June 30, 2006 -- Logistics Management has reported that "FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, and the French Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs (FOECA), have teamed up in an effort to strengthen trade and investment between France and the United States. The FedEx role in the initiative will be to generate awareness among its customers about the benefits of the FOECA export assistance network present in six cities within the U.S.—Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The initiative also includes joint export promotion that links customer seminars, sales force training, and direct marketing campaigns."

June 30, 2006 -- CNN Money has reported that "eFunds serves 9,000 banks in 85 countries and the 100 top retailers in the U.S. More than half of its sales come from managing electronic-payment transactions - think ATM withdrawals, debit cards, and prepaid gift, payroll, transit and phone cards. eFunds also provides outsourcing services like customer support, IT, and collections. It expanded a relationship with the U.S. Postal Service to provide payment and back-office services at 34,000 locations."

June 30, 2006 -- According to the New York Times:

• A LEADING forecaster of advertising spending has lowered his estimate for growth in the United States in 2006. The forecaster, Robert J. Coen, attributed the reduction to the continuing weakness in demand for ads in local media, along with soft demand from national advertisers in media like newspapers. Mr. Coen, senior vice president and forecasting director at Universal McCann in New York, estimated that ad spending this year would increase by 5.6 percent from 2005. His two previous forecasts, made in June and December of last year, called for increases of 5.8 percent.
• THE great eyeball chase is back in full swing. And it does not matter that the eyeballs may not be buying anything. With online advertising revenues growing quickly, new information-rich sites of all kinds are mushrooming across the Web.

June 30, 2006 -- In a postal perspective published in Direct magazine, Mailers Council executive director Robert McLean said that "The U.S. Postal Service has a problem: It needs to improve customer relations. But that's a tall order given the uncertainty of postal reform legislation passage, the new rate case and the promise of large annual increases because of the escrow account issue. What can it do? The answer is quite simple from the mailer's perspective: Publish preparation makeup standards and rules accompanying the rate case now."

June 30, 2006 -- According to the Morning News, "LaBarge Inc.'s Huntsville employees soon will begin building new mail sorting equipment for the United States Postal Service under a $10.7 million contract with Northrop Grumman Corp."

June 30, 2006 -- Moneyweb has reported that "The Department of Communications is consulting widely with various stakeholders in the postal and related sectors to inform the process of drafting the Postal Services Amendment Bill, which started this year. The road shows started last week in the Western Cape and are scheduled to end in mid-July. The Department is utilising such engagements as information gathering sessions to allow the stakeholders to submit comments that would help inform the Bill that will be tabled in Parliament later this year."

June 30, 2006 -- The European Commission has published its reports on:

• The impact on Universal service of the full market accomplishment of the postal internal market in 2009
• Main developments in the postal sector (2004-2006)

June 30, 2006 -- As the Kansas City Star has noted, "UPS, the biggest delivery company in the world, has begun to see the fruits of a $600 million technology investment that began three years ago. Known as package-flow technologies, the system is designed to make loading and delivering packages more efficient for UPS and to cut fuel costs by reducing mileage."

June 29, 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

June 29, 2006 -- In its most recent DMM Advisory, the Postal Service said that it has "received a number of questions about the details of our pricing proposal. We will use the DMM Advisory to clarify some of the issues raised by these questions. The Advisory issued June 1 addressed the Periodicals per-container rate, the Standard Mail Not Flat-Machinable (NFM) category, OneCode ACS, and automation letters. In this Advisory, we cover questions about Standard Mail, as well as other topics that are not part of our pricing proposal." Be sure to also review the "Not Flat Machinable" graphic that's been posted on this site. (Docket No. R2006-1)

June 29, 2006 -- The Postal Rate Commission has posted the Postal Service's responses to Presiding Officers Information Request No. 5 on the PRC web site. (Docket No. R2006-1)

June 27, 2006 -- According to Traffic World, "TNT says it is still in talks with Japan Post to create a joint venture in international express. Despite reports in the Japanese press that the discussions may be ending, other options in Japan for building TNT's network are limited."

June 27, 2006 -- According to the Journal of Commerce, "UPS and rivals FedEx Corp. and DHL Express all said they were keeping their July monthly fuel surcharges on air packages at the same levels as in June -- 16 percent for UPS and FedEx, 18 percent for DHL. However, all three raised their U.S. fuel surcharges on ground package shipments based on recent moves in diesel prices. UPS and FedEx both pegged their trucking fuel fees at 4.75 percent in July, up from 4.25 percent in June. DHL's ground fee will rise to 4.8 percent from 4.3 percent."

June 27, 2006 -- The U.S. Postal Service has announced that tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. it will hold a press conference on enhanced an Postal Service, UPS business relationship.

June 27, 2006 -- The Association for Postal Commerce welcomes its newest member:

Sun Trust Bank represented by Ms. Dale Hyde Vice President, Distribution Services

June 27, 2006 -- Life Style Extra has reported that "UK postal group Royal Mail said it has appointed the finance chief of nuclear technology company Westinghouse as its new finance director. Royal Mail said in a statement that it has recruited Ian Duncan, chief financial officer and senior vice president of Westinghouse, as its new group finance director from Sept 1."

June 27, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "Symbol Technologies, Inc., The Enterprise Mobility Company(TM), and its Premier Solutions Partner, Concord Unity International Limited, have been selected by China Post to supply RFID technology to track express mail bags within the postal district of Shanghai (Shanghai Post). RFID technology has been successfully deployed in the Shanghai Post Express Mail Service (EMS) operations, and is part of an on-going national pilot project co-sponsored by China's Ministry of Science and Technology to validate the benefits of RFID within China Post's operations."

June 27, 2006 -- Shippers Newswire has reported that "FedEx has agreed to assist the French Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs (FOECA) to boost trade between small- and medium-sized French and U.S. shippers. FedEx said its role in the initiative will be to generate awareness among its customers about the benefits of the FOECA export assistance network present in six U.S. cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington. The initiative also includes joint export promotion that links customer seminars, sales force training and direct marketing campaigns."

June 27, 2006 -- IT Backbones Barcode News has reported that "Royal Mail Group Chief Executive Adam Crozier is cutting the ribbon in Newark today, opening a new e-commerce centre for long-standing barcode and logistics supplier The Barcode Warehouse. During the event, The Barcode Warehouse will show Royal Mail how the latest logistics technologies, such as RFID and tray labelling, can help deliver the postal system of the future."

June 27, 2006 -- The Salt Lake Tribune has noted that "The U.S. Postal Service has designated Mail It LLC of Taylorsville as its first "approved shipper" in Utah. As part of a new program intended to ease traffic at post offices, Mail It can now offer commonly requested postal products and services."

June 27, 2006 -- AllAfrica.com has reported that "The Southern African Postal Operators Association (SAPOA) has been urged to strive to meet the challenges of survival amid mounting technological challenges that have eaten away at their traditional postal services. This challenge was sounded in Dar es Salaam recently at a meeting of member postal services of the Southern African region. The postal services operators were advised to explore business opportunities brought about by the massive technological changes in the communication industry."

June 27, 2006 -- The Wall Street Journal has reported that "Japan Post decided Monday to scrap a planned partnership with Dutch freighter TNT N.V. as the two parties were unable to iron out differences in the scope of international services. Japan Post, which has no experience in international services, insisted that the operation should only cover deliveries originating and arriving in Japan. TNT initially favored it, but later proposed that the service should cover deliveries originating and arriving throughout Asia. The TNT plan was hard to accept for the postal operator because the broader service would boost its investment in the joint venture sharply."

June 27, 2006 -- Gulf News has reported that "Various UAE companies will invest Dh11 billion ($3 billion) including a Dh10 billion cyber city in Syria in the coming years. Dr Khalifa Bakhit Al Falasi, chairman of Global Investment Group, and Dr Amr Salem, Syrian Minister of Communication and Technology, signed the agreement. "We discussed a project related to establishing an Internet City in Syria, as well as developing the Syrian postal services, where the country accommodates about 800 post offices, and we are seeking to benefit from the UAE's experience in developing the work of these offices so as to benefit from such networks, and to generate revenues."

June 27, 2006 -- The Courier Mail has reported that "AUSTRALIA Post workers have been ordered by the federal industrial tribunal not to attend national rallies tomorrow against the Government's workplace changes. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) today upheld a directive from Australia Post that unauthorised absence to attend the rallies was illegal. Australia Post has issued a statement saying it had no objection to staff attending the rally in their own time, but industrial action by staff during work hours was illegal under a 2004 enterprise agreement.:

June 27, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "A coalition of 9 associations from the U.S., Europe and Canada, representing a range of service industries, today jointly submitted comments to two Japanese government agencies calling on the government to ensure "equivalent conditions of competition" prior to any expansion by Japan's postal financial business companies. In the comments, the coalition also called for "a clear, predictable, and transparent process" in the privatization of Japan Post. The associations are the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, American Council of Life Insurers, American Insurance Association, Association of British Insurers, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, Coalition of Service Industries, European Business Council in Japan, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and U.S. Japan Business Council."

June 27, 2006 -- From the Federal Register: "In this proposed rule, the Postal ServiceTM proposes to revise the content of Title 39, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 501 (39 CFR 501), Authorization to Manufacture and Distribute Postage Meters."

June 27, 2006 -- The BBC has noted that "Up to 136,000 postal workers are to be balloted on strike action after pay negotiations broke down. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) made the decision after it failed to reach an agreement with the Royal Mail."

June 27, 2006 -- From PRWeb: "Private Postal Services http://www.private-services.com have just released their public version of their Postal Mail System. Their new system will allow anyone from around the world to have their own virtual address, which will ensure total security and privacy. Private Postal Services operate under S M Tech Ltd, which is 100% solely based in New Zealand."

June 26, 2006 -- The Yomiuri Shimbun has reported that "Japan Post plans to sue a Tokyo-based direct mail firm for 2.7 billion yen in damages incurred by Nagaoka Post Office in Niigata Prefecture as a result of an illicit deal with the firm, Japan Post sources said Monday. The postal service will file suit against Shibuya Ward, Tokyo-based Mac & Cinq Co. and its subsidiary, according to the sources. Japan Post has said the post office failed to collect fees because the direct-mail firm had declared a smaller amount of mail than was actually sent. The direct mail firm, however, said it planned to contest the allegations as it had received the discount based on an agreement with the branch officials."

June 26, 2006 -- The Boston Globe has reported that "After years of delay, an $82 million U.S. Postal Service mail distribution center that became the focus of tough competition between Lewiston-Auburn and the Greater Portland area will open July 8 in Scarborough."

