September 30, 2005 -- According to the General Accountability Office (GAO), "Over $56 million has been raised through sales of semipostals to date, and several key factors likely affected sales. Key factors affect sales for semipostals. These key factors are (1) the fundraising causes, including the degree to which people were aware of the cause and motivated to support it; (2) the promotional capabilities and activities of affiliated advocacy groups; (3) the designs of the semipostals; and (4) the promotional activities of the Service. These factors play central roles in the lessons learned from evaluating sales of these semipostals.

September 30, 2005 -- The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.

September 30, 2005 -- The DM Bulletin has reported that "Three quarters of Royal Mail business customers say they would move some or all of their business if a competitor offered equivalent service quality at a 5% discount, but 82% believe that Royal Mail's service is better. The findings reveal that although caution is prevalent in the business mail market, volume might quickly find its way to alternative suppliers if the general perception of the services levels offered by the private sector improves."

September 30, 2005 -- The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum will present:

• On Saturday, Oct. 1, from 1 to 2:30 p.m at the National Postal Museum's Discovery Center, a lecture by Leonard Cole in which he will discuss the gravity and complexity of the anthrax attacks that threatened the United States in 2001, as well as the science and mysteries of the letters. In addition, Cole will offer his assessment of the nation's level of preparedness in the event that a similar crisis arises in the future. Cole is an adjunct professor of political science at Rutgers University, where he teaches science and public policy. He is an expert on bioterrorism and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Scientific American and The Sciences. He has appeared frequently on network and public television and is a regular on MSNBC. He is the author of six books, most recently "The Eleventh Plague: The Politics of Biological and Chemical Warfare."
• Its fourth annual Maynard Sundman Lecture, featuring renowned philatelist Roger Brody on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 2 to 3 p.m. Brody will discuss the “second purpose” of America’s postage stamps—telling the story of great changes in American history and technology.

September 30, 2005 -- According to Direct magazine postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "If you haven't yet read the U.S. Postal Service's 2006-2010 Strategic Transformation Plan, you should. It will provide as clear and concise a roadmap as to where the Postal Service will be going over the next five years -- with or without postal legislative reform."

September 30, 2005 -- The following documents have been posted on this site: (1) a Congressional Research Service update on postal legislative reform and (2) a Congressional Research Service report on "Free Mail for Troops Overseas."

September 30, 2005 -- As Transport Intelligence has noted, "Consolidation in the European postal industry is continuing ahead of the liberalization of the market in 2008."

September 30, 2005 -- The latest issue of Postal Legislative Update of the National Association of Postal Supervisors has been posted on this site.

September 30, 2005 -- You can find a copy of the U.S. Postal Service's 2006-2010 Strategic Transformation Plan on this site.

September 30, 2005 -- Online.ie has reported that "The Communications Workers Union is considering industrial action in protest at An Post's failure to deliver wage increases due under the social partnership process. The union's executive council is due to decide next Tuesday whether to ballot members on the possibility of engaging in strike action to secure the outstanding money. It said 8,000 of its members had still not received cost-of-living increases due to them under the Sustaining Progress deal."

September 30, 2005 -- This Day has noted that "Globally, the postal service has undergone reforms, which is galvanized by an avalanche of factors on the information society. In Nigeria, NIPOST had enjoyed the monopoly of the postal sector, with the universal service, geographical balancing of out of charges services as its obligations; NIPOST became an administrative behemoth, whose financial objective was to balance its accounts. The organization of NIPOST takes into account its obligation to provide a public service while guarding jealously its exclusive rights because of this posture liberalization becomes difficult. However several reasons of historical, economical and social militate against the liberalization of postal sector, this monopoly maybe justified in so far as economy of scale remains significant in this sphere and also the fact NIPOST employs a significant number of the populace."

September 30, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that "The Post Office today launches its own credit card via its 14,600-strong branch network. The credit card is the latest roll-out from the Post Office's joint venture with Bank of Ireland which was formalised 18 months ago. The joint venture has seen the Post Office start selling foreign exchange, personal loans, and home and car insurance." See also The Guardian and The Independent.

September 30, 2005 -- According to PublicTechnology.net, "OGC Buying Solutions is working in close collaboration with OGC, Department for Work & Pensions, HM Revenue & Customs and other Government departments on a project to provide a suite of Postal Services frameworks in the lead-up to full market deregulation of the UK letters market on 1st January 2006. Direct mail will be an important tool in 2006-2007 to drive take-up of e-Government services, for both local authorities and central government departments. Frameworks will be awarded on a pan-governmental basis (Central Civil Government and wider Public Sector) although it is anticipated that their use will be ‘on merit’ based on value for money gains and quality of service provided. It is estimated that the UK Government (including wider Public Sector) spends an estimated £750m pa on Post, Courier and Freight commodity. Initial research has demonstrated that savings ranging from 9% to 30% are achievable, depending upon the types of services used and volume profile of business." Now THAT's an interesting twist. Using mail to get people away from using the mail.

September 30, 2005 -- According to Reuters, "Dell Inc. will stop its practice of sending low-end computers to customers homes without charge in order to cut costs, the company said on Thursday. Starting on October 10, Dell's free shipping offer on basic models will apply only to people willing to pick up their computers at the post office, said Jennifer Davis, spokeswoman for Dell's U.S. consumer business. Customers will have to pay extra for home delivery."

September 30, 2005 -- From the Federal Register: "The Postal Service is seeking comments on a proposal that would affect mailers who prepare bundles of Periodicals, Standard Mail, and Package Services flat-size mail or irregular parcels on pallets. The proposal would not affect mailers who prepare sacks, unbundled parcels, or trays on pallets. Currently, mailers who prepare bundles of flat-size mail or bundles of irregular parcels on pallets must prepare a pallet if the mailing contains 500 or more pounds of bundles for a required sortation level. (``Sortation level'' refers to the distribution or separation of mail by ZIP Codes, range of ZIP Codes, or carrier route.) After all required pallets are prepared, mailers must place any remaining bundles in sacks. Under this proposal, before placing any bundles in sacks, if there are 250 or more pounds of bundles addressed within the ZIP Code range for an area distribution center (ADC) or a bulk mail center/auxiliary service facility (BMC/ASF), mailers must prepare the ADC pallet (for Periodicals) or the BMC/ASF pallet (for Standard Mail and Package Services). If a mailing does not contain any ADC or BMC/ASF pallets-- for example, the mailer has set the presort software to stop at the sectional center facility (SCF) level--but there are 250 or more pounds for an SCF, the mailer must prepare the SCF pallet. Comments must be received on or before October 31, 2005."

September 30, 2005 -- The U.S. Postal Service has launched a new delivery option that can save customers shipping costs on products they have ordered by agreeing to pick them up at a designated Post Office. "Hold For Pickup" meets the needs of cost-conscious mailers shipping high-value and heavyweight goods and the customers receiving them. A package delivered Hold For Pickup will be kept safely at the Post Office until the customer collects it. Items shipped using Hold For Pickup are delivered directly to the Post Office instead of customers' street address. This provides additional security for mailers who may not want expensive products left at a customer's door. "Hold For Pickup is another way we are transforming our products and services to better meet the needs of our customers," said Nick Barranca, Vice President, Product Development. "The advantages are cost savings to the shipper, customer convenience, and security for both the business client and the consumer." Hold For Pickup parcels are shipped to a designated Post Office where they can be picked up by the customer within 10 calendar days.

September 30, 2005 -- You can find a copy of the powerpoing presentation given to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors on the USPS' integrated financial plan for FY 2006 on the USPS web site.

September 30, 2005 -- According to Les Echos, "Chronopost, the parcel forwarding subsidiary of French postal service operator La Poste, has announced over 300 job cuts as part of a restructuring plan."

September 29, 2005 -- Federal Times has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service’s “eleventh-hour criticisms’’ of postal reform legislation have surprised reform supporters on Capitol Hill, who appear adamant that the biggest change the Postal Service is seeking will not take place. “It is very disconcerting,” Robert Taub, spokesman for Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., said of the Sept. 13 letter the Postal Service Board of Governors sent the House Government Reform Committee outlining “several issues that bear further consideration” before it could endorse either the House or Senate versions of postal reform. “The Postal Service’s eleventh-hour criticisms are disappointing,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, adding that the Senate bill had been carefully crafted and balanced."

September 29, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "The Mailing Industry CEO Council today commended the leadership and employees of the United States Postal Service for heroic action to restore mail services to businesses and citizens displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Amidst widespread destruction across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the U.S. Postal Service once again reaffirmed its universal mission to deliver the mail, the members of the CEO Council said."

September 29, 2005 -- PostCom vice president Kate Muth has explained "how the Postal Service can have both a net income in the same year that it will have a revenue deficiency, which is not the same as a net loss. It’s the escrow, stupid! Correct that: It’s the stupid escrow."

September 29, 2005 -- The powerpoint presentation delivered before the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors by the USPS' vice president of strategic planning has been posted on this site.

September 29, 2005 -- In his latest postal commentator, DM News columnist Cary Baer wrote: "history has shown that not all the nominees to the board or the PRC have had the background either through education, training or experience that a governor or a commissioner should have. But as long as they had a clean resume, the Senate approved them. As a result, we — the mailing industry — periodically have been saddled with nominees to these important posts who were not up to the task."

