Postal News from January 2006:

January 31, 2006 -- According to the Rockford Register Star, "Postal officials agreed to reconsider studying whether to reroute mail service from Rockford, U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo said today in a news conference."

January 31, 2006 -- From the PR Newswire: "Pitney Bowes Inc. has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Emtex Ltd. for approximately US$41 million. Emtex's software and services allow large-volume mailers to simplify document production and centrally manage complex multi-vendor and multi-site print operations. Upon completion of this transaction, Emtex will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes within its Document Messaging Technologies division."

January 31, 2006 -- The BBC has reported that "Postal deliveries in Belfast have been disrupted after workers at Royal Mail's main delivery office in the city staged a walk-out."

January 31, 2006 -- AThe CWU delivered the dead body of the 346 years old Postal monopoly to Postcomm Headquarters on 30th January 2005. The monopoly came to an end on January 1st 2006 when the Government implemented a recommendation from Postcomm. Billy Hayes, CWU General Secretary presented a Rest In Peace card to Postcomm directors at their offices near Waterloo. "The monopoly didn't die, it was murdered," he said. The body was given a full ceremonial tribute complete with pallbearers and chief mourner, dressed in Victorian postal costumes.

January 31, 2006 -- National Association of Letter Carriers President William Young told his members that "Postal reform legislation was on the brink of Senate passage January 25 when postal management unleashed a mind-boggling, and frankly embarrassing, attack on the bill. As the bill headed to the floor for Senate approval, the Postal Service issued a series of press releases with false and misleading information about S. 662, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The USPS action, accompanied by adverse public comments by American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus, quickly chilled the atmosphere."

January 31, 2006 -- Angus Reid has noted that "Many adults in Austria are aware of their government’s proposal to partially privatize the Austrian Post Office, according to a poll by OGM. 49 per cent of respondents believe the plan is a significant event, while 35 per cent disagree. The Austrian government is seeking to place 49 per cent of the Austrian Post Office in the stock market, with the remaining 51 per cent remaining in the hands of the government."

January 31, 2006 -- The Belleville News Democrat has reported that "Rep. Don Manzullo, aiming to deter the U.S. Postal Service from a move that he says would endanger the postmark of the largest city in his Illinois district, threatened Monday to hold congressional hearings if he does not prevail. Expected to join Manzullo were local union leaders and aides for the state's senators, Democrats Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, and staff of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill. whose districts would have people affected by the plan under discussion."

January 31, 2006 -- In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Postal Service governmental affairs senior vice president Tom Day said:

"Because of confusion over the U.S. Postal Service's motives in opposing S.662, the Board of Governors has asked me to communicate the following information. First, this is not a last-minute reversal of position. Letters of concern about this decade-old legislative initiative were sent to the relevant committees by the Board of Governors as early as October 1, 1996, then again on March 2, 2001, on May 15, 2001, on January 8, 2002, on June 4, 2002, on February 24, 2005, on April 12, 2005, and on September 13, 2005....

"Second, the Postal Service has worked continuously, in good faith, to aid the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in crafting a bill that would enable the Postal Service to perform well in a competitive environment and continue to offer universal service at reasonable rates....

"Third, the consequences of enactment of this bill, or the similar bill in the House, could be dire for postal customers....

"Fourth...This month's rate increase was the first in nearly four years — and was necessitated only by the failure of Congress to make available the escrowed funds representing years of overpayment into the federal retirement fund."

January 31, 2006 -- The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service has told its members:

Members of the Republican Steering Committee, particularly Senators Sessions and DeMint raised questions about the budget impact of S. 662 and the degree to which the bill met Administration reform objectives. These questions were substantive but approached in a spirit of developing more information on a significant piece of legislation that they were being asked to approve by Unanimous Consent....It appears that these concerns can be addressed.

Senator Harkin and other Senators who are concerned about he facilities closing process by the Postal Service wanted assurance that communities would be consulted as the Postal Service is making closing decisions. These concerns seem to have been addressed. Other Senate offices continue to raise questions about the process but there seems to be a level of satisfaction that community involvement will be enhanced adequate to address these concerns.

Senator Reid has substantive concerns over qualifications for the Board of Governors and perhaps other related matters. These issues are being addressed and discussed now....

The Small Business Committee Chair Olympia Snowe has raised concerns about Postal Service contracting policies. These issues are also being addressed and are not expected to delay consideration of the bill.

With the vote on Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court and the State of the Union address, no vote is likely on S. 662 before Wednesday. More likely the vote would come toward the end of the week if the remaining issues can be resolved. 

January 31, 2006 -- GovExec.com has reported that "Sponsors of sweeping postal overhaul legislation are optimistic the Senate will approve the measure by unanimous consent in the coming days, said a spokesman for Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del. the bill's lead Democratic sponsor. Harkin's concerns about the Postal Service's proposal to consolidate a facility in western Iowa were assuaged when the bill's sponsors, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Carper, added language requiring the Postal Service to solicit public comment before making consolidation decisions. The provision would apply retroactively to the Iowa proposal, a Harkin spokeswoman said."

January 31, 2006 -- National Association of Postal Supervisors President Ted Keating said in a statement that "The Postal Service’s intent to kill postal reform, which has been increasingly apparent for months, has now become patently obvious. The USPS strategy last week basically came down to this: score a quick KO on postal reform by claiming that the Senate’s postal reform bill will cause postal rates to rise by at least twenty cents The Postal Service’s clever scheme, though, didn’t quite work out. Instead of bringing down the bill, USPS blew its cover, and those who were once its biggest allies on Capitol Hill were hit by USPS’ friendly fire."

January 31, 2006 -- Japan Times has reported that "Japan Post Corp. will recruit private-sector experts in financial and international parcel delivery services before the privatization of postal services begins in 2007, company officials said."

January 31, 2006 -- Asahi Shimbun has reported that "Nippon Express Co., Japan's largest transportation company, next month will become the first private service to deliver "certain letters and documents" nationwide, company sources said."

January 30, 2006 -- According to InformationWeek, "consumers use smart phones for online shopping, not buying."

January 30, 2006 -- According to NewsMax.com, "Microsoft is proposing an inexpensive technology to bring computing to the developing world – turning a cell phone into a computer by connecting it to a TV and a keyboard." That oughta do something for universal service.

January 30, 2006 -- The Federal Times has reported that "The Defense Department is starting to move forward on a plan to outsource its billion-dollar-plus mail operation, which would be one of the government’s biggest privatization projects in recent years. An influential advisory group concluded doing so would save money, improve mail service and free up troops badly needed for war-fighting."

January 30, 2006 -- According to the Guernsey Press and Star, "Roy Bisson wrote to 18 companies, including Healthspan, MX2 and flower exporters, claiming that the States was set to sacrifice the VAT postal concession and did not appreciate the full value of the sector. The letter worried the exporters but Commerce and Employment has given reassurance that there is no danger."

January 30, 2006 -- Inside Indiana Business has reported that "This week the United States Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service are launching a national campaign to make people more aware of different types of fraud."

January 30, 2006 -- The Financial Express has reported that "The Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised body of UNO, is organising a 3 day workshop, from 1st to 3rd February 2006, in collaboration with Department of Posts, at New Delhi. The event will focus on Direct Mail (DM) industry in India. DM can be defined as printed matter usually carrying a sales message or announcement designed to elicit a response from a carefully selected consumer or business market."

January 30, 2006 -- According to Failure Magazine, "The next time you contemplate sending a letter without a return address, think again. Every year more than 100 million pieces of mail pour into the U.S. Post Office's Mail Recovery Centers (MRC), virtually all of them lacking a valid address and return address. The vast majority of this mail never gets delivered, although it's not for lack of effort. The postal service goes to great lengths, at its own expense, to try to find each piece of mail's intended destination."

January 30, 2006 -- Window Book, Inc. has announced the launch of the Your First Priority System™ (www.YourFirstPrioritySystem.com) an innovative and cost-effective shipping and fulfillment solution to mail lightweight items and documents. The solution is well suited to the shipping needs of many eBay® Auction and Yahoo Store® online sellers."

January 30, 2006 -- The BBC has reported that "An 8,000-name petition has been sent to Post Office managers against plans to close their main Dumfries branch."

January 30, 2006 -- After 2½ years of construction, UPS has opened a greatly expanded, more automated package sorting hub in Europe that will accommodate the shipping needs of its growing customer base for years to come.

January 30, 2006 -- The Financial Times has reported that "The Post Office is launching its own directory inquiries service as it continues to expand the range of commercial services beyond its core postal business."