June 26, 2006 -- DefenseTech.org has reported that "Triumphs of common sense can be few and far-between, when you're dealing with the management of Los Alamos National Lab. So let's all get out of chairs and do a little victory jig: The U.S. Postal Service has backed out of a plan to help the nuclear weapons mecca fund a 400,000 square-foot "Science Center," off the books." See also the Los Alamos Monitor.

June 26, 2006 -- Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "Many post offices of Deutsche Post, the German postal service provider, may no longer sell the financial services of the group's banking subsidiary, Deutsche Postbank, in future. The company has said that it has long been examining whether financial services in the 7,500 post offices were paying off, but has dismissed fears that 1,000 offices could be affected as from the coming year, and has said that the number of branches to be shed has not yet been decided."

June 26, 2006 -- The New York Times has reported that "a United Parcel Service delivery truck the government rolled out in Washington last week was equipped with a prototype hybrid system using hydraulic fluid and a high-pressure pump instead of electrical current and a generator. In this design, energy is stored in a series of pressurized tanks, rather than in nickel-metal hydride or lithium-ion batteries; the energy moves not as high voltage current in copper wires but as hydraulic fluid pressurized to thousands of pounds per square inch."

June 26, 2006 -- SocalTech.com has reported that "Los Angeles-based Stamps.com is promoting a new contest that gives its users a chance to display their own custom postage at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum."

June 26, 2006 -- A National Academy of Public Administration essay by Murray Comarow has been posted on this site. It is a sequel to his April essay, “How Not to Reform Government,” that generated an unusual number of reactions, pro and con.  Some reactions fell into neither category, but were openly puzzled about the complex vectors generated by Congress, the Administration, the Postal Service, mailers, unions, competitors, and more."

June 26, 2006 -- As one writer for the Wall Street Journal has noted, "When you're buying books or CDs at 3 a.m., you may exult that you're living in the digital age. But a couple of days later, after those books or CDs arrive, you may have a different thought: Gee, I live in the cardboard age. A not very intensive week of e-commerce had generated perhaps 50 square feet worth of cardboard. If more packaging is making it all the way down the supply chain to consumers, odds are less of it is getting recycled."

June 26, 2006 -- The Great Lakes Radio Consortium's Rebecca Williams reports that "If it seems like your mailbox is stuffed with more shiny credit card offers and catalogs than ever before, you're right. The US Postal Service says the volume of advertising mail outpaced first class mail for the first time last year. City waste managers and environmental groups are concerned that all that mail is going to add up to a lot more waste."

June 26, 2006 -- As the New York Times noted, "The art of letter writing is limping along at best. The Postal Service acknowledges that the personal letter appears to be going the way of the telegram. Its latest study, in 2004, found that personal mail has dropped off by about a third in the past 25 years, to about 1.1 pieces a week per household. The Postal Service noted the "continuing shift in household preference toward electronic alternatives to mail. The advent of e-mail in the 1990s accelerated the decline of letter writing by making communication rapid, painless and impersonal. Cell phones, text- and instant-messaging facilitated instantaneous connections. Those developments continued the drift away from the niceties of correct grammar, paragraph development and elegant, or at least legible, penmanship, etiquette experts say."

June 26, 2006 -- SmartMoney.com has reported that "Air cargo operator Transmile Group Bhd. has signed a deal to distribute parcels and mail for DHL across Asia, the two companies said Monday in a statement. The statement confirms a Dow Jones Newswires report Friday citing a source that the Malaysian company and the unit of Deutsche Post AG will extend an existing relationship to a five-year contract Monday. Transmile suspended trading in its shares Friday pending news of a contract with "strategic partner."

June 26, 2006 -- Moneycontrol.com has reported that "Express-delivery service DHL Express denied on Monday that it had plans to buy a strategic stake in Malaysian air cargo firm Transmile Group Bhd."

June 26, 2006 -- The Guardian has reported that "The Communication Workers Union is expected to take a step closer to its biggest confrontation with Royal Mail in a decade by calling a ballot on industrial action later today which could lead to the first national postal strike since 1996. The union is at loggerheads with Royal Mail over its decision to impose a 2.9% pay deal, which it had rejected. The CWE is also concerned about the possibility of big job losses, increases in part-time working and Royal Mail's plans to offer up to 20% of the shares in the company to workers - a move the CWU regards as backdoor privatisation."

June 25, 2006 -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that "Package shipping firms long have resisted the destructive, Internet-inspired price wars that pushed passenger airlines to slash prices below the break-even point. But RedRoller.com, a Web site launched in mid-June that bills itself as a sort of Travelocity for small-package shippers, intends to shake up the staid industry that prides itself on price discipline. RedRoller offers free price and delivery time comparisons of FedEx, DHL and the U.S. Postal Service to individuals and small businesses."

June 25, 2006 -- According to the Associated Press, "Faced with escalating fuel and materials prices, businesses have been forced to pass on those higher costs to customers to save their profits. And for companies like FedEx Corp., the strategy has proven to be a winner. Surcharges have become a chief executive's best weapon in preserving balance sheets. But, the success of these extra fees has been a mixed bag as consumers grow increasingly wary about how far their dollars stretch."

June 25, 2006 -- The Financial Mail has reported that "A THREATENED national postal strike would permanently cripple Royal Mail, giving rivals the chance to poach its business, say company bosses. They believe a week of strike action by the 180,000-strong workforce could cost £600 million, a tenth of annual turnover. It would be the first national strike since the market was opened to competition last year. 'It is not like the old days when we were a monopoly and could quickly recover the business,' one executive told Financial Mail. 'We have calculated that private companies would take advantage of a strike to dramatically increase their market share.' "

June 25, 2006 -- AMEInfo has reported that "Delegates from 19 countries took part in a training workshop on Express Mail Service (EMS) organized by Emirates Post in collaboration with Universal Postal Union (UPU) at the Training & Development Centre, Dubai, from June 17 to 22."

June 25, 2006 -- The Observer has reported that "Postal unions are poised to call for the first national strike in a decade tomorrow after rejecting a pay deal with the Royal Mail following talks last week. The postal executive of the Communication Workers Union is expected to recommend strike action to its 150,000 members when it meets tomorrow. The decision follows intensive talks over a 2.9 per cent pay offer that has been imposed on employees." See also The Independent.

June 25, 2006 -- The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that "The union representing postal workers claims Australia Post is intimidating staff not to attend protest rallies across the country. Unions are organising rallies this week in opposition to the Federal Government's new work place laws."

June 24, 2006 -- Express India has reported that "WITH the country’s economy and econometrics undergoing a churning, the city may soon see postal staff acting as marketing agents to run different schemes of banks."

June 24, 2006 -- The Financial Express has reported that "Seeking to pacify an angry Left, which severely criticised the Nalco and NLC divestments, the UPA government has promised to re-examine tax structure on postal services. Finance minister P Chidambaram is understood to have assured CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Friday to relook at the newly introduced levy on postal services."

June 24, 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. Main story: "It is widely believed that H.R. 22, the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act, must be forwarded to President Bush by the August Congressional Recess for the bill to become law. The House is scheduled to leave the suffocating Washington heat at the end of July, and the Senate will follow one week later. That is about 15 legislative days from now."

June 23, 2006 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• In this commentary, Kristina Rasmussen of the National Taxpayers Union says Congress has more important business than naming post offices, a task she calls “just another form of pork to bring home to local constituents.”
• This article from The American Postal Worker magazine details the union’s views on the postal reform bills now in Congress and the legislative process of the conference committee.
• This editorial from the Natchez (Miss.) Democrat says Congress and USPS management needs to get involved and “lick” the need for the current rate case and other postal problems now.
• New York AG says USPS making illegal cigarette deliveries to minors. Grayhair Software launches USPS R2006 rate comparison service. USPS woos eBAY entrepreneurs to international shipping.
• German price war takes its toll. Amazon: Delivery becomes you. China hopes to win big from post bank stock offering.
• A list of upcoming postal-related events.

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June 23, 2006 -- PostCom Members! The latest issue of PostCom's newest member-only publication, the PostCom Postal Policy Report, has been posted on this site. In this issue: news on the END case; small parcels, media mail, and bound printed matter, a call for input on intermational issues, State Department briefing.

June 23, 2006 -- Azeezaly S. Jaffer, vice president, public affairs and communications, U.S. Postal Service wrote, in a letter to the editor of The Hill, that "The May 9 commentary by Kristina Rasmussen on the naming of post offices (“End the practice of naming post offices”) offers up some misleading information as reasons to end the practice. Phrases such as “bloated work force” and “negligible productivity gains” don’t describe today’s Postal Service."

June 23, 2006 -- The Associated Press has noted that "Bypass mail not only ensured the regular delivery of goods and groceries to 139 remote Alaska villages but also spurred development of a busy air-transport system across the state. So locals worried when the Postal Service recently announced Barrow's bypass mail no longer would be flown directly from Fairbanks, but instead trucked 300 miles up a gravel two-lane supply road to Deadhorse, a settlement for Prudhoe Bay oil workers, then flown the remaining 200 miles to Barrow. Grocers say they have seen a marked difference since the new system went into effect June 5."

June 23, 2006 -- According to the Communication Workers Union, "In the middle of what Royal Mail described as the most important negotiations in the 360 year history of the Company, we have been made aware that local unit reps have been invited to meetings next week with the Royal Mail Chairman under the banner of “Working with the Trade Union”. Although the letter claims that the Deputy General Secretary has personally been invited, this is not true. Nobody in Union Headquarters has been given an invitation and neither were we consulted on the venue or planning of the events."

June 23, 2006 -- WHO-TV has reported that "The US Postmaster General is delaying a decision on whether to move Sioux City's mail processing and distribution center to Sioux Falls. Postmaster General John Potter says no decision will come until the Inspector General of the USPS audits the completed feasibility study -- a step that was announced last week."

June 23, 2006 -- The BBC has reported that:

Royal Mail has launched dual English and Gaelic livery for 71 of its postal vehicles in the Highlands. They serve postcodes where Gaelic is prominent and have been launched in Stornoway in the Western Isles. The move is in response to the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act which was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2005. All vehicles in the Western Isles, Skye and the Ardnamurchan peninsula will have the new livery.
An industry watchdog is to monitor postal prices to allay concerns about rising costs in Guernsey's service. The Office of Utility Regulation said it would watch prices after warnings by the States and consumer group Postwatch that charges needed to rise. A review is examining possible cutbacks in response to mounting bills from the Royal Mail for UK deliveries and under-performing branches.