September 29, 2005 -- Media Week has reported that "The Royal Mail has offered an olive branch to at least one area of the magazine industry by giving a 15% discount to customer magazines that use the postal system. Customer mag publishers will get a 15% discount on postal costs if they use the Royal Mail to distribute a least two editions of their magazines during 2006. Publishers will also be able to qualify for a further 2% discount if the first edition is mailed out before the end of 2005. The move comes amid increasing bitterness between the postal authorities and the Periodical Publishers' Association after confirmation earlier this month that size-based pricing would introduced next summer."

September 29, 2005 -- According to the National Business Review, "If you're still using postal mail, here's your chance to get famous -- or make your family and friends into collector's items. Wellington Web services company 3months.com has teamed up with the New Zealand Post Online Channel team to provide "personalised" stamps carrying the picture of your choice."

September 29, 2005 -- The BBC Monitoring Service has reported that:

The government has issued a decision, approving the separation of the post sector from the existing Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT) by 2007. Under the decision, coded 236/2005/QD-TTg, all economic sectors, both domestic and foreign, will be encouraged to develop the post industry. Foreign investors will be permitted to set up wholly foreign-owned businesses in the field. The decision says that apart from postal services, the post sector will focus on financial services, including pension payments and collection services for premiums and electricity, telephone and water charges.
Russian Central Electoral Commission head Aleksandr Veshnyakov is ashamed of the work of Moscow's post office. This was his comment following the fact that a letter in which [jailed former head of the Yukos oil company Mikhail] Khodorkovskiy stated his intentions to stand in the elections to the Russian State Duma, sent from the Matrosskaya Tishina remand centre way back on 15 September, only reached the addressee yesterday. In other words, the letter, sent from Moscow to a Moscow address, took more than two weeks to reach its destination.

September 29, 2005 -- As one unhappy writer to the Port Huron Times Herald noted, "Recently, the U.S. Postal Service instituted a new mail-forwarding service. With a $10 enrollment fee and $10 per week to receive mail while we are away could cost $200-plus, if we are gone for four months. Please call the Consumers Affairs Office at (248) 336-3147 to register a complaint to this ridiculous idea! Postage already has been paid on our mail! Suggest the post office hold the mail and send it once a week at no charge - not just first-class mail, but all mail." I don't think she's happy.

September 29, 2005 -- Talk about your problems with public perception. The DM Bulletin has reported that "The industry must do more to explain the benefits of 'targeted direct marketing' to consumers after industry research showed that only a tiny minority of consumers agree the medium has benefits. The survey, by CACI and database marketing consultancy The Customer Partnership, comes as the DMA independently prepares to launch a consumer-facing campaign next month to counter misconceptions and show that campaigns are targeted and relevant. Despite the fact that 44.8% of consumers surveyed said that they had made a purchase as a result of direct marketing, the majority described themselves as very irritated about direct marketing from companies they had no relationship with. Even when it came from companies with which they already had a relationship with, the majority of consumers felt neutral about it and many more felt irritated."

September 29, 2005 -- The Institut D'economie Industrielle (IDEI) of the Université Toulouse will be holding its Fourth Conference on « Regulation, Competition and Universal Service in the Postal Sector » at Toulouse, France on  March 16-17, 2006. The conference is sponsored by La Poste and is intended (i) To discuss recent theoretical and applied research dealing with competition regulation and universal service in the postal sector (ii). To provide a forum of discussion and dialogue between practionners and academic researchers. The main topics will include: * Industrial economics and econometrics of the postal sector. * Competition policy in a liberalized sector. * Universal service and competition: cost, extent, financing,* Pricing and price regulation. * Services of general interest in a competitive environment.

September 29, 2005 -- As the Virginian Pilot has noted, "Many of today’s mergers involve acquisitions that build upon an established line of business. Overnite, for example, caught the attention of United Parcel Service because the trucking company provided something that UPS didn’t – nationwide delivery of heavy freight.

September 29, 2005 -- Dow Jones has reported that "DHL Worldwide Express is planning to open a new front in its competition with United Parcel Service Corp. and FedEx Corp. by launching a chain of retail outlets in the U.S., the Financial Times reported in an article on its Web site Tuesday. The German courier company believes it needs a bricks-and-mortar presence in the U.S. to woo customers from the two main domestic operators. John Pearson, vice president of commercial operations, said DHL had yet to decide how many stores it needed but the number could reach the thousands, the FT reported. "We are in the process of mapping out where we need to be and what is realistic," he told the FT."

September 29, 2005 -- The International Herald Tribune has said that "Business competition on the Web just got more interesting. As online sales of just about everything from television sets to cases of Châteauneuf-du-Pape have exploded in recent years, manufacturers and service providers have generally shown great restraint in going head to head against their own best customers. Now, though, FedEx is plunging into the fray with a great deal less delicacy about ruffling the feathers of the big office supply companies that send so much business its way.

September 29, 2005 -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that "In a move that could sting UPS, Dell, the nation's biggest computer maker, plans to ship many computers to U.S. post offices for customer pickup, rather than directly to buyers' homes. That will shift some shipments away from Sandy Springs-based UPS, currently Dell's primary deliverer for computers. The computer maker is unsure how many computer shipments will ultimately be affected, Dell spokesman Andy North said Tuesday. Dell is one of UPS' biggest and most important customers. UPS declined to say how much revenue it gets from the computer maker, but that the amount has been growing annually."

September 29, 2005 -- According to one report in Handelsblatt, "United Parcel Service (UPS), the US parcel forwarding company, enjoys the most favourable image among logistics service providers on the German market, according to the annual survey by the market research institute Emnid involving 300 logistics managers. The German shipping and logistics company Hapag-Lloyd Container Line ranks second, while Lufthansa Cargo, the freight arm of the airline group Deutsche Lufthansa, ranks third. They are followed by DPD Deutscher Paketdienst, which belongs to the French group La Poste, US group Federal Express (Fedex) and Hermes, a subsidiary of the German mail order group Otto. DHL, the German market leader, ranks only 11th with a verdict of 'average'. "

September 29, 2005 -- The Sacramento Bee has noted that "United Parcel Service Inc. says it is going green in the Sacramento area. The Atlanta-based company has finished installing computer software and hardware at its Shore Road distribution center that maps out shorter delivery routes. "Package-flow technology" uses digital information produced by scanning UPS labels to plan routes that require the fewest number of miles to complete. UPS estimates the new technology will lop off 260,000 miles from the 4.5 million miles logged by its Sacramento-area drivers each year, save 30,000 gallons of fuel and reduce truck emissions by 288 metric tons."

September 29, 2005 -- The Minneapolis Business Journal has reported that "Randy Holst owns United Parcel Service's best-performing store in Minnesota. Nationally, he's ranked among the company's 100 top-grossing stores. But business has been better. "My profitability has definitely decreased. ... I would say substantially," he said. Profits are down at least 30 percent. Holst -- like many UPS franchisees throughout the country -- is feeling squeezed, due to a franchise shake-up following Atlanta-based UPS' acquisition of Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) in 2001."

September 29, 2005 -- According to one writer for the Lincoln Tribune, "Once again, the Post Office is raising rates, this time 2 cents or 5.4% in January of next year. With constantly rising prices and lackluster service, is it any surprise that the Postal Service continues to decline in volume? Since 1950, the U.S. Inflation Rate has been 1,000%, while the rate on first class stamps has climbed 1,250%, or 25% faster than the inflation rate. How many other industries can continue to increase prices year after year faster than inflation? In most cases, more efficient competitors would rush in and take customers. The Post Office only stays afloat because of government laws prohibiting competition in first class mail service."

September 29, 2005 -- According to the Western Mail, "CORPORATE Social Responsibility is not a clever marketing device, but a concept which can help save a failing company, according to one of the leading figures in the Royal Mail. Steve Boorman believes placing CSR at the heart of the company's operations helped change it from a bureaucratic behemoth with massive losses and a poor safety record, into an enterprise with record profits. "

September 29, 2005 -- The Interactive Investor has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc chairman and chief executive Michael Eskew said yesterday he would not "rule out" making a hostile bid for any large European logistics company. The US parcels delivery giant has been linked with Exel PLC, the British supply chain group that last week agreed a 3.7 bln stg takeover by Deutsche Post AG, and has retained Goldman Sachs to advise it. Sources close to the company however told the paper its interest in Exel had been "overblown", indicating the firm was looking to "fill holes" in its international operations but not take on such a "huge" firm as Exel."

September 29, 2005 -- From the NewsWire: "A Maine letter carrier who used his Navy life-saving skills to prevent an injured motorcyclist from bleeding to death, was honored today as the National Hero of the Year by the National Association of Letter Carriers at an award ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill hotel."