January 30, 2006 -- Al Bawaba has reported that "Empost, the UAE’s national courier company, has entered into a strategic partnership with Wall Street Exchange Centre, one of UAE’s biggest and oldest foreign exchange and money transfer companies. Empost will be the official courier service provider for Wall Street Exchange Centre. Empost offers a wide range of courier services that cater to specific segments of the society, such as Mandoub, Jawaz, EziPack, Ameel, Health Pack, LiteDox, EmDirect and EziMail. Empost has more than 65 stores in the UAE offering a comprehensive range of courier and postal services, including stationary, stamps and gifts."

January 30, 2006 -- WebIndia123 has reported that "Faced with stiff competition from courier companies, Kerala post will launch an early morning service, called 'Suprabhatam', in which mail will be delivered to people in the state capital as early as 8.30 a.m."

January 30, 2006 -- An update of the Mailers Council P.L. 108-18 escrow fact sheet has been posted on this site.

January 30, 2006 -- According to the Eldridge North Scott Press, "The shock has worn off, and McCausland residents are in combat mode this week after learning that the U. S. Postal Service (USPS) is planning to stamp out the town's post office. The offices of Senators Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin, as well as Congressman Jim Nussle, have been flooded with more than 500 letters."

January 30, 2006 -- DM News editor Tad Clarke wants to know: "What the blazes happened last week? I don’t know what officials at the U.S. Postal Service hoped to accomplish when they came out full throttle against postal reform legislation that the Senate was about to pass. If they wanted to completely and utterly alienate the lawmakers with direct oversight over their agency, then they succeeded. To say the least, bill sponsors Sens. Susan Collins and Thomas Carper are not pleased with the interference."

January 30, 2006 -- Chuck Muth, president of Citizen Outreach, said in a recent editorial that "a postal “reform” bill awaits congressional action when our representatives return from their extended winter recess (formerly known as Christmas Break) this week. And proving once again that politics makes strange bedfellow, I find myself on the same side as the post office in opposing the legislation - for entirely different reasons. The post office opposes the bill because it doesn’t loosen up the oversight USPS is subjected to. They want the freedom to set their own prices and run around loose without a leash, just like any other business. But they are NOT like any other business. And until/unless they give up their monopoly protections and benefits, they shouldn’t be treated as one. Which is why I don’t like the bill as drafted. Because this postal “reform” legislation does nothing to bring true, free-market reforms to mail delivery in the United States. There’s no provision for introducing competition to first-class mail delivery. And therefore, there’s no incentive for the local postal worker to unlock the doors 15 minutes after closing to provide first-class service to a paying customer. Absent such “reforms,” the bill is about as valuable as a 37-cent stamp."

January 30, 2006 -- Paul E. Evans, president of the Muskogee Area Local 007 of the American Postal Workers Union, wrote in the Muskogee Phoenix that "If the postal service was privatized, who and how many companies would be handling and delivering your mail to your home and business? Who and how many privatized post offices would suddenly appear around our city? Who would set the postal rate? Or would the privatized postal offices be at free will to set their own rate? If you were expecting a letter and had not received it, which of the many privatized postal offices would you call first?"

January 30, 2006 -- Investors Business Daily has reported that "UPS (UPS) has launched UPS Mail LogicSM, a new international mail service that allows customers to streamline their mail operations by relying on UPS's package delivery expertise. With UPS Mail Logic, businesses can simply gather their international letters, flats or packets into one parcel - no sorting by destination, metering or stamping necessary. Customers arrange for UPS pick-up along with any other small packages ready for delivery. UPS then transports the international mail to well-respected postal service entities that sort and ship the mail to the destination postal authority or other licensed party for final delivery.

January 30, 2006 -- AzerTaj has reported that "In accordance with the recently signed agreement with Azerbaijan Government, World Bank endorsed $12.25 million for development of the postal system of Azerbaijan. This money will be spent on complete modernization of the postal system of Azerbaijan. Postal offices are believed to provide banking, Internet and information services to the population and carry out money order, payment and other financial operations."

January 30, 2006 -- FederalNewsRadio's Mike Causey has claimed that "As Americans become increasingly mobile, moving from state-to-state, and as the population mix becomes more diverse, some people suffer from an identify crises. The result: We owe our allegiance not to a race, religion or region, but to our Zip Code. Postmarks and Zip Codes zip codes and postmarks are important and have a definite meaning for many folks. The American Postal Workers Union is using our affair with Postmarks and Zip Codes to fight proposed consolidations."

January 30, 2006 -- According to WCCO-TV, "Stamps.com is best known for selling postage stamps that you can decorate with your own pictures. The service may soon allow businesses to create their own personalized postage."

January 30, 2006 -- Jiji Press has reported that "Major Japanese transport firm Nippon Express Co. and shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. will participate in a cargo joint venture to be set up by Japan Post and All Nippon Airways."

January 30, 2006 -- The Times has reported that "ROYAL MAIL is to begin a fresh round of cost-cutting that unions fear may trigger 40,000 job losses and a huge switch from full-time to part-time work. The move comes as senior government sources have also disclosed that Royal Mail has yet to make a formal detailed request for financial help, despite calling publicly for £2 billion." See also The Scotsman.

January 29, 2006 -- Japan Post will examine all 188,458 mailboxes across the country in response to complaints that they are inconvenient to use, with slots facing the road and unclear pickup times displayed, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

January 29, 2006 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "Economic growth slowed to its most sluggish pace in three years at the end of last year as consumers and businesses applied the brakes to spending. While a rebound is likely in the current quarter, the expansion after two brisk years appears to be moderating as higher energy prices and interest rates begin to bite. The principal cause was a slowdown in growth of consumer spending to a four-year low of 1.1%."

January 29, 2006 -- The Independent has reported that "The new chief executive of Business Post has started 2006 like his predecessor saw out 2005: with a profit warning that sent shares in the parcels delivery group sharply lower. Six weeks into his tenure, Guy Buswell, who was promoted after the board ousted Paul Carvell, admitted the group would miss profit forecasts for the year to April. It was the fourth time Business Post has warned on profits in 12 months and the second since November. Shares in the group slumped 14 per cent to 352p after it said profits would be 40 per cent lower than analysts had pencilled in at around pounds 9m.

January 29, 2006 -- From the PostalNews.com weblog: "Another day, another news story about rescuing an endangered postmark: “Local union leaders and Rep. Don Manzullo are heading into a meeting with top postal officials Tuesday in Washington, determined that Rockford will keep its postmark.” The story in today’s Rockford, Illinois Register-Star is similar to recent stories from Olympia Washington, and Sioux City, Iowa. In each case, as with all of the possible plant consolidations being discussed, there are real issues about productivity, jobs and service. But what is it about postmarks? Why is Tom Harkin worried about “the elimination of the 150 year old postmark of this proud and vibrant city”? Why is the state of Washington concerned about letters from the state capital being postmarked ‘Olympia/Tacoma’ instead of ‘Olympia’?...Lets get over the concern about postmarks, and start talking about the real issues!"

January 29, 2006 -- The Washington Post has reported that "Within the next two weeks, the White House and Congress will start setting priorities, and federal employees will have a stake in how some play out. Administration officials plan to renew a push for changes in the government-wide pay system. The plan would abolish the General Schedule by 2010 and move federal employees into more rigorous systems that would link pay raises to job performance. Congress probably will also revisit efforts by the Bush administration to contract out federal work, which has been stoutly opposed by federal unions."

January 29, 2006 -- Timothy Freeman, President of the Printing and Imaging Association, in a letter to the editor of the Elmira Star-Gazette, wrote: "Last July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the bill by a sweeping, nonpartisan 410-20 vote, but a similar bill is stuck in the U.S. Senate. Without a Senate vote on bill S.662, there is no hope for a legislative solution to the future postal rate increases faced by consumers and businesses. Therefore, I urge my fellow citizens to call or write our U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton to urge them to vote yes on S.662 as soon as possible, giving us all a chance to put those two pennies back in our respective piggy banks."

January 28, 2006 -- CBS News has noted that "Citibank, HSBC, Bank of America, and other banks are seeking a piece of the $100 billion immigrants send home each year. Advanced electronic systems and widespread distribution networks — a product of mergers with banks in other countries — have enabled banks in the United States to provide money transfers for lower fees. Remittance fees average about 8 percent of the amount transferred, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. By charging less than the competition, banks are gaining in popularity among immigrants. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on remittances published in November, banks charged just $8.80 on a $300 remittance to Mexico, whereas the U.S. Postal Service charged $10, and money-transfer operator Western Union charged $10.70. Delgado Travel, which offers to pay out in U.S. dollars instead of pesos, thereby avoiding any negative exchange-rate fluctuations, typically charges $12. Despite the price disparity, wire-transfer companies still control 70 percent of the remittance market, which gives them a $4.2 billion slice of an estimated $6 billion in annual transactions fees. Western Union made $1.3 billion from money transfers alone in 2004."

