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Postal News from January 2005

January 31, 2005 -- ClickZ has  reported that "DoubleClick just expanded the range of the IP-based targeting capabilities it offers through an existing partnership with Digital Envoy. Advertisers can now target based on bandwidth or on Nielsen's Designated Market Areas (DMA), geographic regions originally intended to define TV markets. Bandwidth targeting supports rich media campaigns by identifying the individuals who can best handle their large file sizes. Digital Envoy can identify multiple connection types, including dial-up, DSL, cable, 'broadband generic' and 'T-1 or higher.'"

January 31, 2005 -- AllAfrica.com has reported that "TROUBLE is brewing at NamPost's Courier Services with contract workers, mainly long-distance drivers, demanding the annulment of their new contracts which they say were forced on them."

January 31, 2005 -- As Wired has noted, "Thanks to cellular and internet phones, anyone can make a call from anywhere -- and use any area code in the country. But the added mobility doesn't always bode well for businesses trying to operate in a messy world of multiple personal phones, calling numbers and area codes that differ from a person's home address. Some companies may ask what's the point of even having an area code? If anything, the invention of the mobile has been a headache for Domino's Pizza (DPZ). The fast-food delivery chain has an internal group of people looking for a technical solution for accepting cell-phone orders. Right now, most Domino's restaurants accept orders only from land-line telephones tied to a local address, to ensure that drivers make deliveries to legitimate homes." Here's  hopin' zip code boundaries are safe from "blurring."

January 31, 2005 -- Strategiy has reported that "ARAMEX has revealed significant development plans for the region, including the opening of new logistics centres in Dubai, Cairo, Jeddah and Beirut and a major expansion of the existing facility in Amman. The company has also confirmed that it will use The World Mail, Express & Air Cargo Expo taking place in Dubai in March to spotlight its regional development strategy."

January 31, 2005 -- Manchester Online (U.K.) has reported that "THOUSANDS of homes and businesses are facing postal chaos today as Royal Mail staff go on strike at a major delivery office."

January 31, 2005 -- Business Day has reported that "South Africa's Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, through the Postal Regulator, has approved a 4.3% tariff increase in postal services for 2005. The South African Post Office (Sapo) applied for a general increase of 5.88% to their standard tariffs. The Minister approved a 4.3% general increase for implementation on April 1."

January 31, 2005 -- According to DM News, "The latest rumor is that the next postal rate increase may not break as many mailing budgets as people first thought. Again, that’s the rumor. The fact is that we still expect a rate case to be filed this spring. The fact is that John Potter has done an outstanding job cutting costs, reducing head count and managing operations at the U.S. Postal Service. The fact is that Standard mail was up 14 percent through the end of December and the USPS was $700 million above plan in net income. Will mailers see a double-digit rate increase in 2006 or a more modest (and digestible) 6 percent? We’ll know soon enough."

January 31, 2005 -- From the Federal Register: "This document addresses the solicitation of comments in a proceeding to consider potential changes to the Commission rules for considering functionally equivalent Negotiated Service Agreements. These comments will be used to evaluate whether improvements should be made to the rules to facilitate the Commission's review of future requests predicated on functionally equivalent Negotiated Service Agreements. Initial comments are due February 28, 2005; reply comments are due March 28, 2005."

January 30, 2005 -- OSDir.com has reported that "Czech Post relies on APOST, a customized system used by 20,000 employees for all postal operations. APOST had been running on a range of operating systems including DOS and Microsoft Windows NT, but reached a point where running in a proprietary environment was proving too costly. With a disparate environment across 3,400 locations, Czech Post was experiencing increased administration costs, as well as downtime and security issues."

January 30, 2005 -- As the Wall Street Journal has noted, "The expansive U.S. trade deficit took a big bite out of economic growth in the fourth quarter, the government reported Friday, while consumer spending remained relatively strong and inflation pressures were mild. The Commerce Department said that U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of all goods and services produced in the economy, increased at a 3.1% annual rate in October through December, lagging the third-quarter's 4% growth and the second-quarter's 3.3% climb. It was the lowest rate of growth since the economy rose 1.9% in the first quarter of 2003."

January 30, 2005 -- According to the Freelance Star, "In the House, Northern Virginia's Rep. Tom Davis will return as chairman of the powerful Government Reform Committee. Davis indicated that his committee would tackle areas such as postal reform, executive-branch reorganization authority, the presidential appointment proc-ess, streamlining federal law enforcement pay and classification reform. What is less certain is how Davis will organize his subcommittees to achieve these goals. The organizational uncertainty in Congress also extends to the appropriations committees, which are vital to the funding of every federal program, agency and activity. Comreg, the communications industry regulator, is recommending that postcodes be introduced in Ireland, the only country in the European Union not to have them. An Post says it will not pay for the system, but one model favoured by the private post companies is based on lines of longitude and latitude and would not require fresh mapping of the country. In a report last week Comreg pointed out that the postal sector has never developed to the same extent as in other countries. Mail volumes per household are about half the EU average. In 2002, 196 items of mail were posted per head of population in Ireland, compared with 354 in Britain and 372 in Finland."

January 30, 2005 -- The Sunday Times (U.K.) has reported that "THE introduction of postcodes in Ireland is likely to mean a huge increase in the amount of junk mail put through the republic’s letter boxes. Experts say the lack of a postcode system is the only thing that has been holding direct marketers back. They say the experience of other countries suggests the amount of such mail received by households could double. As a result, any decision to introduce postcodes would almost certainly face spirited opposition. The Green party says that while postcodes do have certain benefits, it would oppose anything that treated citizens as consumers."

January 30, 2005 -- Pravda is carrying a story about "'The New Russian Postman: armed and dangerous.' According to a special decree signed on Friday by Mikhail Fradkov, Russian mail delivery personnel will soon be handed out firearms. Head of postal services, his/her deputies and some of the postal service personnel will have the right to carry a revolver or a gas gun. Guns will also be distributed among the postal personnel that deals primarily with financial operations. In addition, all postmen will be equipped with gas guns and electroshock devices. Now all they have to do is to learn how to use all this new equipment. Afterwards, they wil be able to protect themselves against robbers."

January 30, 2005 -- From the Business Newswire: "This time of year, Cupid’s helpers are working behind the scenes to get millions of roses and other flowers from South America to romantics across the United States in time for Valentine’s Day. One of those experts is UPS, which imported more than 14.8 million stems of cut flowers into the United States last year from South American countries such as Colombia and Ecuador. In just a 24-hour period, each stem is cut, packed and loaded onto a temperature controlled UPS aircraft heading to Miami. There, they clear customs and are distributed to florists and consumers across the country. Eighty-seven percent of all cut flower imports arrive in Miami."

January 29, 2005 -- Azertag has reported that "Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies and World Bank have prepared a project worth $17,5 million in order to develop postal system in Azerbaijan. The Minister’s advisor for postal matters Novruz Mammadov told AzerTAj correspondent that it is the first project of this kind to be implemented in the CIS. World Bank’s Board of Directors has already decided to allocate a lax credit at amount $12,26-million. The Ministry will provide the remaining part of money. The credit will go in three directions - structural reforms in the Azerpocht State Enterprise and improvement of services in the post offices; completion of the payment infrastructure; salaries of the project staff and advisors."

January 29, 2005 -- The York Evening Press has reported that "A postal service watchdog has added its voice to the chorus of criticism that followed a decision to close a seventh York Post Office. Postwatch Northern England said it would be pressing the Government to establish a better way of resolving disputes over post office closures."

January 29, 2005 -- The Guardian (U.K.) has reported that "The story that Exel might find itself on the end of a takeover bid was doing the rounds again yesterday - fuelled by the chief financial officer of a rumoured predator, who has hinted that a deal could be on the agenda. Speaking to analysts after the release of fourth-quarter figures on Thursday, Scott Davis, of UPS, said the parcel carrier had the financial firepower and management to undertake a big acquisition. Asked where the company's focus for deals would be, Mr Davis suggested logistics and freight-forwarding. Exel is arguably the global leader in contract logistics, while its airfreight forwarding business is one of the top three operators in the world. As such, Exel would certainly appeal to UPS, which is seeking to diversify into a broader range of services."

January 29, 2005 -- Japan Today has reported that "The ruling Liberal Democratic Party aims to convince the government to expand the scope of its control of postal operations even after privatization progresses in a bid to ensure the provision of uniform services nationwide."

January 29, 2005 -- The Postal Service has issued two new Customer Support Rulings, PS-319 and PS-320; and a revised Customer Support Ruling, PS-026, which will provide clarification concerning “checks” and whether such instruments constitute “personal information” for the purpose of determining whether matter may be mailed as Standard Mail or is required to be mailed as First-Class Mail.