September 29, 2005 -- According to Government Computer News, "Career employees, not government contractors, will perform the bulk of the U.S. Postal Service’s IT management. In its Strategic Transformation Plan 2006-2010, approved Tuesday by the Postal Service board of governors, the agency said it will reduce costs and streamline operations by transitioning its IT infrastructure from “high-cost IT contractors” to in-house staff. "

September 29, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "The U.S. Postal Service and two of its unions have reached agreements that address employee reassignment and other work issues resulting from Hurricane Katrina. The agreements -- which include guidelines on postal workers seeking employment in new locations due to Katrina's destruction and evacuations -- are with the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU). "

September 29, 2005 -- The Peninsula has reported that "The much awaited express delivery of mail by motorcycle mounted couriers was launched in Doha by Qatar's General Postal Corporation (Q-Post), a press release, said here yesterday. These couriers will deliver priority local mail and Qatar Post Premium (QPP) articles to the doorstep of the addressee."

September 29, 2005 -- El Pais has reported that "The adviser of the Association of Postal Operators of Uruguay, Pablo Riveiro, said to RadioSarandí that the postal market does not have sufficient controls.The adviser of the gremial said that in the market "there are many pirates" because almost controls do not exist and the obligations of the companies are not defined that offer postal services."

September 28, 2005 -- The Associated Press has reported that "House Republicans rejected a Democratic resolution to name a post office in Berkeley, California, after a longtime local activist and city councilwoman, saying 94-year-old Maudelle Shirek doesn't represent American values."

September 28, 2005 -- AllAfrica.com has reported that "THE Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF) in conjunction with NamPost will train postal staff in how to handle motor accident claims. NamPost's Manager for Agency Services Benjamin Jacobs confirmed the arrangement between his institution and MVAF."

September 28, 2005 -- RIA Novosti has reported that "The net profits of national postal operator Russian Mail in the first six months of 2005 totaled more than 1 billion rubles ($35 million), the company's general director said Wednesday. Igor Syrtsov told a news conference this result had been achieved due to a restructuring of federal mail service organizations that were united to form a single national postal service. "

September 28, 2005 -- The U.S. Senate has approved legislation sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) that would extend the Breast Cancer Research Stamp for another two years.

September 28, 2005 -- Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "DHL, the parcel subsidiary of German postal services provider Deutsche Post, is to set up thousands of branches in the US in order to win customers from US rivals UPS and FedEx. DHL currently offers its services in the US through nearly 4,000 independent stores and the Office Max retail chain. DHL has yet to decide how many own-brand branches it will set up, but believes the number could run into the thousands."

September 28, 2005 -- AFX has reported that "Japan's Nikkei could achieve levels near 18,000 over the next two years as economic benefits result from the privatisation of Japan Post."

September 28, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail has come under fire for delaying investment in its urban post office network and leaving government money "lying idle" by spending only £13m of £30m allocated for the work. The criticism by Postwatch, the consumer group, coincided with the start of talks between the publicly owned postal operator and unions over further job losses."

September 28, 2005 -- Well, one writer for the Express & Star Midlands may complain about getting too much direct mail, but at least he's shown some realization of the value direct mail means to a post.

September 28, 2005 -- Forex News has reported that "Post Danmark AS and the UK's CVC Capital Partners are close to buying a 49 pct stake in the Belgium postal services, De Post - La Poste, daily Jyllands-Posten reported, citing Post Danmark chairman, Fritz Schur. The shareholding in De Post - La Poste has been put up for sale by the Belgium government. Post Danmark and CVC Capital Partners have been negotiating with the Belgians over the weekend and Schur told the daily that he expects to call a board meeting as soon as next week in order to have the deal cleared." See also Forbes.

September 28, 2005 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

Things apparently got hot as Deutsche Post's CEO Klaus Zumwinkel revealed his irritation with the barrage of questions he encountered during an interview with the German weekly news magazine "Der Spiegel". Mr Zumwinkel also appeared to be opposed to the partial access to the postal network ordered by the Cartel Office.
Post Danmark intends to axe 1,000 jobs before the beginning of next year. The Danish trade union 3F believes that such drastic cuts - almost 5% of the total work force - are unrealistic.
Poste Italiane "is unlikely to go public at short notice". The Italian post's supervisory board chairman Vittorio Mincato thus rejected renewed speculations concerning an IPO at short notice. "We're working on it but we need more time", said Mr Mincato. "It's still too early to set a date." Finance and Industry minister Siniscalco has said that the autumn of 2006 was the earliest date for a privatisation.
Poczta Polska achieved a net profit of 82.2m euros during the first half of 2005. The figure represents a 15% increase on the previous year.
Britain's Royal Mail intends to offer tracking & tracing for direct mail in future.
The internationalisation of the French La Poste's express and parcel subsidiaries operating as GeoPost appears to come along successfully. GeoPost is expected to announce the conclusion of its first co-operation agreement with an overseas partner in the next few days. According to information gleaned by the CEP News, contracts were signed this month with Estafeta, a leading operator in Mexico.
FedEx achieved a 3% increase in net profit to 282.1m euros during the first quarter (June - August) of the current financial year. The turnover went up by 10% to 6.42bn euros. CEO Frederick Smith spoke with confidence about business prospects. The integrator has put up profit expectations for the whole financial year as a result of the favourable figures. However, market observers point to the fact that FedEx suffered an 8% drop in profit for its main segment - FedEx Express - despite an 11% increase in turnover. The parcel segment saw only a small profit increase (+ 1%) on a 14% turnover growth.
Aviainform, a research and consulting enterprise specialising in the aviation industry, and MRU, consultants to the CEP market, are entering a close co-operation on 1 October. The two partners label their co-operation a "guarantor for information, competence and knowledge". As experts in their respective fields, the two companies see their co-operation as a logical continuation of quality and performance features acquired during many years in the business: "The airfreight and express markets are increasingly merging and our customers are entitled to expect us to be able to see beyond the end of our own nose", said Horst Manner-Romberg, managing proprietor of MRU GmbH. The new co-operation enables airlines, carriers, express operators, postal service providers and commercial airports to access a joint information pool. "As internationally renowned enterprises with a distinctive quality and service approach, aviainform and MRU have therefore decided to work together", said Dirk Steiger, aviainform's managing director. "We are now for the first time in a position to offer our clients a real one-stop market insight solution."

The MRU, founded in 1992, is the only consultancy in the German speaking area, which has specialised in the market of courier-, express- and parcel services. For large-scale shippers and CEP-services in particular, the MRU provides interdisciplinary advice for all major questions of the market, as there are for example market entry, product design, organisation, and EDP.To learn more about the stories reported above, contact CEP News.

September 28, 2005 -- The Austin American-Stateman has reported that "Dell Inc. plans to ship many of its computers to U.S. post offices for customer pickup, rather than directly to buyers' homes via UPS. Dell often has provided free UPS delivery of computers to customer homes, with additional fees for handling or for rush deliveries. Under the new plan, with the exception of higher-end computers, the free delivery will go only as far as some post offices, Dell spokesman Andy North said. Dell said it expects to begin shipping its first computers to post offices as early as October. North said the change was made in response to consumer concerns about the hassle of not being home when UPS tried to make deliveries. In those cases, UPS would leave a note, giving consumers the option of further delivery attempts or picking up the high-dollar package themselves at UPS terminals. Under the new plan, customers won't have as far to drive to make a pickup, North said. "Post offices are pretty much in every neighborhood and generally much closer than a UPS depot."

September 28, 2005 -- The latest issue of PostCom's PostOps Update has been posted on this site. In this issue:

• USPS responds to PostCom Members' fall mailing concerns.
• PostCom proposes apps Bundle test.
• USPS continues to restore Service in wake of hurricanes.
• USPS works with pvds mailers on postage refund process for mailings to hurricane-impacted areas.
• PostCom and USPS work to Improve eMIR process.
• USPS PCSC off to good start.
• Mark your calendar for these upcoming rules changes.

September 28, 2005 -- A copy of the U.S. Postal Service's Integrated Financial Plan for PFY 2006 has been posted on this site.

September 28, 2005 -- According to Morgan Stanley, "Following up on a new U.S. Postal Service (USPS) initiative that we highlighted back in August, we believe the USPS is close to announcing a new shipping alternative with a large computer manufacturer/retailer that will allow it to handle highvalue shipments, potentially taking share in the ground parcel market (which should negatively impact UPS more than FDX)."

September 28, 2005 -- Ahmedabad Online has reported that "after a significant drop in regular mails and its revenue, the Postal Department has decided to use its vast infrastructure and manpower to increase revenue and revamp itself by foraying into a number of services other than just delivering mails. Retail post is a service whereby the post office premises will be used by private companies for selling their products on a commission set by the department."

September 27, 2005 -- According to GovExec.com, "The American Postal Workers Union, a long-time supporter of postal overhaul legislation, is echoing concerns expressed by the Postal Service's Board of Governors, signaling the broad coalition behind the House and Senate bills might be weakening. Other unions, including the National Association of Letter Carriers, said they had similar concerns, but lambasted the board for presenting its criticisms at the last minute and offering no other solutions to the agency's financial woes."

September 27, 2005 -- From the USPS Board of Governors meeting:

The Postal Service expects a net income of $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2006, with revenue growing by 3.4% in the year, primarily due to the higher rates that, for budget purposes, are expected to take effect in January 2006, Chief Financial Officer Richard Strasser told the Board of Governors at its open meeting today. Strasser discussed the USPS' Integrated Financial Plan for FY 2006, which also included the capital commitments budget for the year and the financing plan.

