October 31, 2005 -- From PR Newswire: "Canada Post Borderfree, established in 1999 and part of the Canada Post Group of Companies since 2002, today announced the opening of a second U.S. distribution center in Chicago as part of its continued growth strategy. The original distribution center is located in Taylor, Michigan. Based in Toronto, Canada Post Borderfree is a strategic partner of multi- channel retailers planning to expand into international markets. Through a suite of low integration technology and logistics solutions, Borderfree replicates the domestic consumer shopping experience and localizes it for seamless market entry."

October 31, 2005 -- Washington Technology has reported that "Communications Technologies Inc. has won a $5.7 million multiyear contract with the Army to continue providing the Military Postal Services Agency with support for its technology platform. The contract calls for COMTek of Chantilly, Va., to continue working on the design and integration of the agency’s 21st Century Automated Military Postal System IT platform."

October 31, 2005 -- Agenzia Giornalistica Italia has reported that "Unions are opening talks with the Post Office with an overtime strike 7-18 November and a 24 hour strike on the occasion of the General Strike of 12 November. Furthermore, on the occasion of the four hour general strike proclaimed by the confederations for 25 November, postal workers will be out for the whole day."

October 31, 2005 -- AllAfrica.com has reported that "Post offices offer banking services, which are sought after services especially in rural areas of Namibia. The closure on September 10, which is more than a month made residents in that area dig deeper into their pockets having to travel to Okakarara and Otjiwarongo to especially withdraw their money from the Post Office Savings Bank (POSB). The post office was closed after one of the workers there allegedly misused money, which included cash, vouchers and telecards and then left without word, closing the office. She reportedly just left without filling in a resignation form."

October 31, 2005 -- The Postal Rate Commission entrusted by law with review of requested changes in the rates and fees of the U.S. Postal Service will host a Press conference formally announcing its decision in the latest Rate Case, Docket No. 2005-1 WHEN: Tuesday, November 1, 2005 at 11:30 AM WHERE: Postal Rate Commission Hearing Room West Tower, 2nd Floor 901 New York Avenue, NW Washington DC 20268

October 31, 2005 -- Ireland Online has reported that "The Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan has said that any disruption to the postal service won't affect the delivery of special Christmas social welfare payments. Mr Brennan said urgent meetings are being held to ensure the money will be paid, in the event that postal workers go on strike as they have threatened to do."

October 31, 2005 -- The Irish Independent has reported that "POSTAL delays are undermining the accuracy of vital blood testing of patients in the Munster region, rural doctors have warned."

October 31, 2005 -- The Financial Post has reported that "Richard Thornton, a Mississauga, Ont., business owner, is in the fight of life against Canada Post Corp. He and other operators in the $100-million international mail delivery market are in danger of being shut down by the Crown corporation after nearly two decades in business. It's a battle, now before the courts, that has cost Mr. Thornton some big-time customers and forced him to issue pink slips. Canada Post has two court rulings in its pocket giving the Crown corporation the power to put Mr. Thornton's Key Mail International out of business after 17 years. Mr. Thornton is pinning his hopes now with the justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, to which his lawyers have sought leave to appeal. Mr. Thornton said he believes this is a new, aggressive effort on Canada Post's to use loopholes in the law to shut down its rivals. Key Mail, along with his Ontario rival Spring Canada, he said, is at the top of Canada Post's hit list."

October 31, 2005 -- From Business Wire: "Automobile drivers may be feeling the pinch at the gas pump, but try fueling the world's ninth-largest airline. That task has prompted UPS to accelerate a fuel conservation program that's now saving more than $1 million each month in fuel costs while reducing the airline's impact on the environment."

October 31, 2005 -- As the New York Times has noted, "This year, Google will sell $6.1 billion in ads, nearly double what it sold last year, according to Anthony Noto, an analyst at Goldman Sachs. That is more advertising than is sold by any newspaper chain, magazine publisher or television network. By next year, Mr. Noto said, he expects Google to have advertising revenue of $9.5 billion. That would place it fourth among American media companies in total ad sales after Viacom, the News Corporation and the Walt Disney Company, but ahead of giants including NBC Universal and Time Warner."

October 31, 2005 -- The Times has reported that "ROYAL MAIL’s management is determined to resist pressure from ministers to sell off GLS, its thriving European parcels business, to raise capital to reduce its £4 billion pension fund deficit. Amid signs of growing pressure from the Government, thought to be spearheaded by the Treasury, for Royal Mail to raise cash from its own asset base to tackle the pension deficit, it is understood that the company is intent on holding on to GLS."

October 31, 2005 -- The Royal Mail in Britain has had its fortunes reversed in part because of the volume of mailed packages generated by the online action site eBay. Of 100 post offices contacted by the Sunday Telegraph, 76 said their rise in mail volume was a result of eBay -- and British post offices have increased their volume by two-thirds in the past two years. Eight post office managers said 75 percent of their trade was attributed to the online auction Web site, the Telegraph said.

October 31, 2005 -- The Lafayette Daily Advertiser had one reader who noted that this year "you will find the brand new "holiday issue" - four 37-cent stamps of holiday cookies. The first shows a cookie Santa. The second shows cookie snowpersons, one masculine and one feminine. Another shows a cookie angel. The last shows cookie elves, one a light sugar cookie the other a dark gingerbread. Explain to me, please, exactly what "holiday" do these new stamps celebrate? This year, maybe I'll just send a Christmas e-mail instead."

October 31, 2005 -- The New York Times has reported that "DHL Worldwide Express agreed to stop shipping to consumers this summer. Now, United Parcel Service, the world's largest shipping company, has promised to stop cigarette shipments to individuals next month. FedEx, the second-largest United States package company, has said that it ships tobacco only to companies or dealers, not individuals. This leaves one major avenue for sellers - the United States Postal Service. Congress could help matters by putting tax-free cigarettes on the list of nonmailable items, like liquor, guns and explosives. That would raise the risk level by making cigarette shipments a violation of federal law, punishable by fines and prison sentences."

October 31, 2005 -- The Daily Yomiuri has reported that "Japan Post has reached a broad agreement with TNT Post Group, a Dutch operator of express delivery and logistics services, on a tie-up in its international express mail service (EMS). Japan Post has already announced an alliance with All Nippon Airways to enter the international delivery business after April 2006. The tie-up with TNT Post will focus on international logistics service for corporate clients. As the first step, Japan Post plans to form a tie-up in EMS as permitted under the current Postal Law, the sources said. EMS delivery of documents and parcels weighing up to 30 kilograms is faster than normal postal services to 121 countries and regions."

October 30, 2005 -- SearchSecurity has noted that according to Charles L. McGann, manager, Secure Infrastructure Services, United States Postal Service, the "US Postal Service delivers intrusion prevention."

October 30, 2005 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue: 

• The Postal Service recently told the American Postal Workers Union it plans to consolidate certain mail processing operations.
• The Board of Directors of the Association for Postal Commerce chose new officers and elected four new members this week.
• Business Mailers Review looks at Canada Post’s attempts to curtail remailing through the court system.
• Postal commentator Gene Del Polito says costing still drives ratemaking, which in turn should be at the core of postal reform.
• In this commentary, direct mail consultant Cary H. Baer says it’s time the mailing industry abandons the postal reform bills in Congress and convenes a meeting of its leadership to discuss and agree upon the content of a real postal reform bill.
• Senators meet on postal reform legislation. UPS supports Postal Service effort for rate-setting review. Postal workers seek to reinstate anthrax lawsuits. UPS agrees to end cigarette deliveries.
• Postbank to take over 850 Deutsche Post branches. Zumwinkel promises faster mail delivery in Germany. EU will probe newspaper distribution in Switzerland. Austrian Post going self-service. Polish political party proposes postal partnership. Swiss Post banking proposal goes forward again. ‘Snail mail’ thriving in Ireland? Workshop: Germany must adapt to new universal service models. Red Parcel Post plans high-tech operation. ComReg issues second strategy statement – liberalization in 2009. Will Austrian Post try to sneak one by in the dark? Romanian postal privatization due by 2007. Post office link might just be the cup of tea for Assam.

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October 30, 2005 -- At its regularly scheduled fall meeting, the Board of Directors of the Association for Postal Commerce elected the following as Officers of the Association for the two period of 2006-2007: as chairman, James O'Brien (Time, Inc.); as vice chairman, Jody Berenblatt (Bank of America); as treasurer, Dan Emens (JP Morgan Chase); as secretary, Anita Pursley (Quebecor World). The following also were elected as directors of the association: Rose Flanagan (Transcontinental Direct USA); John McAlpin (Newgistics); James McDaniels (Time Warner); Gloria Randolph (RadioShack); Jim Bowler (Publishing Clearing House); Kelly Browning (American Institute for Cancer Research); John Campo (Pitney Bowes); Vincent Giuliano (ADVO, Inc.); Steve Fuller (L. L. Bean, Inc.); Donna Hanbery (SMC & AISOP); Rob Helms (Brown Printing Company); Bruce Heston (Meredith Corporation); Aaron Horowitz (Cosmetique); Coleman W. Hoyt (Continuity Shippers Association); Carole Morrow (BMG Direct); Lucie White (RR Donnelley); Brad Nathan (Quebecor World Logistics); Robert Posch (Bookspan); and Anita Pursley (Quebecor World).