January 28, 2006 -- The Sioux City Journal has reported that "While on the Senate floor Friday, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin successfully included language in the Postal Reform Bill that would force the U.S. Postal Service to review the concerns of businesses and communities affected by mail facilities consolidations, a Harkin aide said. Friday's language falls on the heels of a Siouxland delegation that traveled to Washington D.C., to meet with Harkin, D-Iowa, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, and Bill Galligan, senior vice president of operations for the Postal Service."

January 28, 2006 -- ThisIsStaffordshire has reported that "Royal Mail announced today it is seeking voluntary redundancies as part of a cost-cutting exercise. Around 100 call centre workers at Festival Park have been sent letters asking for people to volunteer for the cuts. The company is looking to make 40 people redundant across the UK's nine contact centres, which employ 2,000 people in total."

January 28, 2006 -- Les Echos has reported that "Banque Postale, the French postal bank, is expected to experience difficulty holding on to its financial advisers, as competitors are keen to lure them away."

January 28, 2006 --  The Los Angeles Times has reported that "With Southern California residents continuing to complain about mail that is delivered late at night or not at all, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) wants the nation's postmaster general to provide extensive data about staffing levels, plant closures and delivery schedules. Waxman is expected to make more than a dozen requests Monday for information from John E. Potter, the postmaster general. Among other items, Waxman wants to know what percentage of mail in the Los Angeles area is delivered after 5 p.m. He also plans to ask for data on staffing levels over the last three years, copies of customer complaint logs and any analyses of cost savings related to plant closings. And he will request information about what effect plant closings have had on the transportation of mail in the region."

January 28, 2006 -- The Dallas-Ft. Worth Star Telegram has noted that "Sometimes postal carriers deliver mail to Historic Carver Heights in the afternoon. Sometimes they deliver at night. Sometimes, they just take the day off, residents say. When they do deliver the mail, the residents say, they often deliver it to the wrong address. So residents are becoming pretty good postal carriers."

January 28, 2006 --  The Colorado Springs Gazette has noted that "Dona Chon just wanted to get her mail when she moved into a westside cottage at 6½ N. 24th St. Instead, she stumbled into a littleknown U.S. Postal Service plan to turn the halves into halve-nots in Colorado Springs."

January 28, 2006 --  The Rockford Register Star has reported that "Local union leaders and Rep. Don Manzullo are heading into a meeting with top postal officials Tuesday in Washington, determined that Rockford will keep its postmark."

January 28, 2006 --  CBS4.com has reported that "CORAL SPRINGS For the past three years a Coral Springs neighborhood has had a recurring problem: They get other people’s mail. Dozens of pieces of mail reach the homes of residents of this neighborhood at the Tuscany at Heron Bay development everyday. Despite calls to the US Postal Service, they say nothing is being done. What is more disturbing is that the mail they get includes confidential documents such as bank statements and credit card bills- creating an ID theft hazard. Residents have also complained that they are not getting their own mail."

January 28, 2006 --  The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• PostCom takes look at the postal reform happenings of this very eventful week.
• The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors told Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Chairman Susan Collins this week that they oppose passage of Senate postal reform legislation. In a letter, the governors said they feel “critical elements [are] missing from this bill, as well as numerous burdensome provisions” that would effectively cripple the USPS’ ability to function in a competitive marketplace.
• Read the Postal Service’s latest news release on postal reform, issued January 25.
• American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus says his union has opposed pending postal reform legislation from the beginning.
• The presidents of two major unions that represent the country’s 330,000 active city and rural letter carriers – the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association – issued a joint statement this week urging passage of S.662, the Senate’s postal reform legislation.
• Senators Susan Collins and Thomas Carper of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee were visibly angered by the U.S. Postal Service’s actions over postal reform this week. The senators issued a biting statement criticizing the USPS over the “false, misleading, and inaccurate claims” it made about Senate postal reform bill, S. 662.
• The State of Missouri this week became the third state to introduce a Do-Not-Mail bill. It joins New York and Illinois.
• Bill McAllister of Linn’s Stamp News says Americans better get used to rising stamp prices because they “ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” McAllister says the U.S. Postal Service is facing a crisis unlike anything it has known since its founding in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress.
• The U.S. Postal Service’s Gerald McKiernan takes PostalWatch Executive Director Rick Merritt to task for his recent allegations that the USPS’ productivity numbers are false and that postal management is not taking costs out of the system.
• This New Jersey editorial examines the recent rate increase and blames most of the “mess” on Congress. And much of the disruption could have been avoided.
• In this perspective, postal commentator Gene Del Polito provides facts to use with legislators and reporters when countering the blitz of direct mail misinformation that finds its way into proposed new legislation this time of year.
• PostCom Vice President Kate Muth takes issue with newspaper columnists like to complain about the Postal Service, especially what they perceive as “unwanted advertising mail.” In this perspective, Muth urges action from newspaper columnists.
• San Gabriel Valley Tribune columnist Robert Rector recounts a number of instances of late and incorrectly-delivered mail in the Los Angeles area.
• This Oklahoma newspaper editorial roundly criticizes the Postal Service charging that “the USPS is more concerned with maintaining its special status among government agencies than providing a service for its customers.”
• USPS evaluates additional facilities as potential targets for consolidation. MicroStrategy salutes USPS’ Otto with Individual Excellence Award. Potter attending World Economic Forum annual meeting.
• EU urged to consider rural customers in postal liberalization. End to Royal Mail benefits contract by 2010 draw fire. Japan Post computer system might not be ready for 2007. Austrian union gets no traction on postal selloff. Poste Italiane, Finmeccanica to split mail control operation. Danish postbox fee causes customers to flee. Scottish posties warned to end red litter days. FedEx buying out Chinese partner.
• PostCom welcomes International Business Systems.

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January 28, 2006 -- The Congressional Research Service has released its latest updates regarding the Postal Service:

• Pension Issues Cloud Postal Reform Debate

• Postal Reform

• Update on Revenue Forgone

January 28, 2006 -- The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site. (Be sure to see NAPUS' comments on the hole the USPS has dug for itself on Capitol Hill.)

January 28, 2006 -- Cox Target Media, mailer of the familiar blue Valpak® envelopes, the nation’s largest mailer of saturation letters, has joined the Postal Service in opposition to S.662, the so-called “postal reform” bill.

January 28, 2006 -- According to the National Association of Postal Supervisors President, "The Postal Service’s motive to kill postal reform, which has been increasingly apparent for months, became patently obvious this week. The USPS strategy: score a quick KO on postal reform by suggesting that the Senate’s postal reform bill – poised for approval any time now – will cause postal rates to rise by at least twenty cents and blow the roof off. The Postal Service’s clever scheme, though, didn’t quite work out. Instead of bringing down the bill, USPS blew its cover, and those who were once its biggest allies on Capitol Hill were hit by USPS’ friendly fire."

January 28, 2006 -- Federal Computer Week has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service wants to convert its automated forms into intelligent documents that can validate data, perform calculations and accept digital signatures. A new solicitation posted on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site asks vendors to submit proposals for converting USPS’ old forms and developing new ones using Adobe LiveCycle Designer. USPS has a library of 752 forms in Adobe PDF format and 138 automated forms created with Adobe Form Client Version 5.0 software. Forms converted with LiveCycle Designer can be rendered as Adobe PDF files or HTML documents and be digitally signed."

January 28, 2006 -- Air Cargo World has noted that "TNT Freight Management, the international air and ocean logistics unit of TNT Logistics, joined Cargo 2000, the International Air Transport Association interest group focused on electronically streamlining the air freight delivery process."

January 27, 2006 -- WJBD Radio has reported that "Congressmen John Shimkus and Jerry Costello have sent a joint letter to the US Postal Service regarding the possible "consolidation" of the Centralia and Carbondale mail processing center into the St. Louis distribution center. The letter states the congressmen have discussed a possible consolidation and have determined it would have a negative impact on Southern Illinois. Shimkus says even though the Postal Service operates independently of the federal government, Congress must express displeasure when it makes proposals that will harm the region."

January 27, 2006 -- The Rockville Register Star has reported that "Congressman Don Manzullo, R-Egan, and two postal union representatives from Rockford will meet with top officials from the United States Postal Service in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to challenge a plan to reroute mail from northern and northwest Illinois through Palatine instead of Rockford."

January 27, 2006 -- The Albuquerque Journal has reported that "New Mexico's Postal Service is getting an earful this week from telephone hot line callers complaining about after-dark mail delivery and mail delays, a post office spokeswoman said Thursday. Albuquerque's customer service phones were averaging about 100 calls a day between Monday and Wednesday, said Margaret Romero, an Albuquerque postal manager. Santa Fe's postal service was getting 70 to 80 calls a day, and Las Cruces about 36 calls."

January 27, 2006 -- The Central Kentucky News Journal has reported that "As the U.S. Postal Service continues to mull over shutting down Elizabethtown's mail sorting facility, postal officials are debating the impact the closure could have on areas carrying the 427 zip code prefix."