June 23, 2006 -- AllAfrica.com has reported that "After private operators took over the parcels and packets segment of the postal market in Ghana a few years ago, the money and postal order services of Ghana Post are facing new challenges from private remittance operators. "The Ghana Postal Service has come under formidable siege", is what the former communications minister, Hon. Albert Kan Dapaah, said during the 25th ordinary session of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) administrative council meeting in Accra yesterday."

June 23, 2006 -- The St. Petersburg Times has reported that "A powerful local congressman and a critical government audit are pressuring the Postal Service to re-examine its plan to eliminate the city postmark and consolidate the area’s mail sorting in Tampa. Rep. C.W. Bill Young on Thursday echoed city leaders questioning the rationale behind the proposal to eliminate 19 jobs in St. Petersburg and reroute incoming first-class mail to Tampa."

June 23, 2006 -- The Jamaica Observer has reported that "`A new cash remittance service between Guyana and the United States is scheduled to come on stream by the end of the month, according to an official of the Guyana Post Office Corporation."

June 23, 2006 -- The Chicago Tribune has reported that "United Airlines, the passenger carrier that flies the most mail, will lose its domestic contract with the U.S. Postal Service on June 30 because of poor on-time performance. United will still carry international mail, the majority of its mail business. The airline, which has transported U.S. mail for 75 years, declined today to say how much revenue it received from its current three-year Postal Service contract."

June 23, 2006 -- The Hawaii Channel has reported that "Police arrested 12 people on Wednesday in connection with thefts at two post offices earlier this year. Police captured eight men and four women as part of a scheme to cash thousands of dollars in forged money orders that were stolen from the Kaimuki and Aina Haina post offices in January and March. Thieves were able to cash $22,000 in forged money orders before the arrests. Operation Funny Money Order involved 80 officers from the Honolulu Police Department, U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Service."

June 23, 2006 -- According to Turks.US Daily News, "Part of the team that invented the prepaid SIM card was Massimo Sarmi . Now, as CEO of Poste Italiane, the Italian postal service, Sarmi has replicated the idea in financial services. His "Postepay" card, accepted by the Visa Electron network, is a prepaid, rechargeable Visa or MasterCard that is rapidly becoming the credit card surrogate of choice for Italians without plastic, credit ratings, or even bank accounts."

June 22, 2006 -- Rick Borgers (Chief Executive for Digistamp, Inc.) asks readers of the Oroville Mercury Register to "Imagine that you are a small business owner who has invented a new product. After investing time in research, you bring it to market. You land some big customers and start to make money. Just when things are looking up, a competitor copies your product and brings out its own version. It's not just any competitor. This one has massive brand recognition and thousands of outlets. More unusually, it enjoys a federally-enforced monopoly on one of its product lines, from which it can divert profits to fund its new venture. It also receives government subsidies. I am that small business owner, and my new competitor is the U.S. Postal Service."

June 22, 2006 -- Federal Times has reported that "Though the U.S. Postal Service has been ramping up its spending on outside contractors, some industry observers say it will have to outsource even more of its work if it aims to improve efficiency and remain competitive."

June 22, 2006 -- The following reports have been posted on the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General web site:

• Management Advisory – Las Cruces, New Mexico Delayed Mail (Report Number DR-MA-06-001) http://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/DR-MA-06-001.pdf
• Management Advisory – Postal Service’s Replacement and Repair of Facilities Affected by Hurricane Katrina (Report Number FA-MA-06-001) http://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/FA-MA-06-001.pdf
• Audit Report – Controls Over Noncompetitive Contracts Awarded to Former Postal Service Employees (Report Number CA-AR-06-002) http://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/CA-AR-06-002.pdf

June 22, 2006 -- The Atlanta Business Chronicle has reported that "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today unveiled a new urban delivery vehicle that it developed in partnership with United Parcel Service and other companies. The EPA and UPS plan to evaluate the vehicle's fuel economy performance and emissions during a series of tests in 2006. In laboratory testing, the EPA's patented hydraulic hybrid diesel technology achieved a 60 to 70 percent improvement in fuel economy and more than a 40 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, compared to a conventional UPS vehicle."

June 22, 2006 -- RTE Interactive has reported that "Donal Connell has been appointed the new Chief Executive of An Post. Mr. Connell was previously General Manager of Maxtor Ireland, a computer hardware company, and Vice President of Worldwide Supply Chain Operations for 3Com Corporation. He replaces Donall Curtin who is stepping down in July."

June 22, 2006 -- The Monitor has reported that "U.S. Postal Service officials met with area leaders Wednesday in an attempt to counter "myths" about an ongoing study that many worry will lead to costly mail delays."

June 22, 2006 -- DM News has reported that "The Direct Marketing Association announced yesterday that it will partner with the Federal Trade Commission in its "AvoID Theft" campaign. The announcement was made at the 2006 DM Days New York Conference & Expo here. The goal of the campaign, debuted by the FTC in May, is to provide information on how consumers can avoid becoming a victim of identity theft and what to do if they suspect their personal information is being misused."

June 22, 2006 -- Direct magazine has reported that "Though multichannel direct marketing drives more than 10% of the economy, potentially industry-crippling challenges loom, said DMA chief executive John Greco during his opening remarks at the DM Days New York conference Wednesday. Spending on direct marketing and related processes in the U.S. accounts for about half of all ad-related spending and drives about $18 trillion in incremental sales, or about 10.3% of the nation’s gross domestic product, he said." See also DM News.

June 22, 2006 -- According to Defense Tech, "$2.1 billion dollars a year ain't enough for the brains in charge of Los Alamos National Lab, apparently. So the world's most important nuclear research center has turned to the U.S. Postal Service, of all places, to fund its new, 400,000 square foot "Science Complex."

June 22, 2006 -- The DM Bulletin has reported that "TNT Post has launched a new mail delivery service aimed at lower volume mailers such as SMEs, promising cost savings of up to 20% on Royal Mail's standard service. PremierSortFlex offers two- to three-day delivery, depending on the proximity of customers to TNT Post's sorting centres. TNT Post has sorting centres in Leeds, Bristol and Wellingborough, with others due to open soon. The company says it will offer convenient collection times while its sorting process also claims to reduce the number of un-routable and rejected items, before it delivers the sorted mail to Royal Mail centres for final delivery."

June 22, 2006 -- Transport Intelligence has reported that "FedEx has published its 4th quarter results (year ending 31 May 2006), with Revenue up 10% and net income up 27%. For the full year Revenues increased by 10% at US$32.3bn, whilst Operating Income is up 22% at $3.01bn and Net Income is up 25% at $1.81bn. Operating Margin has also increased to 9.3%. All of FedEx's major transport businesses are showing high single-figure or double-digit growth." See also Air Cargo World.

June 21, 2006 -- Daily India has reported that "The government's move to impose taxes on some postal services has invited the ire of trade unions in the country. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the labour wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), asked the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Wednesday to rescind the move to subject postal services to service tax. According to the CITU, the Central Board of Excise and Customs had decided that some of the services of the postal department were liable for service tax.s"

June 21, 2006 -- Confirmation hearings before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for the three individuals nominated by the President for appointment as Governors of the Postal Service (Katherine Tobin of New York, Mickey Barnett of New Mexico, and Ellen Williams of Kentucky) will be held on June 28th.

June 21, 2006 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

On 9 June the Norwegian parliament decided to revoke the opening of the postal market originally intended for 1 January 2007. The government coalition parties (Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party) thus annulled the previous government's decision to lift the postal monopoly in Norway prematurely.
Britain's regulatory authority Postcomm continues to penalise Royal Mail for any performance failure even after the market has been opened completely.
Adrexo, a subsidiary of publishers Ouest France, is the first licence holder in the French postal market.
Until mid-July, postmen working for Schweizerische Post are acting as sales representatives for dog food in 500 big villages.The trade union "Kommunikation" condemned the campaign as ridiculous.
Dow Jones news agency reported on Tuesday that Deutsche Post might increase letter postage rates next year.
Last week the French regulatory authority Arcep reached a fundamental decision concerning the price development in the mail market. Arcep announced that La Poste will only be allowed to increase postage rates by a maximum of 2.1% this year and in 2007 and 2008.
Schweizerische Post is likely to encounter serious opposition from employees when the post is transformed into a plc.
Spain's post is offering financial services again from this summer. Branded BanCorreos, services will include private loans, mortgages and a number of savings options.
La Poste de C to d'Ivoire (PCI) appears to be struggling with serious financial problems.
More competition, at least in Germany, will come from the parcel sector. According to information gleaned by the CEP News, Royal Mail's European parcel network GLS is also about to set up its own specialised sales team. GLS declined to specify any strategic planning details.
"The price war started by DHL in Germany is highly detrimental to all market players", said Hans Fluri, managing director of DPD.

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.

June 21, 2006 -- Union Network International has noted that "The Japan Postal Workers' Union (JPU) with a 140,000 membership held its 62nd Annual National Congress from June 14-16, 2006 in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. Over 1,500 attended the congress including 335 delegates, 705 observers and 300 guests. The main discussion at the congress was how to cope with change faced with privatisation in the workplaces of Japan Post."

June 21, 2006 -- The Malta Times has reported that "The 63rd management board meeting of the Association of European Public Postal Operators (PostEurop), held recently at the Westin Dragonara Resort, St Julians, dealt with strategic postal developments in Europe. The meeting was held here on the initiative of Maltapost chief executive Joe Gafa', a member of the management board since 2003. The board is composed of 11 members elected from the 43 PostEurop Member postal operators for a three-year term."

June 21, 2006 -- Royal Mail is ramping up payments into its pension scheme in a bid to fill its £5.6bn pension deficit black hole, according to reports. An agreement with its pension trustees sees Royal Mail up its payments into its pension scheme to £750m from £480m, paid annually for the next 17 years, reported the Daily Telegraph.

June 21, 2006 -- The Ghanaian News Agency has reported that "Dr Edouard Dayan, Director-General of the Universal Postal Union, arrived in the country this evening to attend the 25th Ordinary session of the Administrative Council of the Pan African Postal Union in Accra. The meeting will be held from June 22nd to 24. In a brief with journalists, Mr Dayan observed that new developments such as the Internet and the electronic mail were not a threat to the postal system, adding that new areas were being opened on the Internet for better postal services."

June 21, 2006 -- From Market Wire: "Neopost, the worldwide provider of mailing and shipping solutions, introduces its innovative Neopost Online Services. This new technology allows users to keep track of all mailroom activities via a personalized web-based account. Compatible with Neopost's IJ-80, IJ-90, and IJ-110 mailing systems, Neopost Online Services feature advanced tracking via email confirmations of sent and received mail and parcels and reporting capabilities by tracking postage usage."