October 30, 2005 -- The Record has provided a "little primer on how the postal insurance process works."

October 30, 2005 -- As the Los Angeles Times has noted, "Normality is still a ways off for most mail routes in New Orleans, where neighborhoods are so damaged and residents so dispersed that home delivery is pointless, even impossible. But the United States Postal Service is doing its best to move the mail. It is making deliveries, if sporadically, to about 38% of its routes in New Orleans."

October 30, 2005 -- The Telegraph has reported that "Royal Mail is under intense pressure from the Treasury to sell its successful European parcels business, GLS, as well as billions of pounds worth of property. Ministers and officials have told Allan Leighton, Royal Mail's chairman, that the company must raise cash to help fill the £4bn hole in its pension fund. "There is no way that we can simply write a cheque for billions to sort out the pension fund when the company is sitting on assets worth a fortune," said a government member. Leighton has received approaches from the world's largest logistics businesses, FedEx, UPS and TNT, all of which want to buy GLS. "We could sell it tomorrow," said an executive close to Royal Mail." See also The Scotsman.

October 30, 2005 -- The Times has reported that "AN POST has decided the time is right to seek outside help in its public relations battles with staff and customers. No other company needs external PR help more than An Post right now. Staff have threatened to strike while Noel Dempsey, the communications minister, is warning that such industrial action might see him abolish An Post’s monopoly on letter post earlier than the 2009 deadline set by the European Union."

October 30, 2005 -- The Observer has reported that "Stamp prices will be linked in future to the size of the Royal Mail pension deficit under plans being drawn up by the postal regulator, PostComm."

October 30, 2005 -- As WFAA.com has noted, "They may have cellphones in their pockets, earphones dangling from their heads and computers at home, but recent research shows young consumers still have a thing for the tried-and-true: mail. A survey by the U.S. Postal Service found that 86 percent of Generation X and 87 percent of Generation Y bring in their mail the day it is delivered. And 70 percent of Gen Xers and 82 percent of GenYers sort through it immediately. "To effectively reach this younger generation of Americans, whose lives are being shaped by digital media, marketers must deliver smarter, more sophisticated and relevant messages and must use the right media channel to drive their messages," says Anita Bizzotto, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for the Postal Service."

October 30, 2005 -- Strategiy has reported that "Emirates Post has appointed Streamline Marketing, a Dubai-based group specializing in turnkey management of international events, to manage the organization of the 2006 UPU Strategy Conference which will be held in Dubai from November 14 to 16, 2006."

October 30, 2005 -- From PR Leap: "BCC Software, a BÖWE BELL + HOWELL company and a leading developer of high-performance software and solutions for professional mailers, announces the completion of an integration process that folds the Where’s My Mail mailpiece-tracking service into Mail Manager 2010 and Mail Manager 2010 LE, BCC’s flagship presorting and list-management software solutions. The integration provides 2010 and LE users with a simple yet powerful method of processing United States Postal Service® (USPS®) PLANET Code™ information, and monitoring crucial mailpiece delivery details."

October 30, 2005 -- NewKerala.com has reported that "To earn revenue during Diwali, the Department of Posts has come up with a unique initiative. It has tied up with private greeting card companies to put up their stalls at over 100 post offices across the states of Maharashtra and Goa ahead of the Diwali festival ."

October 30, 2005 -- According to those who knew him best, Nigeria's late postmaster general, Abubakar Musa Argungu, will be missed. As The Vanguard noted, "it would be hard for most NITEL staff to imagine that he would never be there again after all the feat he carried out. This was a man who met NIPOST at a time it took a mail not less than a month to reach the nearest city, but left when a letter took only three days to reach any part of Nigeria. He met NIPOST when it was hard to even pay staff salary, not to talk of posting profit. But, last year alone, NIPOST posted N3.3 billion sales, N1billion above that of 2003. Mail pilfering, as far as NIPOST management will posit, is almost a post event. Argungu had put in a measure of modern business practices based on Total Quality Management and waged an internal battle with old hands in the company that heavily benefited from the corrupt and unproductive old order."

October 29, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Alan Johnson, the trade and industry secretary, is to keep secret the findings of an independent expert advising the government on Royal Mail's future, a move that yesterday sparked cross-party protests ahead of a decision on the postal operator's ownership. There is growing concern among Labour backbenchers and trade unions that ministers could renege on a manifesto policy to keep the Royal Mail in "public hands" by agreeing to a proposal from Allan Leighton, chairman, to give employees tradeable shares in the business."

October 28, 2005 -- According to GovExec.com, "Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo., met Thursday to discuss Bond's hold on sweeping postal overhaul legislation that Collins' committee cleared earlier this year. Bond is trying to persuade Collins to include language from the House version of the measure that would allow ratepayers to challenge individual rates, such as the price of first class mail, if they do not see them as "fair and equitable." Mailing industry lobbyists and a Senate aide said a coalition of large mailers was able to reach a consensus on the provision earlier this fall, but L.L. Bean, which is headquartered in Collins' home state of Maine, objected. Postal lobbyists also noted that Hallmark, which relies on first class mail and is headquartered in Missouri, pushed Bond to put a hold on the bill unless a deal can be reached. A spokeswoman for Collins and a spokesman for Bond said that while the hold remains in place, they will continue to discuss their differences."

October 28, 2005 -- The Yorkshire Post has reported that "BELGRAVIUM TECHNOLOGIES, the company that makes hand-held systems which track goods through the supply chain, has won a new contract to supply hand-held units to TNT Mail. TNT hopes the deal will help it to secure the number two slot behind Royal Mail in the UK postal market."

October 28, 2005 -- According to the DM Bulletin, "A record 94.2% of First Class letters arrived the day after posting during July-September, according to Royal Mail's latest quality of service figures, compiled by independent researchers."

October 28, 2005 -- Business World has reported that "Worker Directors on the Board of An Post this afternoon strongly rejected claims in the media of sabotage by postal employees. An Post yesterday said that there had been instances of deliberate delays to the mail by workers as the dispute over payment of previous wage round increases continues. A statement from the Worker Directors today said that the allegations are "not proven and it is neither legitimate nor fair to have them circulating in the public domain"." See also RTE Interactive.

October 28, 2005 -- According to the Washington Times, "More than four years after they were exposed to anthrax, employees at a mail center in Northeast sought yesterday to revive lawsuits against the U.S. Postal Service. They asked a three-judge panel from the Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate a pair of cases against the postmaster general and local Postal Service managers."

October 28, 2005 -- The Sunday Business Post has reported that "Management has accused workers of sabotaging the postal system in an effort to turn public opinion against the company. According to management, delivery drivers are deliberately getting lost, and absenteeism has risen to 24% in some areas." See also the Irish Independent.

October 28, 2005 -- The U.S. Postal Service has announced changes to the Domestic Mail Manual in a second October update, which is available on Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com).

October 27, 2005 -- According to PDALive, "E Ink, in cooperation with LG.Philips LCD, has built the largest flexible electronic paper display to date. Less than 300 microns thick, the paper-white display is as thin and flexible as construction paper. With a 10.1-inch diagonal, the prototype achieves SVGA (600x800) resolution at 100 pixels per inch and has a 10:1 contrast ratio with 4 levels of grayscale. E Ink’s Imaging Film is a novel display material that looks like printed ink on paper and has been designed for use in paper-like electronic displays. Like paper, the material can be flexed and rolled. As an additional benefit, the E Ink Imaging Film uses 100 times less energy than a liquid crystal display because it can hold an image without power and without a backlight. LG.Philips LCD and E Ink selected a steel foil material that could be supplied by Sumitomo in high volume and which was developed by Nippon Steel, the leading steel company in Japan. The flexible foil is a super-thin, extremely flat, high-performance steel that can easily withstand the high temperatures of a TFT production process."

October 27, 2005 -- GISUser has noted that "GfK MACON has thoroughly revised and completed the digital maps of Romania for its new expanded European map archive. The most important addition is the six-digit postcode map, the first of its kind."

October 27, 2005 -- Australia Post has picked Research International (RI) to monitor its delivery of letters using radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology, together with more traditional end-to-end measures. The company has been using RFID to measure its international mail services for the past two years.

October 27, 2005 -- Multichannel Merchant Weekly has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is still mum. But Joe Schick, director of postal affairs for Sussex,WI-based printer Quad/Graphics, expects the USPS to announce its 5.4% rate increase by the second week of November and implement the rates by Jan. 15, 2006."

October 27, 2005 -- The Kingdom has reported that "ENRAGED postal workers from across Munster gathered in Killarney on Saturday to bring their demands directly to Communications Minister Noel Dempsey and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis. Saturday’s protest in Killarney coincided with the announcement of over-whelming support in a ballot of postal workers for industrial action over wages and conditions."