January 27, 2006 -- The Santa Fe New Mexican has reported that "Santa Fe has trouble attracting and keeping postal employees because of the city’s high cost of living, and that has contributed to the city’s recent postal-delivery problems. That’s according to U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N .M., who met Thursday with U.S. Postal Service officials in Albuquerque to discuss recent postal complaints. The officials told Udall it is difficult to recruit people to work in Santa Fe because of the high cost of living, he said."

January 27, 2006 -- From BusinessWire: "--FreshAddress, Inc., a leading email database services provider, released the results of its study "Email Address Validation Survey of Fifty Top Retail Web Sites." The sobering results show none of the tested websites successfully blocked the most common email address registration errors, thus allowing typos and undeliverable email addresses into their databases. The average cost to each of these retailers is $6.7 million dollars annually in lost sales. Further details and a copy of the Real-Time Email Validation study can be found at www.freshaddress.com/biz."

January 27, 2006 -- As GovExec.com has noted, "A sweeping postal overhaul bill that Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., had hoped to see approved by unanimous consent this week has been stalled after a handful of senators expressed concerns about the bill's budget impact and other provisions."

January 27, 2006 -- The DM Bulletin has reported that "Royal Mail is appealing against a High Court decision that it should pay up to £40m in compensation to business customers for missing service targets."

January 27, 2006 -- As Bloomberg has noted, "Business Post Group Plc, a U.K. postal delivery service, said for the third time in five months that profit for the financial year will fall short of analysts' estimates as a focus on bigger clients fails to pay off."

January 27, 2006 -- KTRE-TV has reported that "The postal service honored an East Texas grocery store Friday for its response during Hurricane Rita. After the storm, the post office quickly resumed mail service in damaged neighborhoods thanks to Brookshire Brothers. Even though Rita temporarily shut down dozens of stores, Brookshire's provided ice, water, and quick access to fuel for mail trucks."

January 27, 2006 -- The Contra Costa Times has reported that "In a dark corner of a warehouse on San Francisco's industrial Pier 96 an oddly foreboding 17-foot tree has taken root. Conceived by installation artist Dio Mendoza, the tree stands as a testament to one of modern life's most persistent irritations - junk mail. Scraggly and imposing, the once-was pine is built entirely of unsolicited "direct mail" advertising Mendoza collected over the course of about three weeks from just one of his San Jose neighbors. "Let's face it, we're a gluttonous society," he said at a news conference Thursday. "We consume a lot." The tree rises at Norcal Waste Systems' cacophonous Recycling Central, where 600 tons of bottles, cans and paper products leave for new lives every day. The tree drew a small contingent of reporters and photographers to the kickoff of a Bay Area anti-junk-mail campaign."

January 27, 2006 -- The Mailers Council has reported that "the Postal Service has identified following postal facilities for consolidation or for an Area Mail Processing study to evaluate them as potential targets for consolidation: (1)Alamogordo, NM Post Office into EL Paso, TX P&DC; (2) McAllen, TX Post Office into Corpus Christi, TX P&DF; (3) Waco, TX P&DF into both Fort Worth, TX P&DC and Austin, TX P&DC; (4) Bryan, TX Post Office into Houston, TX P&DC; (5) Cumberland, MD Main Post Office into Frederick, MD P&DF; (6) Batesville (AR) Post Office into Little Rock (AR) P&DC.

January 27, 2006 -- Business Mailers Review has reported that:

• The Postal Service’s efforts to block the bill, S. 662, clearly angered Senate Government Affairs Chair Susan Collins, R-ME, and Sen. Thomas Carper, D-DE, the two Senate architects of the bill. As BMR went to press, S. 662 was on the Senate calendar for consideration under that body’s unanimous consent rule. Under this rule a bill comes to the full floor for a vote without debate and amendment under the condition that no single senator objects to it.
• Postal officials argue that if S. 662 is enacted and the Senate caves into administration demands that USPS be responsible for about $27 billion in military retirement obligations it will lead to a far larger rate increase than the one in the mid-single digits the Postal Service has led mailers to anticipate.
• There is growing anxiety in the mailing industry that the long-awaited study of undeliverable as addressed (UAA) mail, several years in the making, will not be issued in time to be fully digested before the Postal Service files its next rate case.
• Proposed consolidations, known in Postal Service nomenclature as Area Mail Processing or AMPs are continuing to move forward with several more identified since we last reported on the topic. All in all Postal officials think they will need about 400 facilities longer term so over 200 will need to be closed.
• USPS is planning a redesign of its Centralized Account Processing System (CAPS) to address its own and industry’s problems with the system.
• Updates for the Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence (CDS) service, which organizes 145 million residential and business addresses by carrier route in delivery walk sequence, will now be available on a weekly basis.
• It’s common knowledge that Standard Mail growth is driving total volume growth in mail and that First Class volume is declining. But a snapshot of the past 35 years since postal reorganization suggests that Standard Mail growth is not as robust as it once was, either.
• A trend appears to be emerging in which remittance mail delivery performance is worse in the fall than in the spring, according to the latest semi-annual Phoenix-Hecht Postal Survey.
• The Postal Service Jan. 12 took another big step in its move to reduce use of sacks by issuing its final rule to implement a 24-piece minimum, rather than a 6-piece minimum.
• The New American Dream, a group that wants to cut down on unsolicited mail, is headed to Capitol Hill in February to lobby Congress to set up a “Do Not Junk” registry.
• The U.S. Postal Service has renewed its efforts to avoid regulation of the prices it charges for stamped stationery bearing the images of Disney cartoon characters.
• The new Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center at 7500 Lindbergh Blvd. is now accepting mailer drop shipments.
   

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.

January 27, 2006 -- According to the Sioux City Journal, "Meeting with federal lawmakers and a top U.S. Postal Service official Thursday, local leaders learned they likely would have a chance to respond to a postal study that threatens to close Sioux City's mail processing center. Besides costing Sioux City up to 100 jobs and its 150-year-old postmark, local leaders fear the change would delay mail delivery and increase costs for some businesses. U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, arranged for the local delegation to meet Thursday with the USPS' Galligan. Fifth District Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, also attended, and Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., sent staffers."

January 27, 2006 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. posted a 21% increase in fourth-quarter profit, fueled by a robust holiday shipping season that capped what it called a "remarkably strong" year for the economy and a continuing boom in non-U.S. shipments. But some investors wanted even more, pushing UPS shares lower. UPS said it gained some shipments from customers who defected from the DHL unit of Deutsche Post AG, which suffered mechanical breakdowns and other problems at its Wilmington, Ohio, air hub, causing its on-time performance to plunge in September. DHL has said its reliability has rebounded since then."

January 27, 2006 -- The Hartford Courant has reported that "The president and owner of an East Windsor company involved in the direct mail business has been accused of defrauding clients by dumping bulk mailings at recycling centers instead of shipping them to the U.S. Postal Service for delivery as promised. U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor said a federal grand jury has indicted Thomas J. Rueli, 47, of Springfield, and his company, Total Logistic Services Inc., on 14 counts of mail fraud."

January 27, 2006 -- The Slovak Spectator has reported that "THE SLOVAK Post Office, Slovenská pošta (SP), will begin offering a package of electronic services to its clients in July this year. The initial package of e-services should include the electronic administration of packages, payment of checks through the Internet, and hybrid mail, which means that people can write letters or postcards on their computers and SP will print them and forward to the addressees. Among other services, clients will also be able to reserve a P.O. Box through the Internet."

January 27, 2006 -- Reuters has reported that "Business Post Group warned on Friday that annual underlying profit would miss forecasts after the company failed to improve margins at its parcel services unit, sending its shares down as much as 19 percent."

January 27, 2006 -- Dow Jones has reported that:

Argentina has extended the deadline for returning the postal company to private control for the third time in a year and a half, though there are few signs that the government intends to relinquish state control of the service. According to a decree published Wednesday in the Official Bulletin, the new date for calling a public tender for Correo Argentino is now June 30. The old deadline was Dec. 31, 2005. The extension is designed to give more time for "operations to be consolidated" at Correo Oficial de la Republica Argentina SA, which is what the company was renamed.
Singapore Post Ltd., the city-state's dominant postal operator, Friday reported a 17% rise in third-quarter net profit led by gains in its logistics and retail businesses. The company earned S$32.8 million in the three months to Dec. 31, 2005, up from S$28.0 million a year earlier, as operating revenue rose 7.4% to S$107.98 million from S$100.51 million a year ago.
TNT N.V. and the French cargo transport operator Malherbe said Friday that they have signed an agreement for the sale of the remaining activities of Logistiques Nicolas, part of the activities of TNT's French subsidiary TNT Logistics Holdings SAS.
TNT N.V. said Friday that on Jan. 26, 2006, it purchased 335,000 TNT N.V. ordinary shares at an average price of EUR26.9539 per share. It is TNT's intention to cancel the repurchased shares.