January 29, 2005 -- Traffic World has reported that "Still seething from losing lucrative U.S. Postal Service business in 2001, passenger airlines want FedEx Express to pony up information about its postal contract. The airlines want the Department of Transportation to demand FedEx segregate mail volume from freight data. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics requires airlines to submit volume and revenue data about what they carry, including mail. Airlines and airports use the data for planning purposes and as fodder when they bid to carry USPS cargo. But Memphis-based FedEx, which carries more than half of the U.S. domestic mail, lumps the mail it carries in with its "freight" category on its quarterly reports to the BTS. Given the large volume of freight FedEx carries, BTS and passenger airlines say the aggregate number is meaningless when it comes to parsing out Postal Service information. The passenger airlines say that hurts them and shippers too."

January 29, 2005 -- According to Bob Levi, government relations director for the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S., "This past week, a rumor circulated on Capitol Hill, in the White House, and within the postal world, that USPS is considering a modest 6% across-the-board rate increase for 2006. The chitchat comes on the heals of mailer panic that the next rate case would call for a double-digit hike. Some of these mailers would have been stricken by a crippling 22% increase. There is a real fear among reform advocates that the good news will dampen the enthusiasm for reform. If the USPS numbers hold through December, the specter of a double-digit postal rate case will not muddy the waters over postal reform. The key White House and Congressional postal policy-makers would be able to focus their attention on the guts of the postal reform bill. That is, how to empower the USPS with a more appropriate and flexible rate-setting process, while protecting the mailing community from erratic and often crippling postage increases. At the same time, the rate case for the 2006 postage adjustment would highlight the unfairness of forcing the USPS to fund an escrow account for which there is no rational reason. The policy-makers must consider this issue. It will not go away."

January 28, 2005 -- Federal Computer Week has reported that "Corporate executives worry about their information systems responsibilities under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and U.S. Postal Service executives are no exception, said Robert Otto, chief technology officer at USPS. Otto said the agency will release a solicitation related to Sarbanes-Oxley sometime in the next week or two. The act is a top priority for USPS executives, he said. 'We will comply with it.'"

January 28, 2005 -- The National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., has added a new feature to its web site in late 2004 for researchers of United States postal history. The State Postal History Registry lists contacts, links and other postal history resources by state. It is located on the Internet at www.postalmuseum.si.edu/statepostalhistory/.

January 28, 2005 -- Business Mailers Review has reported that:

Business Mailers Review is published biweekly by Sedgwick Publishing Co. For subscription information, check the BMR web site.

January 28, 2005 -- The Polish News Bulletin has reported that "Fourteen investment fund societies (TFIs), of the 19 operating in Poland, have expressed an interest in selling their participation units via the network of post offices. Two or three TFIs stand a chance of being selected. Poczta Polska is completing its evaluation of the funds' offers. It says the margin it plans to charge would be similar to the margin charged by brokerage houses. The names of the chosen funds will be revealed in about two weeks' time. The units would be initially sold by 60 post offices in small and medium-sized towns."

January 28, 2005 -- FedSmith.com has noted that "The financial viability of the U.S. Postal Service is at risk because its business model is outdated and not sustainable, according to the Government Accountability Office. The Postal Service has made some progress, GAO stated, such as cutting costs and improving productivity. However, it remains unclear how USPS will realign its outdated infrastructure and modernize its workforce policies to achieve additional long-term productivity gains. Furthermore, GAO said USPS’ contention that it is using an evolutionary approach to transform its infrastructure and workforce has not been explained or communicated. As a result, many questions remain as to whether such an incremental approach will be sufficiently comprehensive, integrated, and responsive to the increasing pace of change in technology and competition affecting the Service’s core business. Without bold action and better communication, the Service risks falling short of achieving the major productivity gains needed to offset rising costs and maintain quality service and affordable rates."

January 28, 2005 -- Government Computer News has reported that "The Postal Service replaced all of its technology two years ago, reducing the number of servers to less than 4,000 from about 20,000. But now USPS chief technology officer Robert Otto wants to consolidate even further. Otto said yesterday that the Postal Service will release a request for proposals in February to trim the number of Unix servers and improve the operational support of those machines. USPS currently has about 1,000 Unix servers to go with about 1,200 infrastructure and 1,500 application servers. Otto said he also will be looking for help from the private sector in other areas, such as data warehouse management, systems development, remote device management and IT security. He said he would like to move more contracts to service-level agreements at a fixed cost and away from time-and-materials contracts."

January 28, 2005 -- ComputerWeekly has reported that "Logistics firm Parcelforce Worldwide has improved driver productivity by 20% after rolling out route planning and scheduling software. Parcelforce replaced a route planning system based on Excel spreadsheets with software from Paragon and cut route planning time for its 2000-vehicle operation by 90%."

January 28, 2005 -- The DMA has told its members that all this talk about percentages of rate increases expected from the next postal rate case is just "speculation." With statements from postal officials that, absent legislative relief, the mailing community could expect a double-digit increases, estimates rumored to be as high as 15 percent to 18 percent, on average, spurred discussion and ensuing rumors of the likelihood that the Postal Service would propose phasing the next rate increases over several years in order to avoid stunting the business mailing industry’s nascent recovery. However, it is important to emphasize, for now, that as was the case with previous scenarios, this most recent speculation is just that: speculation. The ultimate outcome is intertwined with postal reform legislative proposals, including the disposition of the existing escrow provision and questions of how quickly the Postal Service and, in turn, postal rate payers will be required to cover long-term, unfunded liabilities." Be sure to read the latest White Paper on postal reform and projected postal rate increases.

January 28, 2005 -- TerraDaily has reported that "Postal workers in the southeastern French city of Saint Etienne refused to do their rounds Thursday after they were refused extra pay to cope with the biting winter cold, employees and management said." Sounds as if they need a dose of "postal warming."

January 28, 2005 -- The Squamish Chief has reported that "Canada Post is moving ahead with a consultation process to find out how you want to receive your mail. Moving to superboxes allows Canada Post to accommodate unlimited growth in the community."

January 28, 2005 -- According to Business World, "Ireland has been slammed by Brussels for its limited progress in promoting competition across the economy. Other than some action on postal services and the electricity market, the Commission saw "little progress" in addressing competition issues in the economy."

January 28, 2005 -- The BBC (U.K.) has reported that "Postal workers in Weston-super-Mare are preparing to strike after failing to reach a pay agreement with managers. Workers claim they have not received a pay rise, promised when the second post was phased out. But the Royal Mail says the increase is linked to productivity targets, which the Weston office has failed to reach. Postal workers nationally were offered an extra £26.28 per week to compensate for the increased workload."

January 28, 2005 -- The Mercury News has reported that "Responding to the growing economic clout of Hispanics, Bank of America announced Thursday that it would eliminate fees for transferring money from the United States to Mexico for all of its customers nationwide by the end of the year. Historically, remittances often have been made through risky, non-bank routes and often have been lost to theft, graft and corruption. A Mercury News investigation in 1998 found that millions of dollars of remittances to Mexico never arrived because of crooked postal workers, corrupt police and unscrupulous money changers, mostly in Mexico." 

January 28, 2005 -- According to Novosti, "Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has signed a resolution allowing postal workers to carry and use weapons, reports the national Government's press center." See also MOSNEWS.

January 28, 2005 -- The Daily Post (U.K.) has reported that "A POSTAL union last night hit out over Royal Mail plans to collect letters just once a day from rural Welsh boxes. Up to 1,600 post boxes in the country lanes of North Wales could be affected by the proposals. Last night the scheme was described as "another nail in the coffin of rural communities" by the Communication Workers Union. It fears postal jobs will be cut and is calling for the Royal Mail review to be scrapped.

January 28, 2005 -- The U.S. Department of Labor has reported that "The United States Postal Service Syracuse Processing and Distribution Center has earned membership in the prestigious "Star" Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)."

January 28, 2005 -- The Associated Press has reported that "UPS Inc., the world's largest shipping carrier, said it is implementing a management hiring freeze and will work harder on reducing costs as it reported disappointing fourth-quarter results that included weaker than expected domestic ground volume. The Atlanta-based company also said Thursday that while it expects strong earnings and overall growth in 2005, its U.S. ground volume is only expected to rise 2 percent to 3 percent, which would be below the 3.5 percent the economy is projected to grow this year." See also Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.

January 27, 2005 -- Investment & Pensions Europe has reported that "A Swiss MP who last month questioned finance minister Hans-Rudolf Merz on the Pensionskasse Post postal scheme has said he is prepared continue the debate. Lustenberger, a member of the Christian-Democratic Popular Party CVP, pointed out last month that the scheme had not published the balance when it spun off the public employees’ pension fund in 2002. That scheme has been known as PUBLICA since 2003. Lustenberger argued during a session on PUBLICA that any private pension fund would have been required to give a clear statement of its assets when it started. The MP asked when the fund would publish its balance - and to what extent the federal council and parliament would exercise the role of supervisors. Lustenberger told IPE he was expecting an answer to his queries during the next parliament session, in March."

January 27, 2005 - Uni has reported that it "has attacked the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development for supporting a postal privatisation in Japan that threatens postal and financial services in many rural parts of the country. The Paris-based OECD - in its 2005 Economic Survey of Japan - recommends selling off the profitable postal savings (Yucho) and postal life insurance (Kampo) operations to the private sector. But no assessment has been made of the impact this will have on postal finances and the ability to deliver a universal postal service to all Japanese citizens (in rural as well as industrialised areas) at an affordable price."