October 27, 2005 -- eWeek has reported that "New logistics technologies, supply chain services, an integrated shipping network, and strong branding are the key drivers behind the financial growth gained by United Parcel Service over the past year, according to Scott Davis, the company's chief financial officer."

October 27, 2005 -- The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has noted that "U.S. Postal Service officials confirmed Wednesday that they plan to shift processing of first-class mail from the center in Youngwood to a larger facility in Pittsburgh."

October 27, 2005 -- From the U.S. Postal Service: "Military families and organizations across the country preparing care packages to mail to service members overseas for the holidays need to mark Nov. 12 on their calendars. Packages being sent by Parcel Post to all Air/Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) ZIP Codes should be mailed no later than Saturday, Nov. 12, to reach troops stationed overseas in time for the holidays. Letters and cards sent by First-Class Mail should be posted no later than Dec. 10. There are more than 80 military installations worldwide. "We are asking families and supporters to mail and ship early this year to insure a happy holiday for our troops," said John E. Potter, Postmaster General and CEO of the U.S. Postal Service."

October 27, 2005 -- According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, "FedEx expects its busiest day in company history will be Dec. 12 when an anticipated avalanche of 8.5 million packages -- 400,000 more than last year's busiest day -- will be headed to doorsteps around the world through FedEx Express and FedEx Ground. FedEx typically handles 6 million packages a day."

October 27, 2005 -- According to Globes Online, "The Ministry of Communications has allowed 90 companies to collect, transfer, and deliver letters. Many of the companies received permits this year, and many have been operating for years without permission. The new permits will therefore not change the level of competition in the postal market. The permits allow collecting, transferring, and delivering letters weighing up to 500 grams, including overseas mail. The minimum delivery price is NIS 5.40, 4.5 times the price of delivering an ordinary letter when the general permit was signed. This means that the Israel Postal Authority will retain most of the market, which consists of cheap delivery of letters. There is no price restriction on delivery of letters send overseas from Israel."

October 27, 2005 -- Online Media Daily has reported that "E-MAIL AUTHENTICATION FIRM GOODMAIL SYSTEMS Wednesday announced a deal with Yahoo! and America Online to certify certain e-mails from senders like banks or charities, to stop fraud or phishing schemes from targeting users. The service, called CertifiedEmail, marks with an icon e-mail from users who have signed up with Goodmail as authenticated in the user's inbox--allowing e-mail users to be certain that the e-mail actually came from the sender it claims." So much for the uniqueness of a USPS electronic postmark.

October 27, 2005 -- According to DM News postal commentator Cary Baer, "It is time to can the current bill and go back to square one. The first thing that needs to happen is the establishment of additional industry leadership. For a long time, the direct mail/marketing industry has been led by its trade association leadership. Clearly this will continue, and that leadership is and always will be indispensable. However, it’s time that individuals from companies that actually pay postage step to the forefront. Too often of late, postage payers have abdicated their voice to industry suppliers, be they printers, software/hardware suppliers, et al. For the industry to be taken more seriously by the powers that be, those who actually pay the postage must step forward."

October 27, 2005 -- The Center for Media Research has said that "According to a white paper by the Winterberry Group, and a summary report by the Direct Marketing Association, acquisition mailing made up 70% of the $52.5 billion marketers spent on direct mail during 2004. The overall trend in direct mail use is growth, though sources disagree about the rate of increase. The Direct Marketing Association anticipates a conservative 5.2% growth rate, while the Winterberry Group, which sponsored the study, predicts 7.5% growth in direct mail, all direct response advertising through the mail, including postcards, catalogs and letters, which represents over 23 percent of total United States direct response advertising spending."

October 27, 2005 -- Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail has appointed a firm of headhunters to start an urgent search for a high-profile replacement for its finance director, in return for a six-figure fee. The new director can expect to earn a minimum of £1m over the next three years, but experts cautioned yesterday there may be few suitable candidates. The new finance director can expect to be well rewarded. Ms Cassoni got a lump sum of more than £1m, in the last financial year, on top of generous pension benefits. The new candidate will presumably expect at least to equal her base annual salary of £347,000 plus an index-linked pension paying two-thirds of final salary." PostCom to USPS CFO Richard Strasser: Your ship just came in. Talk about closing with a high three....

October 27, 2005 -- From Business Wire: "Upon the recommendation of local UPS employees, The UPS Foundation today presented the Atlanta Community ToolBank with a $25,000 grant. Since its founding in 1994, the ToolBank has provided no-cost home repairs to residents of the Turner Field area, helped identify community members in need and created a Tool Lending Library, open to Atlanta area non-profits. The ToolBank intends to use the UPS Foundation grant to buy additional tools for lending and to expand its current staffing."

October 27, 2005 -- EV World has reported that "Azure Dynamics Corporation ("Azure Dynamics" or the "Company") a leading developer of hybrid electric and electric powertrains for commercial and military vehicles is pleased to announce that it has sold two new zero- emission, all-electric Azure CitiVans to the New York Power Authority ("NYPA") and delivered them to the United States Postal Service ("USPS") fleet serving the Flushing Post Office in Queens, New York. Azure CitiVans are two-ton delivery trucks, replacing diesel powered trucks used to transport mail and bulk packages between central distribution facilities and neighborhood post boxes serving the Flushing, Queens neighborhood."

Ocotber 27, 2005 -- The Economic Times has reported that "Emirates Post, the official postal service of the UAE, has bought a 60% stake in Wall Street Exchange Centre for over $15m. Wall Street Exchange Centre offers a range of money changing services. It also has a presence in the wholesale forex market and operates as the exchange company for other exchange houses, banks and business houses."

October 27, 2005 -- Editor & Publisher has reported that "Pushed by lobbying from the National Newspaper Association (NNA) , the U.S. Postal Rate Commission (PRC) has rejected a proposal that would have imposed a surcharge on small newspapers and other mailed periodicals that use mail sacks." Victory (or what passes for victory) has a thousand fathers; defeat has none.

October 26, 2005 -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has reported that "Deutsche Post, the German postal service operator, has been forbidden by the German networks regulator to place rivals at a disadvantage in comparison with its own major customers in the dispute centring around the deregulation of the collection and pre-sorting of letters, which could lose Deutsche Post annual turnover of up to 200m euros. The postal service operator, which currently offers discounts of up to 21 per cent to major customers which dispatch letters already pre-sorted, must now offer similarly high discounts to rivals which carry out the collection and pre-sorting of letters."

October 26, 2005 -- According to the Australian Financial Review, "Research International has replaced KPMG in providing quality control and delivery monitoring services to Australia Post. Armed with a new technology called radio frequency identification (RFID), Australia Post will be able to track millions of parcels and letters on a daily basis with more ease and accuracy. Pilot testing will go on for six months, with the new service expected to be fully utilised by mid-2006. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu will handle quarterly and yearly audits, while Lynsgoe Systems will supply the technology."

October 26, 2005 -- From the CCN Matthews news service: "Canada Post and the Association of Postal Officials of Canada (APOC) are pleased to announce they have successfully concluded negotiations for a new collective agreement, extending until March 31, 2009."

October 26, 2005 -- CNET has reported that "Almost 100 years after helping create the package delivery business, United Parcel Service of America has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to an overhaul designed to improve the process. The company is more than halfway through a $600 million plan to build a suite of software and hardware products that it hopes will save it a similar amount annually when fully in place by 2007. Included in that cost is not just the purchase and development of new technology, but the price of buying new equipment and building extra conveyer belts at each of UPS' more than 1,000 sorting facilities nationwide."

October 26, 2005 -- Mailers Council executive director Robert McLean has reported that "The USPS has concluded pay consultations with two of its three management associations, but one association has rejected the package, leading to the possibility of nonbinding interest arbitration third-party mediation for the first time since Congress approved legislation allowing for such intervention. The National Association of Postmasters of the United States and the National League of Postmasters accepted the one-year agreement. The National Association of Postal Supervisors rejected the package and continues to "consult" (as it is referred to in USC Title 39) with the Postal Service on revisions. Under the agreement, postmasters and supervisors will be measured on their individual contributions using a performance matrix that will make them eligible for pay increases of up to 12%. Salary ranges will increase 2.25% for EAS-11 and above postmasters and supervisors."

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

The French La Poste enjoyed an increase in both turnover and profit during the first half of the current financial year. The company has confirmed figures according to which the 9.82bn euros turnover was almost 4% higher than for the same period of time last year.
50% minus one share of Belgium's De Post/La Poste now belongs to Post Danmark and its financial partner CVC Capital Partners. Modernisation and restructuring are part of the takeover agreement.
Ireland's An Post continues to struggle with problems.
Deutsche Post's CEO Klaus Zumwinkel has promised faster mail delivery to households and businesses.
Poland's government-owned Poczta Polska (PP) will possibly merge with the country's biggest bank, PKO PB. The post could thus prepare itself for growing competition. From 2009, private operators will be allowed onto the mail market, as in all other EU member states. The post is also under pressure on Poland's express market.
The EU Commission has announced that it will investigate subsidised prices for newspaper distribution in Switzerland.
The Swedish private mail operator OptiMail is still moving on treacherous financial ground.

