now planning to pass a ruling that the transfer of pension costs to the state will constitute subsidies which must be repaid."

January 20, 2004 -- Expatica (Belgium) has reported that "Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt wants international courier firm DHL to keep its European head office in Belgium, ideally at Zaventem international airport near Brussels. Speaking after this weekend's two-day government meeting near Gembloux Verhofstadt told reporters 'DHL must keep its headquarters in Belgium, preferably in Brussels.' DHL wants to expand its operations at Zaventem airport but is facing stiff opposition from local residents who fear an increase in aircraft noise, especially at night. The courier firm has warned that if it doesn't get its way it could shift its European 'hub' to another country and take thousands of jobs with it."

January 20, 2004 -- Radio Vlaanderen has reported that "the two-day cabinet meeting failed to produce binding decisions on a number of issues, and in particular on the controversial problem of night flights at Brussels International Airport in Zaventem (Brussels Brabant). A clear decision on DHL and the limit of 25,000 night flights per year has been postponed until later on this summer or autumn, until well after the regional elections on June 13. Flanders will then have a new government and everybody expects a coalition without the green party."

January 20, 2004 -- Dow Jones has reported that "Moody's Investors Service has downgraded from Aa2 to A1 the long-term senior unsecured issuer rating as well as the senior unsecured rating on the Euro 2 billion MTN of Poste Italiane S.p.A. (Poste Italiane). The rating downgrade reflects the fact that Poste Italiane's future debt holders will no longer enjoy an implicit guarantee from the State of Italy. Due to the importance of the services provided by Poste Italiane, Moody's expects continued financial compensation from the government, as Poste Italiane has been designated as the universal postal service provider until at least 2014. The Italian market for mail delivery has been partially opened up to competition following EU directives. Nevertheless, Poste Italiane still has a monopoly on the delivery of addressed mail items weighing up to 100 grams and will do so for over 50 grams in 2006. Over 80% of Poste Italiane's mail volume is generated by letters weighing less than 50g, which means that the bulk of revenues will continue to enjoy exclusivity until at least 2009. The market for unaddressed advertising mail has been fully liberalised, and addressed direct mail is liberalised for mailings exceeding 10,000 items. Further liberalisation in the Italian market is likely to follow EU guidelines."

January 19, 2004 -- NewIndPress (India) has reported that "the surreptitious move by the Department of Posts to introduce privatisation in Speed Post has run into trouble in the face of stiff resistance from the employees."

January 19, 2004 -- The Washington Business Journal has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is going back to Lockheed Martin for machines that automatically put lids on containers used in transporting mail. The contract extension is worth $6.2 million to Lockheed."

January 19, 2004 -- Congressman John Kline (R-MN) recently visited The Instant Web Companies (IWCO), an integrated direct mail services company, to demonstrate his support of IWCO's position on PL108-18, the Postal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Funding Reform Act of 2003. The purpose of his visit was to see first-hand the industry and its workers who would be impacted if the issue was left unresolved.

January 19, 2004 -- According to Dow Jones, "DHL currently has its European headquarters in Brussels and operates a big hub at Zaventem airport. The express package carrier, 51%-owned by Deutsche Post, has drawn up an expansion plan and changed its strategic course: Instead of five or six smaller hubs, DHL would like to create one super-hub per continent. Instead of 1,000 tons per night, capacity should be driven up toward 5,000 tons per night. At the end of this month, the board will formally decide where the super-hub will be located."

January 19, 2004 -- B2B has reported that "with President Bush's support, direct marketers and publishers may finally see postal reform legislation pass this year, after years of political wrangling. Advocates say failure to bring about postal reform could result in significant rate increases, an end to so-called universal service and a taxpayer bailout."

January 18, 2004 -- Traffic World has reported that "five months after DHL sealed the deal to buy Airborne Express, DHL and Airborne are morphing into one cohesive company - all but the combined company's two air hubs. The company insists there is no immediate plan to merge Airborne's hub in Wilmington, Ohio, with DHL's air base in Cincinnati, although combining hubs that are less than an hour's drive apart would save money and streamline network operations, making DHL more competitive against FedEx and UPS."