January 27, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "Hop-on.com, Inc. has shipped an initial order of its Model 2145 wireless surveillance systems to the United States Post Office. The upgraded Model 2145, which debuted at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, utilizes a 2.4 GHz frequency for both its indoor/outdoor cameras and color LCD display."

January 27, 2005 -- UPS has reported a solid revenue gain of 10.2% in its fourth quarter and earnings of US$0.76 per diluted share, up 1.3% compared to the prior-year period. For the full year, revenue increased to a record US$36.6 billion while net income climbed 15%. Consolidated revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2004, rose to US$9.84 billion, with strong double-digit growth reported by the international and non-package segments and a 6.6% increase by the U.S. domestic segment.

January 27, 2005 -- According to the Irish Independent, "AN POST is embroilled in yet another industrial tussle which looks set to seriously damage the semi-state company's future prospects despite yesterday's interim settlement to refer the SDS closure details to the Labour Court next month. The management have been quick to direct by diktat and when that does not work to engage in general staff suspensions. It's a far cry from the sort of 'sophisticated' human resource management practices which evolved in the later decades of the last century."

January 27, 2005 -- AFX Europe has reported that "Massimo Sarmi, chief executive of the Italian post office, may be a possible substitute for AEM SpA's chairman Giuliano Zuccoli, whose mandate is up for renewal at the group's annual general meeting scheduled April 29 or May 5, the daily Il Sole 24 Ore said without giving a source. The daily said Sarmi is officially a candidate to become an AEM board member and noted that his mandate at the post office expires this year and that he is well appreciated by Milan's town hall."

January 27, 2005 -- The Bismarck Tribune has reported that "Color the Northern Plains Commerce Centre brown, as in the color of the trucks and uniforms of the nation's top package mover, United Parcel Service. The Bismarck City Commission at its Tuesday meeting chose UPS-SCS (SCS referring to a UPS division that designs shipping systems) as the NPCC's logistics consultant. Last week an NPCC committee heard proposals from UPS and TranSystems, the nation's second largest package shipper, on why they should be chosen logistics consultant for the project. The review committee unanimously recommended UPS for the job."

January 27, 2005 -- Japan Times has reported that "The government will ensure that a uniform level of rural postal services is maintained when it formulates its privatization program, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday. But in answer to a query from a Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker in an Uppoer House plenary session, Koizumi did not clarify whether the privatized entities should be legally obliged to undertake the universal services of postal savings and life insurance. "As for (uniform) postal delivery services, the (privatized) entity (in charge) will be legally obliged to continue to provide them," Koizumi said, indicating this entity would receive preferential treatment over actual private-sector firms seeking to enter the mail delivery fray."

January 27, 2005 -- BtoB Online has reported that "The Direct Marketing Association on Tuesday sent a memo to members of its Government and Postal Affairs Committee saying the expected 2006 U.S. Postal Service rate increase "may be as low as 6%." The memo, sent by Jerry Cerasale, the DMA’s senior VP-government affairs, said the USPS’ finances are in better shape than expected. Cerasale said the USPS in March might request a 6% across-the-board rate increase with implementation on Jan 1, 2006. This would be an expedited rate case, and USPS would be looking for a settlement from mailers, he said."

January 27, 2005 -- According to one writer for Wired, "It's been said that Americans will put up with anything - as long as it doesn't involve waiting in line. And as I wasted half a day mailing a gift this past holiday season, I asked myself why that sentiment doesn't apply to the US Postal Service. In the age of instant communication, with trillions of dollars crossing borders in nanoseconds and grandmas sending email, why do post offices even exist?"

January 27, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that:

January 27, 2005 -- DM News has noted that "Nonprofit direct mail readership has increased to 59 percent, up from 53 percent in 2003, according to a study released Tuesday by Vertis. The results were part of Vertis' Customer Focus 2005: Direct Marketing study, which tracks the effect of direct marketing in various industries. The study is broken into subsets focusing on the nonprofit, financial, insurance and automotive industries. A survey of 2,000 adults was conducted in August and September."

January 27, 2005 -- Business World (Ireland) has reported that "An Post has had to put off plans to close its loss making SDS parcels division next Monday. The postponment comes as a result of its acceptance last night of a National Implementation Body plan to head off industrial action in the postal services. The company has also lifted the suspension of 68 workers who had been refusing to co-operate with the run down of the operation." See also Online.ie.

January 27, 2005 -- RTE Business (Ireland) has reported that "There is broad support for the introduction of post codes in Ireland and they would improve our competitiveness and help Irish businesses become more efficient. So says regulator ComReg, which has overall responsibility for the smooth operation of the postal service. Chairperson Isolde Goggin says the consensus seems to be that post codes would bring more efficiency for businesses. She said they were important for business such as utilities, for incidents such as repairs."

January 27, 2005 -- According to the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) in its most recent reoprt on federal programs "at high risk":

The Postal Service (the Service) has made significant progress in improving its financial situation and implementing transformation initiatives to improve its financial viability since its transformation efforts and long-term outlook was designated as high risk in 2001. Several of its key achievements in the last 2 years include debt reduction of $9.3 billion, net income of $7 billion, productivity gains of 4.2 percent, the elimination of accumulated deficits, and reductions of about 45,000 in career employees. In addition, postal pension reform legislation was enacted to address a projected overfunding of the Service’s pension obligation. The Congress also made progress in considering postal reform legislation, which, although not yet enacted, was approved by House and Senate oversight committees. However, key challenges remain, including generating revenues to offset declines in First-Class Mail volume, which generates revenues covering most of the Service’s institutional costs; addressing large financial liabilities and obligations; achieving cost savings and productivity improvements, in part by restructuring its infrastructure and workforce; and addressing human capital challenges, such as succession planning and credible performance-based compensation systems. Further, postal reform remains a challenge that will require enactment of legislation by the Congress and leadership by the Service to effectively carry out its transformation.

January 27, 2005 -- Today's Trucking has reported that "The Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Council of Canadians have asked Ontario's Superior Court of Justice to declare Chapter 11 of NAFTA null and void in response to a $200-million claim against the government by giant U.S.-based courier company UPS. UPS claims federal subsidies for Canada's public mail system gives Canada Post an unfair advantage over private-sector courier companies. The Crown Corporation also owns 94 per cent Purolator Courier -- a 1,300-unit parcel delivery fleet that competes directly with UPS and Fed-Ex. The union claims the NAFTA provisions cited by UPS in their suit threaten Canadian sovereignty and would damage Canada Post's ability to deliver cost-effective services across the country."

January 27, 2005 -- Japan Today has reported that "The government told the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that it will "seriously consider" the party's proposals concerning the government's planned legislation for postal privatization but stopped short of going into details when the two sides had their first negotiations over the matter Wednesday. The talks thus failed to satisfy the LDP, most of whose members are opposed to the government's policy of privatizing Japan Post in April 2007 by splitting the public corporation into four business units, party lawmakers said."

January 26, 2005 -- PostCom President Gene Del Polito has been named one of three vice-chairs of the Universal Postal Union's Direct Mail Advisory Board. Also named as vice-chairs were:  Mr. Khaled ben Ma'youf Al-Otaïbi, Director General, Postal Services, General Directorate of Posts, Saudi Post and Mrs. Oksana G. Kutcheriavaia, Director of Marketing and Advertising, Russian Post.  Mr. Everton Luiz Cabral Machado, Deputy Commercial Vice President, Brazil Post serves as the DMAB chairman.

January 26, 2005 -- Heard it thru the grapevine....The phone lines have been buzzing with an alternative rate case scenario. This one says that the USPS will seek a 6% across-the-board rate increase request in March 2005, with an eye toward moving the case to settlement, and a "regular rate case" seeking an additional 5% increase in rates which would be filed in 2006. The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers is telling its members that  instead of filing a phased rate case, the USPS has decided to file two separate proceedings.

January 26, 2005 -- Ireland Online has reported that "The Government mediator the National Implementation Body (NIB) today called on An Post to lift suspensions of 68 SDS workers and on workers to postpone their strike. The NIB also requested the Labour Court to treat national pay rises as a priority when it brings the two sides together on February 11."

January 26, 2005 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal) has reported that:

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 26, 2005 -- The Japan Times has reported that "Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he intends to talk out his contentious postal privatization plan with the ruling bloc so related bills can be approved by the Diet within the current 150-day session." See also the report by the Kyodo news service.

January 26, 2005 -- Ireland Online has reported that "Disruption to postal services is likely from later today due to a stand-off between An Post and the Communications Workers Union (CWU) over the closure of the company’s SDS subsidiary." See also the Associated Press.

January 26, 2005 -- The Universal Postal Union has announced that it will now disseminate Finland's postcodes on behalf of that country's postal service, giving business customers simpler and faster access to the Finnish postcode database in order to ensure the accuracy of their mail. An agreement signed yesterday with Finland Post authorizes the UPU to serve as sole access point for customers requiring Finnish postcodes. Under this agreement, customers of the UPU's Universal POST*CODE Database no longer need to sign a separate licensing agreement with Finland, with the UPU now serving as main contact point for this information. Similar agreements already exist with the Swiss and French Posts.