January 27, 2006 -- Mailers Council executive director Robert McLean has told his members that:

For those who missed it, today's Postal Service media event with Dick Strasser and Tom Day was a collection of confusing, circular comments and more than a few misstatements.

In the short briefing, postal officials warned that passage of S 662 would guarantee one last, huge rate case under current law, followed by years of additional high increases. Questions about how such increases would be possible under a price cap were answered by confusing rhetoric and warnings about the Statement of Administration Policy (rather than the bill the Senate will, we hope, soon consider). Strasser warned, "I'm not sure our mailers and employees understand the full ramifications of these bills."

Day, responding to a question about whether postal officials were violating the laws prohibiting them from lobbying, stressed that he wasn't even close to such a violation, but instead was fulfilling an obligation to educate the Senate and correct misimpressions on the Hill. Most notably, he wanted to let the Senate know that not all the postal employee groups support S 662. The APWU, which he said was the largest postal employee union, opposes the bill. APWU President Bill Burrus, Day stressed, believes the legislation is flawed and "not in the best interests of the members he represents." (And that is wrong; last year the NALC became the largest union because most of the 100,000 postal jobs eliminated belonged to APWU members.)

Late today Sens. Collins and Carper reacted to postal letters, news releases and media statements with the following statement. As you'll see, they are not happy. The Postal Service has damaged its relations on the Hill in a way that may be impossible to repair, at least with the current oversight committee leadership.

See also the Postal Service's side of the story in what's been distributed to postal employees.

January 27, 2006 -- Leaders of the two major unions representing the nation’s 330,000 active city and rural letter carriers issued a joint statement today urging Senate passage of postal reform legislation. Following is the statement by William H. Young, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO), and Donnie Pitts, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association: “On behalf of 330,000 active postal employees who deliver mail on city and rural routes across America, we urge the United State Senate to swiftly pass S. 662, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The NALC and the NRLCA believe this long-overdue legislation will ensure the strength and viability of the U.S. Postal Service for decades to come.”

January 27, 2006 -- The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognized the U.S. Postal Service facility in Huron, S.D., for excellence in their employee safety and health program at a ceremony Jan. 24. The mail processing and distribution facility was designated a VPP "Star" site, the highest level of recognition that OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) offer. To qualify, a site must meet all the safety and health program elements for the VPP program, which far exceed minimum OSHA standards.

January 26, 2006 -- The Kildare Nationalist has reported that "IRELAND East MEP Mairéad McGuinness has welcomed comments made by the EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy that he is conscious of the need to provide a service to rural dwellers, in the framing of plans to liberalise postal services in the EU."

January 26, 2006 -- The Free New Mexican has reported that "Two postal managers who the U.S. Postal Service said were replaced after statewide complaints about mail delivery say they had asked to be transferred for personal reasons. The two former New Mexico managers also contradicted a Postal Service spokeswoman’s statement that they had received promotions. Paul Nistler, former manager of the U.S. Postal Service mail-processing plant in Albuquerque, said in an e-mail that he asked to be transferred to Milwaukee, Wis., because his parents are aging and his father has cancer. And Steve Harden, former customer-relations manager in Albuquerque, said in a telephone interview that he left Albuquerque four months ago because his father died and he wanted to be closer to his aging mother in the Midwest. Harden would not specify where he works now. Nistler and Harden’s statements contradict those of U.S. Postal Service officials in the past week."

January 26, 2006 -- Led by a strong 21.5% gain in worldwide revenue, UPS today reported net income of $1.05 billion and a 25% increase in diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter.

January 26, 2006 -- Actually, the hold placed on S. 662 was by Sen. Sessions (R-AL) born, ostensibly, from the concerns expressed by the Board of Governors of the Postal Service, not Sen. Harkin as was previously reported.

January 26, 2006 -- According to Direct, "Mailer groups were generally pleased at reports the Senate postal reform bill S. 662 was finally going to move forward after months of delay."

January 26, 2006 -- More on the fireworks regarding postal reform from GovExec.com.

January 26, 2006 -- American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus has told his members that "While APWU believes that release of approximately $3 billion from an escrow account and the transfer of responsibility for military retirement expenses are positive provisions of the pending bill (S. 662), they are outweighed by other stipulations, including proposals that would give excessive authority to a Postal Regulatory Board and that would reduce Workers’ Compensation benefits. The intent of postal reform supporters has been to control costs at the expense of service to the American public. The major mailers are unconvinced that postal management will take the steps necessary to reduce costs — including labor costs — without outside intervention. Legislation was thus written to remove from postal management responsibility for the core decisions involved in operating the postal system."

January 26, 2006 -- The Postal Service apparently pulled out all stops to prevent S. 662 from passage by telling its employees why the Board of Governors was opposing the bill. As the Washington Post has noted, "The bill's sponsors, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), said they were "outraged that the Postal Service would mislead senators." In a statement, they said, "Nothing in the bill would lead to rate increases. Collins and Carper said, "We are extremely troubled and disappointed that at the very last minute, the Postal Service is attempting to block action on our bill." They added, "It is ironic that the Postal Service -- which has been forced to raise rates four times in five years because of its inability to control its costs and respond to the new economic landscape -- is accusing us of putting the health of the postal system at risk."

January 26, 2006 -- The Whittier Daily News has asked: "IS there anything more revered or reviled than the post office? Revered, because we depend on their ability to handle millions of pieces of mail daily, a formidable task by any yardstick. Besides, how can you dislike the guys who sponsored Lance Armstrong? But reviled because they continue to boost rates at the same time they provide a level of service that might be politely considered Third World...and getting worse. Late and misdelivered mail, once an occasional problem, is now becoming commonplace. The chorus of complaints is becoming ear splitting."

January 26, 2006 -- The Muskegee Phoenix has concluded: "Let’s privatize postal service. It should have happened long ago in the United States. Other countries have done it with success. In New Zealand, prices went down, and in Australia, on-time delivery went up, according to reports."

January 26, 2006 -- DM News has reported that "Missouri is the latest state to introduce a do-not-mail bill, joining New York and Illinois. Missouri's bill, HB1531, sponsored by state Rep. Trent Skaggs, was reintroduced yesterday. It would set up a registry at the Missouri attorney general's office for people who wish not to receive commercial mail. A similar bill, HB834, died during the last session."

January 26, 2006 -- Panatagraph.com has told its readers that "The state would be wasting its time and our money attempting to ban junk mail. The broad, overreaching law proposed by two state representatives tosses out the good with the bad, while not addressing the real problem."

January 26, 2006 -- Peter Moore Software has introduced the 3541 Generator XP. The 3541 Generator XP is a Windows-based program that allows a user to simply create USPS 3541 postage statements from keyed input. It maintains a database of jobs, publications, and related statements for historical purposes, as well as to ease the burden of data entry on repetitive jobs, such as are common in the world of Periodical mailings. This easy to use program permits the user to create simple mailing jobs consisting of a single statement for one publication, or to create complex mailing jobs comprised of multiple publications, multiple versions, and multiple entries. The program sells for $245, with a guaranty of satisfaction, and is available immediately. Please contact: Peter Moore Software, Inc 6019 Brigadoon Dr Niwot, CO 80503-8832 (303) 641-6000 E-mail: PJM@PeterMoore.com

January 25, 2006 -- Think things are all hunky-dory in the field? Think again. Here's an excerpt from a recent communication from the President of the National League of Postmasters that came "over the transom."

"Here at LEAGUE Headquarters frustrated Postmasters are flooding me with calls from all around the country. These are good Postmasters but they are upset for several reasons. The number one reason is not being able to fill authorized positions due to lack of hiring. We are working our employees six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. That can only go on for so long. We are encountering not only poor morale but also increased sick leave and safety issues.

"Another issue is Postmasters are being micromanaged to death. The Areas blame the Districts, the Districts blame the Areas, and Postmasters are left with the work and aggravation. We are aware that many Postmasters are not being treated with dignity and respect. The same dignity and respect that we are expected to give our employees.

"Service is also taking a beating in a number of areas throughout the country because of hiring issues. Box sections are not up on time and there are long lines at the windows. Many carriers are out until 9:00 p.m. or even past 10:00 p.m. delivering mail and in many areas of the country Postmasters are being required to be present to open their office as well as be present when the last carrier returns."

January 25, 2006 -- From the PR Newswire: "A senior U.S. Postal Service official warned today that passage of pending postal reform legislation, when coupled with the Bush Administration demands on military retirement costs, could increase stamp prices by as much as 20 percent in the near future. "Under current law, the Postal Service has managed to keep the cost of postage below the rate of inflation," said Tom Day, Senior Vice President for Government Relations. "But this bill not only strips the Postal Service of much of its management authority but almost guarantees a hefty rate increase." Day said that should final legislation require the Postal Service to pre- fund retiree health benefits and retain a $27 billion obligation to fund military retirement benefits for its employees, postage rates could increase by up to 20 percent. That would be in addition to any rate increase necessary to fund postal operating costs. The postage rate increase that was effective on Jan. 8 was implemented solely to generate the $3.1 billion necessary to fund an escrow account resulting from 2003 legislation."