June 21, 2006 -- Congratulations to former PostCom chairman Lee Epstein and PostCom member Bookspan, both of whom were honored by the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation held in New York.

June 21, 2006 -- FinFacts has reported that "ComReg Commissioner, Mr. Mike Byrne, said “ComReg continues to be concerned with the quality of service being afforded to postal consumers and the service decline recorded in the past three quarters - particularly in light of An Post’s public commitment to quality of service improvement." See also the Irish Examiner.

June 20, 2006 -- The U.S. Postal Service is expanding its licensing program and is seeking possible partners at the International Licensing Show.

June 20, 2006 -- The Bulletin has reported that "The US Postal Service gained share of the US domestic air cargo market during the first six months in 2005, a phenomenon that hasn’t occurred for many years, as revealed by the Colography Group, Inc., in releasing the mid-year 2005 edition of its Domestic Air Cargo Trends report."

June 20, 2006 -- Business News Americas has reported that "Brazilian financial services provider Banco Postal will be managing 5 million checking accounts by the end of this month."

June 20, 2006 -- According to the National Association of Postal Supervisors, "One of the most important differences between the House and Senate bills involves when the Postal Service will have the flexibility to secure a rate increase larger than usual, especially when unexpected or emergency circumstances arise. Under both bills, rate increases would be pegged to inflation. But a sudden surge in gas prices, a bioterrorist attack, or any of a number of other emergency circumstances requires the Postal Service have the authority to raise postage prices higher than normal. The House bill provides greater flexibility to the Postal Service than the Senate. If the Postal Service doesn’t have that flexibility, it will have to cut costs, which could mean cuts in workforce or smaller (or even no) increases in pay and benefits."

June 20, 2006 -- According to New Orleans CityBusiness, "U.S. Post Office employee Bryan Tryan sorts mail at the Loyola Avenue post office. The USPS says it has put new hurricane evacuation plans in place after Katrina exposed mistakes in its old plan. The U.S. Postal Service is confident mistakes made during Hurricane Katrina will never be repeated."

June 20, 2006 -- From the PR Newswire:

• Veritec, Inc. a leading designer and provider of integrated uses and software for high data density multi-dimensional barcode technology to the manufacturing and security industries, is pleased to announce today that the Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Ronald Williams Corporate Vice-President and Director of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, Mr. Williams held the positions of Corporate Senior Vice President and President of the Image Technology Division of Firstlogic, Inc. (formerly Postalsoft), a $60 million privately held software company specializing in domestic and international postal and data-quality solutions.
• Trackmymail.com, a provider of user-friendly mail tracking solutions for direct mailers, announced today that Cox Target Media, the leading direct mail marketing company and provider of Valpak® network products, has selected trackmymail.com to provide tracking services for all Valpak® mailings beginning in July.

June 20, 2006 -- From Business Wire: "Clean Energy has named James C. Miller III, former Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, as a member of the company's board of directors. Currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service (USPS), Mr. Miller previously was Chairman of the CapAnalysis Group, an economic, financial and regulatory consulting firm associated with the international law firm Howrey, LLP. As the former Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Mr. Miller was a member of the President's Cabinet and a member of the National Security Council (1985-1988). From 1981 to 1985, he chaired the U.S. Federal Trade Commission."

June 20, 2006 -- CBC News has reported that "Seventeen members of the union representing Canada Post workers — including its president — have been arrested after trying to cross police lines Monday at the Crown corporation's headquarters in Ottawa. Police set up the line after officials from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) warned they planned to storm the building. The union members said they wanted to find a document that allegedly outlines their employer's plans for post offices and processing plants across the country. CUPW's president, Deborah Bourque and its former president, Jean Claude Parrot, were among those charged with trespassing."

June 19, 2006 -- From the Federal Register: "The Department of State will host a briefing on Wednesday, July 19, 2006, to provide an update on current Universal Postal Union issues, including the results of the March 2006 session of the UPU Postal Operations Council in Bern. The briefing will be held from 1:30 p.m. until approximately 4 p.m., on July 19, 2006 in Room 1207 of the Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW., Washington, DC."

June 19, 2006 -- NewIndPress has reported that "The Karnataka Couriers’ Association will soon bring out a handbook on proposed amendment to the Indian Post Office Act 1898, which according to them will deliver deathblow to the industry. Association president V Srinath said the association members held a meeting in the city on Saturday and decided to bring out a handbook on the impact of the proposed amendments so that people are aware of its implications."

June 19, 2006 -- ABC News has reported that "New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer says the U.S. Postal Service has become "the delivery arm of a massive criminal enterprise."

June 19, 2006 -- The Philippine Daily Inquirer has reported that "THE GOVERNMENT HAS SELECTED three firmsING, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Youngto vie for the contract of financial adviser on the privatization of Philippine Postal Corp., which authorities are hoping to sell this year. The financial adviser will determine the best way to privatize the governments 55-percent share in Philpost."

June 19, 2006 -- The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that "The battle of the bulge has a new frontier - Australia's mail delivery. Australia Post has drawn the ire of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) after its policy of only hiring people under 90 kilograms to deliver mail became known. According to the organisation, any heavier and the staff are too big to safely operate the motorbikes most posties use to deliver the mail. But the union has hit back, drawing on well-known footballers who tipped the scales above the limit to highlight what they say is an arbitrary weight limit."

June 19, 2006 -- The Chronicle Herald has reported that "Imagine being required by your employer to find, hire and train your own replacement when you take time off for vacation, bereavement, illness or injury. That’s the reality for more than 6,400 Canada Post rural and suburban mail carriers."

June 19, 2006 -- Gulf News has reported that "Jordan will raise $1 billion by privatising three companies and the funds will be used to help repay debts, an official said. Dr Mohammad Abu Hamour, head of the Executive Privatisation Authority, told Gulf News that Jordan would privatise Royal Jordanian Airlines, Aqaba Railways and Jordan Post in a year."

June 18, 2006 -- Traffic World has reported that "UPS is changing how it handles heavy air freight from forwarders, transferring some of its former Menlo Forwarding operations in the United States and Europe to UPS Airlines from the contracted lift the carrier had been using. Throughout June, the air freight operations, which had long been based at Dayton, Ohio, will move in phases to the big UPS air hub at Louisville, Ky., which already handles UPS's package operations, plus to new regional freight terminals where UPS has package operations."

June 18, 2006 -- According to the Merced Sun-Star, "We have come to expect delivery of mail in a timely fashion. Normally Mercedians have been getting their mail by about 4:30 p.m., but lately all bets are off. Now we're told the Merced Post Office has reorganized its 46 delivery routes in the name of efficiency and to even out the workload among letter carriers. It's not working."

June 18, 2006 -- According to WBBH, "Southwest Florida is short about 200 substitute mails carriers and it’s putting a strain on the US Postal Service."

June 18, 2006 -- AMEInfo has reported that "Executives from postal organizations from the Arab world shared experiences at a High-Level Conference of Arab Countries on 'Mechanisms for developing markets for postal services' in Morocco."

June 17, 2006 -- The Scotsman has reported that "Royal Mail was yesterday ordered to pay a £9.62 million penalty by the industry's regulator. Postcomm imposed the fine for a breach of licence after Royal Mail was accused of failing to properly protect mail."

June 17, 2006 -- The Independent has reported that "The Post Office is to launch the latest stage of its ambitious expansion into financial services with an aggressively marketed payment protection insurance (PPI) policy. The insurance is supposed to pay out to borrowers who cannot keep up with repayments on credit cards, loans or mortgages. Lenders often sell PPI as a highly profitable bolt-on product, and the Office of Fair Trading is investigating complaints about it from consumer groups."

June 17, 2006 -- The New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported that "Come June 30, the U.S. Postal Service no longer will provide over-the-counter mail service to New Orleans residents whose neighborhoods were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The service, launched in October as a temporary measure to ensure that postal customers continued to get their mail while delivery routes were re-established, is no longer needed because mail delivery has steadily increased, and there are plans in the works to expand delivery in several of the city's neighborhoods, postal officials said Friday."

June 17, 2006 -- The Guernsey Press and Star has reported that "POST OFFICES, boxes and six-day deliveries look to have survived. But significant postal-charge increases are likely in future. Commerce and Employment has released a briefing paper following consultation on possible changes to Guernsey Post’s universal service obligation. It has not found a case to justify going to the States to change the USO."

June 16, 2006 -- The Association for Postal Commerce welcomes its newest member:

BB&T (8006 Discovery Drive Richmond, VA 23229-8606) represented by Jeff Crain, Vice President. BB&T is a a financial Institution located in 11 states and DC primarily in the southeast. The company has over 28,000 employees and over 1,400 locations.

June 16, 2006 -- The Periodical Publishers Association has reported that "More than 50 delegates attended a PPA workshop on 9 June designed to ensure they will be fully prepared when Royal Mail introduces its new pricing system, Pricing in Proportion (PiP), on 21 August. The new system, which for the first time will see items priced on their size and format as well as their weight, is regarded by Royal Mail as the biggest change since the introduction of the Penny Black. The aim is to make prices more reflective of costs, and size is seen as a key factor in the cost of handling and delivering mail."

June 16, 2006 -- From Canada NewsWire: "The Council of Canadians, Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Charter Committee on Poverty are taking the constitutionality of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to a higher court with their appeal before the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In July 2005, a lower court judge dismissed the group's constitutional challenge against NAFTA rules that allow foreign corporations to sue governments. The groups filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal for Ontario in August 2005 because they believe that NAFTA rules threaten public services and democracy. The appeal will be heard at the Court of Appeal for Ontario on June 19th, 20th and 21st in Toronto, Ontario at Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West. "

June 16, 2006 -- As the Federal Times has noted, "The most daunting challenge facing the U.S. Postal Service over the next few years will be replacing the many skilled managers who will be eligible to retire."

June 16, 2006 -- Air Cargo World has reported that "UPS is changing how it handles heavy air freight from forwarders, transferring some of its former Menlo Forwarding operations in the United States and Europe to UPS Airlines from the contracted lift the carrier had been using. Throughout June, the air freight operations, which had long been based at Dayton, Ohio, will move in phases to the big UPS air hub at Louisville, Ky., which already handles UPS's package operations, plus to new regional freight terminals where UPS has package operations."