January 26, 2005 -- The Postal Rate Commission has posted on its web site a notice (Docket No. RM2005-2) that "The Commission is soliciting comments on the first use of the new rules [governing negotiated service agreements]. The comments will be used to evaluate whether improvements should be made to the rules to facilitate the Commission's review of future requests predicated on functionally equivalent Negotiated Service Agreements. Comments are welcome of a general nature, or that address specific procedural or data requirement issues. By this Order, the Commission hereby gives notice that comments from interested persons concerning the first use of the rules applicable to Negotiated Service Agreements are due February 28, 2005. Reply comments may also be filed and are due March 28, 2005."

January 25, 2005 -- According to the Daily Yomiuri (Japan), "Friction is bubbling within the Liberal Democratic Party over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's dogged determination to press ahead with a set of bills to privatize the postal service despite staunch opposition to his plan within the party. Mikio Aoki, chairman of the LDP's upper house caucus, is leading the charge to derail Koizumi's postal privatization drive.

January 25, 2005 -- Business World (Ireland) has reported that "An Post has been given a deadline of noon tomorrrow to head off the threat of industrial action by its main staff union the CWU. After an emergency meeting today, the executive committee of the union set the deadline for reinstatement of 68 workers who have been suspended. After that, it says it will give effect to what it calls its "overwhelming mandate for industrial action to defend the members' interests"."

January 25, 2005 -- At the 2004 Bucharest Congress, member countries of the Universal Postal Union adopted an amendment to the UPU Convention and its Regulations authorizing postal administrations to exchange letter-post items containing flies of the family Drosophilidae used for biomedical research. The new Convention and Regulations, however, only enter into force on 1 January 2006. Scientists worldwide, who rely on stocks of these flies for biomedical and genetic research, are eager to use the international mails to exchange the flies as early as possible. As such, the UPU has agreed to amend its current letter-post regulations, dating from 1999, to admit the flies in the mail system as early as 1 May 2005, eight months before the new regulations enter into force. The regulations are binding on the 190 UPU member countries.

January 25, 2005 -- Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "German publisher Suddeutscher Verlag, which publishes German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, is to compete with German national postal services provider Deutsche Post. Through its logistics subsidiary Suddeutsche Zeitung Logistik, the publisher has already started delivering letters in the Munich area. The company hopes to expand its service in the next few months and will aim to gain more customers, notably companies and authorities, delivering their post at the same time as their subscription."

January 25, 2005 -- The Polish News Bulletin has reported that "The next parliamentary session will likely see the second reading of a resolution calling on the Sejm to commercialise Poland's postal service monopolist Poczta Polska (PP). According to an analysis that the Puls Biznesu daily gained access to, such commercialisation should take place as soon as possible."

January 25, 2005 -- The BBC Monitoring Service has reported that "Russian conscripts have been stripped of their right to free postal services. Starting on 1 January, the Federal Postal Service has introduced special envelopes for servicemen's letters, thus breaking one of the traditions of the Russian armed forces according to which soldiers never had to pay for the delivery of their letters. Now everything has changed and military units do not have free envelopes available. Army and navy conscripts can no longer send letters home and to their fellow servicemen for free. They have to either get special envelopes from their commanding officers or buy ordinary envelopes with their own money."

January 25, 2005 -- Dow Jones has reported that "Dutch postal and logistics firm TPG NV (TP) said Tuesday it is considering making a bid for a stake in Belgian's De Post/La Poste. Bids for a stake in Belgian's De Post/La Poste should be submitted for the end of February, Belgian press reported earlier Tuesday, citing the head of the Belgian postal company Johnny Thijs. TPG is also in the running for a 25% stake in Post Danmark for which it has submitted an official bid. The Danish government is expected to announce the winner early February."

January 25, 2005 -- According to News Shopper (U.K.), "A UNION says it has intercepted plans by Royal Mail to sell off Crown post offices. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) says post offices in Lewisham High Street and Rushey Green, Catford, are under threat. Both are directly owned by Royal Mail and the CWU believes privatisation could lead to a downgrade in services and their eventual closure."

January 25, 2005 -- The DM Bulletin (U.K.) has reported that "Clients of global data giant Experian now have access to more than 350,000 verified opt-in B2B email addresses through a partnership with Thomson Directories. Powered by Thomson Directories, Experian's new email marketing service enables clients to deliver business-to-business direct marketing campaigns by email with all contacts directly linked to Experian's National Business Database. Clients can now mount fully integrated multichannel direct marketing campaigns across email, direct mail and telephone through a single data source."

January 25, 2005 -- From the Market Wire: "Firstlogic, Inc. has announced the formalization of a dedicated team to sell, market, and support the specific data quality needs of federal governmental agencies, departments, and supporting organizations. The firm's technology is listed on the GSA schedule for software technology and services to improve the value and usefulness of information assets."

January 25, 2005 -- UTV (Ireland) has reported that "Postal services throughout Ireland are facing further disruption, with the suspension of 68 workers at An Post's parcel delivery company, SDS. The row erupted during talks at the Labour Relations Commission to finalise plans for re-integrating the parcel service into An Post." See also Business World and the Irish Independent.

January 25, 2005 -- According to Channel News Asia, "Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was warned to be more humble by a key backer in his ruling party amid a simmering row over his controversial plans to privatize postal services. Mikio Aoki, who represents upper house lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told parliament that Koizumi must consult more rather than ram through his proposals that have divided the party. Aoki said. "It is necessary for you to be sincere and courteous, and show your humble attitude in asking for cooperation of others. That's your duty." [Editor's note: I can relate, Junichiro....I can relate....]

January 25, 2005 -- Le Figaro has reported that "French deputies took a vote on Friday regarding a draft bill which would allow France's postal services market, currently dominated by La Poste, to be opened to rival service providers by 2009. The bill would also allow the creation of a post office bank. The text was supported by the UMP-UDF coalition. It has yet to be voted by the Senate. If passed, the bill would end the monopoly of postal service operator La Poste on letters weighing more than 50g with effect from 2006. However, it would enable La Poste to form a banking subsidiary as from January of next year, offering property loans without preliminary savings."

January 25, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Senior aides to Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, have hinted that the timetable for postal privatisation could be allowed to slip, opening up the possibility of flexibility in talks with the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP), many of whose members vehemently oppose postal reform. The prime minister has made privatisation of the post office, the biggest financial institution in the world, the centrepiece of his final two years in office, and has threatened to call a snap election if the LDP refuses to back his drive. A foretaste of the rocky time that Mr Koizumi may face during the next 150 days of the regular parliamentary session came yesterday when opposition members walked out of the Diet chamber in protest at his answers on postal privatisation."

January 25, 2005 -- The National Association of Major Mail Users (Canada) Publications Mail Council will focus on industry education, networking and sharing of best practices from within and outside Canada, that result in the cost efficient production and delivery of Publications Mail. For more information, contact executive@nammu.org.

January 25, 2005 -- The White House has sent to the Senate the nominations of Carolyn Gallagher and Louis Giuliano for appointment to the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service and Tony Hammond for reappointment to the Postal Rate Commission.

January 25, 2005 -- As the Associated Press has noted, "Rain, snow and sleet won't keep the mail from being delivered. But mold? The post office in this small northern Iowa town has been closed since Dec. 8 after a black mold fungus called Stachybotrys was found in the building. Postal officials are looking at solutions, but they say the Otho post office won't open anytime soon."

January 25, 2005 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that "FedEx said on Monday it was in talks with the French government about using the country's prestigious high-speed rail network to transport packages and freight from its Paris airport hub. FedEx, which uses Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport as its main European hub, hopes the government will agree to link up the high-speed TGV network to its facility but a deal is likely to take years to negotiate, FedEx officials said. FedEx officials said talks were still at an early stage.

January 24, 2005 -- The hot rumor at a recent mailers meeting was that the Postmaster General now was of the mind that the USPS is looking at filing a six percent (6%) average postal rate increase request with the Postal Rate Commission some time in March. This includes whatever the USPS would need to cover the expenses associated with an FY 06 escrow imposition. 

January 24, 2005 -- Tanjug has reported that "The Serbian parliament completed Monday its debate in principle on the bill on postal services, which introduces market competition and liberalization and envisages the creation of an agency for postal services and integration in the European PTT system. All parliamentary parties except the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) supported the bill, describing it as revolutionary as regards competition, as it should lead to lower prices and better quality of service."

January 24, 2005 -- M2 has reported that "Finland Post Corporation (Suomen Posti Oyj) said on Monday (24 January) that it had combined nine of its information logistics subsidiaries under a new marketing name, Itella. Itella would combine some 1,400 workers in eight different Northern European countries under the same brand. The combined companies included Atkos and Elma Oyj Electronic Trading in Finland, Capella companies in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, Eurocom-Depora in Germany, Eesti Maksekeskuse in Estonia, Nacionalais Maksajumu Centrs in Latvia and Nacionalinis Atsiskaitymu Centras in Lithuania."