January 25, 2006 -- The National League of Postmasters has told its members that "The LEAGUE expects that the Senate will act quickly later today, January 25, 2006, on S. 662, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. This follows an agreement reached by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), chairman of the Senate committee for this bill, and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) who had placed a hold on the legislation for the last six months in regard to the "fair and equitable" provision."

January 25, 2006 -- As the Associated Press has noted, "After more than a year of seeking legislation to update how the post office is run, postal management said Wednesday both the House and Senate bills should be scrapped and the whole process started over. Failure to win approval of provisions opposed by the Bush administration could lead to as much as a 20 percent increase in postage rates, postal officials said."

January 25, 2006 -- As the Federal Times has noted, 'The U.S. Postal Service’s penchant for experimenting with new products and services without the benefit of oversight from an outside body appears to have been severely curtailed by a Postal Rate Commission ruling. The commission, in a decision posted Jan. 4 under Daily Listings on its Web site, www.prc.gov, redefined what is a “postal service” in such a way as to include numerous recent Postal Service initiatives, thus underscoring the commission’s contention that it can define what a “postal service” is and its contention that it has the authority to approve — or not approve — many USPS initiatives."

January 25, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "MicroStrategy® Incorporated, a leading worldwide provider of business intelligence software, today announced that it has selected Robert Otto, CIO/CTO of the U.S. Postal Service, as the recipient of MicroStrategy's Individual Excellence in Business Intelligence award. Mr. Otto was recognized today at MicroStrategy World 2006 in Miami, Florida."

January 25, 2006 -- According to SearchDataManagement.com, "The USPS reported that it spent $1.8 billion dollars processing undeliverable as addressed mail in 2001. The main culprit was incorrect and outdated addresses on business-to-consumer mail. Since this kind of mail accounted for 80% of the mail stream last year, the USPS is working with companies to clean up corporate mailing lists. Their goal is to reduce undeliverable as addressed mail by 50% by 2010, and they hope to achieve this through new USPS technology, education and policy change. Even companies that don't do a lot of mailing could potentially get help with their data quality initiatives."

January 25, 2006 -- According to Business Day, "Customers benefit from sales force automation United Parcel Service works with its largest accounts to negotiate service agreements at a corporate level."

January 25, 2006 -- Forbes has reported that "The European Commission said it is examining a complaint made by several newspaper suppliers over alleged state aid earmarked by the government for a new distribution system set up by Belgium's postal service."

January 25, 2006 -- According to Political Affairs magazine (self-styled as the Marxist thought online), "UNI global union plans to enroll 900 unions world-wide into a programme to force big corporations to improve their behaviour. The aim is to sign up multinationals to observe labour and other rights wherever they operate in the world. UNI has just become a stakeholder in UN agency the Universal Postal Union and talks are well advanced on an Understanding that would promote social dialogue between postal employers and unions worldwide and give greater transparency in the world trade round on services (GATS) which includes postal and courier services."

January 25, 2006 -- Dow Jones has reported that:

Goldman Sachs, Erste Bank AG, and Raiffeisen Centrobank AG have received a mandate to act as advisers for the initial public offering of Austria's postal operator, Oesterreichische Post AG.
European governments are increasingly turning to buyout houses to finance and manage companies that are providing essential public services, from mail delivery to waste incineration.

January 25, 2006 -- The Asahi Shimbun has reported that "Yoshifumi Nishikawa, head of a new company set up to organize the privatization of Japan Post, said he would lobby the government to remove its 10-million-yen cap on postal deposits."

January 25, 2006 -- According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "To draw in new customers or drum up business with established ones, a small business can't afford to overlook direct-mail marketing. It can be affordable, highly targeted and fairly easy to do."

January 25, 2006 -- As Mike Causey has noted in the Washington Times, "As more companies go belly up, convince employees to take pay cuts and/or eliminate pension plans, 401(k) plan contributions and health insurance, the government -- for all its warts -- looks like a very good place to work to a lot of people."

January 25, 2006 -- The Arkansas News has reported that "William Henderson will stay on as a board member at Acxiom Corp. after he was named the new chief operations officer at the world's largest movie rental service."

January 25, 2006 -- According to the Edinburgh Evening News, "ROYAL Mail chiefs have been urged to crack down on postal workers littering Edinburgh's streets with red rubber bands. The problem has become so bad that city council leader Donald Anderson has issued a warning to Royal Mail bosses that the litter louts are putting the city's clean reputation at risk." See also The Scotsman.

January 25, 2006 -- According to the Outer Banks Sentinel, "Stumpy Point residents have been informed by a letter from the U.S. Postal Service that their post office will be closing due to the cost-prohibitive nature of paying a lease and utilities on a building that now boast only six rented postal boxes."

January 25, 2006 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

Germany's public service workers' union ver.di has announced that it will demand wage and salary increases of up to 4.5% for transport workers this year.
Last week, over 600 turned out to follow the protest march appeal launched by the Austrian postal workers' union. Popular opinion appears to be against privatisation of the post.
Poste Italiane is investing around 60m euros in a new mail control centre in Naples. According to an official statement from the post, the new centre - operated jointly by the post and the Finmeccanica group - will provide centralised supervision of the post's entire production, including mail and parcels, and will be at the cutting edge of technology.
Competitors appear to be put off by the limited opening of the Swiss mail market. Peter Sutterlati, president of the Swiss Association of Private Parcel, Courier, Express and Mail Operators (KEP & Mail) shares Mr Kaiser's views: "The 100 grams limit for mail is unattractive to operators who want to set up a mail distribution network". Market observers expect a mere 11% of addressed mail to be subject to competition.
Post Danmark's announcement of a new fee for post office boxes from 1 February has resulted in a wave of cancellations. The post intends to charge 80 euros per year for a service that was hitherto free.
Schweizerische Post and the Swiss association KEP & Mail have opened a new chapter in the CEP market history by signing an agreement. The framework agreement allows the joint use of parcel sorting centres and transport. It also regulates the direct feeding of parcels into transhipment platforms and the handing over of items with a post office box destination at the corresponding post office.
The French post's subsidiary GeoPost has acquired a majority of the Greek CEP service provider Interattica Courier Network S.A.
Leading Japanese parcel service Yamato Transport Co. Ltd has lost its case against Japan Post. The Tokyo District Court refused to issue an injunction against the co-operation between Japan Post and the retail chain Lawson.
The German low fares airline Air Berlin appears to have established a successful business model with its practice of taking on board freight and parcels. Typical goods included newspapers, printed matter and small consignments.
Last week, FedEx carried out a ground-breaking ceremony for its new Asia-Pacific central hub in Guangzhou.
In view of postal market liberalisation, the matter of satisfactory and cost-covering postal services in rural areas has become a topic of intense discussion. Switzerland is approaching the problem from a different angle.
The Netherlands are the most dangerous region in Europe for lorry drivers. The AVC Foundation states that more than half of all lorry and cargo thefts happen in the Netherlands. The Netherlands have taken over Italy's leading position when it comes to lorry and cargo theft.

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.

January 25, 2006 -- Government Computer News has reported that "After nearly five years of defending FirstGov.gov’s search engine prowess against constant criticism, General Services Administration officials believe they have an engine that will quiet detractors. Users of FirstGov.gov now can search about 40 million federal, state and local government pages, as well as tribal and other government Web sites."

January 25, 2006 -- The latest issue of eView (National Association of Major Mail Users) lists a number of personnel changes at Canada Post.

January 25, 2006 -- The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service have told Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) that they oppose Senate passage of S. 662. See also the USPS press release.

January 25, 2006 -- According to SocialistWorker.com, "Royal Mail management is making an outrageous attack on postal workers’ right to strike. It requires a national response."

January 24, 2006 -- According to the Henrico Citizen, "Henrico County continues to lose between $5 million and $7 million each year in tax revenue because of a postal identity problem that has some county officials frustrated with the U.S. Postal Service. Because much of Henrico County is identified as "Richmond" by postal mailing addresses, some businesses (primarily those with out-of-state headquarters) mistakenly pay their taxes to the city instead of Henrico. U.S. Congressman Eric Cantor, whose Seventh District includes much of Henrico, has been working with Postal Service officials to seek a resolution to the issue, but talks so far have not resulted in anything definite, Robinson said."