June 16, 2006 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• The U.S. Postal Service weighs in with its numbers for the month of April.
• American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus details his members views that postal worksharing and the resulting discounts will lead to increased postage costs for private citizens.
• Pitney Bowes Chairman and CEO Michael J. Critelli had a lot to say about the changing relationships between postal services and their suppliers at the World Mail & Express Europe Conference in Paris last month.
• In this perspective, postal commentator Gene Del Polito shares his outrage at the U.S. Postal Service for the proposed enormous jump in rates for lightweight Standard Mail parcels.
• Jean Skibinski sounds off about direct mail in this recent newspaper column.
• Mail and Jobs Executive Director Peter Miller explains the realities of postal economics to Jean Skibinski in this letter to the editor of Delaware’s News Journal.
• Don Soifer of the Consumer Postal Council weighs in on the side of the USPS in this opinion piece.
• Army looking for ways to improve global mail services. Jumbo Airbus deliveries pushed back. Surprise!! Higher gas prices mean higher costs.
• Google unveils new search engine for finding government information online.
• EU looking into La Poste, bank issues. Belgian Post making business changes. French unions line up against phantom layoff plan. Spanish postal execs move to change financial service results. Milk loses ground to liquor in British home delivery derby. Poste Italiane eliminates lower-priced letter. Slovenia looking for postal partners. German groups press fro minimum wage increases. Morocco enjoys revenue boost. Swiss newspaper accuses Swiss Post of foot-dragging on privatization. Scandinavia’s Jetpak wins Scania logistics deal.
• PostCom gains two new members.
• A list of upcoming postal-related events.

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

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June 16, 2006 -- The Isle of Man Today has reported that "IT will cost more to send bulky packets and parcels under a new pricing scheme being introduced by Isle of Man Post Office. But Post Office bosses insist that 90 per cent of mail will cost the same to post or be cheaper to send – and the changes will mainly affect businesses rather than householders. The new system, known as pricing in proportion, will be introduced on August 21 in line with similar changes at the Royal Mail in the UK. It is being promoted as being fairer and simpler to use."

June 16, 2006 -- The Northwest Indiana Times has reported that "Soaring gasoline prices not only have made it more expensive to travel, they've increased the cost of transporting supplies and material, prompting the cost of consumer goods and the cost of services -- even mail delivery -- to climb."

June 16, 2006 -- From Canada NewsWire: "Due to the lack of transparency by Canada Post in refusing to reveal its development plans for this public service, members of the Union of Postal Communications Employees (UPCE) of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) will support a citizens' action against the Crown Corporation on Monday, June 19, at noon."

June 16, 2006 -- The CBC has reported that "`Six female postal workers held a brief vigil at the St. John's mail distribution centre Thursday night to protest what they call Canada Post's lax handling of a harassment complaint."

June 16, 2006 -- The Yakima Herald has reported that "A U.S. Postal Service proposal to process outgoing Yakima Valley mail in Pasco didn't appear to be going over well at a public meeting Thursday night. Speakers from the audience, including a representative of the postal workers' union, raised questions about the true cost savings calculated by agency bosses and about whether bad weather would stall delivery. About 40 people attended the meeting at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Yakima, almost half of them postal employees."

June 16, 2006 -- The Hindu News has reported that "The Postal Department has been rapped by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission for not delivering a speed post packet containing air tickets to a person who refused to pay bribe and was fined Rs 10,000."

June 16, 2006 -- From the U.S. Department of the Army: "In December 2005, the Defense Business Board (DBB) made their final recommendations to the Secretary of Defense to (1) Immediately issue an open-ended Request for Proposal (RFP ) to allow the private sector to provide an innovative, end-to-end (not piecemeal) solution for the processing and delivery of military mail (2) Seek to achieve most efficient business model that capitalizes on economies of scale and organizational efficie ncies (3) Develop a coordinated implementation strategy to address management, budget, organizational and policy issues. This RFI requests the private sector to provide information on unique and innovative ideas or approaches that have been developed outside of the government (independently originated and developed by the respondent) that encompass a comprehensive review of the Military Postal System (MPS) to determine ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of global postal operations through improved service and reduced costs to DoD."

June 15, 2006 -- The latest USPS DMM Advisory has been posted on this site.

June 15, 2006 -- The DM Bulletin has reported that "Royal Mail is to launch a web-based booking system for its door-to-door division in early 2007 as part of its increasing emphasis on the door drop medium. The system, which is still in development, will replace the email and telephone based scheme that is currently in place, and will allow customers to deal with every aspect of their booking online."

June 15, 2006 -- According to postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "Many within the direct marketing industry are still in a state of shock after taking a look at the rates the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has proposed for Standard Mail parcels weighing less than a pound. The proposed rates, if approved, would result in increases ranging as high as 99.6%!"

June 15, 2006 -- Government Computer News has reported that "Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., has launched a search site devoted to finding government material on the Web. Although Google U.S. Government Search offers an almost identical service to the General Services Administration’s FirstGov, Google’s site will offer more personalization features, said Kevin Gough, product manager for the new offering. Gough said Google’s site was designed for both government employees as well as citizens interested in government material. Using the company’s own index of Web sites, the site will return results from .gov and .mil federal sites, state and local Web sites, selected .org and .edu sites, and government sites under the .com and .net domains, such as the Postal Service’s site."

June 15, 2006 -- Digital Bulletin has reported that "Royal Mail is gearing up for a review of its digital account, currently held by Proximity London. The review is statutory. Proximity, the incumbent, has been notified and is expected to be involved. The account goes out to tender in the next month, and the pitch will take place in the autumn. The business up for pitch includes digital strategy, online advertising, website design and customer communications to support below-the-line activity."

June 15, 2006 -- Logistics Management has reported that "FedEx has rolled out a new logistics service dubbed FedEx Critical Inventory Logistics. The company said the new service lets customers store inventory items at 18 FedEx Kinko’s locations in the United States—allowing them to ship a critical item within a tight timeframe in certain locations with little advance notice."

June 15, 2006 -- The Republican-American has reported that "The city will be getting back its postmark after losing it in a U.S. Postal Service consolidation six months ago. Postal officials have agreed to revive the cancellation that indicates a piece of mail originated in Waterbury . During a meeting Wednesday in the office of Mayor Michael J. Jarjura, local leaders learned that the postal service is required to maintain a drop slot inside the post office building that ends with the mail getting a city postmark. That service was eliminated when the postal service transferred many of the functions previously performed at the city's downtown post office. Mail originating at the downtown post office is now given a "Southern Connecticut" postmark."

June 15, 2006 -- Online Recruitment has reported that "Assessment specialist PSL has been awarded potentially the largest ever online testing contract in the UK. The Royal Mail has asked PSL to design two bespoke psychometric tests: a personality questionnaire and a ‘sorting simulation’ test, both of which will be delivered online via PSL’s market leading test delivery engine. One or both of these instruments will be used to help deselect potentially unsuitable applicants from the 125,000 that apply for frontline positions each year. The Royal Mail - which currently employs over 196,000 people - has switched to online assessment to enhance efficiency in the recruitment process."

June 15, 2006 -- MENA-FN has reported that "Emirates Post has allocated a special budget for investments this year which include Dh130 million for new projects, Dh120 million for investment in financial markets and Dh50 million for acquiring new companies, said a top government official. Abdullah Al Daboos, director general of Emirates Post, said: "We believe that posts need to reinvent themselves in order to survive in today's competitive marketplace. Emirates Post has therefore devised a business strategy that will see it entering new areas, such as logistics, cargo, financial services and others."

June 15, 2006 -- KCAU has reported that "After a meeting today in Washington, top postal officials have now agreed to revisit the consolidation study. Congressman Steve King and Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley met this afternoon with the Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service. As a result of their urging, the post office has now agreed to conduct an audit of the study which could force the consoldation of Sioux City's mail processing center. King says the study did not use the proper factors to determine the true costs of moving mail processing to Sioux Falls."

June 15, 2006 -- From Business Wire:"ADVO, Inc. has provided further comment on the new rate structure being proposed by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). As the company previously stated, it expects to maintain a rate increase consistent with historical levels. To continue to qualify for the lowest possible postal rates for its class of mail, the company will modify its operations to move to "in-line, on-piece" addressing of its ShopWise(TM) shared mail advertising package. The changes will be in place by summer 2007, in conjunction with the new rate structure. "With our investment in new addressing technology, we will help the Postal Service to further reduce mail processing and delivery costs. This will enable us to continue to attain the most favorable rates available for our clients," explained S. Scott Harding, ADVO Chief Executive Officer. The new on-package addressing will replace the detached address label currently used for most ADVO mailings. The photographs of missing children also featured on this label will move to a prominent position on the ShopWise(TM) package, continuing the company's strong support of its "America's Looking for Its Missing Children" public service program."

June 14, 2006 -- According to Expansion, "The aspirations of Spanish state-owned postal services operator Correos are much more modest than those of its counterparts in other European countries, after recognising that the commercial agreement between Correos and German counterpart Deutsche Post never really worked. According to Correos chairman Jose Damian Santiago, the arrangement did not work because Correos was trying to sell products that did not take into account the target market of customers who visited Correos branches. This failure has not stopped Correos and its German counterpart from launching a new brand of financial products, BanCorreos."

June 14, 2006 -- MySanAntonio has reported that "Converse Postmaster Richard Imes briefed council on postal requirements for residential mailboxes in new housing areas inside and outside the Converse city limits. Imes told council members that the U.S. Postal Service is moving away from community mailboxes or cluster boxes where a group of mail boxes — similar to the boxes inside of a post office — are in one location on a metal stand. In new subdivisions, the postmaster said, the Postal Service now is requiring two mailboxes on a single stand on the property line of two houses so the postal carrier can deliver two sets of mail in one stop within city limits. Cluster boxes still will be allowed outside city limits, he said. "Twenty-five years ago, the post office thought it would be a great idea to have community mailboxes, but now that policy has changed," he said, explaining that the cost of maintaining community mailboxes is prohibitive."

June 14, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "eBay Live! conference attendees will see a new co-branded box they can use to mail their products, learn how to win $10,000 to spend on eBay and ship their conference materials home, all courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service."

June 14, 2006 -- GovExec.com has reported that "House Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the outspoken 16-term lawmaker whose passion for oversight has been directed at corporate giants in the auto and tobacco industries, is quietly laying the groundwork for chairing the watchdog committee if Democrats win back the majority in November. The lawmaker points to the pending U.S. Postal Service overhaul bill as an example of substantive legislation handled in a bipartisan manner. The legislation, awaiting conference, stands to revamp the postal service for the first time in 30 years, changing how the agency raises rates and operates its pension plans."