The MRU, founded in 1992, is the only consultancy in Europe, 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.

October 26, 2005 -- According to UK Fundraising, "Irish charities planning to conduct major mail appeals running up to Christmas are becoming increasingly concerned about a possible postal strike by the unions representing the An Post workforce. A least five charities in Ireland are planning to meet the 21st November postaim deadline which gives big discounts for bulk mailings."

October 26, 2005 -- The Express and Star has reported that "Small firms across the West Midlands will get the chance to find out how the full opening of the UK postal market in 2006 will benefit them at a free business forum run by Postcomm, the independent postal regulator. Postcomm is holding the half-day forum to provide small and medium sized businesses in the region with the chance to get fully briefed on how the changes to the postal market will affect their business, and what opportunities a competitive market offers."

October 26, 2005 -- According to Reuters, "Marisa Cassoni will stay with the postal group until her successor is found, according to the unsourced report. No one at the Royal Mail could be reached for comment." See also the Financial Times

October 26, 2005 -- Reporter.gr has reported that "The privatisation of the Romanian Post National Company (CNPR) will take at least two years, said Peter Jansen, Managing partner of The Bucharest Consulting Group, a local partner of the American consultancy The Boston Consulting Group, ACT Media news agency reports. The restructuring process of the Romanian Post National Company's privatisation is expected to be completed by 2008."

October 26, 2005 -- The Sun Sentinel has reported that "Postal delivery suspended because of Hurricane Wilma will resume in most of Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties today, but may be unavailable or limited in some locations, according to officials at the South Florida District of the Office of the Postal Service."

October 26, 2005 -- Adventist Network News has reported that "A case involving a United States Postal Service (USPS) employee who was not allowed Saturdays off for his day of rest and worship was settled Oct. 11 when the Postal Service awarded him U.S. $65,000 for lost wages and grievances endured, and granted him his Sabbath off. Lonnie Leonard of Roswell, New Mexico, asked for Saturdays off after he became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church."

October 25, 2005 -- The agenda for the next meeting of the Postmaster General's Mailers Technical Advisory Committee has been posted on this site.

October 25, 2005 -- UPS has noted that "By a margin of almost 3-to-1 compared to their counterparts in the United States and Europe, business leaders in Asia say they have turned to outside experts to manage their supply chains, a new survey shows. Moreover, having embraced the outsourcing of supply chain management, the Asian business leaders are much less likely to view "customer loyalty" as a business problem. Some 14% of the U.S. and European executives surveyed listed "customer loyalty" as the most important business issue they faced compared to only 2% of the Asian executives. The latter say a much more important business issue facing them is "expanding to new markets."

October 25, 2005 -- The Emirates News Agency has reported that "Emirates Post today announced that the venue for the 2006 Strategy Conference of Universal Postal Union (UPU) will be Grant Hyatt Dubai. The conference, scheduled to be held from November 14 to 16, 2006, will attract over 800 delegates from 130 UPU member countries."

October 25, 2005 -- Gulf Times wants to know: "WHO is to blame when the mail gets delayed? Nobody it seems. Protests about the time it takes for mail to be delivered from Europe and America have led to a flurry of buck-passing by the postal authorities, with nobody being willing to accept that their section is at fault. Complainants report that ordinary letters from England, Denmark and even the UAE take three weeks to a month to arrive, while a correctly addressed package of books took more than five months to reach the addressee from the US. The Postal Corporation, which boasts that it provides one of the best services of its kind in the region, if not worldwide, said that it sent packages, parcels and some letters to the Publications Department to be checked by the censor as soon as they arrived."

October 25, 2005 -- PostalNews.com has reported that the American Postal Workers Union has been put on notice by the Postal Service about plant consolidations in New Jersey.

October 25, 2005 -- The Edinburgh News has reported that "DEFENCE Secretary John Reid today announced a free Christmas postal service for family and friends of British armed forces on operations overseas. Military personnel serving in places such as the Gulf, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and Cyprus will benefit from the festive freeze on mail charges."

October 25, 2005 -- The Guernsey Weekly Press has  reported that, according to Guernsey Post CEO John Curran, "Post tariffs have risen considerably in the last couple of years but it is not all bad news."

October 25, 2005 -- The Sioux City Journal has reported that "a change in where local mail is sorted on Saturdays shouldn't affect how long it takes items to get from Point A to Point B, a Postal Service official said. Beginning in two or three weeks, mail no longer will be sorted on Saturdays at Sioux City's Mail Processing Center. Instead, mail will be transported to Sioux Falls for processing. Postal patrons won't notice any differences in mail pickup or delivery, U.S. Postal Service spokesman Richard Watkins said. "It's not going to have any effect on services," he said."

October 25, 2005 -- The Louisville Courier-Journal has a story on "how UPS weathers storms."

October 25, 2005 -- According to AustralianIT, "AUSTRALIA Post has spent about $90 million upgrading its communications core to a gigabit-grade pipe. The IP network, which serves 3500 sites, operates on a hierarchical basis, with a high-speed metropolitan area network for the largest post offices, and dial-up connections at small ones. Its network speeds have been up to eight times faster since the upgrade."

October 25, 2005 -- As the Financial Times has noted:

Royal Mail is entering a crucial phase in its 345-year history. The next few months will see its regulator decide how much it will be able to charge for stamps until 2010, the publication of the Bain report into its future and the advent of full competition for postal services in January 2006. Small wonder, then, that there is a sudden clamour about the company's £4.5bn pension fund deficit. Royal Mail knows this is one of its strongest cards in arguing for lighter price controls. Allan Leighton, its chairman, also knows that the deficit could scupper his plan to make Royal Mail a partly employee-owned business.
While there is little public sympathy for the banks, many feel Mr Breton is unfairly picking on the cash-strapped post office to make ends meet. The €2bn payment will worsen the company's already precarious finances and almost wipe out its shareholder funds of €2.2bn. Standard & Poor's has put its AA+ ratings for La Poste on CreditWatch negative. Yet, in the longer run, it could prove good news for LaPoste, which is France's second biggest employer after the state with 300,000 staff, two-thirds of them civil servants. Under the deal still being negotiated, as well as offloading its €57bn pension deficit on to the government, La Poste would also cut its pension contributions to the private sector's level, with the state making up the difference. The real losers would, as usual, be taxpayers, who will eventually have to finance the massive pension obligations being transferred from La Poste to help Mr Breton pretend he is running a tight ship.

October 25, 2005 -- Vanguard has reported that "BARELY 24 hours after the demise of the Post Master General of the Federation, Alhaji Abubakar Musa Argungu in the Bellview Air disaster, Mr. Victor Madojutola, Deputy Postmaster General in charge of Operations and Planning, favoured to take over from him, died in the early hours of yesterday following a protracted illness. The late Musa Argungu along with his management has turned around the fortunes of the organization which almost became moribund since his appointment as the Postmaster General of NIPOST and got re-appointed for second term of five years this year by President Olusegun Obasanjo following his enviable track record in transforming the foremost postal organization in Africa. By his re-appointment, Alhaji Argungu became the first Postmaster General to get a second term since NIPOST was established in 1985 following the split of the defunct post and telecommunications department." See also ThisDay.

October 25, 2005 -- icWales has reported that "Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier told a Trade and Industry Select Committee that a universal postal service will be "uneconomic" when the postal monopoly ends in January and suggested that first class stamps increase to 39p by 2009-2012."

October 25, 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 in Hagerstown, Maryland, US. The Hagerstown hub 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. The nationwide expansion will boost the company's current average daily pickup capacity by nearly 70 percent over the next five years. The $70-million hub is capable of processing up to 22,500 packages per hour and is equipped with advanced package-sortation technology, including high speed conveyors and camera-based scan tunnels to maximize package sorting rates."

October 25, 2005 -- The U.S. Postal Service has reported that "Delivery and retail operations have been curtailed for many offices in the Central Florida, Suncoast, and South Florida districts today. Drop shipments to the affected area also have been suspended. For a complete list of office closings, check the Hurricane Service Updates Page on USPS.com."

October 25, 2005 -- Window Book, Inc. announced the fall 2005 release of its industry-leading shipping software, Postal Package Partner™ (PPP). The new version of PPP has been updated to include four new features: secure access control management, additional consolidator support, Priority Mail® drop ship data import, and improved export control. PPP Advanced now includes the ability to import Priority Mail drop ship data from DAT-MAIL™, Window Book's mailing software. DAT-MAIL subscribers can open their Mail.dat® presort data files in DAT-MAIL, tag the entry facilities for which they wish to create Priority drop ship labels, and export them at the click of a button. For more information on Postal Package Partner, DAT-MAIL, and other programs visit www.windowbook.com.

October 25, 2005 -- Les Echos has reported that "La Poste, the French postal service provider, is expected to be forced to carry out some alterations to its application for approval of its future banking subsidiary, La Banque Postale, owing to an exceptional contribution of 2bn euros which will have to be paid to the state as part of the 2006 budget in connection with future and current retirement pensions for postal employees with civil servant status."