January 24, 2005 -- Heard it thru the grapevine....

January 24, 2005 -- Talk about the benefits of outsourcing....GovExec.com has reported that "Agencies saved $1.4 billion in fiscal 2004 by holding job competitions between federal employees and the private sector, according to the Office of Management and Budget. That figure, up $300 million from 2003, represents the projected savings over the next three to five years."

January 24, 2005 -- You may know him from his work on postal reform, but did you know that, according to Federal Computer Week, House Governemental Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) "has become one of the most influential people in the information technology community?"

January 24, 2005 -- The Daily Yomiuri has reported that "The government has entered the final stage of negotiations on working out a system that will in principle not require universal service for parcel delivery after the privatization of the postal services in fiscal 2007, government officials said Saturday. The universal service will cover only ordinary mail items, including postcards, the officials said. In other countries, universal service is usually required for parcel delivery, but the government decided against this because the door-to-door parcel service in the private sector is highly developed. The current system requires Japan Post to submit to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry a report on its parcel delivery fees before it raises them."

January 24, 2005 -- The Montreal Gazette has reported that "A challenge to the North American Free Trade Agreement gets underway in an Ontario court Monday, with plaintiffs arguing they are trying to protect Canada's public services. The challenge, launched by the Council of Canadians and Canadian Union of Postal Workers, arises from a $200-million claim against Ottawa by giant U.S.-based courier company UPS. UPS claims that Canada's publicly funded mail system amounts to an unfair subsidy that gives Canada Post an unfair advantage over private-sector courier companies. The UPS claim could damage Canada Post's ability to deliver cost-effective services across the country. And the plaintiffs argue the stakes are even higher than that since the NAFTA provision in question could allow private companies to challenge most any public service - even health care."

January 24, 2005 -- Bloomberg has reported that "Deutsche Post AG agreed to buy parts of KarstadtQuelle AG's shipping and delivery business to bolster sales as demand for postal services falls. The distribution and logistics assets being purchased generate 500 million euros ($654 million) in annual sales, and Deutsche Post's DHL Solutions unit will take over the business as of April 1, the companies said today in a joint statement."

January 24, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Senior aides to Junichiro Koizumi, Japan’s prime minister, have hinted that the timetable for postal privatisation could be allowed to slip, opening up the possibility of flexibility in negotiations with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, many of whose members vehemently oppose postal reform."

January 24, 2005 -- The DM Bulletin (U.K.) has reported that "Royal Mail has promised to improve its adherence to and awareness of competition law in its promotions, after an investigation by Postcomm upheld a complaint from AMP that two Royal Mail discount promotions from 2003 were anti-competitive. Postcomm's investigation concluded that in offering the schemes, Royal Mail contravened two conditions in its licence designed to facilitate competition. Each scheme gave selected catalogue and advertising customers a discount on posting additional items."

January 23, 2005 -- According to one rant in the Oregonian, "Catalogs, postcards and bogus letters are getting out of hand. It's as if direct mail realized it can never be worse than spam and said, "Time to put more fill in landfill."

January 23, 2005 -- Strategiy has reported that "Dubai will re-confirm its position as a key global trader in March by hosting The World Mail, Express & Air Cargo Expo Middle East & Africa, the first conference led exhibition of its kind to be staged in the region. Leading global organisations such as Deutsche Post, DHL, FedEx, Emirates Post and Emirates SkyCargo will address major postal, express and air freight issues. A major topic to be covered includes the liberalisation of the postal sector, a mammoth task for an industry which last year delivered 204 billion pieces of mail globally and employs six million people in India alone."

January 23, 2005 -- The Economic Times of India has asked "IF India's telecom networks can be opened to private companies, why should our postal system remain a virtual monopoly? State postal monopolies have been and are being wound up in dozens of countries from Sweden, Japan and Australia to the UK, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. But a mindless hangover from a socialist past makes the Indian state run a postal system whose losses rise while its work diminishes."

January 22, 2005 -- As The Economist has noted, "Technology and competition are putting huge pressure on the world's postal systems."

January 22, 2005 -- The latest issue of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. governmental affairs newsletter has been posted on the NAPUS web site.

January 22, 2005 -- Here's one you'll want to check out off the link from postalnews.com. 

University of Phoenix partners with USPS Note: In September, the University of Phoenix, a for profit company, paid the US Department of Education a $9.8 million fine, "the largest of its kind", for "hard sell recruiting tactics" that the Department said "range from illegal to unethical." -- Arizona Republic.

January 22, 2005 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that "FedEx Custom Critical, the ground freight subsidiary of FedEx Corp. that specializes in emergency deliveries, is expanding its service region to include Mexico, including so-called 'hotshot' freight deliveries to and from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. For each surface expedite shipment that involves Mexico, customers receive proactive communications and tracking from FedEx. Customers are contacted when the shipment is picked up, clears customs and when it is delivered."

January 22, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "Campbell-Ewald has selected TMP Worldwide, the world's largest recruitment advertising and yellow page advertising agency and a division of Monster Worldwide, as a partner in the continuing evolution of its highly successful Internet recruiting initiatives for the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve. In addition to the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve, Campbell-Ewald partners with a score of national brands, including ACDelco, ALLTEL, BISSELL, Chevrolet, Farmers Insurance, Michelin, OnStar and the United States Postal Service.

January 22, 2005 -- The Washington Times has reported that "A U.S. postal inspector has been sentenced in Camden, N.J., for a mail fraud scheme involving credit cards, the Justice Department said Friday."

January 22, 2005 -- According to Les Echos, "The French national assembly was preparing yesterday to sit late into the night so that MPs could finish their debate on the French government's controversial bill to reform the nation's postal services. Three days had been allocated for examination of the bill, which aims to incorporate into French law the 1997 and 2002 European Union directives on opening up the postal services market to competition. The debate has been held up, in particular, by the tabling of numerous amendments. Those passed include a guarantee that no more than 10 per cent of the population in any one departement or administrative region should be further than 5km away from the nearest branch of the French post office, La Poste. Another ensures that La Poste takes part in the preparation of the decree concerning the provision of a universal postal service in France. One of the rejected amendments, which was tabled by the assembly's economic affairs commission, obliged new players in the French postal services market to serve a substantial geographic area."

January 22, 2005 -- WebIndia123 has reported that "The country's postal service will present glimpses of its 150 years of existence showcasing the vast outreach and the multi-faceted activities of the Deparment of Post both in terms of time and space at the Republic Day Parade. The tableau will show a village letter box hanging from a tree on which a symbolic pigeon will be perched. The tableau also will depict wooden counters equipped with state of the art computers. The dramatic depiction of this journey through time is shown by a rotating cuboid carrying the set of four stamps released to commemorate 150 years of Indian Post. The last part has a hand, holding a scanner, which reads the barcode on the letter."

January 22, 2005 -- The Daily Yomiuri has reported that "In a policy speech to the Diet on Friday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed his firm determination to pass postal services privatization legislation and said he believed the privatization would mark a new page for Japan." See also the Asahi Shimbun.

January 21, 2005 -- The Troy Record-News has taken out after a deal the Department of Motor Vehicles had struck with Imagitas. Their complaint? Why...Imagitas arranges for advertising to appear in DMV mailings! And what does DMV get out of the deal? A bucket of money. So, let's see. The Troy Record-News is criticizing the DMV for using private sector-provided revenue as a fiscal offset for not raising taxes. Oooohh, I get it! Just as the Record-News takes advertising to mitigate subscription costs. Gosh, it isn't objecting there.

January 21, 2005 -- The Toronto Star has reported that "The mystery of the missing $275,000 in sponsorship money deepened yesterday when Canada Post announced that a search of its records failed to uncover any indication the Crown corporation ever received the expected federal cash."

January 21, 2005 -- The Times-Union has reported that "The business of selling electronic postmarks is wide open, though executives at AuthentiDate Holding Corp., the company developing the technology, concede a lot is still out of their hands. The Schenectady company wants to get its software to lawyers across the country, to eliminate the physical shuttling of hard-copy legal documents, but first more states must agree to recognize the electronic forms. AuthentiDate lost $15.7 million in fiscal 2004, which ended June 30, after a loss of $9.8 million the year before. The per-share loss was 59 cents, compared with 50 cents the previous year. But the company raised about $72 million in a private placement of stock last year. That's helping it develop the second generation of its U.S. Postal Service Electronic Postmark, which it first rolled out in 2002."

January 21, 2005 -- The Financial Times (U.K.) has reported that:

January 21, 2005 -- Reuters has reported that "State-owned postal operator New Zealand Post said on Friday it expected its joint venture with German-based global courier firm DHL to be valued at up to NZ$180 million. The 50/50-owned business, incorporating NZ Post's road and air express and logistics business including the brands CourierPost, Pace!, Skyroad and Contract Logistics, is being managed as a stand-alone company under directors from both parents."