June 14, 2006 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

The EU Commission has decided to investigate whether France has violated EU regulations in connection with the monopolised distribution of the so-called "Livret A" savings books. Tax-free by law and with a guaranteed interest rate, these preferential savings books can only be obtained from either La Poste or the two banks Caisse d'Epargne and Cr dit Mutuel.
Germany's primeMail GmbH, a joint venture between Swiss Post International and Hermes Logistik Gruppe, enjoyed a successful financial year 2005/2006 (ended in February). primeMail says it operates at a profit and claimed a turnover increase of almost 66% to 17.4m euros, while consignment volumes increased by 40%. The mail operator chiefly serves customers from the mail order, travel and tourism industries as well as publishing houses.
Belgium's La Poste has responded quickly to sustained complaints from consumer organisations by launching a revamp programme called "Refocus" (CEP News 22/06). Work procedures will undergo many changes in a bid for optimisation and a more purposeful and customer friendly service.
Belgian postmen and women continue their protest against delivery round optimisation. Postal workers in Li ge announced a strike for this Tuesday. Opposition is directed against the introduction of the new mail delivery system Georoute 2, a software that is supposed to enable discontinuation of between 10 and 20% of the delivery rounds.
According to Germany's Association of Courier, Express and Postal Service Providers (BdKEP e.V.), Deutsche Post has no exclusive right to the term "post".
Postponing the adaptation of domestic letterboxes has caused Austria's mail service Redmail - a TNT subsidiary - to complain to the EU Commission. Early last month, the Austrian Constitution Court ruled that adaptation of domestic letterboxes at the owners' expense was unlawful.
Trade unions are now fighting La Poste's plan to make up to 60,000 postal workers redundant.
Schweizerische Post is following its original plan of hiving off the Post/Auto segment into a plc owned by the post.
Finland has taken a first step by increasing the price for domestic letters up to 50 grams by almost 8%.
Swiss Post International (SPI), the international division of Schweizerische Post, is taking over its Asian franchisees.
Last Wednesday, the first instance of the European Court of Justice ruled that France's La Poste had provided its subsidiary Chronopost with unlawful subsidies during the 1980's and 90's.
In Britain, GeoPost Group started working with Parcelnet, an Otto mail order subsidiary, on 1 June. GeoPost's British CEP subsidiary Parceline has introduced the so-called Homecall B2C service for dispatchers of up to 600 parcels per day.
Pos Malaysia & Services Holdings Bhd intends to sell its stake in CEP service provider Transmile Group Bhd.
FedEx Southern Europe will create at Paris Charles de Gaulle airporta logistics centre in the vicinity of the airport modeled on its Memphis headquarters. FedEx will also experiment with cargo express trains between its Paris hub and other urban centres.

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.

June 14, 2006 -- According to The Street, "Cargo Kings Fly High."

June 14, 2006 -- The St. Petersburg Times has reported that "A Postal Service plan to consolidate services to Tampa would eliminate St. Petersburg's postmark on first-class mail. Postal officials say it would make them more efficient. Too efficient, some say. Mayor Rick Baker, for one, is not pleased that his city may lose its postmark and some of its postal operations to Tampa. Postal officials said their plan to route all of the city's first-class stamped mail to Tampa for postmarking would save about $1.3-million a year and is an appropriate response to a nationwide trend of declining mail."

June 14, 2006 -- The Milwaukee Business Journal has reported that "Banta Corp. printing subsidiary has opened a multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art distribution center in Bolingbrook, Ill., to provide co-mailing services. The new service from Banta Publications Group will serve special-interest magazine publishers by merging different magazines into a common mail stream for postal discounts."

June 14, 2006 -- The Chronicle Herald has reported that "An upcoming Thursday night meeting between Colchester County councillors and a representative of Canada Post has been called off. Each side has a differing version of the reason for the cancellation. "They agreed to appear and then when they found out it wouldn’t be behind closed doors, they backed out," said Ron Cavanagh, councillor for 81 customers on Highway 311."

June 14, 2006 -- As Transport Intelligence has noted:

• For many years the environment has been moving up the corporate agenda for transport and logistics companies, and this has manifested itself not least of all in improvements in fuel efficiency. However the recent spikes in the price of oil have now made efforts to reduce fuel consumption a priority, promoting the issue from that of a public relations/corporate social responsibility to hard financial necessity.
• FedEx Corp. has announced the launch of FedEx Critical Inventory Logistics, a supply chain service aimed at enabling customers to more efficiently manage high value and time critical inventory.

June 14, 2006 -- The Gulf Daily News has reported that "Bahrain Post has launched a new GPS navigation system to monitor its fleet of 80 vans and streamline mail delivery. Under the new hi-tech system, the directorate will be able track down each van and check the assigned route, timings, speed and distance covered, said Transportation Assistant Under-Secretary Shaikh Badr bin Khalifa Al Khalifa."

June 14, 2006 -- Gulf Times has reported that "THE Q-Post will be the official postal and courier service for the 15th Asian Games to be held in Doha in December 2006."

June 13, 2006 -- Some highlights from the April USPS financial report:

• USPS revenues of $5.88 billion for April were 1% or $58 million over plan and $115 million or 2% more than April 2005. Expenses were virtually on plan, producing a net income of $103 million before the monthly escrow allocation of $250 million. After the escrow allocation, our financial position for April shifts to a net deficiency of $147 million.
• Contributing to the month’s performance was the new postage rate structure implemented on Jan. 8, 2006, which provided a 5.4% revenue increase needed to fulfill the requirement of Public Law 108-18, The Postal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Funding Act of 2003. This law requires the Postal Service to hold $3 billion in an escrow account by Sept. 30, 2006, to cover the difference between the CSRS retirement costs before and after implementation of the law. We are allocating $250 million per month for purposes of assessing our financial position.
• Total mail volume in April was 1.9% less than last year. Mail volumes in all major mail categories were below April 2005 levels. April 2006 had 25 delivery days and 20 business weekdays, while April 2005 had 26 delivery days and 21 business weekdays.
• Year-to-date, net income before escrow allocation is $1.66 billion or $186 million over plan. Year-to-date, the net deficiency after escrow allocation is $89 million.
• Year-to-date revenue is 2.8% higher than the same period last year and is $346 million above the year-to-date plan. Expenses year-to-date are 3.8% higher than the same period last year, and are $160 million above the year-to-date plan.
• Year-to-date, total mail volume is 82 million pieces fewer than the same period last year. Year-to-date, First-Class Mail volume is 1.4% below the same period last year. Standard Mail and Priority Mail volumes are 1% and 5.9% above last year, respectively.

June 13, 2006 -- The American Civil Liberties Union has denounced a move by the House Chief Administrative Officer to use so-called "logic puzzles" to limit the ability of constituents to e-mail their Representatives. According to the Washington Post and Roll Call, the House Administration Committee found that on one day alone, of 8,262 visits to Web sites for citizens to contact members, only 1,568 messages were actually sent.

June 13, 2006 -- The Winnepeg Sun has reported that "Canada Post’s main union is set to hold a national protest next week if the Crown corporation fails to divulge a strategic plan."

June 13, 2006 -- Calling all postal history, documentary and classical music fans! The British Postal Museum & Archive has a treat in store as it has released a special edition DVD featuring the unforgettable Travelling Post Office (TPO) documentary Night Mail, along with other less-seen treasures — now available in NTSC format suitable for USA customers. Check out the Museum's web site at: http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/shop.

June 13, 2006 -- From the Office of the Inspector General (USPS): "Postal Inspection Service Noncompetitive Contract Process (Report Number SA-AR-06-003) http://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/SA-AR-06-003.pdf Audit Report – Postal Service’s Injury Compensation Programs’ Controversion and Challenge Process in Selected Areas (Report Number HM-AR-06-004) http://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/HM-AR-06-004.pdf

June 13, 2006 -- The Washington Post has reported that:

• Ron Gettelfinger, head of the United Auto Workers, told his rank and file yesterday that the shrinking union faces the toughest challenges in its history and that members must adjust to the economic realities of the beleaguered U.S. auto industry and embrace innovative solutions. [This is a message that could be delivered equally to certain postal workers, who still resist the fact that the postal industry is undergoing significant changes of its own.]
• A key senator plans to introduce a bill today that would require federal managers to provide their employees with a written performance evaluation each year and would prohibit pay raises for employees rated as less than successful. Describing current requirements as "vague," Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), who oversees the civil service as chairman of a Senate subcommittee, said his bill would strengthen the employee performance appraisal system and help lay the foundation for an overhaul of federal pay.

June 13, 2006 -- Business First Louisville has reported that "A newly formed labor organization seeking to dethrone the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as representatives of package handlers and drivers at United Parcel Service Inc. is causing a stir at UPS facilities across the United States. Representatives of the Association of Parcel Workers of America were in Louisville June 4 to promote the organization to Louisville's UPS workers."

June 13, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "The U.S. Postal Service was honored Monday with a 2006 Closing the Circle (CTC) Award for its use of biodiesel fuel to reduce consumption of petroleum. The agency also received a CTC Honorable Mention for its total waste management program. The awards were bestowed by the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive at a ceremony at the White House. The CTC Awards recognize outstanding achievements of federal employees and their facilities for efforts that result in significant contributions to environmental stewardship."

June 13, 2006 -- DM News has reported that "Pitney Bowes Inc. has debuted the Stamp Expressions Printer, patented technology that lets customers securely print postage on-demand with unique images in their home or office. Targeted to small and home offices, The Stamp Expressions Printer's web-based software makes it easy to design one's own postage images, according to the Stamford, CT-based company. Images can be submitted for online approval with a response delivered usually within one business day. Once approved, the postage can be downloaded and printed instantly. Approved images can be used repeatedly without additional cost."

June 13, 2006 -- As the European Entrepreneur's E-Guide has noted, "The purpose of Community postal policy in the postal sector is to complete the internal market for postal services and to ensure that reliable and good-quality postal services are available to all EU citizens at affordable prices. The postal sector is at the crossroads of three markets vital to the economy: communications, advertising and transportation/logistics. About two-thirds of EU turnover in the sector (ca. €88 billion) is generated by mail services, the rest by courier express and parcel services. The Commission's aim is to implement a single market for postal services, by opening up the sector to competition in a gradual and controlled way, within a regulatory framework which assures a universal service. The improvement of the quality of service, in particular in terms of delivery time and affordable tariffs are fundamental aspects of this policy."

June 13, 2006 -- TMCNet has reported that "Blackbay, a market leader in delivering real-time mobile worker solutions that enable business process improvements to supply chain and field service mission-critical operations, today announced the appointment of world renowned postal sector advisor, Elmar Toime as a non-executive director. Elmar is a well-known figure in the global postal industry and is the former Chairman of the Management Board of Royal Mail. He had group-wide responsibilities across Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd operations. In that period he was also Chairman of GLS, Royal Mails European parcel distribution business. From 1993 to 2003, Elmar was the CEO of New Zealand Post. Earlier this year, he was appointed to the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Post World Net."