Other highlights from the plan include:

• The USPS expects to end this fiscal year with volume of 212 billion pieces, the highest volume in postal history and a 5.5 billion-piece increase over last year. The volume increase was driven by Standard Mail growth.
• Volume is expected to total 213 billion pieces in FY 2006, with an estimated 2.4% drop in First Class but a 3.6% increase in Standard Mail.
• Expenses are expected to grow by $3.4 billion, but USPS intends to offset that growth by about $1.1 billion through its cost reduction effort. Net expense growth is planned for $2.3 billion.
• USPS' financing plan for FY 2006 indicates that the Postal Service will pay the $3.1 billion escrow payment through a combination of cash from the current year ($2.5 billion) and cash from the prior year ($600 million). Current year cash is determined by taking cash from operations less capital cash outlays plus additional debt

In other action, the board approved the Postal Service's Strategic Transformation Plan for 2006-2010. Vice President of Strategic Planning Linda Kingsley said "the plan focuses on the basics, often in new ways." The plan focuses on the core business and strategies that the USPS sees as best opportunities for results. The four sections in the report focus on: (1) Generate revenue, (2) Reduce costs, and Achieve results with a customer-focused, performance-based culture.

See also the Associated Press

September 27, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire:

• The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors has approved the "Strategic Transformation Plan 2006-2010," initiating the agency's next strategic phase, building on the successes of the original Transformation Plan, introduced in 2002. Potter said, "We have reduced costs and increased productivity. Our people, the men and women of the Postal Service, have brought service performance and customer satisfaction to record levels." During the next five years, the Postal Service will remain focused on its core business and those strategies that produce results, he said. "We will promote growth by creating more value for every customer. We will continue to reduce costs by improving efficiency in all our operational and business processes. We will bring service performance to even higher levels. We will use the best technology to make the mail a rich source of information both for our customers and our operations managers. We will achieve all this with an energized, customer-focused workforce," said Potter.
• The U.S. Postal Service is working overtime to reconnect people affected by Hurricane Rita with their mail. Working with local, state and federal officials, the Postal Service is returning mail operations to normal service where it is safe to do so, including Houston, where delivery was back to 100 percent on Monday. "Despite the added impact of Hurricane Rita, delivery service along the Gulf Coast is rapidly being restored," said Postmaster General John E. Potter during Tuesday's USPS Board of Governors Meeting in Washington, DC. "Although we are continuing our efforts to restore mail service to the affected areas, there is still a lot of work to be done." Mail service remains suspended in all areas where mandatory evacuation orders are still in effect, including delivery, collection, Post Office box and retail services, and mail processing. In the hardest hit areas of Texas, local postal officials said the biggest challenge for postal operations is the lack of power in many areas. The City of Beaumont was still without power on Monday and remained under mandatory evacuation order. In Louisiana, flooding and severe wind damage in the Southwest part of the state is hampering operations. The Lake Charles area was the most affected, with six post offices flooded and the city closed to all but essential personnel -- which includes postal employees. In both Louisiana and Texas, plans are being developed for distribution of October Social Security checks in those areas that remain without delivery service. Those seeking the latest information on service updates can find it at: http://www.usps.com/communications/news/serviceupdates.htm.
• Postal officials are continuing to work towards re-establishing service throughout the areas hardest-hit by Hurricane Rita by reconnecting with its employees, assessing damage to facilities, deploying portable generators, and identifying temporary or alternate retail locations for customers to conduct postal business. While the city of Houston (ZIP Code areas 770, 772) has returned to full retail and delivery operations, and ZIP Code areas 773, 774, 775, and 778 are at near-normal operation levels, postal operations remain suspended today for the city of Beaumont (ZIP Code 777) and 30 post offices in ZIP Code area 776, including larger offices such as Bridge City, Buna, Groves, Nederland, Orange, Port Arthur, Port Neches, Silsbee, Sour Lake, Vidor, and Winnie. Over 200,000 deliveries covering 307 delivery routes are currently affected within the ZIP Code 776 and 777 areas.

September 27, 2005 -- The Emirates News Agency has reported that "Emirates Post was one of the key participants in a UPU-sponsored conference on IT programmes for the development of IT programmes for postal marketing in Arab countries held in Cairo from September 19 to 21, in association with Swiss Post."

September 27, 2005 -- As GovExec.com has noted, "agencies involved in the [Katrina] relief effort have relied on additions to previously awarded contracts. For example, a subsidiary of Pitney Bowes, a Stamford, Conn.-based document management company, held a contract with the Postal Service to handle change-of-address services. After Hurricane Katrina, the service asked Pitney Bowes to set up a special program for people who were forced to move because of the hurricane. According to Pitney Bowes, 150,000 people have used the new program.'

September 27, 2005 -- The Independent has reported that "As the Royal Mail prepares to lose its monopoly on postal delivery, there are suggestions that the position of its chairman, the millionaire businessman Allan Leighton, right, will become untenable. Questions are being raised over a conflict of interest between Leighton's role at Royal Mail and another of his directorships - BSkyB. The satellite broadcaster has just signed a deal with one of Royal Mail's competitors, TNT, to deliver letters to its millions of customers, leading to cries of a conflict of interest. Yesterday, the Communication Workers' Union's General Secretary, Billy Hayes, told Pandora: "It is hardly going to inspire people to have faith in his leadership at Royal Mail if he's the director of a company that is giving its business elsewhere."

 September 27, 2005 -- According to The Times, "ROYAL MAIL is set to announce more job losses, this time at its cash-handling division which is the subject of a new review by the postal operator, The Times has learnt. The operation, which employs 2,000 people, has shrunk over the past couple of years largely because of the Government's decision to pay most benefits direct into claimants' bank accounts."

September 26, 2005 -- Reuters has noted that "United Parcel Service of the United States won permission from the European Commission on Monday to buy British parcel carrier Lynx Express for 55.5 million pounds ($96.5 million) in cash."

September 26, 2005 -- The Manila Times has reported that "AN executive of a United States package delivery firm said President Arroyo promised foreign investors that the Philippine government would resolve issues on tax incentives to businesses next month. In a roundtable with editors and reporters of The Times, Gillian Sim, United Parcel Service managing director for the Philippines, said this was what President Arroyo told business executives in New York."

September 26, 2005 -- American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus told his members that "if final [postal reform] legislation does not provide the USPS with "real flexibility and authority," the Postal Service would be better off under current law. Burrus reiterated the union's long-standing opposition to granting excessive power to a proposed Postal Regulatory Board. He said the union shares several of the concerns expressed by the USPS Board of Governors in a letter dated Sept. 13. The Board of Governors' letter has caused consternation among some proponents of postal reform who fear it may derail legislation they have sought for many years. "I can't understand why they waited so long to articulate their views," Burrus said, "but several of their concerns are valid. And a bad bill is not worth having."

September 26, 2005 -- The Clarion-Ledger has reported that "To most folks, the mountains of rubble along U.S. 90 look the same. But Deborah Johnson knows what the splintered boards, ruined furniture and tumbled bricks once were. Johnson, 42, has delivered the mail in Biloxi for 12 years. Since Hurricane Katrina, though, some of her route is barely recognizable. The postal worker lost at least 200 of 1,100 customers. A month after Katrina, the Postal Service is still struggling to connect customers with their mail, storing as much as they deliver on some routes and hoping for more change-of-address cards. They've received more than 25,000 so far, but manager Jerry Wiecks says he is still running out of places to stash the backlog. In some southern Mississippi neighborhoods, carriers were back on their beats two days after the storm. In Biloxi, though, workers emptied mud-soaked mail from collection boxes, dried it on the floor over several days and put as much as possible back into circulation. Two-and-a-half weeks later, they started delivering."

September 26, 2005 -- According to the Center for Media Research, "In the "advance Holiday '05 Outlook," it appears that the devastation in the Gulf, rising pump prices, and forecasted increases in home heating costs this winter have consumers thinking more conservatively this season.

September 26, 2005 -- The Times has reported that "ROYAL MAIL'S 200,000 employees are expected to be given a 20 per cent stake in the business in a move that will spark union fears that the organisation is being prepared for privatisation."

September 26, 2005 -- Dow Jones has reported that "TNT NV announced a new investigation into possibly illegal tax matters, which it said could have a material impact on its results. The Dutch logistics and postal company said it is preparing a tax probe that will cover U.K. tax matters that weren't addressed in a 2004 investigation as well as tax matters at subsidiaries outside the U.K. The company, the principal mail provider in the Netherlands and the world's second-largest logistics provider by revenue after Exel PLC, of the U.K., wouldn't put a figure on the impact of the investigation. On top of the tax issues, TNT is facing problems with its logistics operations in France. It also has been struggling to keep up with a consolidating sector and recently lost out to a private-equity firm for a 25% stake in Denmark's postal company."

September 26, 2005 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that "New Zealand's Post Group's net profit after tax of NZ$137.2 million from a revenue of $1,208.9 million was driven by the continued strong performance of the Postal Services Group and the first year profit of Kiwibank, and included a gain on divestment of $78.6 million from the successful joint venture with DHL for Express Couriers Limited."