October 24, 2005 -- The Associated Press has reported that "The world's largest shipping carrier, UPS Inc., will stop delivering cigarettes to individuals in the United States under an agreement announced Monday with state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The agreement is the latest in federal and state efforts to combat the sale of under-taxed cigarette and to fight underage smoking. Most under-taxed or untaxed cigarettes are sold by Indian tribes, where the taxation of sales to non-Indians is disputed. Monday's agreement leaves only the U.S. Postal Service among major carriers to continue to deliver cigarettes to individuals, Spitzer said. He called that practice "an embarrassment."

October 24, 2005 -- As the New York Times has noted, "Despite all the talk about an increasingly connected world, the proportion of American adults who have never used the Internet and do not live in an Internet-enabled home has remained almost unchanged since 2002, according to a study recently released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project."

October 24, 2005 -- The Irish Times has reported that "An Post will be "extinct" in little more than four years unless postal workers accept major work changes, the Government has warned. From January, private companies will be able to carry letters weighing more than 50g, and ordinary letter post will be opened up by 2009. "We have liberalisation coming. It is inevitable in 2009. It is already there in a number of areas. If An Post isn't strong enough to withstand competition it is going to be extinct very, very quickly after 2009, if not before that," said Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey."

October 24, 2005 -- The Atlanta Journal Constitution (via Hoovers) has reported that "An uptick in domestic air shipments and an ongoing flood of Asian exports lifted UPS' third-quarter revenue and earnings to record levels -- but the world's largest transportation firm gave a Scrooge-like warning that pinched consumers could put a damper on retailers during the Christmas shopping season. "The (holiday season) is a question mark," said Scott Davis, chief financial officer of UPS. "We all know consumers are being stretched by energy costs, home heating costs and rising interest rates. We're not predicting a robust Christmas but an OK Christmas. We're somewhat cautious because our customers are telling us it's going to be a mixed bag."

October 24, 2005 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail is under pressure to embark on a fresh round of cost-cutting to shore up its finances, amid signs that senior ministers are reluctant to use taxpayers' money to plug a massive pensions deficit of more than £4bn. The issue of the state-owned postal operator's pension liabilities, the full scale of which have been exposed by accounting changes, has complicated an independent review of its future ahead of full market liberalisation in January. It means a decision on a controversial share ownership plan for employees, which has been fiercely opposed by union leaders and many Labour MPs, could be delayed."

October 24, 2005 -- The DM Bulletin has reported that "Royal Mail's plan to reward staff with shares in the organisation could be scuppered because the scheme may be illegal. Earlier this week, Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton told MPs that he wants to give staff a 20% stake in the business. However, according to a report in The Times, legal advice from the House of Commons Library said that any disposal of shares that is not into a joint venture would require new primary legislation."

October 24, 2005 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that: "DHL has announced a new €1billion investment programme in Europe to create a network of retail outlets similar to Mail Boxes Etc (MBE) and Kinko's (owned by UPS and FedEx respectively) which are prevalent in the US. The format is also widespread in Germany where DHL already operates a network. The outlets will act as ‘drop off points' for customers and will be aimed largely at small to medium sized shippers. They could also provide a range of other office-service related ancillary services. The plan is to have in place a network of 30,000 outlets across Europe by 2008, with 20,000 ready a year earlier. These points will be established in supermarkets, train stations, retail chains and currency exchange offices and available to customers in Italy, Spain, England, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands and Switzerland."

October 24, 2005 -- According to Bloomberg, "Deutsche Post AG, Europe's biggest postal service, reiterated that it expects earnings before interest and tax to reach 3.6 billion euros ($4.3 billion) this year and net income to rise by at least 500 million euros. Deutsche Post expects lower pension obligations this year to help it meet the ``integration challenges'' at its express division, the Bonn-based company said in a statement to the Frankfurt exchange. Deutsche Post last month agreed to buy Exel Plc for 3.7 billion pounds ($6.5 billion) to become the world's largest manager of warehouses and inventories as global trade expands. Deutsche Post has made more than 100 acquisitions since 1996, including DHL, in preparation for the loss of its legal monopoly on mail delivery in Germany at the end of 2007."

October 24, 2005 -- The New York Times has reported that "A passenger plane carrying 117 people crashed Saturday night in a town 30 miles north of Nigeria's largest city, Lagos, after passing through an electrical storm shortly after takeoff. No survivors were found in the flaming wreckage of the 737 Boeing aircraft, the Nigerian Red Cross told Reuters. The list of those aboard the flight included the name of Nigeria's postmaster."

October 24, 2005 -- The New Straits Times has reported that "THE Kedah/Perlis Pos Malaysia headquarters are looking for 100 postal clerks and today more 1,000 job seekers thronged its office in Jalan Stadium in Alor Star to apply for the job."

October 24, 2005 -- WebIndia123 has noted that "The old familiar red coloured letter boxes which dotted the roadside for more than a century are on their way out, replaced by larger fibre glass bodied containers that would enable posting of larger mails. The rectangular box, developed with the help of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai has high quality brush stainless steel with a fibre glass top and would last for 20 years. It would be rust proof, reduce the maintenance requirements, display information relating to hours of clearance and much more in a more accessible and readable manner. With a larger inlet aperture the box would allow comfortable posting of larger mail articles."

October 23, 2005 -- The New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported that "Entergy Louisiana has temporarily suspended all disconnections until problems with its billing system, which was disrupted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, can be fixed. Company spokesman Kenny Solley said there have been widespread billing problems throughout the system that have caused many payments not to be posted. "Our billing system has definitely been damaged and we've also had problems with the postal service," Solley said. "The postal service recently found several boxes of mail that had August postmarks."

October 23, 2005 -- The ContraCosta Times has reported that "Opponents of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's November ballot initiatives late Friday asked a U.S. District Court to revoke the nonprofit status of Schwarzenegger's ballot committee, saying the group abused its civic status as an educational organization by mailing blatantly political messages."

October 23, 2005 -- The Newark Star-Ledger has reported that "ANOTHER NATION has joined the U.S. Postal Service in helping to fund breast cancer research with a semi-postal stamp. Semi-postals are stamps that are sold for more than their postal value to raise funds for a particular cause. Hungary's Magyar Posta has now adopted the design of the U.S. semi-postal stamp for breast cancer research."

October 23, 2005 -- According to the Fairbanks News-Miner, "Fairbanks should have just one thing to say in response to the U.S. Postal Service's plan to cut this area out of the bypass mail system, which retailers use to send packages to Barrow customers via commercial aircraft but at postal service rates. What is that one thing Fairbanks should say about this questionable idea? "Return to sender."

October 23, 2005 -- The Independent has reported that "The Government is considering a cash injection of more than £2bn into Royal Mail to shore up its ailing pension fund, which has a £4bn deficit. In a possible double victory for Allan Leighton, the chairman of Royal Mail, ministers are also siding with him in a vitally important dispute between the postal service and its regulator, Postcomm, over the future price of stamps."

October 23, 2005 -- The Organization for Multilingualism has noted that "De Post - La Poste - Die Post has fully adopted the languages of Belgium - Dutch, French and German - whereas Spain's state postal service company, Correos, has not done the same with Catalan/Valencian, Galician and Basque. Organisation for Multilingualism has chosen to invite the Belgian postal operator to enter the Spanish market, since it has fully adopted and regularly uses all three Belgian languages - Dutch, French and German (a language spoken by only 1% of Belgian citizens). This can be seen in the company's name, services and products offered, stamps (obviously also in the name of the state), etc. It is to our indignation, irritation and disappointment, as citizens of Spain, that we see ourselves obliged to send this public petition to De Post - La Poste - Die Post (a petition that has already been made to Royal Mail Group plc – Grŵp y Post Brenhinol ccc, and that will be sent to other postal operators respectful with the linguistic diversity of their citizens). It serves as a clear and eloquent example of the great insensitivity Correos has had, during many years, towards petitions concerning the cultural and linguistic respect of the Catalan/Valencian, Galician and Basque language regions."

October 23, 2005 -- AMEInfo has reported that "The Universal Postal Union (UPU) and Emirates Post have signed an agreement formalizing the arrangements for the organizing of the 2006 UPU Strategy Conference in the United Arab Emirates and defining the responsibilities for the event. The conference will be taking place from 14 to 16 November 2006 at the Grand Hyatt Dubai Conference Centre. Some 800 delegates from more than 130 UPU member countries are expected to attend the three-day Strategy Conference."

October 23, 2005 -- According to Gulf Times, "Q-Post gets more mail."

October 23, 2005 -- As the St. Petersburg Times has noted, "In an e-mail age, letters from pen pal are a thrill."

October 23, 2005 -- KTEN has reported that "Following a fierce investigation, two suspects have been arrested in connection to a bomb scare in Marshall County. After the Kingston police found two homemade bombs within blocks of each other yesterday, authorities say a total of 28 bombs were recovered. Friday morning near the corner of Second and Chickasaw, Kingston police and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol bomb squad diffused two homemade bombs found in mailboxes. A U.S. Postal worker noticed a yellow liquid oozing from one of the boxes and then notified authorities."