January 21, 2005 -- In a letter to the editor of the Financial Times, senior Lexington Institute fellow Sam Ryan wrote that ""Universal service" should not be trotted out as a reason to maintain bloated, government-owned monopolies at taxpayer expense. As the European Union itself has recognised, the best solution to making national postal services more efficient is privatisation."

January 21, 2005 -- FinExtra (Canada) has reported that "Canada's Scotiabank is providing its online customers with access to epost, an electronic mail and bill presentment and payment service provided by the national postal service. Epost delivers bills, statements and other documents online for Canada Post."

January 21, 2005 -- As Japan Times has noted, "Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, speaking at the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention Tuesday, again expressed his resolve to privatize postal services, saying that "without constant efforts for reform, possibilities for Japan's development will be closed." Mr. Koizumi defines postal privatization as the "centerpiece" of his reform agenda. The party's action plan for 2005, however, makes no mention of "privatization" -- a sign that Mr. Koizumi's postal reform initiative is opposed by many members of his own party. The plan, adopted by the convention, merely says that "postal reform must truly contribute to the interests of the people."

January 21, 2005 -- Nikkei (Japan) has reported that "Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in a policy speech delivered before the upper and lower houses Friday, reiterated his intention to forge ahead with the privatization of the postal system, saying, "The relevant bills will be submitted to the Diet this April." He expressed hopes that they will be passed during the current Diet session."

January 21, 2005 -- Bloomberg has reported that:

January 20, 2005 -- La Tribune has reported that "The leader of France's national assembly, Jean-Louis Debre, yesterday decided to postpone the examination of 14,586 amendments tabled by France's biggest opposition party, Parti Socialiste, to the French government's bill to reform the post office, La Poste. The first reading of the bill began yesterday."

January 20, 2005 -- The Bangor Daily News has reported that "A new island air service has taken off at Knox County Regional Airport in Owls Head, providing essential service to several Penobscot Bay islands. The air service has secured a six-month contract from the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail to North Haven, Matinicus and Vinalhaven, a contract with FedEx for those islands, and has obtained exclusive landing rights on Vinalhaven by vote of selectmen and at privately owned airstrips on Matinicus, Criehaven and Swans Island."

January 20, 2005 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that:

January 20, 2005 -- The Washington Post has noted that "Consumer prices rose faster than most workers' wages last year, as energy prices pushed inflation to the highest level in four years, the Labor Department said yesterday. Overall, the department's consumer price index, one of the most widely followed measures of inflation, was 3.3 percent higher in December than a year before. That was much faster than the 1.9 percent rate of inflation in 2003 and the highest since the 3.4 percent rate in 2000. Workers' pay also rose last year -- but more slowly than prices. After adjusting for inflation, average hourly wages for production and non-supervisory workers fell 0.8 percent -- the first such decline since 1994, Labor figures show."

January 20, 2005 -- According to the Memphis Business Journal, "United Parcel Service may have turned a corner on Wall Street, as the company's stock reversed a downward trend that began last week with an earnings warning."

January 20, 2005 -- From the Federal Register: "The U.S. Postal Service has published a final rule that allows sample copies of authorized and pending Periodicals publications to be enclosed with merchandise mailed at Parcel Post or Bound Printed Matter postage rates. Effective October 3, 2004.

January 20, 2005 -- Federal Times has reported that "The first pay raises for postmasters and other U.S. Postal Service managers under a new performance-based pay system will likely be larger than raises and bonuses under past systems, said postmasters’ representatives. Information showing how many managers will receive raises and how big those raises will be under the National Performance Assessment program is not yet available from the Postal Service. But the National Association of Postmasters of the United States said discussions with postmasters who have been told what their raises will be indicate that most raises will be larger than the 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent bonuses managers typically received under the previous Economic Value Added program."

January 20, 2005 -- The Toronto Star has reported that "Former Canada Post chairman André Ouellet claims he was kept in the dark for years about the Crown corporation's controversial involvement in the now-disgraced federal sponsorship program. Ouellet testified yesterday that, despite enjoying a close friendship with an ad executive who personally drummed up hefty sponsorship grants for Canada Post, he knew little about the money coming from Ottawa."

January 20, 2005 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that "Royal Mail has announced its intention to enter the German postal market once it deregulates in 2007. It plans to use its General Logistics Systems (GLS) parcels subsidiary, the third largest network in Germany. According to its Chief Executive, Rico Back, it hopes to use Deutsche Post’s downstream delivery network in much the same way as DPWN’s UK mail subsidiary presently uses Royal Mail."

January 20, 2005 -- GoUpstate.com has a nice piece on stamp collecting in the email age.

January 20, 2005 -- If this is of interest, then also check out Gibbons Stamp Monthly's piece on "An Introduction to Railway Station Postal Markings of Great Britain."

January 19, 2005 -- The Daily Yomiuri pleads: "Don't water down postal reform bill." Gee, you could say the same thing in the U.S.

January 19, 2005 -- As Stuff.co.nz has noted, "American companies with deep pockets and an even deeper interest in what goes on in Washington are footing most of the expected $US40 million ($NZ55 million) bill for US President George W Bush's inaugural bash. Rival express deliverers, FedEx Corp and UPS Inc, each donated $US250,000 to the inaugural committee. UPS says it has given generously to inaugurals before and spokesman David Bolger said the company is showing a bipartisan spirit. But UPS and FedEx have strong interests in trade, security and regulatory policies, like new shipping routes, overseas competition and the overhaul of the US Postal Service."

January 19, 2005 -- Team India has reported that "The postal department is being modernised with intallation of an electronic money order system and upgradation of customer care centres. Efforts are being made to put in place an electronic money order system through arrangments with banks. The postal department is using all the 150 VSATs for transmission of money order and on an average about 62,000 money orders are being sent daily through this channel.

January 19, 2005 -- The Jerusalem Post has reported that "Tens of thousands of Russian immigrants who receive national insurance pensions from their native country can now pick up the money -- a total of tens of millions of shekels annually -- at postal branches around Israel. This was made possible by an agreement signed Wednesday in Switzerland between Postal Authority director-general Yossi Shelley and Russian post office director-general Igor Sartzhov. Until now, the commercial banks had charged "unreasonable" fees for this service, the Postal Authority said, and the process was full of red tape, including having to periodically appear at the Russian Embassy to prove the pensioner was still alive.

January 19, 2005 -- WRAL has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is delivering to 57,000 flyers with photos of Gail Haddock-Dail and Heather Roberts to residents in 10 counties in eastern North Carolina. The two have been missing for more than a month. The women had been living in a motel prior to their disappearance because of a fire that forced them out of their home."

January 19, 2005 -- The UPS Foundation, which for 15 years has pursued a major initiative to alleviate hunger in America, today announced it was broadening that effort to address nutrition and obesity issues. The UPS Foundation’s new initiative, “The National Collaboration to Reduce Hunger and Improve Nutrition,” has been launched with the award of US$2 million in grants to eight different organizations.

January 19, 2005 -- Here is an updated list of all recent Congressional Research Service updates pertaining to the U.S. Postal Service:

January 19, 2005 -- As postal commentator Kate Muth has put it: To phase or not to phase....Now's the time to determine.

January 19, 2005 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal) has reported that:

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 19, 2005 -- The Postal Service has issued the third in a series of new and revised Customer Support Rulings (CSRs), PS-318, that will assist in understanding the revised Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) standards that go into effect June 1, 2005, concerning the use of “personal information” in Standard Mail matter. This CSR will provide a clear example as to whether the mailing meets the test for including personal information in Standard Mail Because this CSR is written on the basis of the revised DMM language with an effective date of June 1, 2005, it contains links to the Federal Register of October 27, 2004 (69 FR 62578-62583), which announced the revised regulations. When a reader clicks on the links to the DMM language in the CSR, he or she will access the Federal Register notice. After June 1, the CSR will be revised to link to then current postal standards.

January 19, 2005 -- Smart Money has asked the question: "Is Brown the new Black?" In other words, now's the time to buy your UPS stock.

January 19, 2005 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "The Dutch government said Wednesday that it cut its stake in telecommunications operator KPN NV by selling about €1 billion ($1.3 billion) of shares, reducing its holding to 14%."

January 19, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that:

January 19, 2005 -- The Times of Malta has reported that "The Malta Communications Authority, as the independent regulator of the postal sector in Malta, yesterday published a consultation paper on the quality of service standards to be met by Maltapost plc."

January 19, 2005 -- ChannelNewsAsia has reported that "Postal services provider Singapore Post is continuing its diversification into financial products and services. SingPost has just signed an agreement to establish an exclusive life insurance distribution partnership with UK insurance giant Prudential."

January 19, 2005 -- 7News (Australia) has reported that "Rupert Murdoch has linked up with another giant of Australian business, TNT, in its bid to compete with Britain's state-owned postal service Royal Mail. Transport and delivery company TNT has entered Britain's letter market with its TNT Premier service which guarantees delivery in 48 hours and handles one million items a week. As its service expands and the market opens up, however, TNT and other private mail providers have complained about Royal Mail's "dirty tricks" and uncompetitive behaviour. Murdoch's pay TV network BSkyB is the latest of five major customers to defect from Royal Mail to TNT, including food distributor Booker and mail order firm Express Gifts, the British newspaper The Guardian reported." See also the Sydney Morning Herald.