September 26, 2005 -- As Reuters has noted, "Backed by a landslide election victory, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told parliament on Monday he is determined to push ahead with privatising Japan's postal system and other reforms. He had cast the election as a referendum on the privatisation of Japan Post, a financial services giant with $3 trillion in assets, and has resolved to have postal reform bills passed by the time the special parliament session ends on November 1." See also the Associated Press.

September 26, 2005 -- According to Zawya, "Express and logistics major DHL is pushing to boost business in Abu Dhabi with investments topping Dh7 million in the last three years."

September 25, 2005 -- According to the Naples Daily News, "The Postal Service is quietly delivering the word to the area's building and real estate industry that house-by-house delivery will not be made to new subdivisions of eight or more houses. They will get their mail at clubhouses or other cluster mailbox centers — long the norm for apartments and condos. Existing neighborhoods' curbside mailbox delivery is safe, the Post Office says. A spokesman for the Naples Post Office says the move is aimed at preventing identity theft from mail left sitting and exposed in curbside boxes, and keeping down the cost of postage. He says it costs a national average of $184 to service a traditional mailbox customer each year, compared to $127 per year for a cluster mailbox customer. He says each penny per gallon gas price increase costs the postal service $27,000 per day or $8 million per year for traditional service nationwide. Spokesman Don Affolder, who at first last week said the policy leaves a little discretion for local postmasters and is not completely in force across the board, a few hours later said it is. "Some of the developers aren't real happy, as it turns out," he said. He's got that right."

September 25, 2005 -- One writer for The Observer has claimed that "It is surely pointless to saddle an organisation bending the laws of physics with goals as prosaic as co-operation and efficiency. Why not just build a new Royal Mail from scratch - modelled after, say, FedEx, which is so tediously competent that in 2020, in a John Updike novel, Toward the End of Time, it has replaced the bumbling US government in law enforcement and social services administration? Today's Royal Mail might simply be unreformable."

September 25, 2005 -- The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is planning to render inexpensive and high quality postal, telecommunications and data services nationwide, said the deputy minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), according to Iran Daily.

September 24, 2005 -- Check out the report on the Universal Postal Union's contribution toward the Millenium Declaration which has been posted on the PostInsight web site.

September 24, 2005 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "Federal Express Corp. (FDX) said Friday it expects $2.5 billion in capital expenditures in the current fiscal year. The company also announced a $456 million contribution to its U.S. domestic pension plans and warned that Hurricane Katrina may affect its second-quarter earnings, according to its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission."

September 24, 2005 -- The Day has reported that "The New London U.S. Postal Customer Council is offering a seminar intended for small and mid-size business mailers. The seminar will offer instruction on the basics of mailing, preparing mailings and designing a mailing piece. Experts will be on hand to help mailers learn how to reduce costs through addressing and processing to most efficient methods."

September 24, 2005 -- The Irish Independent has reported that "FEARS over security and personal safety is causing many postmasters and postmistresses in rural areas to consider leaving the business, the Irish Postmasters' Union (IPU) has said. The warning came after overnight raids on two post offices."

September 24, 2005 -- According to Dave Barnes, senior VP and CIO at UPS, "Social responsibility is core to UPS and its technology strategy."

September 24, 2005 -- The Hartford Courant has noted that "Relying more and more on e-mail, blogs, websites, instant messaging and other electronic forms of communication, students at all levels are forgetting the fine art of handwriting, educators say. Cursive script, the graceful looping style that connects one letter to another, might be going the way of the inkwell and the fountain pen."

September 24, 2005 -- The Scotsman has reported that "A consumer group has marked the 100 day countdown to full competition in the postal industry by predicting a "revolution" which will give people greater choice over who delivers their mail. Postwatch said competition already introduced into the market had improved the quality of services, kept prices in check and stimulated "much needed" innovation. The watchdog said it expected the momentum to continue after full competition is introduced on January 1."

September 24, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "Neither rain ... nor floods or hurricanes will stay the U.S. Postal Service from connecting people to their mail. Following the same steps it took to minimize mail disruption during Hurricane Katrina, the Postal Service is moving to protect its employees and the mail in the path of Hurricane Rita. Mail destined for Houston and other areas in the expected path of Rita's landfall is being held at its place of origin in order to protect as many mail pieces as possible. Postal operations in any area covered by a mandatory evacuation order have been suspended. This includes delivery, collection, Post Office box and retail services, and mail processing. Mail currently in facilities in Rita's path, along with postal vehicles and equipment, are being moved to higher ground in anticipation of flooding. Local postal officials are working with state and federal authorities to track weather and transportation issues to determine if other service adjustments are necessary. Those seeking the latest information on service updates can find it at: http://www.usps.com/communications/news/serviceupdates.htm. After the storm passes, the Postal Service is ready to return to normal operations as quickly and safely as possible."

September 24, 2005 -- Air Cargo World has reported that "Yellow Transportation launched a new door-to-door 1, 2 and 3-day expedited air forwarding service, called Expedited Direct. As an added benefit of Expedited Direct, customers can track shipments from end-to-end."

September 24, 2005 -- The DM Bulletin has reported that "Postal regulator Postcomm and the industry's consumer watchdog Postwatch are preparing for the opening up of the postal market next year by urging firms to get more information about the range of suppliers. The two bodies want small- and medium-sized business, especially those that send more than 500 items a day, to take advantage of the full opening up of the market to competition and an end to Royal Mail's monopoly this January. Postcomm chairman Nigel Stapleton said: "Opening the mail market to competition will create a more vibrant postal market in the UK. It will introduce choice to a market that has been a monopoly for 350 years."

September 24, 2005 -- According to Direct, "Direct mail spending will grow by a robust 7.5% in 2005, according to a new report from Winterberry Group. Trends including the upcoming postal hike, possible new data legislation and production overcapacity are affecting direct mail volumes across all vertical markets, according to the report."

September 24, 2005 -- Les Echos has reported that "Four French banks - Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole SA and Groupe Banque Populaire - have written to the French prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, offering to distribute France's national savings account, Livret A, for a deposit-based commission of only 0.8 per cent. The account, whose deposits are used to fund French social housing projects, is currently available only via the French post office, La Poste, and the French co-operative bank Caisse d'Epargne."

September 24, 2005 -- According to the Financial Times, "TNT may have changed its name, but it continues to be haunted by its past. The Dutch postman's ongoing tax saga has just taken another gloomy turn, knocking €500m off the group's market capitalisation. Its last annual report already hinted at further liabilities anywhere between zero and €400m, linked to past tax filings of several subsidiaries. Now, the mail and logistics group's inquiries have revealed the likelihood of illegal acts. More worryingly, attention has shifted to several non-UK subsidiaries, which remain unidentified."

September 24, 2005 -- Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "DHL, the express and logistics subsidiary of German postal service operator Deutsche Post, expects to be able to begin work on the construction of a new hub for its air freight activities in Leipzig in January."

September 23, 2005 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• The Postal Service's net income through August was just shy of $1.5 billion, but the mailing industry is concerned about the cost of Hurricane Katrina to the USPS. Expenses incurred by the Postal Service to deal with Katrina's devastation and the cost of getting the system up and running in her wake will dent the service's books in September, the end of the Postal Service's fiscal year. Then, there's Hurricane Rita.
• USPS Vice President Azeezaly Jaffer took exception to a recent a column by Don Soifer, executive director of U.S. Consumer Postal Council, that appeared in the newspapers. Jaffer said Soifer's column contained not only factual errors, but made no attempt to provide a balanced look at the Postal Service.
• Postal commentator Gene Del Polito tells mailers that automatable mail requires "a perfectly accurate barcode presented to a machine reader in precisely the place it expects it".
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been fending off attacks for its slow response in moving people from and equipment and supplies into the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. But David P. Hendel of Wickwire Gavin, PC, says the federal government and the nation have long overlooked and underestimated the unique resources of another agency uniquely qualified to respond quickly and efficiently. The agency? The U.S. Postal Service.
• Dr. Charles Guy, adjunct fellow at the Lexington Institute, says Congressional lawmakers have misdiagnosed the U.S. Postal Service's problems and are prescribing the wrong treatment in their postal reform bills.
• Peter Miller, executive director of the Mail & Jobs Coalition, discusses the growth of the Internet and the accompanying growth of the U.S. Postal Service. Miller says postal volume has increased because of the demands made on it by Internet merchants, suppliers, retailers and consumers.
• The Postal Service's proposed rate increases for its international products attempt to target the same proposed across-the-board increase for domestic services, although the system-wide rate increase is slightly higher for international services at 5.9%. Further, a few international categories will see rate increases significantly higher than the system-wide average.
• Waiting for Rita; USPS issues hurricane-related service updates. Express services feeling pinch from rising fuel prices. Merger of Federated, May Department Stores is bad news for newspaper industry. DHL names Cameron to oversee ground products, services. Delta, Northwest to cut jobs in bankruptcy. The Postal Service's net income through August was just shy of $1.5 billion, according to its latest Financial and Operating Statement. With one month left in its fiscal year, the Postal Service is on track for a year-end net income of more than $1 billion.
• Liberal Democrats (U.K.) reject privatization scheme. Express Dairies moves out of mail market in U.K. Partial sale of Belgian Post on schedule. Paketeria plans German expansion.