January 24, 2006 -- From BusinessWire: "Western Union, a worldwide leader in money transfer services, announced that its subsidiary Western Union MT East has entered into an agreement with Russian national postal operator Federal State Unitary Enterprise, known as "Russian Post," to provide international money transfer services. Russian Post has one of the largest branch networks in Russia comprising more than 40,000 outlets. Through this agreement, Western Union Money Transfer(R) Services will be available in up to 2,500 post office outlets across Russia serving both rural and urban populations."

January 24, 2006 -- Postmaster General Jack Potter is participating at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Attending also are representatives from UPS, DHL, and Pitney Bowes.

January 24, 2006 -- From the PR Newswire: "Stamps.com(R), a leading provider of Internet-based postage services, applauds and thanks President Bush and Congress for amending a century-old law that clears the way for the U.S. Postal Service to allow businesses to use PhotoStamps(R). In particular, Stamps.com wishes to thank Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA), who championed the legislative initiative and was instrumental in Stamps.com's efforts to pass this amendment."

January 24, 2006 -- The Free New Mexican has noted that "The U.S. Postal Service has set up hot lines in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Las Cruces to address recent complaints about its service."

January 24, 2006 -- Here's one from the geeks at CNET: "What do you call mail via the Postal Service? A real slow download."

January 24, 2006 -- The Communication Workers Union has announced that "All individual members employed within Royal Mail are today receiving a pamphlet on the Royal Mail letters strategy and the CWU’s vision and aims for the future. The pamphlet tells members of Royal Mail’s plans, but most importantly, sets out the way the union intends to shape the future of jobs within the industry. The pamphlet also sets out the union’s pay strategy for 2006 and beyond. The union is measuring the success of its future pay strategy by comparing Royal Mail workers’ pay against the UK national average. Postal Workers’ pay currently lags £80 per week behind the national average. The full pamphlet can be downloaded from the following link: CWU The Whole Story Pamphlet."

January 24, 2006 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that:

Global express company FedEx Corporation has announced that its FedEx Express unit had signed an agreement with Tianjin Datian W. Group Co., Ltd. (DTW Group) to acquire DTW Group's 50% share of the FedEx-DTW International Priority express joint venture and its domestic express network in China for US$400 million. According to the company the acquisition will include DTW Group's 50% share in the International Priority express joint venture, converting the joint venture into a wholly FedEx-owned company. In addition to this it will include the DTW Group assets used to perform International Priority services and DTW Group domestic express assets from 89 locations.
Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) has announced the launch of a premium express courier service, Speedpost Express. The service provides customers a time-sensitive, door-to-door international express delivery service with track and trace features. The new product has been developed in conjunction with partner DHL combining the domestic network of 62 post offices and 70 local agents, together with DHL’s international delivery network.

January 24, 2006 -- From Business Wire: "UPS's global trade technology has been selected to showcase customs compliance this week at an annual conference of the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI)."

January 24, 2006 -- The San Diego Union Tribune has reported that "After a barrage of complaints about late mail delivery, Southern California postal officials issued a directive Friday telling carriers and post office managers that mail must be delivered no later than 6 p.m. The directive apparently offered few specific recommendations about how to speed up deliveries, other than to instruct managers to divvy up the workload so carriers aren't given more mail than they can deliver in their regular shifts."

January 24, 2006 -- AMEInfo has reported that "Emirates Post Corporation today announced record net profit of Dhs. 133 million for the year 2005, an increase of 6 per cent over the previous year."

January 24, 2006 -- The Washington Post has reported that:

• The Postmasters Benefit Plan has been dropped from the federal employee health insurance program, the Office of Personnel Management announced yesterday. In a two-paragraph statement, OPM said the Postmasters plan "will no longer participate" in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Last month, OPM launched an inquiry into the Postmasters plan because of concerns about its solvency and its handling of insurance claims.
• Granted, the Postal Service realized a profit in 2005, but it was only about 2 percent of operating revenue. The organization's goal is to break even, yet despite an enormous effort by its executives, management and employees, it has managed to achieve that goal only a few times since reorganization 35 years ago.

January 24, 2006 -- The Aberdeen News has reported that "A proposal to sort more of Aberdeen's mail in Huron could result in job losses and longer shipping times for businesses, union and other officials said. No decisions have been made, but the idea is included in a study of how to make mail processing more efficient in the area. Union officials estimate the Aberdeen post office could lose between 12 and 20 jobs under a plan to send more mail through the automated mail-processing center in Huron. The Aberdeen office currently employs 89. Officials also fear Aberdeen could lose its postmark."

January 24, 2006 -- NewIndPress has reported that "Postal union leaders strongly condemned the alleged move to privatise the postal department and vowed to fight it tooth and nail. National Postal Employees Union, Karnataka zone president P Wilson, claimed that the Union government on the one hand was helping private courier services to expand their activities, whereas the postal department was discouraged in all aspects."

January 24, 2006 -- AllAfrica.com has reported that "Posta Uganda is locked in wrangles with domestic and international courier firms over what they call infringement on their reserved areas of operation. The General Manager of Posta Uganda, Mr David Kitongo at the launch of their website recently, said that private courier companies are now offering services like letter posting, a service reserved for Posta Uganda under the Communications Act 1997. He also blamed the industry's regulator, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) for failing to implement the act."

January 24, 2006 -- According to the Malibu Times, Malibu is experiencing late mail deliveries. Mail sorting operations for western Los Angeles County have been moved from a postal sorting facility near Marina del Rey to a large facility at Central and Vernon avenues in South Los Angeles. As a result, trucks bound for Malibu are getting stuck on the Santa Monica Freeway, and arriving later each morning, letter carriers said.

January 24, 2006 -- According to MSNBC, "Businesses eyeing China stand to benefit from UPS Worldport hub's presence."

January 24, 2006 -- The Asahi Shimbun has reported that "Preparations for postal privatization scheduled for October 2007 got under way Monday as Japan Post Corp. began operations under President Yoshifumi Nishikawa, a veteran banker."

January 23, 2006 -- The agenda for the February 21-23 meeting of the Postmaster General's Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) has been posted on this site.

January 23, 2006 -- Federal Computer Week has reported that "Members of the Postal Rate Commission said they hoped that their new ruling on the definition of the term "postal service" would make it easier for the commission to settle complaints that the U.S. Postal Service competes unfairly when offering new services. But the commission's final rule might not be the last word. USPS officials argued during the rule-making process that the rate commission was overstepping its authority by issuing such a rule. In the rule's broad definition of postal service, which includes electronic services, the commission claims authority to approve or disallow such services and to regulate what USPS charges for them."

January 23, 2006 -- African News Dimension has reported that "Chief Cornelius Adebayo, minister of communications, has charged the leadership of the Pan African Postal Union (Papu) to develop new products and adopt new advances in technology into the postal network in the African continent. Adebayo, who gave the challenge at this year’s Pan African Post Day celebrations, in Abuja, stressed the need for the organisation to provide the needed technical assistance to its members to enable them to meet the challenges posed by strides in technology."

January 23,  2006 -- DM News is claiming that "Senators may have worked out a compromise on postal reform legislation stuck in limbo for the past six months, DM News has learned. Sources said the bill may reach the Senate floor for a vote as early as this week."

January 23,  2006 -- The National Postal Forum has announced that the NPF promotional brochure and workshop schedule are now available on the NPF website! Visit the Forum at www.npf.org/reg6 and learn about the latest tools and insights you’ll need to succeed from the mailing industry’s premier event. Attend the mailing industry’s premier event featuring 100+ fast track workshops, 5 symposiums, exhibits and networking opportunities -- in the heart of Orlando’s entertainment zone!

January 23, 2006 -- The Edinburgh Evening News has reported that "THE performance of the Royal Mail has been criticised by Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce. Responding to a review of the company's delivery rate and pricing by Postwatch, the UK watchdog for postal services, the chamber's deputy chief executive Graham Birse hit out at "errant" delivery times and Royal Mail surcharges."

January 23, 2006 -- According to the Asahi Shimbun, "Japan Post, the public corporation set up in 2003 to make postal services more efficient, is now moving to restructure the system of privileges currently enjoyed by the 19,000 or so special-status postmasters around the country."

January 23,  2006 -- The Las Cruces Sun-News has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has set up hot lines as one of the ways to improve service for New Mexico customers who have been complaining about slow mail service. Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., met with U.S. Postmaster General Jack Potter this week. He agreed additional employees were needed to counter delivery and processing problems."

January 22, 2006 -- Americans for Tax Reform claimed that the "USPS has always been suspected of using its monopoly on first class mail to cross-subsidize its package delivery service. By cross-subsidizing its package service, the USPS can offer artificially low prices for their delivery services enjoy an unfair advantage in competitive markets. “Before undertaking yet another moneygrab, the USPS might consider cutting the size of its workforce to be effective in the 21st century. If you look at the size of their workforce, it is bigger than any two branches of the armed forces."