January 19, 2005 -- According to DM News, "Internet retailer Overstock.com marked its best holiday shopping season yet, thanks partly to DHL, the global express delivery and logistics company said yesterday. With a record number of online holiday purchases, Overstock.com was flooded with last-minute orders late in the season from holiday shoppers buying everything from jewelry to consumer electronics, computers, home appliances, books and apparel. Overstock.com recently reorganized its supply chain to serve late-season shoppers, and it chose DHL as its primary delivery company for shipping merchandise direct to consumers nationwide. Overstock.com primarily uses DHL@home, an expedited business-to-residential delivery service."

January 19, 2005 -- The Montreal Gazette has reported that "Canada Post secretly agreed to forgo any profits from a $1.2-billion post office modernization deal in Lebanon until its private-sector partner, SNC-Lavalin Inc., earned a 24-per-cent return on its investment, documents show. Even though Canada Post's expertise was crucial to the 12-year Lebanese contract signed in 1998, the crown corporation had no equity stake in the project. Only after the Montreal-based engineering giant had earned the 24-per-cent return on its investment in startup costs would Canada Post become eligible to get a one-third share of remaining profits - a fact never disclosed to taxpayers or members of Parliament when the deal was announced with fanfare."

January 19, 2005 -- The Ottawa Citizen has reported that "A competition for advertising business at Canada Post may have been rigged to produce results that senior post office management wanted, the federal sponsorship inquiry heard Tuesday. Bernard Roy, chief counsel to the inquiry, suggested the tendering process was changed in mid-stream to favour three firms that had already done work for Canada Post, based on sole-source contracts rather than competitive bids." See also the London Free Press.

January 19, 2005 -- The Warsaw Business Journal has reported that "The government is coming under pressure to begin the commercialization of Poczta Polska (PP) from both the Sejm's Treasury and Infrastructure commissions."

January 19, 2005 -- The National Business Review (New Zealand) has reported that "New Zealand's biggest union, the Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union (EMPU), said Monday thgat tax cuts don't put money in worker pockets -- and warned that all workers should be " prepared to take action" to get substantial pay rises this year. The EPMU claims to represent nearly 50,000 workers in the manufacturing sector, including aviation workers, forestry workers, postal workers, media workers, the automotive industry and miners.

January 19, 2005 -- Federal Computer Week has reported that "U.S. Postal Service officials have awarded a three-year contract to I.D. Systems to provide wireless location-tracking of USPS' vehicle fleet. Unisys will provide help-desk services and user support as a subcontractor."

January 19, 2005 -- The Viet Nam News Agency has reported that "The Viet Nam Postal Savings Company (VPSC) of the Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunication Corporation plans to offer postal savings cards and telephone payment services on a trial basis this March. Postal savings cards will replace the current postal savings books, and help customers make withdrawals and deposits at all post offices nationwide. Coupled with the issuance of postal saving cards, the VPSC will provide a telephone payment service, which will offer customers the flexibility of paying telephone and mobile phone bills over the telephone."

January 19, 2005 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that:

January 19, 2005 -- The Daily Yomiuri has reported that "The government and ruling parties will soon start discussing outlines for a postal privatization bill. They should also hold further discussions on how to promote competition in privatization, especially regarding mail delivery."

January 19, 2005 -- The Jamaica Gleaner has reported that "THE ISLAND'S postal service has again come under scrutiny from foreign drug enforcement agencies as a report out of the United Kingdom said packages of crack/cocaine worth millions of dollars were seized in that country on arrival from Jamaica. According to a report carried by the South London Press newspaper, the London police intercepted a package containing hundreds of drinking straws in ornamental containers placed in a corrugated cardboard parcel and shipped from Jamaica through the postal system to a London post office."

January 18, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "I.D. Systems, Inc., a leading provider of wireless asset management solutions, announced today that it has won a contract from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to implement the company's Wireless Asset Net(TM) industrial equipment tracking and management system at USPS facilities nationwide. The contract has a minimum guaranteed value of approximately $4 million for a near-term deployment at eight major USPS facilities. Over the duration of the three- year contract, the USPS could deploy the system at up to 460 facilities of varying sizes."

January 18, 2005 -- According to postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "There are a number of direct marketing executives who can tell you very little about the postal dynamics of their operations, let alone tell you what's going on in the world of postal legislation and regulation that can significantly affect the manner in, and the cost by which, they do business." For more information on how to get involved, check the information posted on this site.

January 18, 2005 -- Accurate mail delivery is dependent on a complete, correct and properly formatted address. However, achieving this can be a difficult, costly, and time-consuming effort. Many companies throughout the mailing industry struggle with address data in nonstandard formats or are lacking the crucial instructions on proper formatting. Fortunately, the IDEAlliance has proposed a new standard for communicating address elements and the standardized templates necessary to properly construct the complete address. This new standard is the Address Data Interchange Specification (ADIS). Join Firstlogic and the IDEAlliance on February 2 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern (2:00 p.m. Central) for an important Web seminar on this new uniform specification for the domestic and international interchange of address data. Joe Lubenow of Lubenow and Associates and Firstlogic's Chris Lien will discuss how ADIS works and how it can reduce costs throughout the mailing industry. Register today at www.firstlogic.com/ADIS for this valuable seminar and take advantage of this opportunity to comment on this proposed standard before its formal release.

January 18, 2005 -- Shippers Newswire has reported that "Frederick Smith, chairman and president of global express company FedEx, urged European leaders Monday to lift protections on domestic air cargo markets as an interim step towards a comprehensive open aviation market with the United States."

January 18, 2005 -- Other tidbits from the Washington Post:

Some in Washington ask: If the U.S. Postal Service is really facing a crisis and is in desperate need of legislative reform, how come headlines such as these about the Postal Service aren't ablaze across the nation's newspapers?

January 18, 2005 -- As Forbes has noted, "Beset by aggressive competition from archrival FedEx and from DHL Worldwide Network, a unit of Germany's Deutsche Post, UPS last week surprised the markets by warning of lower-than-expected results for the fourth quarter when it reports on Jan. 27."

January 18, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "Firstlogic Inc., the recognized global leader of data quality and postal automation software solutions, and Component Software Nordic today announced expansion of a distribution agreement between the two companies."

January 18, 2005 -- From the eMediaWire: "Varsity Logistics, Inc., the pioneer of integrated shipping solutions for the IBM iSeries, announced the successful completion of the annual UPS and FedEx shipping rate update. To ensure Varsity’s customers were ready to go live with the new rate change, rate and manifest updates were available for electronic delivery or via mail, well in advance of the effective date of January 3, 2005."

January 18, 2005 -- The Asbury Park Press has reported that "A group of Lacey residents dismayed by the high cost of sending care packages to people serving in the military are seeking a reduced postal rate for items sent to troops. It's a worthy idea, and one they've begun pitching to Rep. H. James Saxton, R-N.J. He and Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J. , should work to get such legislation passed quickly."

January 18, 2005 -- According to The Gazette, "Former Canada Post president Andre Ouellet was a hands-on manager who had a finger in many of the projects managed by his executives while at the helm of the crown corporation, a former official said. Ouellet resigned last July after an audit found he circumvented the corporation's hiring rules, meddled in contract tendering and flouted expense account rules. He ran up $2 million in travel and hospitality expenses without receipts in the eight years he spent at Canada Post. At the same time, it is alleged he directed contracts to Liberal-friendly firms. He quit after the firing of two other heads of crown corporations who were criticized in auditor-general Sheila Fraser's audit of the $250-million sponsorship program."

January 18, 2005 -- The Asahi Shimbun has reported that "The long-anticipated battle between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party over postal privatization appears to have fizzled out even before the first punch was delivered. The stage had been set for an all-out war in the Diet between the prime minister, who had stacked his Cabinet with reform-minded individuals, and the resistance forces in the LDP determined to maintain the status quo. Some had expected the fight to be so fierce that a snap election would be called. But now, Koizumi has made moves toward a compromise over his long-held pet project, apparently motivated by the need to stabilize control over the government."

January 18, 2005 -- CBC News has reported that "Canada Post on Monday increased the price of sending a domestic letter by one cent to 50 cents. It was one of a number of postage rate increases, including international mail and packages, announced last year."

January 17, 2005 -- According to Techweb, "Seven out of 10 teenagers and young adults are surfing the web with broadband connections, which have become a driving force behind the increasing amount of time they spend online. 55 percent of young people were watching less TV than the same period last year, because they were spending more time online." This could motivate a significant shift in where advertisers commit their marketing dollars.

January 17, 2005 -- The Business Times has reported that "SINGAPORE Post Limited on Monday announced the appointment of Lau Boon Tuan as its group chief executive officer effective Feb 1. Mr Lau, who will also join the SingPost board as a director, will oversee the postal services group, retail and financial services, finance and business development groups, as well as corporate support functions."