Hey! You've not been getting the weekly PostCom Bulletin--the best postal newsletter anywhere...bar none?  Send us by email your name, company, company title, postal and email address. Get a chance to see what you've been missing.
 

Who handles the distribution of the PostCom Bulletin?
 Why, it's NETGRAM, of course. Read more about it.

September 23, 2005 -- The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.

September 23, 2005 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that "DHL has opened a new customer service centre in Chennai, India. The new 27,000 sq ft facility will serve 43 courier routes and 3,000 shipments per day. Chennai is the third largest market for DHL in India and accounts for 70 per cent of its business in the state. Clothing, apparels and textiles contribute over 30% to the total business in the state. Other key contributors were automobiles, industrial machinery and electronics."

September 23, 2005 -- In a letter to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus wrote:

"I am writing on behalf of postal workers represented by the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (the APWU) to address issues related to postal reform legislation that have been raised by the United States Postal Service. The APWU is appreciative ofthe strong leadership, insight, and determination you have brought to the difficult task of amending the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. We are deeply grateful to you for standing by the principle offree collective bargaining and for resisting the efforts to institutionalize worksharing that exceeds the postal cost avoided. 

"We are writing now to advise you that we share several of the concerns expressed by the Board of Governors' letter dated September 13, 2005. We have consistently maintained that the legislation in both houses of Congress must leave the Governors with the authority they will need to oversee the business of the Postal Service. While we strongly disagreewith the USPS recommendation to repeal SectionlOo5(f) of Title 39, we agree with the Governors that despite all the hard work, if the final legislation does not provide "real flexibility and authority, the Postal Service would be better positioned to build on recent progress in generating revenue and controlling costs under current law."

September 23, 2005 -- Be sure to check the USPS web site for the information on mail service changes in Texas and Louisiana.

September 23, 2005 -- The Sunday Times has reported that "The South African Post Office made a 135 million rand profit from trading operations for the financial year ended March 2005 - an improvement of 108 million rand on last year. It was the Post Office's second year of profitability."

September 23, 2005 -- TVNZ has reported that "New Zealand Post has paid the government a dividend of $50 million after notching up a record profit of $137.2 million. The result was driven by strong performance of the Postal Services Group and the maiden year profit of Kiwibank. The profit included a one-off gain $78.6 million from the sale of Express Couriers to the joint venture with Germany's DHL. Chief Executive John Allen says the result is significant given that it includes positive performances from across the group and was achieved despite ongoing challenges such as increasing competition, wage and inflationary increases, and rising cost pressures." See also Scoop.co.nz, New Zealand Herald, and Reuters.

September 23, 2005 -- The Adrenaline Vault has reported that "Document Command, Inc. and a team of volunteers is launching a free service called Remote Control Mail ™ to help provide continuity of important U.S. Postal Mail to Hurricane Katrina/Rita evacuees and businesses impacted by these storms. Unfortunately, the U.S. Postal Service is unable to accommodate the flood of mail and the geographical extent of Katrina's damage has led to the largest stockpile of undeliverable mail in history. Hurricane evacuees and relief workers can gain reliable access to their postal mail (which may include insurance checks, social security checks, FEMA paperwork, medicines, etc.), by using the Remote Control Mail service to securely view their important U.S. mail using a computer located anywhere in the world even though they may lack a permanent mailing address for an extended period of time. To take advantage of the service, people in the disaster area can sign up to have their mail forwarded to Remote Control Mail where images of their envelopes are scanned in a state-of-the-art, highly-secure, automated document processing facility. Then users simply log onto the Remote Control Mail website to view their electronic accounts and their mail to determine which pieces of mail they would like forwarded to their new location. Or, they could forward mail to multiple, new locations if they are forced to relocate again."

September 23, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "The Post Office(R) and The Gift Voucher Shop today announce an exciting new gift voucher service to help lift some of the gloom surrounding declining high street retail sales. The new gift voucher service will be available at all of the 14,600 Post Office(R) branches nationwide, giving the 28 million customers who visit the Post Office(R) every week access to an extensive range of high street retailers."

September 23, 2005 -- Bloomberg has reported that "TNT NV, Europe's second-biggest express-package delivery company, said it has found evidence past tax transactions were handled illegally, sending the shares down as much as 8.1 percent, the most in four years."

September 23, 2005 -- According to CBS4Denver, "As gas prices hang around the $3 a gallon mark, experts say you can improve your gas mileage by making your car, truck or SUV as light as possible. A CBS4 Investigation has found the U.S. Postal Service has been doing just the opposite, though. Some local mail delivery drivers have actually been carrying a lot of extra weight around, Brian Maass reports. When it's wintertime in Colorado, traction is king. That's why the U.S. Postal Service in Aurora began putting puzzle weights into its 73 delivery trucks years ago. Each small van is weighed down with an extra 288 pounds for better traction. CBS4 found that for the other 8 or 9 months of the year where there's no snow, the Aurora Post Office wasn't bothering to remove the weights." Must have been a slooooowww news day.

September 23, 2005 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that "FedEx Ground, the small-package ground carrier of FedEx Corp, has opened a new 325,000 square foot distribution hub near Dallas in Hutchins, Texas. The $34 million hub is capable of processing up to 22,500 packages per hour and is equipped with high speed conveyors and camera-based scan tunnels to maximize package sorting rates. The Dallas facility is one of nine hubs to open as part of a network expansion plan that will include the relocation or expansion of more than 290 pickup and delivery terminals through 2010."

September 23, 2005 -- The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation has reported that "Postal workers at the Eagle Hall, St. Michael office marched earlier this week venting their frustration about constantly having their bikes stolen. Today authorities at the Ministry of Home Affairs took heed and held a meeting with the postal officers and the Barbados Workers Union in an effort to solve the problem. The BWU says it expects a satisfactory solution to the problem of recurring theft of motorcycles owned by postal workers. Speaking to the media after the three-hour meeting, the BWU's Assistant General Secretary, Levere Richards said the union wants government to provide a back-up for officers who lose their vehicles."

September 23, 2005 -- The DM Bulletin has reported that "The Direct Marketing Association (U.K.) is launching a consumer campaign to counter misconceptions surrounding the industry. The campaign has been launched to build confidence in the industry and reverse negative images of junk mail, cold calling and spam emails. Hotwire managing director Kristin Syltevik said: "The direct marketing industry is hugely important to the success of the UK economy however there are clearly serious consumer misconceptions that must be corrected."

September 23, 2005 -- The Miami Herald has noted that "Federated Department Stores Inc.'s takeover of May Department Stores looks like bad news for the newspaper industry, which already has been hurt by the years-long trend of reduced department store advertising. The operator of Macy's and Bloomingdale's says its advertising plans for its former rival still are not complete and that it won't necessarily reduce newspaper advertising. However, its conversion of stores under multiple names into the Macy's brand will allow nationwide ad campaigns, particularly on television, as Macy's will be in nearly all major TV markets with 850 stores. Merrill Lynch analyst Lauren Rich Fine said this week that Federated already appears to be shifting spending from newspapers to television and direct mail."

September 23, 2005 -- In a letter to the editor of the Troy Record, USPS V.P. for Public Affairs and Communication Azeez Jaffer wrote: "Recently, a column by Don Soifer, executive director of U.S. Consumer Postal Council appeared in your publication and it not only contained factual errors but showed no attempt to provide a balanced look at the U.S. Postal Service. This consumer council is affiliated with another organization, the Lexington Institute, whose mission is to limit the role of government in commerce. So, as one might expect, these groups believe that only profit-making companies have the best interest of consumers at heart. Ergo, the USPS, an independent establishment of the government, doesn't care about consumers and is an inefficient monopoly."

September 22, 2005 -- From PRWeb: "Astonishingmail, LLC through their greeting card and postcard Web site, Astonishingcards (www.astonishingcards.com) has created a new collection of greeting cards and postcard frames specifically for your pets. These 4" x 6" postcards are customized with your pet's photo, your special message, then printed in color and mailed via the US Mail to your recipients address the next business day. These professionally designed cards and frames will enhance your pet's photo and let you easily share your pet's antics with family and friends. Astonishingcards.com is a product of Astonishingmail, LLC. Astonishingmail is the developer of both online and offline direct mail and greeting cards programs for both business and consumers."

September 22, 2005 -- According to the Pioneer Press, "The U.S. Postal Service, vying for more market share in the global delivery business, is expanding operation hours at hundreds of high-traffic branches around the country. Last year, 2,500 post offices were equipped with automated kiosks that let customers weigh packages, look up zip codes, send Express Mail and buy stamps with their credit or debit card. The machines, kept in front lobbies with late hours, offered customers an option other than heading to competitor UPS, which bought out MailBoxes Etc. in 2001 and is expected to grow to 5,000 stores in 2007. Many of its existing stores have been operating 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for some time. Online, the postal service is trying to match its competitors as well, now offering free delivery confirmation and home pickup requests on its Web site."

September 22, 2005 -- According to David Hendel of Wickwire Gavin LLP, the nation's experience with Katrina might make in order the suggestion that there is a new role the U.S. Postal Service can play in times of national emergency.

September 22, 2005 -- The U.S. Postal Service has posted its August 2005 financial statements on the USPS web site. But also be sure to check out the nice synopsis of the report posted on the PostalNews.com website.