October 23, 2005 -- The Kenyan Times has reported that "Kenya will host the Universal Postal Union Congress in 2008. Affirming the country's selection by the UPU Council of Administration, Secretary-General Edouard Dayan, said the event would mark a turning point for the union which is striving to turn the world into an information society.Kenya won the bid to host the UPU Congress during the 23rd edition of the event held in Bucharest, Romania, last year."

October 23, 2005 -- AzerTAj has reported that "According to the credit contracts signed between the Azerbaijan Government and World Bank, 12,25 million dollars will be spent for postal development, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies said. The postal system will be completely re-constructed and modernized. The post offices will render to the citizens of banking, Internet and information services, implement postal transfers, payments and other services. Pension and other allowances, as well as micro-credits will be delivered to the population through the post offices."

October 22, 2005 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• The Postal Rate Commission issued its long-awaited decision in "the Periodicals complaint case," finding that the existing rate structure for Periodicals Mail is not in violation of the policies of the Postal Reorganization Act, but progress toward a more cost-based structure for rates is both possible and necessary to increase efficiencies in Periodicals rates.
• The USPS has released the latest edition of its Household Diary Study, a multi-year market research study of mail that is received by and sent from American households.
• On October 20, 2005, the USPS published in the Federal Register its final rule on placement of addresses and presort information on bundles of flat-size and irregular parcel mail so the top piece in each bundle has an address which is visible and readable during processing on Automated Package Processing System (APPS) equipment.
• PostCom Secretary Anita Pursley looks at the future of the Postal Service network including details starting to emerge from the USPS.
• In this perspective, postal commentator Gene Del Polito expresses his views and concerns about the state of postal reform including the roles of the Board of Governors and the Postal Rate Commission.
• This perspective by Murray Comarow looks at the reasons for and reaction to the USPS Board of Governors recent letter to lawmakers opposing current postal reform bills in Congress.
• Employee groups push for USPS inclusion in Medicare drug subsidy option. Criminal case dropped against former Governor Walsh. Postal Service faces busy holiday season coupled with concerns over rising fuel costs. FedEx offers temperature-sensitive shipment program. USPS looking for good men and women.
• Universal pricing under threat in Britain? Germany to lower postal rates. An Post banking venture left at the altar – so far. Japanese government appoints privatization planners. Aussie Post offers electronic service to compensate for mail drop. TNT selling French logistics interests. Vietnam Post will go it alone.

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October 22, 2005 -- The Center for Research in Regulated Industries is accepting abstracts 14th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics. Next year's conference will be held in Bern, Switzerland on May 31st - June 3rd, 2006 at the Bellevue Palace. Abstracts for this conference are due: December 15, 2005 More information about submitting abstracts for the conference is available at http://crri.rutgers.edu/call/PCall.htm More information about the conference is available at http://crri.rutgers.edu/post/

October 22, 2005 -- "Direct Mail Marketing Trends: United States and Western Europe". was presented by Luis Jimenez, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Pitney Bowes to the Direct Mail Advisory Board (DMAB) in Bern, Switzerland on October 11, 2005 is available at PostInsight.

October 22, 2005 -- The results of the third annual World Postal Survey, were announced at Post-Expo 2005 in Paris. It is a barometer of confidence in the postal industry, based on the perceptions of those who are working in the sector. Survey results show that overall, confidence in the industry continues to grow, building on the upward trend from previous years. The effect of substitution by electronic media is felt to be decreasing as each year the survey has shown a steady increase in the sense that the main source of competition will be other players in the postal sector and other industries. 67% feel that the amount of collaboration between postal companies will grow. It is also clear that e-media are complementary to traditional mail and often have a multiplier effect, such as mailers drawing customers to online retail web-sites from which they order goods to be sent to them. 78% of respondents believed that the volume of direct mail would grow in the coming year. Using direct mail, as part of a media mix, certainly adds impact and reach. A copy of the Post-Expo presentation can be found on PostInsight.

October 22, 2005 -- A copy of the Quebecor World Logistics newsletter, LogisticSolutions- Issue #43 is available on Quebecor World Web site at www.qwlogistics.com

October 22, 2005 -- RTE News has reported that "The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, has said that strike action at An Post could mean an earlier than intended end to its monopoly on the distribution of letters. The Communications Workers Union has voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action. As yet, the union has not specified what form the industrial action will take so it is impossible to assess the potential level of disruption." See also Ireland Online and the Irish Independent.

October 22, 2005 -- AllAfrica.com has reported that "When mention is made that every mail packet be postcoded, the question an average Nigerian usually asks is "Of what purpose is the postcode"? Many even go further to claim that whether or not their mail packets are postcoded, their mail must and definitely be treated."

October 22, 2005 -- SmartMoney has reported that "UPS Inc. (UPS) expects to earn between 90 cents and 96 cents a share in the fourth quarter, Chief Financial Officer Scott Davis said."

October 22, 2005 -- According to Les Echos, "Standard & Poor's (S&P), the US credit ratings agency, has place French state post office La Poste on credit watch, with a negative outlook."

October 21, 2005 -- The U.S. Department of State has posted the official U.S. policy concerning Extraterriorial Offices of Exchange (ETOE). Regarding inbound ETOE traffic, it is the policy of the U.S. Government that items originating from an ETOE in a foreign country shall be considered as commercial traffic upon arrival in the United States. As such, these items must be cleared through customs using commercial customs clearance procedures. If these items are to be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to addresses in the United States, then they must be mailed as domestic U.S. mail charged at domestic U.S. postage rates. Regarding outbound ETOE traffic, it is the policy of the U.S. Government that the UPU Acts do not apply to ETOE commercial operations in the United States, and that accordingly ETOEs are not authorized to use UPU documentation. According to this policy, an entity other than the U.S. Postal Service should not export mail matter from the United States to other countries using UPU documentation or U.S. Postal Service equipment or customs forms. State also lists all the known ETOEs in the U.S.

We have worked closely with both the Senate and the House to develop a bill that meets the need to provide the Postal Service with pricing and operational flexibility to meet the economic, technical and competitive challenges it faces and will face in the years ahead under a modern system of regulation that safeguards users and their suppliers against monopoly abuse. The Senate Bill, as it stands--while still in need of refinement in some respects--- largely achieves that balance; and it is reflective of the careful study and recommendations that the President's Commission on the Postal Service advanced. The Hallmark language would up-end that balance. The Hallmark language severely threatens, if it does not assure, perpetuation of a regulatory regime which is costly, cumbersome, and unsuitable to the threats and challenges the Postal Service and its stakeholders now face. It would deprive the Postal Service of the very flexibility in pricing and product offerings that the Senate Bill is intended to create. It would do so: to the extreme detriment of all mail customers--both large and small; to the detriment of the many thousands of American who are employed in postal and postal related industries; and, ironically, to the detriment of the very postal customers that Hallmark claims that they are seeking to protect.

Here is what the Hallmark language would do:

• It would enable Hallmark to contest ANY rate decision no matter how legal the proceedings.
• It would destroy the principle of containing future postal rate increases within the bounds of inflation.
• It would end the Postal Service's ability to set rates in accordance with market-based principles.
• It would continue in perpetuity the subsidy from presort First-Class Mail to single-piece First-Class Mail.
• It would end any effort to get the Postal Service to modernize its rate structure.
• It would cripple the Postal Service's efforts to achieve greater cost-efficiency through network changes.

This is a trap to forever bind single-piece and workshared First-Class Mail. With this language, you can kiss forever good-bye any hope of seeing the creation of a bulk First-Class subclass, First-Class dropship, or any other change to First-Class that would provide greater value to mail as a vehicle for business communication and commerce.

October 21, 2005 -- According to Associate Professor of Policy Analysis and Management (and former White House Council on Economic Advisors member) Richard Geddes, the U.S. Postal Service faces serious challenges. On the revenue side, the volume of letter mail is falling at a rate not seen since the Great Depression, in large part because of substitution to Internet-based communications. Although your mailbox may be bulging with ads, fliers and catalogs, revenue from advertising mail isn't likely to make up the gap. On the cost side, the Postal Service's ability to adapt quickly to declining mail volume is limited. Seventy-nine percent of its expenses are labor-related, with wages set through collective bargaining with binding arbitration. The federal government determines a substantial fraction of employee's fringe benefits by statute. The Postal Service faces strong political pressure to leave unneeded mail distribution centers and underutilized post offices open, and to use outdated, labor-intensive technologies. Thus, while the Postal Service will probably run a modest operating surplus in 2005, its financial future is murky.

October 21, 2005 -- In its most recent paper on postal reform, the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation noted that "In a September 13 letter, the Postal Service's Board of Governors informed Congress that the government-owned enterprise objects to H.R. 22 and S. 662 (both entitled the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act) in their current forms. The bills would significantly change the laws under which the Postal Service operates. Ironically, the legislative effort had been spurred on by the Postal Service itself, which claims it needs more discretion and less regulatory oversight in setting its prices.