January 17, 2005 -- UPI has reported that "France Monday kicked off a week of labor unrest expected to bring thousands of disgruntled workers to the streets. On Tuesday, French postal workers take to the streets against proposed legislation to allow European plans to liberate EU postal services. "France is set to experience an unrest which, unfortunately, the country has made a specialty of in the heart of Europe," the country's conservative Le Figaro newspaper wrote in its Monday editorial."

January 17, 2005 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that "UK post office regulator Postcomm has received a complaint from three companies to which Royal Mail gives access to its downstream distribution operations. Express Limited, TPG Post UK Limited and UK Mail Ltd allege that the Royal Mail’s offer of zonal pricing to another company contravenes one or more of Royal Mail’s licence conditions." See also the DM Bulletin.

January 17, 2005 -- AFX Europe has reported that "Royal Mail Group PLC wants to enter the German letter market via its GLS Holding unit once Deutsche Post World Net AG's delivery monopoly ends in 2007, Rico Back, chief executive of the GLS unit told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview. Back told the newspaper that Deutsche Post mail carriers should be required to deliver mail from other postal firms from 2007, the newspaper reported. Though there is no guarantee this will occur, such a system already exists in the UK. There, the Royal Mail charges rivals a fee of 18 cents per pre-sorted letter delivered by its own mail carriers. Deutsche Post uses this service in the UK, but it does not reciprocate in its domestic market, Back told the newspaper."

January 17, 2005 -- According to Hoovers, "In an era of global commerce and worldwide shipping, UPS is one of the planet's biggest players, with operations in more than 200 countries and territories. Some of the 13.6 million packages and documents shipped each day are bound to go astray, especially when they cross international borders."

January 17, 2005 -- Dow Jones has reported that "Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Monday he believes that privatizing the nation's postal system will aid the government's coffers by creating new tax-paying entities.

National Postal MuseumJanuary 17, 2005 -- ArtDaily has reported that "The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum announced that it received a donation of $50,000 from Dr. Edward Dauer and his wife, Joanne Dauer, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The contribution will support the museum’s ongoing efforts to present “blockbuster” philatelic exhibits. These exhibits offer exciting and rare philatelic materials that otherwise would not be available for viewing by the general public."

January 17, 2005 -- Japan Today has reported that "The government organized a meeting of cabinet ministers and Japanese and foreign luminaries Monday at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's office to promote its plan to privatize Japan's postal services. Some 40 people took part in the conference to discuss Japan's postal privatization strategy, including postal services privatization minister Heizo Takenaka, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Taro Aso, and Klaus Zumwinkel, chief executive officer of Deutsche Post AG. The German postal company was earlier privatized."

January 17, 2005 -- Strategiy has reported that "Siemens Logistics & Assembly Systems Group, through its subsidiary SD (Middle East) LLC, a leading regional player in material handling automation, postal automation and electronics assembly systems has announced that it had witnessed unprecedented growth in fiscal year 2004."

January 17, 2005 -- As the Associated Press has noted, "Every time researchers send vials of the living flies, their eggs or larvae to overseas scientists, they break an international postal agreement that forbids mailing most live insects among about 190 participating nations. The postal accord was written early in the 20th century before fruit flies earned a key role in genetic research. It says only "live bees, leeches and silkworms" and "parasites and predators of injurious insects" can be sent overseas."

January 17, 2005 -- USA Today has reported that "Many CEOs believe philosophically in offshoring — the practice of outsourcing jobs to foreign countries where labor costs are cheaper — but few have been brave enough to publicly say it. Being in favor of exporting jobs is radioactive. Enter Uwe Doerken, 45, who stepped down last year as DHL's executive chairman after leading its globalization efforts for 13 years. DHL is a package delivery company known for its yellow planes, trucks and envelopes. It acquired Airborne in 2003 to launch an invasion of the USA and challenge UPS and FedEx in one of the world's hottest industries. DHL, with headquarters in Belgium, is a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, the privatized German postal service. Its 170,000 employees serve 220 countries and territories."

January 16, 2005 -- The Troy Record has reported that "The state Department of Motor Vehicles signed a contract with Imagitas, a Boston-based marketing company, to print and mail vehicle registration renewals. In exchange, the company includes advertisements from private companies in the envelope. DMV Spokesman Joe Picchi said the state expects to save between $300,000 and $500,000 a year in printing and mailing costs and is expecting the state's cut of advertising revenue to be more than $100,000 this year."

January 16, 2005 -- The Holbrook Sun has reported that "Old Colony Hospice received a wonderful gift to start off the New Year - a $25,000 grant from The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of United Parcel Service. The donation will serve to underwrite the streamlining of the patient admission process via technology. Admission nurses will be trained to use their new computer notepads in documenting medical details when admitting a patient to the hospice program."

January 16, 2005 -- The Sunday Mirror (U.K.) has reported that "A MASSIVE 61 per cent of first class letters failed to arrive on time in the run-up to Christmas, according to new figures. However, almost 90 per cent of second class items hit Royal Mail's targets and were delivered within three working days. The findings by consumer group Postwatch come as post bosses rake in more than £1million a day profit."

January 16, 2005 -- As Herald.net has noted, "There was a time when FedEx ruled the night sky. Its aircraft flew the uncluttered airways over the United States with only the occasional red-eye passenger jet for company. That was in the beginning, and things change. FedEx became a verb, and sending packages overnight across an entire continent eventually became commonplace. FedEx attracted competitors - UPS, DHL and the U.S. Postal Service, most visibly - and expanded its ground delivery capabilities to meet the demands of its customers."

January 16, 2005 -- According to Globes Online, "The “Yediot Ahronot” Hebrew daily reports that the Israel Postal Authority is planning to enter the securities field, and has already published a tender to buy a computer system for securities. The Postal Authority is also planning a tender to choose a broker to manage the bond business of its customers."

January 16, 2005 -- The Nation has reported that "Bangladesh Postal Department has started experiencing shrunk income. The Director General of postal service released this fact recently. He also made the wide spread use of emil responsible for it....Make the postal service easily available and very quick. Stop time consuming service. Give training to the employees and staff to make them more efficient, service oriented, public and welfare oriented. Give them incentives and motivation to be realistic and real service oriented in the greater interest of the nation."

January 16, 2005 -- The latest issue of PostCom's Post Ops Update is available on this site. Topics covered in this issue include: information on USPS APPS rules, verification and acceptance issues, visibility issues, penalties for failure to comply, bundle integrity concerns, how to monitor bundle quality, the use of clear strapping, and other operational concerns.

January 16, 2005 -- Nikkei.net has reported that "The government will likely limit or totally eliminate the need to pay consumption tax by three of the four private companies established as part of postal privatization in 2007. Under postal privatization, four companies -- one in charge of mail delivery and another responsible for postal insurance, in addition to the two mentioned above -- will be established under the postal holding company. Up to some 100 billion yen in consumption tax is expected to be levied annually on fees paid by the mail, savings and insurance firms to the one administering post office operations. The government is considering giving preferential treatment to the three firms because it will be difficult for them to pass on the cost of the consumption tax to their customers."

January 15, 2005 -- The Daily Breeze has reported that "In a move it says few costumers will notice, the U.S. Postal Service has finalized plans to close its large Marina del Rey processing center and move operations to a facility in South Los Angeles. New technology allows the post office to process more mail in less space, making the Jefferson Boulevard plant redundant, spokesman Larry Dozier said.

January 15, 2005 -- Les Echos (France) has  reported that "Daniel Bouton, the head of French bank Societe Generale and chairman of the French banking federation (FBF), said yesterday that the only option for the future French postal bank would be privatisation. Mr Bouton predicted that the debate regarding the privatisation of the postal bank would begin in two to three years. This reflected the fears of trade unions. The government bill regarding the regulation of the postal system is to be examined by the national assembly between January 18 and January 20."

January 15, 2005 -- The Guardian (U.K.) has reported that "The Post Office was accused yesterday of undermining its own network of sub-post offices with demands for huge levies and restrictions on the services branches can offer. Convenience store owners, many of which have recently taken over local post office services, said the demands by the state enterprise that they pay large commissions from their other commercial activities to the Post Office were a restrictive practice that could drive many to close the sub-post offices in their shops."

January 15, 2005 -- Mail, express and logistics company TPG will operate globally under the brand TNT for all its activities from 2006. If approved during the General Meeting of Shareholders, the statutory name of the group (and the name of the share listed on the stock exchange) will be changed on 8 April 2005 to TNT N.V. The group presently employs more than 160,000 people and serves over 200 countries. Operating under one brand will increase the recognition of the group worldwide and allow for more efficient communication on the various services.

January 15, 2005 -- Kyodo has reported that "Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will stress postal privatization as a "most drastic and effective form of administrative and fiscal reform" in a policy speech to the Diet next week, government sources said."

January 15, 2005 -- The UN News Center has reported that "The Universal Postal Union (UPU), a United Nations specialized agency that is the world’s second-oldest international organization, got a new Director General today dedicated to keeping letters and parcels flowing smoothly around the globe even as the digital age is in full flight. Edouard Dayan, a veteran French postal official, took over from outgoing Director General Thomas