September 22, 2005 -- The Springfield News-Leader has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is paying Springfield's mail handlers $330,000 in the final installment of a labor dispute that has dragged on for more than two years. Springfield's branch of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 297 previously received $170,000 for a total settlement worth half a million dollars. The $500,000 settlement is the largest the local union has ever won."

September 22, 2005 -- In his latest contribution to the PostCom Bulletin, Mail and Jobs Executive Director Peter Miller has noted that "There are few industries or services which have not been changed by the Internet. Travel agents, stockbrokers, car dealers, newspapers and book sellers have all evolved in the face of Internet speed and economics. The same was also supposed to happen to the mail system. But since Gates first published his book in the 1990s, a surprising thing has happened: The Internet has grown -- and so has the mailing system."

September 22, 2005 -- Japan Today has reported that "The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's policy panel endorsed without objection Thursday the postal privatization bills whose rejection by the Diet in August had precipitated the Sept 11 general election. The government plans to formalize the bills Monday and resubmit them immediately to the Diet as the major agenda for the 42-day parliamentary session that began Wednesday. The government has amended the bills to delay the start of the 10-year privatization process by six months to Oct 1, 2007, but not in its core elements of splitting Japan Post into four units and fully privatizing its financial operations in 10 years." See also AFX.

September 22, 2005 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that "FedEx Corp. on Wednesday said first-quarter profit rose modestly, weighed down by an accounting charge, while revenue showed solid growth as daily package volume expanded. Domestic volume grew 4 percent while international volume increased 13 percent year over year."

September 22, 2005 -- WebIndia123 has reported that "Residents of Bhubaneshwar now don't have to stand in long queues to pay their telephone bills, as for the first time in the history of the Indian Postal Service, the Postal Department has launched the phone bill collection service in the state of Orissa. Henceforth, the postman will collect telephone bills from every household, besides performing their daily duty of delivering letters, parcels and even money orders."

September 21, 2005 -- A sign of the times.... The Washington Post has reported that "the New York Times Co. said yesterday that it would cut 500 positions in coming months, or 4 percent of its workforce, hours after the Philadelphia Inquirer announced a planned buyout of 15 percent of its newsroom staff, as two of the nation's largest newspapers tried to offset stagnant advertising revenue and sagging circulation endemic to the industry. National daily newspaper circulation has declined every year since 1987; the same is true of Sunday papers since 1990. Newspapers, once the only source of news, now compete not only with radio and network television, but also with numerous cable television networks and Internet news sources. In addition, other media -- satellite radio, computer games, DVDs, iPods and so forth -- sap time required for reading a daily paper. The death of evening newspapers across the country over the past three decades foretold the current slump. The nation's more than 8,000 daily and weekly newspapers also are bracing for a $35-per-metric-ton hike in the price of newsprint expected on Oct. 1."

September 21, 2005 -- According to Lusa, "Portugal's CTT is going to create an electronic post office box for each Portuguese citizen. About twelve million electrónicos addresses the Portuguese citizens and institutions will be distributed, the addresses will have legal validity and the system will be managed by the CTT."

September 21, 2005 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

Deutsche Post's CEO Klaus Zumwinkel proudly presented the shareholders of Britain's Exel with his offer for a merger on Tuesday. Business rivals have spoken very critically of the intended acquisition.
The Swiss parliament has ordered the ministry in charge to make proposals during the first quarter of 2006 towards the further advancement of postal market liberalisation.
"Dynamic zonal pricing" is the term for a revolution about to hit the postal market. 
The Spanish postal workers' union UGT has demanded that in view of higher petrol costs postmen in rural areas be given higher compensation for expenses. UGT claims that postmen in rural areas, who use their own vehicles (!), receive a compensation of 0.094 euros per kilometre which has remained unchanged since 2003. At the same time, however, the petrol price has gone up from 0.88 to 1.154 euros. Service and maintenance costs have also risen considerably.
GLS Austria has already opened 50 of its planned 500 parcel shops in Austria in the last two months (CEP News 36/05). Contracts are about to be completed for a further 40 shops, according to GLS.

The MRU, founded in 1992, is the only consultancy in the German speaking area, which has specialised in the market of courier-, express- and parcel services. For large-scale shippers and CEP-services in particular, the MRU provides interdisciplinary advice for all major questions of the market, as there are for example market entry, product design, organisation, and EDP.To learn more about the stories reported above, contact CEP News.

September 21, 2005 -- According to one writer in the Wall Street Journal, "For ordinary German mail users, though, privatization hasn't born fruit. That's because Deutsche Post has yet to give up its lucrative monopoly on letter delivery in Germany, which bars customers from taking their business elsewhere. As a result, Germans pay some of the world's highest postal rates -- more than twice as much as fellow EU citizens in Spain. Germans were promised otherwise. Deutsche Post won permission to expand by promising to give up its monopoly on letter delivery. Instead, the "yellow giant" leveraged the profits from its monopoly and other advantages -- like billions of dollars worth of real estate gifted to it by the government -- into global expansion."

September 21, 2005 -- According to The Independent, "Angry activists inflicted a second humiliating defeat on the Liberal Democrat leadership in as many days over its flagship proposals to privatise postal services." See also the Financial Times and The Guardian.

September 21, 2005 -- China Economic has reported that "On July 20th, 2005, the State Council discussed and passed in principle Program on the Reform of Postal System. The State Post Bureau will be rebuilt by separating government functions from enterprise management as the post supervision and management institution, China Post Group Company will be organized to manage postal services of various kinds, and the establishment of Post Office Savings Bank will be accelerated to regulate financing operations. In recent years,foreign express tycoons have gained more and more market share in China. To recapture the international express businesses, the Post Administration issued in succession in 2002 "Document No. 64" and "State United Document No. 472". The Post Administration demanded that all the domestic and foreign-funded express service providers should accept mandatory rule by the Administration. The four tycoons of DHL, UPS, FEDEX and TNT first stood up to protest with open statements against the claim of the Post Administration."

September 20, 2005 -- Suddeutsche Zeitung has reported that "DB Fuhrpark-Service, the subsidiary of German national railway company Deutsche Bahn responsible for managing the group's vehicles, is to cooperate with Mobility Solutions, the subsidiary of the Swiss postal service operator that manages the company's transport fleet. The two companies are planning to cooperate on the management of large fleets of vehicles and to develop their services further."

September 20, 2005 -- According to USA Today, "UPS shares survived bear market, but have struggled lately."

September 20, 2005 -- The Biloxi Sun Herald has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has 15 post offices fully operational in the South Mississippi area, with six others offering limited service."

September 20, 2005 -- The Guardian has reported that "Liberal Democrats inflicted a second humiliating snub on their party leadership today, refusing to endorse a plan to part-privatise the Royal Mail. Party modernisers, led by the trade and industry spokesman, Norman Lamb, want a third of the Royal Mail to be sold off to employees, ahead of market liberalisation next year. But, after a heated hour-long debate, activists on the floor told the party to go back and rethink the plan, despite being warned they would "look ridiculous" for having no policy in place."

September 20, 2005 -- As Forbes has noted:

• FedEx and UPS have built their business models on the premise that they could pass along fuel-cost increases to their customers in the form of a surcharge. That's been mostly successful this year in keeping revenue moving in tandem with expenses. But firms so heavily reliant on fuel to power their fleets of planes and trucks are bound to hit a wall when oil prices continue to rise for months on end. Many analysts look at overnight shippers, like FedEx and UPS, as key economic bellwethers, since demand by businesses for overnight delivery service tends to pick up when the economy is rolling.
• FedEx found a smart way to compete with United Parcel Service in ground delivery. In lieu of hourly truck drivers, it would use independent contractors in its FedEx Ground division, paid for results but responsible for their own vehicles, fuel and overhead. In that way they would be like the milkmen of yore, or like many a RE/Max Realtor, Allstate insurance salesman or newspaper deliverer of today. Or maybe not so smart. After accepting FedEx contracts, contractor-drivers have filed 28 lawsuits in 22 states, most seeking class action status, covering as many as 7,000 current and former drivers, plaintiff lawyers say. Arguing they're not given full autonomy, they're demanding expense reimbursement, overtime and benefits. If FedEx, which earned $1.4 billion in fiscal 2005, has to classify all 14,000 ground-unit drivers as employees, the pretax hit could be in the neighborhood of $1.4 billion, taken over several periods, figures Brian Hamilton, chief executive of ProfitCents, a financial research company. And that's only for payroll taxes, health insurance, workers' comp, gas and overtime. The figure doesn't include things like retirement benefits and paid vacations. FedEx faces "a significant financial risk," but investors wouldn't know that because it has disclosed "the bare minimum," Hamilton adds.

September 20, 2005 -- Dow Jones has reported that "Fresh off a landslide electoral victory, the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will get down to the nuts-and-bolts of privatizing the postal service in a special session of Parliament that opens on Wednesday. The ruling coalition led by Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party roared to triumph in Sept. 11 elections for the lower house, clinching a hefty two-thirds majority in the chamber and a decisive mandate for postal reform. The government will get a crack at following through on its campaign promises when Parliament opens on Wednesday, beginning a process expected to lead to a vote on the postal legislation in mid-October." And postal reform in the United States? Welllll...let's just not talk about it.