October 21, 2005 -- In a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Normal Mineta, Arnold Wellman, UPS Vice President Corporate Public Affairs, Domestic/International, wrote to "express UPS's support of the Postal Service's request that the Department of Transportation undertake a comprehensive review of the rate-setting processes used to establish the international mail air transportation rates paid by Postal Service. In addition, UPS supports the policy of regulatory forbearance in this area. For more than 20 years, rates for the domestic air transportation of U.S. mail have been determined by market-place forces. It is possible, and appropriate, for the Department to use its existing authority to achieve the same result for rates paid by the Postal Service for international mail air transportation. Pursuing such a course does not necessitate that the Department abandon its oversight responsibility, as Postmaster General Potter points out in his letter of October 12, 2005. UPS has expressed its support for reforms that will ensure the long-term viability of the Postal Service in a way that results in a level playing field. This is clearly one of those reforms that will advance both efficiency and fairness."

October 21, 2005 -- Investments & Pensions Europe has reported that "The roughly €400m pensions arm of Finland Posti - Finland Post Pension Fund - will be closed down following the outsourcing of its entire statutory and supplementary divisions to Ilmarinen Pension Co. and Pohjola Life respectively. The main reason behind the move is so that Posti can concentrate on its core business, said Pohjola Life's first vice president Ilkka Lohi. "The transaction allows Posti to outsource the pension scheme administration, risk elements related to longevity and insurance risks like death and disability and also the investment risk."

October 21, 2005 -- The Postal Rate Commission has issued its Final Order Addressing Complaint of Time Warner et al. (Docket No. C2004-1). In part, the PRC said:

1. The Commission finds that after consideration of the record made in this case, the existing rate structure for Periodicals mail is not violative of the policies of the Postal Reorganization Act, and therefore, it does not issue a recommended decision to be acted upon by the Board of Governors.

2. The Commission finds that although full implementation of Complainants' proposal would have substantial adverse rate impact on thousands of small publications, progress toward a more cost-based structure is both possible and necessary to increase efficiencies in the Periodicals rates.

3. The Commission recognizes that it is initially the responsibility of the Postal Service to review the materials provided herein and choose a path for improving the efficiency of Periodicals consistent with rates that do not unreasonably impact any segment of that class.

4. The Postal Service should review each of the rate design features in the context of the current and planned processing and transportation network for Periodicals mail. The focus should be on quickly incorporating the most promising and least disruptive components. Efforts to develop a less costly container than the sack should be emphasized as a better way to reduce the number of sacks in the postal system than imposing rate penalties on captive users.

5. The Commission strongly urges the Postal Service to investigate whether, and to what extent, the use of skin sacks by Periodicals mailers actually improves speed and consistency of service and urges mailers to cooperate fully in this endeavor.

6. To minimize disruption, the Postal Service should provide Periodicals mailers with notice that pieces that are nonmachinable will become subject to rates that reflect higher processing costs.

7. The Commission agrees that the adjustments to presort tiers (separating the basic tier into mixed ADC and ADC tiers, and reconfiguring the 3-digit tier to include pieces sorted to SCF bundles) proposed by witness Mitchell appear to reflect mail flows, and that these refinements may be an improvement for that reason.

8. The Commission encourages the Postal Service to investigate the feasibility of incentives for entering Periodicals mail at destination BMC facilities in terms of both internal operations and service considerations, but also to identify any potential physical impediments to widespread BMC entry point use in this manner.

9. The Commission finds that the flat editorial pound charge in Periodicals effectively fosters the public policies of the Act.

10. The Commission recommends that the Postal Service consider, and confer with a broad cross-section of Periodicals mailers, concerning the potential benefits of implementing a bifurcated opt-in rate schedule for Outside County Periodicals.

October 21, 2005 -- Business Mailers Review has reported that:

• As part of its commitment to move toward annual, predictable rate increases at or below the Consumer Price Index, the Postal Service is actively looking at ways to deal distinctly with commercial and residential mailers.
• USPS sent the Office of Management and Budget an official number of about $128 million for its estimate of the damages to facilities from Hurricane Katrina, but was able to revise that number downwards to under $100 million.
• The Postal Rate Commission is likely to issue a decision before the end of the month on the Postal Service request for a 5.4% across-theboard rate increase.
• CASS software verifies that a valid range of addresses covers a specific address, but it doesn't know which ones are actual delivery points. In other words, you can get a delivery point barcode on an address that doesn't exist. This gives mailers a false sense of confidence that their mail will be delivered. The Delivery Point Validation (DPV™) process adds the ability to verify the ZIP+4 Code, the delivery point, and the carrier route information for valid, deliverable addresses.
• New studies for two mailers organizations show big savings in postage over 10 years in First Class letters and Standard letters and Standard nonletters if either postal reform bill is enacted as written, but the Postal Service is highly critical of the assumptions in the reports.
• In a letter to postal reform leader Rep. John McHugh, R-NY, Postal Rate Commission (PRC) Chairman George Omas said he was surprised that the Postal Board of Governors, "longtime apparent supporters" of the reforms embodied in H.R. 22, are now expressing major reservations and want massive changes "that would drastically alter the carefully balanced responsibilities of our two agencies."
• Valpak Direct Marketing Systems Inc. also has chimed in on the postal reform effort, urging the Board of Governors to oppose the legislation with worksharing provisions as written in S. 662 and H.R. 22.
• Canada Post's effort to clamp down on remailing is gaining ground with a recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision upholding that Post's contention that it has exclusive privilege to collect, transmit and deliver letters up to 500 grams in Canada, including letters from Canada to the rest of the world.
• The Postal Service has decided to withdraw its proposed rule to require ancillary service endorsements on mailpieces containing certain kinds of checks after the financial industry assured it consumers are already being adequately protected.
• Strong on the operational plans and plans to reduce costs, weak on the marketing side. That's Gene Del Polito's assessment of the 2006-2010 Transformation Plan put out by the Postal Service last month. Del Polito, who is president of the Assn. for Postal Commerce, said the Postal Service should have done a better job of explaining its plan to grow the business.

Business Mailer's Review is an award-winning, independent biweekly newsletter covering issues of importance to the business mailer. It is regularly cited as among the best sources of postal information. For subscription information, check the BMR web site.

October 21, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "Safety-Kleen(R) Systems, Inc., has announced that it has been awarded a multi-year exclusive contract by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to provide hazardous and regulated waste management solutions. Under this national agreement, the first of its kind, Safety-Kleen will be the sole authorized national company providing the following services: * Oil collection and re-refining for more than 1.5 million gallons of motor oil; * Parts cleaning and solvent disposal services; * Containerized waste management, including oil filter recycling and disposal of absorbent materials; and, * Vacuum services for separators, drains and trenches."

October 21, 2005 -- The Telegraph has noted that "Kenneth Clarke, who passed what must surely be the last turning point of his political career this week, once said the failure to privatise the Post Office was the last turning point of the Conservative era in which he played such a large part. After the sell-off scheme promoted by Michael Heseltine was abandoned in November 1994 for lack of support among Tory backbenchers who feared a backlash over rural sub-post offices, John Major's administration lost any remaining appetite for Thatcherite reform and become wholly obsessed with survival. The result of that retreat is the Royal Mail we have today: demoralised, unable to guarantee a reliable service, bullied by its regulator, vulnerable to private sector encroachment into what were once monopoly markets but short of £2billion of investment to fight back; and facing a huge pension fund hole."

October 21, 2005 -- Japan Times has reported that "Japan Post and All Nippon Airways Co. announced Thursday they will jointly set up an air cargo company in April in a move that will mark the mail monolith's first attempt to break into the international air courier market. The move follows last week's enactment of legislation privatizing the mail carrier."

October 21, 2005 -- As Federal Times has noted, "The U.S. Postal Service will continue efforts to decrease costs and increase productivity to ensure that postage rate increases for the remainder of the decade do not, on average, exceed the rate of inflation."

October 21, 2005 -- Dow Jones has reported that "Germany's regulator for postal services, telecommunications and energy, Thursday ruled in favor of competitors of Deutsche Post AG, saying they don't have to comply with Deutsche Post's numeration rules when using its delivery network. Deutsche Post had refused to handle letters and packages from competitors if they didn't comply with its numeration rules, according to a statement from the regulator. Thursday's decision stemmed from an individual case last year in which the regulator decided alternative numeration wouldn't pose a disadvantage to Deutsche Post. Several competitors had asked to use an alternative numeration system to save them time. The regulator said this time-gain would facilitate further competition."

October 21, 2005 -- As SmartMoney has noted, "UPS said average daily volume of 4% in the U.S. exceeded economic growth rates, with the next day air shipments rising 6.1%. U.S. domestic package revenue grew 6.9% during the period to $7.03 billion. International package revenue increased 14.5% to $1.92 billion." See also The Street.