January 22, 2006 -- According to postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "Those charged with stewardship over the welfare of the direct mail industry dread the beginning of every new legislative year. I'm somewhat undecided as to whether this time of the year should be characterized as the start of "silly season" or the start of just something stupid. For this is typically the time when those who should know better in state legislatures across the nation embark on a campaign to besmirch those who do business by mail. Usually this takes the form of legislation to limit (or cripple) the value and utility of using the mail as a means of business communication and commerce."

January 22, 2006 -- According to Kyodo, "The new company, known in Japanese as Nippon Yusei Kabushiki Kaisha, or Japan Post Co., will become a holding company on Oct. 1, 2007, the date when the nation's postal services begin a step-by-step 10-year privatization process. The public corporation will be split into four units under the holding company. The newly established Japan Post Co. will focus on plans to manage 260,000 employees and assets now controlled by Japan Post and study possible business models for the four operating companies."

January 22, 2006 -- Hoovers noted that "Small parcel carriers UPS and FedEx recently released 2006 rates and for the first time, FedEx released its air express rates before UPS. UPS followed-up by releasing rate information in November showing a 3.9% price increase for ground shipments and a 5.5% increase in air and international rates. The increased rates will likely drive even more shippers to look for opportunities to shift from air to ground whenever possible."

January 22, 2006 -- According to the Rutland Herald, "Sugarmakers learned mail-order tricks at a maple conference."

January 22, 2006 -- From i-Newswire: "ZIPCodeWorld.com is glad to announce the release of PostalCodeWorld Mexico Gold Edition Postal Codes database. The database provides complete table of Mexico postal codes, colony name, city name, state name, latitude, longitude, area code, time zone and daylight saving indicator. The complete PostalCodeWorld Mexico Gold Edition database contains over 58,000 records from 28,000+ complete postal codes in Mexico."

January 22, 2006 -- Mobiledia has reported that "A new market study from Portio Research predicts that 50% of the world's population will be using a cell phone by the end of 2009, and Africa now boasts the fastest growth rate in the world, forecast to add 265 million new mobile subscribers over the next 6 years. Among the top 25 growth markets ranking list (2006-2011) there are a few surprises. India wins the top spot, just ahead of China, and almost equally in 3rd place are Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria."

January 21, 2006 -- According to The Guardian, "It is easily forgotten, but five years ago the high street banks were strong-armed by the government into pumping pounds 200m into the Post Office. The cash, payable over five years, was intended to help plug the Post Office's gap in revenue when benefits payments were paid directly into bank accounts. The banks regarded the pounds 200m as a windfall tax in disguise. They paid up without complaint for fear of something worse, but one or two feel that even money extracted with menaces should be spent wisely. It's a fair point."

January 21, 2006 -- The Hindu has reported that "India Post is going high-tech, in a limited way to start with. Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka, Meera Datta launched here on Friday the instant money order service called iMO. The money order you send will reach the other party within half an hour."

January 21, 2006 -- Nouvelles St-Laurent has reported that "Close to 600 employees were evacuated from the Canada Post sorting station on Jan. 12, following fears that a toxic substance in one of the packages was making people sick."

January 21, 2006 -- The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.

January 20, 2006 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• Details are sketchy but there are late-breaking reports that Sens. Susan Collins and Kit Bond are working toward an agreement over language in S.662, the Senate postal reform bill that most in the mailing industry considered dead.
• Two members of the Illinois House of Representatives have introduced legislation to create a state registry similar to the national Do-Not-Call List. This proposed bill would curb the amount of direct and advertising mail targeted at consumers in the state.
• American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus sent a letter to the editor of The Christian Science Monitor to dispel claims by Sam Ryan of the Lexington Institute about the causes of this month’s postal price increase.
• Postal commentator Gene Del Polito looks at what 2006 could hold for business mailers.
• Two-cent stamps were hard to find in Manhattan the day before this month’s rate increase. In fact, one New York newspaper called it an “ordeal” that left New Yorkers waiting for up to 90 minutes to buy the stamps.
• There have been a number of media reports about the scarcity of two-cent stamps when the postal rates changed January 8.
• In this legal article, David Hendel of the Wickwire Gavin law firm examines the rationale behind and the impact of the U.S. Postal Service’s recent conversion of its purchasing regulations into “non-binding” guidelines.
• Federal Register: Sack preparation changes for periodicals mail final rule. Former PMG Henderson to join Netflix. Businesses get okay for custom postage use. Western shippers scramble for an edge in China. UPS will offer letter delivery from Europe. UPS might have lost another tape.
• Private German TNT takeover bid ‘almost ready.’ Japan Post to tackle powerful hereditary postmaster establishment. Ceska Posta raises some rates, cuts others. Austria to sell 49 percent of postal service. Consortium takes a half stake in Belgium’s La Poste. Finnish Post gets Latvian assignment. Court holds up Chronopost restructuring. New Zealand customized postage stamp honors Chinese Communist ‘quitters.’

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January 20, 2006 -- WebIndia123 has reported that "The Department of Posts today launched three innovative schemes-instant Money Order Service (iMO), Children's Postal Insurance Scheme and Oriental Insurance's Accidental Death Insurance Coverage for Postal Savings."

January 20, 2006 -- The Free New Mexican has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has replaced New Mexico's management team in an effort to improve the state's mail-delivery service. U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., met separately Thursday in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Postmaster General John "Jack" Potter to discuss problems with late and missing mail in Santa Fe and throughout the state. Potter told Domenici he was aware of the problems and recently had replaced the state's management team at the Postal Service's southwest-area operations center in Texas, said Matt Letourneau, Domenici spokesman."

January 20, 2006 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail is lobbying the government to reverse a decision to end a £1bn contract for the payment of benefits through post offices. Subpostmasters have asked Tony Blair to intervene personally to overturn the move by the Department for Work and Pensions, which they warn would "inevitably accelerate the decline" of the post office network, closing thousands of branches. The government was yesterday forced on to the defensive over its move to end funding for Post Office card accounts, used to pay pensions and benefits to more than 4m people, when the contract ends in 2010."

January 20, 2006 -- American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus answers the question as to whether the APWU has been caught off-guard by the Postal Service's facility consolidation efforts.

January 20, 2006 -- As DMNews has noted, "The U.S. Postal Service looks to change how flats mail is addressed in a move that could save time and energy but would affect magazine, newspaper and catalog design."

January 20, 2006 -- The House Committee on Government Reform is slated to hold a postal oversight hearing on February 16.

January 20, 2006 -- Stabroek News has reported that "The Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) is part of the global postal family that is seeking to reinvent itself in the face of the threat to its viability, perhaps even its existence, posed by the "onslaught" of contemporary communication technology. Once the symbol of a mundane but none-the-less indispensable public service, the postal service is struggling to sustain its relevance in a world where Air Mail has been swept aside by e-mail and where the traditional services provided by the postal system have been devoured by the emergence of service providers whose multi-million dollar marketing methods have prevailed over the colourless public service image projected by the postal service's marketing methods."

January 20,  2006 -- The Periodical Publishers Association has reported that "Royal Mail has announced details of the price changes for Presstream, due to come into effect on 3 April. Dependent on the weight of the item, the changes will see Presstream 1 prices rise between 6.3 per cent and 6.9 per cent and Presstream 2 prices increase by between 5.5 per cent and 5.9 per cent."

January 20,  2006 -- The Guardian has reported that "the government came under fierce attack yesterday from opposition MPs, small business organisations and campaigning groups over its decision not to renew a pounds 1bn pensions and benefits payments contract with the Post Office. The Liberal Democrats demanded the renewal of the contract to run the Post Office card account while the Conservatives accused ministers of inflicting "death by a thousand cuts" on the 14,000-strong Post Office network."

January 20, 2006 -- The Financial Times has reported that "Japan Post will not be able to develop a new computer system by October 2007 when Junichiro Koizumi, prime minister, has pledged to split it up into four separate units in preparation for full privatisation, according to its president."

January 20, 2006 -- AllAfrica.com has reported that "The African Day of the Post was celebrated yesterday under the theme, "the Post in the Face of Technological Development". All hopes of rekindling Cameroon's postal system seem to hinge on Information and Communication Technology (ICTs). This is the impression participants at the sixth edition of the African Day of the Post left with yesterday at the Yaounde Hilton."

January 20, 2006 -- The buzz about town is that some movement may have been made by the principals in the dispute involving S. 662 to permit the bill to come to the Senate floor for consideration. Stay tuned.

January 20, 2006 -- The latest issue of the IMAG Bulletin has been posted on this site.

January 20, 2006 -- The latest Postal Service DMM Advisory is available on this site.

January 20, 2006 -- In a letter to the Santa Monica Mirror, Mail and Jobs executive director Peter Miller wrote:

The Mirror asks whether it occurs "to anyone that we could heat and light our city by burning the junk mail Santa