September 20, 2005 -- According to the Irish Independent, "THE proposed global merger of package delivery and logistics groups Deutsche Post, the owner of DHL, and British-based Exel is thought likely to result in some shakeout of Irish jobs."

September 20, 2005 -- According to the Lexington Institute's Charles Guy, "Both Congressional plans to reform the U.S. Postal Service prescribe the wrong medicine for the ailing USPS. That's because lawmakers have misdiagnosed the problem, attributing the Postal Service's financial woes to a fall-off in the volume of mail. As it so happens, the Postal Service is afflicted with several serious problems, but none of these are new or a consequence of declining mail volume."

September 20, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that:

• Exel, the UK logistics group, on Monday admitted that some of its customers had expressed reservations over the £3.7bn ($6.7bn) deal with Deutsche Post, Europe's biggest postal service. John Allan, Exel's chief executive said: "People do need to be reassured that in the long run this will be beneficial but this is very early days. "There are not too many people saying where they stand at present. A small number of them have reservations."
• There has been one date etched on the brains of Deutsche Post executives for years: December 31 2007. It will mark the end of the German postal group's exclusive licence in its domestic market, the company's biggest source of profits. After that, German postal services will be fully opened to competition.

September 20, 2005 -- The Guardian has reported that "The head of Germany's Deutsche Post yesterday defended his decision to launch a pounds 3.7bn agreed bid for Britain's Exel in a deal that will mark a further round of consolidation in the global logistics business."

September 19, 2005 -- Three weeks to the day that Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, UPS has resumed service to parts of New Orleans' Central Business District and sections of the French Quarter. Outside New Orleans, UPS now has reopened 21 of its 22 affected buildings in the region and restored delivery service to every ZIP code in Mississippi and Alabama. The company also has resumed daily air flights into and out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Traffic World also noted that "DHL opened Express stations Monday in Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans and at the George R. Carr Airport in Covington, La. The company said it will be able to serve customers along the Gulf Coast with the exception of those areas completely inaccessible due to damage and flooding from Hurricane Katrina.

September 19, 2005 -- As the Financial Times put it, "Royal Mail will regain its monopoly on delivering household post following a decision by Express Dairies to pull out of the postal delivery business."

September 19, 2005 -- Dow Jones has reported that "Dutch postal and logistics company TNT N.V. Monday said its chief financial officer, Jan Haars, was leaving over "differences in management style," and that his successor would likely come from outside the company. TNT - the principal mail provider in the Netherlands through TNT Post, and the world's second largest logistics provider after Exel PLC of the U.K. - said Haars would receive severance payment of EUR1 million before taxes, and a EUR360,210 pension scheme contribution."

September 19, 2005 -- Yokwe Online has noted that "International rate schedules will be used for mail destined to the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. The proposed rule was posted in the United States Federal Register on September 15. As provided in the agreement within the Compact of Free Association negotiated between the US and the two former Trust Territories, international rates will be phased in over a period of not less than five years, beginning no sooner than 2006. As a first step, for international services with domestic equivalents, rates will be phased in using the difference between the domestic rates and the international rates."

September 19, 2005 -- MarketWatch has reported that "Siemens AG (SI) unveiled more reorganization of its sprawling empire Monday, saying it will shed 2,400 jobs at its information technology services unit and break up the logistics and assembly business. The postal automation and airport logistics units will be allocated to the industrial solutions and services division, while the electronic assembly systems business, which produces pick-and-place machines for the electronics industry, will become part of automation and drives. The loss-making distribution and industry unit and its associated products and customer service, will be spun off into a separate entity - Dematic GmbH."

September 19, 2005 -- The Associated Press has reported that "German postal and logistics company Deutsche Post AG said Monday it will take over the British-based Exel PLC for 5.5 billion euros ($6.7 billion). The deal, which still has to be approved by Exel shareholders, is the largest international acquisition for Deutsche Post and is expected to create the world's largest logistics business with a combined work force of around 500,000 people."

September 19, 2005 -- According to DM News, "Results from Fingerhut's first test using repositionable notes more than offset the cost of using the program, the company said last week. RPNs are popular because they can go from the outside of a mail piece to a customer's telephone, computer monitor, refrigerator or calendar, extending the lifespan of a direct marketer's message, the USPS said. RPNs are allowed on all letter- and flat-sized mail sent at discount First-Class, Standard and Periodicals rates. The added rate for RPN-bearing mail is 0.5 cents for First-Class pieces and 1.5 cents for Standard and Periodicals pieces. The postal service said 593 customers have sent nearly 27 million pieces of mail with RPNs since April, when the product became available for a fee, including Standard mail (410,614 flats and 23.26 million letters) and First-Class mail (3,778 flats and 3.3 million letters). Some direct mailers opposed the test of the added rate, arguing that it doesn't cost the USPS extra to process."

September 19, 2005 -- Direct has reported that "Some conservative direct marketers are crying foul over an appeals-court decision that bulk mailings by non-profit United Seniors Association Inc. probably misled senior citizens into thinking they were receiving official correspondence from the Social Security Administration. The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia on Aug. 25 upheld a decision by a Social Security administrative law judge that envelopes mailed by the United Seniors Association used phrases such as "Social Security Alert" and "Social Security Information Enclosed" in violation of the Social Security Act. The court also upheld a $554,196 fine against USA Next, as the conservative lobbying group is also known."

September 19, 2005 -- The Deccan Herald has reported that "Inaugurating the 15th joint session of the All India Postal Employees Union (AIPEU)-Group C, AIPEU-Postmen, Group D and GDS Employees Association, in the City on Sunday, he said an in-depth study of the fall-outs of the privatisation of the Postal Department should be carried out to help the government understand the repercussions of the proposed move. The employees of the Postal Department were beset with too many problems when compared to the employees of other departments of the government. The reduction in the number of posts had increased the burden on the existing work-force. The anti-labour policies being pursued by the government was the root cause for all these problems, he blamed."

September 18, 2005 -- According to Direct postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "Today, most mail is processed via automation. Consequently, there is more to "complete" addressing than just the human-readable part. Automatable mail requires a perfectly accurate barcode presented to a machine reader in precisely the place it expects it. As the U.S. Postal Service continues to improve its mail automation technology, it will expect mailers to understand the need for placing this vital barcode and addressing information in a place and position on the mail piece that is designed to facilitate machine-readability and processing."

September 18, 2005 -- NewIndPress has reported that "R.Ganesan, Secretary, Union Department of Posts, has said that the department is on the threshold of a major restructuring. Launching the Postal Department's ‘Direct Post' at a function here on Saturday, Ganesan said that the revamping process was going on in the department to meet the challenges in the wake of the technological changes. Ganesan said as part of it, the department had already computerised 3,000 post offices across the country. By the end of the 10th Plan period, Ganesan said that the number of computer-linked post offices would go up to 10,000. With the linking of post offices, the department would diversify its activities with an eye on the expansion of its customer base."

September 18, 2005 -- The Alaska Journal of Commerce has reported that "While the U.S. Postal Service is trying to convince Barrow residents that cost cutting measures that will change the bypass mail system on the North Slope is necessary and warranted, Fairbanks business leaders are calculating the negative impacts to their community. "This proposal will have a significant negative impact financially, and to long-term relationships between Fairbanks and Barrow and the surrounding villages," said Jim Whittaker, mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. A meeting scheduled for Sept. 22 in Fairbanks is sure to be a showdown between the North and the South as Barrow and Fairbanks join with mainline bypass mail air carriers in a show of unity against the postal service's cost-cutting measures."

September 18, 2005 -- According to the Globe and Mail, "Their pay is low, there are few benefits and their workplace is full of diesel dust, black ice and flying cabs. But sign on to a union? Toronto's bicycle couriers aren't really the joining kind. CUPW organizers see bicycle couriers as a natural fit for their union, since their role parallels that of postal workers. CUPW's drive to organize Toronto couriers is part of a Canada-wide campaign that would swell the union's ranks and increase its power over the delivery industry."

September 18, 2005 -- The Observer has reported that "Attempts to open the postal market to competition have suffered a setback with the withdrawal of the Royal Mail's only competitor in delivering to front doors around the country. Express Dairies, which has been delivering post from 100 depots via 1,400 of its milkmen to households across the UK for two years, is to stop its mail operation next month. The news has caused disappointment at industry regulator Postcomm, which is preparing to introduce full competition into the postal market from January."

September 18, 2005 -- The Scotsman has noted that "POSTAL services in Britain will open up to competition on January 1 though, of course, there will be no post that day. Nor is it likely that anybody will notice much difference, at least not for some time. "The juicy parts of the market are already open to competition so we don't see much change, not right away," says Sarah Chambers, chief executive of Postcomm, the regulator. Chambers and her chairman, Nigel Stapleton - who were in Scotland last week to meet customers of Royal Mail - believe Crozier is getting over-excited about the threats, pointing out that Royal Mail controls 99% of the £6bn letters market and has a position in the industry that is hardly likely to be usurped, whatever the competition. Its universal reach, scale and brand give it a massive advantage so that deregulation is likely to be as big a challenge for those tryin