June 13, 2006 -- Reuters has reported that:

• The newspapers of the future - cheap digital screens that can be rolled up and stuffed into a back pocket - have been just around the corner for the last three decades. But as early as this year, the future may finally arrive. Some of the world's top newspapers publishers are planning to introduce a form of electronic newspaper that will allow users to download entire editions from the Web on to reflective digital screens said to be easier on the eyes than light-emitting laptop or cellphone displays. Flexible versions of these readers nay be available as early as 2007.
• For the past decade, newspapers have seen their help-wanted advertising under siege from online rivals. Now, as the Internet begins to eat into automotive and real estate classifieds as well, newspapers are fighting back. Classified advertising accounts for more than a third of revenue at newspapers, which until recently didn't want to accept that advertisers are increasing their spending on the Web, which is better suited to connecting individuals and delivering up-to-the-minute information. Favored attack strategies include banding together, buying or forming partnerships with upstart Web sites and building new sites to serve local needs.

June 13, 2006 -- GRID Today has reported that "Postkantoren BV, the largest postal outlet service in the Netherlands, has selected Informatica PowerCenter Advanced Edition as its enterprise data integration standard. A long-time PowerCenter customer, Postkantoren is upgrading to PowerCenter Advanced Edition for comprehensive visibility across its operations -- including 800 post offices -- in order to streamline data management, increase business responsiveness and help ensure international regulatory compliance."

June 12, 2006 -- The stakes are high tomorrow as Canada Post holds its first ever public meeting in the Provencher Ballroom at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, according to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).

June 12, 2006 -- According to Multichannel Merchant, "Comailing is the process of merging catalogs that have already been bound into one mail stream. Cobinding occurs during the bindery process as the catalogs are being bound so that catalogs sharing the same trim size can be comingled into the same mail stream. Why is this important to know? Some printers are saying that the catalogs no longer have to be the same trim size to benefit from the cost savings as comailing."

June 12, 2006 -- Swiss Post International (SPI), the international business unit of Swiss Post, has taken over its franchisees in Asia. The new subsidiary, known as SPI Singapore, operates in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong and sells SPI’s products in the Asian market. This purchase will strengthen SPI’s competitive position as a global player in the cross-border letters segment. Asia offers considerable potential for postal services on account of its rapid economic development.

June 12, 2006 -- The News-Press has reported that "Mary Gray was at Mailbox Shipping & Communications, shipping her father's belongings in two 40-pound boxes to the nursing home in New Jersey where he's headed. By the time he arrives, said Gray, 52, she and her brother will have unpacked her dad's stuff "so we can make his room as homey as possible." It was just another day in the shipping store business, where the U.S. Postal Service, UPS and FedEx compete for the consumer's dollar to send packages and letters."

June 12, 2006 -- As Business Day has noted, "Zimbabwe’s inflation, already the highest in the world, hit a new record of 1193,5% for the year to last month, the government’s Central Statistical Office said on Saturday. Massive surges of up to 11000% in medical expenses and 5000% in postal fees contributed to the figure." [Don't think an inflation-based cap would have helped much there.]

June 12, 2006 -- dBusinessNews has reported that "New Breed Logistics, Inc., based in High Point, North Carolina, announced today that it has been selected by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to operate the Surface Transfer Center (STC) in Salt Lake City, Utah. New Breed will provide terminal handling services in support of domestic mail that is transported through the Salt Lake City STC. New Breed was awarded this contract based on the company’s track record of performance, flexibility, low cost solutions and long-term relationship with the USPS. New Breed currently manages six (6) other operations for the USPS, five (5) Mail Transport Equipment Service Centers (MTESCs) located throughout the US and one (1) Mail Consolidation Center (MCC) in Omaha, NE."

June 12, 2006 -- DM News has reported that "The Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing has adopted a recommendation on the environment and direct mail with best practices for its members."

June 12, 2006 -- "TREMENDOUSLY GRATEFUL! That," according to the Jamaica Gleaner, "was the sentiment expressed by acting Postmaster General, Michael Gentles, upon having been recently presented with 104 completely reconditioned computers for the Post and Telecommunications Department (P&T)."

June 12, 2006 -- Fortune has noted that "The town of Percile, northeast of Rome, has two groceries, a snack bar, and a tourist booth. Medieval houses climb a hill of overlapping archways and cobblestone footpaths. With only 260 residents, most of them retirees, the town hasn't attracted a newsstand, much less a supermarket or a bank. But it does have a post office. For Poste Italiane, outposts like the one in Percile are at once its greatest liability and its greatest asset. Postal companies are by nature spread thin, and the Italian state monopoly is no exception. With 150,000 employees and 14,000 offices, the company says its mail operations lose hundreds of millions of euros a year. But those same offices provide the backbone of a company that offers everything from investment plans to vacuum cleaners."

June 12, 2006 -- "Congress to Lobby Groups: Drop Dead!" As the Washington Post has noted, "That could be the headline on the latest development from the House of Representatives. Last month the House quietly began to make it harder for interest groups to send large numbers of e-mails to lawmakers." [Think about that the next time they ask you for money....]

June 12, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "No matter what "it" is, eBay entrepreneurs now have a variety of options to ship "it" internationally with the U.S. Postal Service, which was the message delivered today at an eBay Live 2006 conference in Las Vegas, NV. Global shipping with the Postal Service is quick, easy and convenient. Through a single transaction, customers can pay with their PayPal accounts (through either eBay or PayPal's websites), and print labels containing customs forms for the Postal Service's Global Express Mail, starting at $15.50; Global Priority Mail, starting at $7; and Global Airmail Parcel Post, starting at $13.25. "Global Shipping through the Postal Service offers some of the most economical international rates available on eBay, and the prices are fixed with no add-on charges," said John E. Potter, Postmaster General and CEO of the U.S. Postal Service. "Flat rate global shipping options are also available and are fast, priced right, and easy-to-use."

June 12, 2006 -- In response to a less than responsible piece published in the News Journal, Mail and Jobs Executive Director Peter Miller wrote: "News Journal tells readers that first-class stamps cost 39 cents, while direct mailers "are permitted to send bulky packets in oversized envelopes weighing up to 3.3 ounces for as little as 15.8 cents, according to postal schedules." ("Junk mail piles up postal inefficiencies," June 11, 2006) Why this happens is hardly a mystery and surely not a cause for either alarm or indignation. The News Journal, a Gannett paper, could simply have asked the Clipper Magazine -- the Gannett direct mail operation that reaches 20 million American households -- to explain basic postal economics. You would have discovered that mail is like a bicycle: You can buy a bicycle assembled and pay one price, or you can do the assembly work yourself and pay less. The reason some mail costs less is because some mailers do more of the work that the Postal Service would otherwise be required to complete."

June 11, 2006 -- The Indianapolis Star ran a test: "Use the delivery services of DHL, FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service to ship an express package overnight from Indianapolis to the same residential address in Arlington, Va. Ship identical contents, using nearly indistinguishable, company- provided boxes, requesting the same "by 3 p.m." or "by end of day" next-day service. The Postal Service -- yes, the post office! -- had the lowest price, and got our package there the quickest. DHL offered the lowest price of the three private carriers, and got our package to Arlington the earliest of these three."

June 11, 2006 -- Congress Daily has reported that "House-Senate negotiators reached agreement Thursday on a $94.5 billion fiscal 2006 supplemental spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan and hurricane relief, ending a weeks-long standoff over funding levels and avoiding a veto fight with the White House. Senate appropriators agreed to shave $14.4 billion from their version to meet Bush's demands."

June 11, 2006 -- The Periodical Publishers Association has reported that "Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services, is gearing up for another legal battle against Royal Mail, after vowing to fight the operator's appeal against the High Court judgment which last year found it guilty of breaching its own compensation scheme."

June 11, 2006 -- According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, "As New Mexico's U.S. senators investigate a series of complaints they've received about the U.S. Postal Service in the state, local residents are adding to the pile. This week, a woman went to the post office in Santa Fe Place shopping mall, only to find it closed. A spate of La Cienega residents complained they had not gotten any mail for three days. And other Santa Fe residents voiced frustration over what they said were ongoing problems with the post office."

June 11, 2006 -- Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "Deutsche Post, the German postal service operator, reports that it has no scope for further reductions in postage for parcels and packages following its latest price reductions. Meanwhile, management is considering expansion onto further markets, especially in central and eastern Europe, but has given no further information on the matter."

June 11, 2006 -- According to InsideBayArea.com, "To help decrease the chances of mail theft, the Postal Service recommends picking up your mail as soon as it arrives and taking outgoing mail directly to a letter carrier or the post office."

June 11, 2006 -- According to a member of The News Journal Community Advisory Board (a Delaware newspaper), "One of the biggest problems is the inefficiency of the postal service created by this junk mail. It delays the handling and delivery of first-class mail, often causing it to be neglected or mishandled. It puts a greater burden on the carriers. " [Ignorance knows no bounds....]

June 11, 2006 -- Amarillo.com has reported that "The post office has delivered up to 200 pension checks from the state Educational Retirement Board in Santa Fe to the wrong addresses. Jeff Riggs, the board's deputy director, said the Santa Fe post office sent the checks out with the wrong routing numbers last week. Almost all the checks have been found, and only a handful of people will need new checks, he said. U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., criticized the Postal Service for making "no apparent attempts at resolution" of the problem.  Udall requested a meeting with U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter."

June 10, 2006 -- The Communications Workers Union has told its members that "The CWU fired a warning to anyone in Government who is still toying with the idea of privatising Royal Mail. A motion to the union's Annual Conference pledged to withdraw Labour Party funding should the Government come out in support of - and then go on to implement - a share scheme within Royal Mail."

June 10, 2006 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• Here’s a look at some additional aspects of the Postal Service’s proposed revenue requirement for the R2006 rate case, and get the details for First-Class and Standard Mail.
• Get more information about the Postal Service’s proposed pricing changes for Business Reply Mail and Qualified Business Reply Mail in this continuing series of articles on testimony filed in the R2006-1 rate case.
• American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus sets forth his organization’s controversial views about the Postal Service, its ‘basic and fundamental service’ and the mailing industry.
• Saturation Mailers Coalition Executive Director Donna Hanbery describes her group’s “simplified but certified” proposal for walk-sequenced saturation carrier route mail. It will be introduced in the R2006 postal rate case.
• Postal commentator Gene Del Polito explains why the postal industry is under attack in this new perspective.
• The author presents a misleading and less-than-flattering portrait of the direct mail industry in this opinion piece.
• Mail and Jobs Executive Director Peter Miller corrects the misinformation and inaccuracies presented in the previous opinion piece in his letter to the editor of the Chicago Daily Herald.
• Sam Ryan of the Lexington Institute offers his views on rising postal rates and the forever stamp in this new perspective.
• UPS union employees work to protect pensions, health care. Letter carriers collect food for hunger drive.
• A list of upcoming postal-related events.