October 21, 2005 -- As Suddeutsche Zeitung has noted, "Deutsche Post, the German national postal services provider, is to change postage prices following a ruling by the Federal Network Agency. The changes are expected to save customers around 30m euros in total. Prices for compact letters and for standard and compact circulars are to be reduced by 5 per cent on 1 January 2006. Sending packages weighing over 250 grams to international destinations will also be cheaper."

October 21, 2005 -- The Times has reported that "According to legal advice from the House of Commons Library, an organisation that interprets legislation, any disposal of shares that is not into a joint venture would require new primary legislation. The advice was given to John Grogan, the Labour MP for Selby, who has secured the support of 171 MPs for an early day motion, insisting that Royal Mail remains a full public entity with no share offers to employees."

October 21, 2005 -- The Periodical Publishers Association has reported that "met with Professor Sir George Bain, the man tasked with conducting a review of Royal Mail on behalf of Alan Johnson MP, the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry. During the meeting, PPA highlighted publishers' serious concerns about Postcomm's proposals to withdraw Presstream from the regulated area, outlining the reasons why there was currently insufficient competition in the postal market to protect customers' interests. Among the other issues raised by PPA was the significant price increases that many publishers will be facing under the new format-based pricing structure Pricing in Proportion."

October 21, 2005 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that:

Rigid labor markets and excessive red tape are deterring U.S. investment in Europe and pose a "huge danger" to the continent's economy, Fred Smith, chief executive of FedEx, warned.
FedEx Express, operator of the world's largest cargo airline, will expand operations in India, increasing its number of flights and destinations
The Journal of Commerce Online offers links to white papers, research projects, studies and other reference materials related to international logistics, trade and transportation.

October 21, 2005 -- Traffic World has reported that:

Economic activity continued to expand in September, according to information received by Federal Reserve District Banks. Reporting in the "Beige Book" Wednesday, the Fed described the pace of activity as moderate or gradual in most districts.
Built-to-suit logistics developer Eurinpro began construction on a 200,736 square foot health care and life sciences warehouse for DHL Solutions in Tiel, the Netherlands.

October 21, 2005 -- Agence France Presse has reported that "A block of 24-cent US stamps, printed with an upside-down airplane in 1918, brought the auctioneer 2.97 million dollars -- a philatelic record."

October 21, 2005 -- Royal Mail is changing the way it charges for mail services with effect from August 21 2006, and in advance of this change I want to take this opportunity to give a true reflection of how this will affect postage prices for mail communications, writes Tom Wasilewski, head of publishing at Royal Mail in the DM Bulletin.

October 21, 2005 -- InformationWeek has reported that "Repetitive motion injuries nicknamed "BlackBerry Thumb" afflict users of BlackBerries, Treos, Sidekicks and other devices with miniature thumb keyboards."

October 21, 2005 -- MoreRFID has noted that "It all started with active tags being put in a random sample of postal packages, including letters, from many countries to assess the level of service so cross charges between the postal services of different countries could be equitable. This is still done to this day. However, RFID is now used by postal and courier services for many other purposes."

October 21, 2005 -- Online.ie has reported that "The Communications Workers Union has said it will ballot their An Post members for industrial action today, and that they expect an overwhelming result. If the strike threat becomes a reality, the postal service will come to a standstill in a matter of weeks." See also Ireland Online, Irish Times, and Business World.

October 21, 2005 -- The San Jose Mercury News has reported that "Two small words printed on the bottom of a campaign mailer delivered this week to California voters have Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's opponents alleging his team illegally financed the mailings. The union- and Democrat-backed Alliance for a Better California said Thursday it had filed a complaint with the U.S. Postal Service alleging Schwarzenegger's ballot committee had illegally used a ``non-profit organization'' status to mail fliers at a 40 percent discount -- a rate that could save hundreds of thousands of dollars on a statewide mailing."

October 21, 2005 -- Borsen-Zeitung has reported that "DHL Express, the express delivery subsidiary of German postal service operator Deutsche Post, intends to invest around 1bn euros in the extension of its services in Europe's main countries by the end of 2008. The company plans, for instance, to double its current customer services network to around 30,000 service points."

October 21, 2005 -- The Des Plaines Journal has noted that "The Self-Help Closet & Pantry of Des Plaines and the Des Plaines Postal Service invite the community to be part of the citywide "Make A Difference Day" project on Saturday, Oct. 22 (and/or Friday, Oct. 21 where applicable). The Des Plaines Postal Service has teamed up with the Closet & Food Pantry for a one-day Red Barrel food drive this fall. The Des Planes Postal Service plans to get the word out about this event by delivering a postcard about the "Make A Difference Day" project to Des Plaines households. The Des Plaines Post Office and the Food Pantry last teamed up in May for the National Association of Letter Carriers annual food drive."

October 21, 2005 -- PC World has reported that "E Ink, a U.S.-based developer of electronic-paper type flat-panel displays, has developed a color version of its screen technology and is showing it at the FPD International exhibition. It's based on similar technology to the company's monochrome displays that are already in production. The main difference is the addition of a color filter. They offer high contrast and appear much closer to paper in appearance than other flat panel displays. E Ink anticipates the display will be ready for sale at the end of 2006."

October 21, 2005 -- Direct Newsline has reported that "Valassis' third quarter profits dipped 2.3% compared to the third quarter of last year to $21.3 million, or 42 cents per share, while revenue was up 7.4% to $266.1 million compared to the third quarter of 2004, the free-standing-insert and shared-mail advertising company reported yesterday."

October 20, 2005 -- From the PR Newswire: "The Postal Service delivered the first taste of the holidays today by dedicating the Holiday Cookies commemorative postage stamps outside the world-famous Pillsbury Kitchens at General Mills Headquarters in Minneapolis. A dedication ceremony also took place in New York City's Madison Square Garden at one of the nation's largest stamp shows, the Postage Stamp Mega-Event."

October 20, 2005 -- Led by strong worldwide gains in package volume and the expansion of its supply chain and freight business, UPS has reported a 17.9% increase in revenue and an adjusted 22.9% increase in diluted earnings per share. For the three months ended Sept. 30, 2005, earnings per diluted share were $0.86 compared to the $0.78 reported in the prior year. Adjusting for a tax credit that positively impacted earnings in 2004's third quarter, diluted earnings per share rose 22.9%, up from $0.70 a year ago.

October 20, 2005 -- The Hartford Courant has reported that "The U.S. attorney's office has decided not to pursue a criminal case against a former postal service official accused of using his position for personal gain."

October 20, 2005 -- From the Federal Register: "The Postal Service is adopting new mailing standards to ensure that address and presort information on bundles of flat-size and irregular parcel mail remains visible and readable during processing. The new standards apply only to bundles of Periodicals, Standard Mail, and Package Services mail intended for processing on our Automated Package Processing System equipment. EFFECTIVE DATE: October 27, 2005 with a six-month grace period for compliance."

October 20, 2005 -- The mailbox continues to thrive in the digital media age. The "Gen X, Gen Y, and the Mail" study commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service examined the attitudes of Generation X and Generation Y towards mail and found that over three-quarters of this generation reads and responds to mail just like their older counterparts. The Gen X generation was born between 1965 and 1972, and makes up roughly 17% of the population. Born between 1977 and 1994, Gen Y makes up about 25% of the population. Despite developing trends in new media channels, the findings conclude that young consumers are more likely to read and respond to printed material such as flyers, circulars, catalogs and newsletters that reach them through the mailbox. The study examined how young consumers perceive mail, how they use it and how mail fits into their high-tech lives.

October 20, 2005 -- "War Letters: Lost and Found," an exhibit opening Veterans Day (Nov. 11) at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, features original letters from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam that were lost or abandoned and then rediscovered by strangers. The exhibit is a collaborative effort between the National Postal Museum and Andrew Carroll, author and founder of the Legacy Project, which provided the letters.

October 20, 2005 -- According to DM News, "The U.S. Postal Service is preparing to handle an expected increase in volume this fall -- most of it Standard mail -- over last year, but postal officials expressed concern last week about the need to keep fuel costs down."

October 20, 2005 -- The Los Angeles Times has reported that "Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees won a California appeals court ruling that allowed them to have their claims against United Parcel Service Inc. heard by arbitrators in three large groups rather than as individual cases. The decision by the state Court of Appeal in San Diego stems from a 2003 lawsuit by 35 franchisees who said UPS hurt their business when it converted the Mail Boxes Etc. chain into the UPS Store. The franchisees claim that the new format emphasized UPS shipping instead of what they say was more profitable packing services."

October 20, 2005 -- Dow Jones has reported that "The lowering of Deutsche Post's postal fees is negative news, says Merck Finck, although not unexpected. Feels about 20% of the revenue loss can be made up through the company's cost-cutting measures, thus the overall impact should be limited."

October 20, 2005 -- The Independent has noted that "On 1 January Royal Mail's monopoly is consigned to history and the postal market is fully opened to the chill winds of competition. But in its wisdom, the regulator Postcomm wants to force Royal Mail to keep the prices charged to business customers artificially high so granny can still afford to send a birthday card at an artificially low price."

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