January 18, 2004 -- According to U.S. News, "UPS provides good jobs and benefits for our members, there's no doubt about that. In return, they expect a lot from their employees. It's a very tough job. It may only get tougher. In addition to increasing heat from FedEx, Germany's Deutsche Post AG is pushing into the $47 billion-a-year U.S. delivery market. And though its presence is still tiny compared with UPS and FedEx, its majority owner, the German government, has very deep pockets. Ironically, UPS's first move outside North America was into Germany, way back in 1976, though the company's informal culture didn't sit well with a German love of titles."

January 18, 2004 -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that "UPS' $191 million purchase of Mail Boxes Etc. gave the company 3,500 U.S. stores and immediately raised its retail profile. Last year, the company renamed them UPS Stores and spent millions of dollars in ads aimed at drawing home-office workers, telecommuters and mobile sales forces. Such customers are vital because, unlike high-volume clients who command steep discounts, infrequent shippers pay full fare. The problem for UPS Store owners, however, is that UPS capped store shipping rates --- a boon for consumers who get lower prices but a hardship for store owners accustomed to steep markups. UPS Stores also lost their ability to ship via FedEx because the Memphis-based company won't offer its products in stores displaying the rival UPS brand. FedEx is attempting to come up with its own retail answer by buying Kinko's, the copy store chain, and its 1,500 stores for $2.4 billion."

January 18, 2004 -- Hoovers has asked: "What next for TPG, the Dutch mail, parcels and logistics giant, now that industry fixture Alan Jones has quit as managing director of the TNT Express division? Although the surprise announcement in December spoke of an 'amicable' agreement, it is an open secret that the root cause of Mr Jones' departure, after 23 years with TNT, was a difference of opinion over future strategy. Industry insiders suggest that straight-talking Mr Jones wanted to keep the express parcel and logistics businesses as two distinct entities. Opposite him was Peter Bakker, chief executive of parent group TPG, who wan-ted closer and seamless co-operation between the two. Mr Bakker, it is suggested, wants TPG to follow the template of German-owned DHL, which is busy re-engineering to present a one-stop shop for every type of logistics service from sea freight containers to business post."

January 18, 2004 -- The Times (U.K.) has reported that "unions representing workers at An Post [the Irish post office] are expected to examine the accounts of the postal company over the next two weeks to investigate management’s claim that it is unable to pay the 3% increase due under the Sustaining Progress agreement. Under the terms of the national partnership deal negotiated by the government, employers and trade unions, companies that decline to make agreed increases have to demonstrate their inability to pay."

January 18, 2004 -- The Malta Independent has reported that "the government kept the Maltapost management from implementing any of its restructuring plans prior to the European Union referendum and election last year to avert any controversies, senior government sources told The Malta Independent on Sunday. This meant that the company did not have enough time to introduce its wide-ranging reforms smoothly in time for Christmas, leading to a disastrous delivery service in the busiest month of the year and exposing Malta’s post office to the harshest public criticism it ever received in its history. New Zealand Post has a 35 per cent shareholding in the company and took over the management in 2002. The company had to introduce sweeping reforms early last year but the Finance Ministry kept dragging its feet on the new collective agreement, delaying the process by months."

January 17, 2004 -- The Voice of America has reported that "nine months after major combat operations in Iraq came to an end, most Iraqis still complain bitterly about the lack of security, electricity, jobs and proper infrastructure, to name but a few of the frustrations of life in the country. But, there has been some rare upbeat news over the past week. New currency notes are now in full circulation in hopes of building confidence in the economy. And Iraq postal system is slowly getting back up and running."

January 17, 2004 -- The Daily Herald has reported that "Thousands of pieces of junk mail recovered from the home of a U.S. Postal Service employee may still find their way to their intended recipients, a postal inspector said. In a federal indictment made public this week, Gordon Richardson Jr. of Downers Grove was charged with stealing about 26,000 pieces of advertising mailings over several years."

January 17, 2004 -- The agenda for the February meeting of the Postmaster General's Mailers Technical Advisory Committee has been posted on the Postal Service's RIBBS web site.

January 16, 2004 -- The Ottawa Sun (Canada) has reported that "neither rain, nor wind, nor sleet, nor snow can keep the postal delivery person from his or her appointed rounds -- except maybe January temperatures in the capital region. It was too cold to deliver the mail, according to 10 letter carriers in Hull who are facing possible disciplinary action from Canada Post."

January 16, 2004 -- The U.S. Department of State has posted its 21 draft proposals which it will carry into the UPU Bucharest Congress on the State Department web site.

January 16, 2004 -- Business Mailers Review has reported that:

• The Postal Service has awarded funding for the very first phase in research and development of its "delivery vision." Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman were awarded funds to conduct simulation modeling for the flat sequencing system, which would sort flat mail in delivery point sequence or walk sequence to all carriers within one or more delivery zones. Both were awarded about $1.5 million each. Four companies were awarded funds to develop simulation models for the delivery point packager, a system that would result in a single bundle of packets containing letters and flats individually packaged for each delivery point on the carrier's route. Siemens Corp. ($1.3 million), Elsag Spa ($1.2 million) Bell and Howell ($1.2 million) and FKI Logistex ($655,975) all landed awards. The USPS' ultimate vision for delivery is a seamless operation that results in one bundle of mixed letters and flats for each delivery point. However, if it's discovered that technological limitations do not support the ultimate vision, the USPS wants to consider an interim step that uses flat sorters to sort flats in delivery point walk sequence. Phase one is simulation only, no prototype or actual equipment developed.

• Keep an eye out for the Jan. 22 Postal Bulletin as it's expected to include a notice on what is becoming an industry hot-button issue: what is allowed to go at Standard Mail vs. First Class Mail. The notice is expected to direct mailers to get their first ruling locally and then to appeal any rulings directly to headquarters. Postal officials are considering having national accounts go to one centralized contact for their rulings. The Postal Service is working on a proposed rule that would clarify some of the gray areas of what is "actual and personal correspondence" and hence needs to go at First Class rates. Some mailers say they have recently been told by local acceptance folks that mailings they've been sending for years at Standard Mail rates now must go First Class.

• The Bush administration's opposition to taxes on international communications could spill over to discussions on the next terminal dues agreement for member countries of the Universal Postal Union. At last month's public meeting at the State Dept. on international mail issues, Deputy Assistant Secretary for State Terry Miller informed those in attendance that the United States would not support any tax in the area of international telecommunications. The administration had recently opposed a "development tax" on international Internet communication put forth at the World Summit on the Information Society. Miller was suggesting that a policy decision might need to be made in the near future on whether the Quality of Service Fund (QSF) payment in the terminal dues structure amounted to a tax, and thus would not be supported by the U.S.

• The House special panel on postal issues plans three hearings over the next month on issues surrounding reform of the Postal Service. The first hearing is scheduled for Jan. 28 and will feature officials from the Postal Service and the General Accounting Office. (The USPS is scheduled to submit a comprehensive plan on rationalizing its infrastructure just three days later.) The second hearing is slated for Feb. 5 in Chicago, where the panel will hear from employee organizations. The third hearing is set for Feb. 11 back in Washington and will include testimony from stakeholders and competitors. The special postal panel reports to the House Government Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Tom Davis, R-VA.

• The State Dept. will host an interagency meeting this month to discuss the U.S. position on remail and Article 43 of the Universal Postal Union Convention, which will be recast as Article 23 of the 2004 Bucharest UPU Congress. The interagency group - made up of U.S. government agencies with an interest in trade issues - will discuss whether or not to eliminate or change Article 43, which permits a postal administration to charge domestic postage rates for mailings of a customer in its country that have been posted in another country for delivery within its national boundaries. Postal and State officials say it is highly unlikely that Article 43 would be removed.

Business Mailers Review is published biweekly by Sedgwick Publishing Co. This is one of the best postal newsletters you'll find published in this country. There's much more to each issue than the teaser you see here. For subscription information, check the BMR web site.

January 16, 2004 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online.

January 16, 2004 -- According to European sources, "Royal Mail deputy managing director and marketing director Paul Rich is restructuring the company's marketing department as it sheds up to 50% of its marketing jobs. The overhaul is designed to align the marketing team more closely with Royal Mail's sales force and develop the sort of products and services that customers want, as the market opens up to greater competition. Royal Mail is reducing the number of marketing roles by between 40% and 50% as part of a round of voluntary redundancies announced last month by group chief executive Adam Crozier."

January 16, 2004 --