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June 10, 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.

June 10, 2006 -- The minutes of the May 2006 meeting of the Mailers Techincal Advisory Committee (MTAC) have been posted on this site.

June 9, 2006 -- Liberal Rural Affairs Critic Robert Thibault today demanded the Conservative government act immediately to resume mail delivery on rural routes across the country and bring an end to its misleading and contradictory statements in the House of Commons."

June 9, 2006 -- According to Graphic Arts Monthly, "For decades innovators have been working on methods to reduce the multi-step complexity and related errors for the production of inline enveloped mail."

June 9, 2006 -- According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, "The old adage that “neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet” stops the mail from being delivered doesn’t apply here in Santa Monica. And we hardly have any rain."

June 9, 2006 -- The Central Chronicle has noted that "It is astounding that more than half a century after Independence our postal services continue to be governed by a law going back to colonial days, the Indian Post Office Act, passed in 1898. As a result we have such anachronisms as references to the UK and Her Majesty's government in the statute book. Belatedly, however, the government is now getting ready to replace it with a new Indian Postal Act which, among other things, is expected to take cognisance of facilities like the internet, 'private enterprise', a euphemism for courier service, and provide a level play field to all service providers in the postal sector. Hopefully, it will also lead the government to do the more needed job of improving the postal services."

June 9, 2006 -- The Mail & Guardian has reported that "Economically ravaged Zimbabwe's inflation rate soared to a record high of 1 193,5% for May, officials said on Friday. Items that showed the highest year-on-year increases were medical services (11 029,9%), postal services (5 180,4%) and hairdressing salons (4 665,6%)." [Somehow, I don't think direct mail is particularly vibrant in Zimbabwe.]

June 9, 2006 -- The Hindu has reported that "Postal employees have decided to go on a day-long nationwide strike on August 10, to press for setting up of a new pay commission."

June 9, 2006 -- According to Direct postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "The postal industry is under attack! And it's time to people within this industry took this issue seriously. Too many who make their livings off the use of mail for business communication and commerce are turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the endless and often mindless assaults of those who would like to characterize businesses' use of the mail as a 21st century pariah."

June 9, 2006 -- The Shetland News has reported that "POST regulators Postcomm have been slammed for snubbing the northern isles. Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael yesterday called on the government to ensure that Postcomm engages better with communities, after Postcomm chief executive Sarah Chambers refused to attend seminars on the future of post offices being held in Orkney on Thursday 15 June and in Shetland the following day. Speaking in the House of Commons Alistair Carmichael said: "Can I ask the minister if he will encourage the chief executive of Postcomm, along with other ministerial colleagues, to engage better with communities on the future of Royal Mail and the Post Office?"

June 9, 2006 -- At the NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM: "Rarity Revealed: The Benjamin K. Miller Collection," Part I, through Oct. 1; "Networking a Nation: The Star Route Service"; "Airmail in America." Open indefinitely: "On the Road," a history of city mail vehicles; "What's in the Mail for You!"; "Moving the Mail"; "Binding the Nation"; "Customers and Communities"; "Artistic License: The Duck Stamp Story"; "The Art of Cards and Letters"; "Stamps and Stories." Open daily 10 to 5:30. 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. 202-633-1000 (TDD: 202-633-9849).

June 8, 2006 -- From the U.S. Postal Service:

• In order to improve and enhance its supply chain capabilities through proper matching of Postal operational requirements with transportation carrier service offerings, USPS seeks supplier(s) to provide one-way within the continental United States for routes selected by Area Distribution Networks (DN) offices or by Headquarters Network Optimization (NO).
• The USPS is currently seeking information on available technology and supply sources, in the area of mail processing technology for the USPS Mail Recovery Center?s incoming Undeliverable Letter Mail, which can provide products that function to the general specifications described in this notice. The USPS seeks to determine what sources exist which meet the USPS requirements for this purpose of procuring two Mail Recovery Systems (MRS). Delivery and installation of the two MRS machines will be required on or before September 29, 2006. The USPS is seeking to deploy two MRS machines to automate the processing of the two Mail Recovery Center?s incoming Undeliverable Letter Mail volume. The automated processing of this Undeliverable Letter Mail shall result in manual hour savings. The objective of this notice is to gather product information from current technology sources that can meet the requirements specified herein. This is a request for information only and is not a solicitation to purchase equipment or services.
• The DMM gets updated on Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com) at least once a month, so Postal Explorer is always your current source for mailing information. Today the USPS made the following changes:
  • Attachments to Periodicals. We revised 707.3.3.8 and 707.3.5.4 to allow mailers to attach material to the cover of a bound Periodicals publication not enclosed in a wrapper.
  • Business Reply Mail. We revised 507.8.7.9 and 507.8.9 to allow mailers to print barcodes in the address block on all business reply mail letters. The new standards provide more flexibility for mailers to print barcodes on business reply mail.
  • Labeling Lists. We revised labeling lists to reflect changes in mail processing operations.

  Check the Summary of Changes for a complete listing of updates. You will find revisions listed by effective date and also by chapter, with clickable links to revised sections.

June 8, 2006 -- Congratulations to Ashley Lyons who has been named the Postal Service's new Mgr., Corporate Financial Planning succeeding the recently retired William Tayman.

June 8, 2006 -- DM News has reported that "DHL Global Mail made improvements to its residential postal parcel delivery services to Latin America in response to dramatic increases in e-commerce and mail order shipping to the region. The Plantation, FL-based company said it has reduced delivery times and enhanced customer service capabilities by offering improved "track and trace" features. The track and trace capabilities allow e-commerce and other online retailers to check the status of their parcel via DHL Global Mail’s Web site."

June 8, 2006 -- According to Maxine Moss, assistant director of postal and government affairs for Bookspan, "The Bookspan Standard Mail NSA is important to the industry for a number of reasons other than being the first straight volume-based NSA. The agreement has changed the NSA landscape by making it more open and approachable to other USPS partners seeking a functionally equivalent NSA. And it has created possibilities for Postal Service partners seeking a new baseline."

June 8, 2006 -- A “white paper” by Saturation Mailers Coalition executive director Donna Hanbery that describes the SMC's “simplified but certified” proposal regarding walk-sequenced saturation carrier route mail which will be introduced in the R2006 postal rate case has been posted on this site.

June 8, 2006 -- From Canada Post: "Are you Moving Soon? Think of Canada Post as a Friend who will Help you Move!"

June 8, 2006 -- Air Cargo World has reported that "The express carrier is making some small acquisitions, but the future of TNT is tied up in the bigger buys."

June 8, 2006 -- In his letter to the editor of the Daily Herald (in response to another one of "those" articles debasing the value of mail), Mail and Jobs Executive Director Peter Miller wrote:

The Daily Herald reports that “according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the non-profit Sierra Club, we’re also flooded with unwanted mail that is clogging up our landfills and depleting our forests.” (“Leave me alone,” June 4).

Reality? Prove it. Where, exactly, does the EPA say there is “unwanted mail that is clogging up our landfills?” If the Sierra Club is so opposed to mail, why does it mail out unsolicited pleas for new members that include post cards, calendars, multi-page appeals and offers of a free backpack? Why does every major environmental group use the mails to raise funds, acquire members and advance agendas? Why does the U.S. Forest Service say we have more trees for growing stock than in 1953?

As to those “clogged” landfills, the New York Times reports there is a nationwide landfill glut and that in the past four years landfill capacity for just the three largest disposal companies increased by more than 1 billion tons.

If the Daily Herald wants less mail, who should mail less? Local businesses? Religious congregations? Unions? Politicians? Which local post offices do you want to close? Will the Daily Herald stop its mailings to non-subscribers? Most importantly, the Daily Herald does not say that mail equals jobs — and that more than 472,000 Illinois jobs are anchored by the mail stream.

June 8, 2006 -- CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

Last Sunday's edition of the renowned Swiss daily "Neue Zurcher Zeitung" (04.06) presented a critical review of Schweizerische Post: "Schweizerische Post charges high rates, has fixed its gaze on the domestic market and lost out on important growth opportunities due to a lack of deregularisation." The paper fears that the privatisation debate could go on for years - while in the meantime other European post companies take their pick of the market.
The Austrian post enjoyed a magnificent IPO last Wednesday. Despite a fixed issuing price of 19 euros - at the upper end of the bookbuilding scale - the shares enjoyed an eight-fold oversubscription.
The Greek Post Bank enjoyed a successful debut on the stock market.
Italy's consumers are preparing to battle Poste Italiane's - indirect - price increase introduced on 1 June.
Germany's Global Press Distribution GmbH (GPD) filed a complaint with the European Commission in Brussels against Deutsche Post AG at the end of May. The company accuses the post of using selective price dumping to win back important GPD customers.
Posti and Itella are the two brand names to be used by the Finnish post from 1 January 2007.
Posta Slovenije is currently involved in talks with several European post companies, including the Austrian and German posts as well as the French La Poste. The discussions aim at establishing a strategic co-operation that would provide the Slovenian post with long-term stability.
The Moroccan post has concluded co-operation agreements with France's La Poste and the Portuguese CTT Correios. Together with La Poste, Barid Al-Maghrib operates Chronopost services in Morocco, while the Portuguese post is responsible for optimising the express mail and financial services.
The British daily "The Times" (31.05) reports that the British government has instructed government departments to stop sending letters via Royal Mail.
Last year, on average around 2.5 million web surfers visited the French La Poste's web site every month.
According to a report in the latest edition of Germany's "manager magazine" (6/06), DHL lost shares in the German parcel market last year.
GeoPost's Irish subsidiary Interlink intends to invest an eight-figure sum to fill the gap cause by the wind-up of mail express service SDS.

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.

June 8, 2006 -- The Daily Mail has reported that "Companies will no longer be compelled to post share certificates or annual reports to shareholders under government plans designed to save a total of GBP250m. Instead of coaxing investors to "opt out" of receiving printed reports in the post, they will have to "opt in" instead -- or receive information via email."

June 8, 2006 -- The Arizona Republic has reported that "The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday that it would take FedEx Corp. to federal court as part of an investigation into whether the company discriminated in promoting minorities. "FedEx has refused to cooperate," said Mary Jo O'Neill, EEOC's regional attorney in Phoenix. "It's unusual to have to go to court."

June 8, 2006 -- According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, "Nearly 100 bank statements were mailed without envelopes to account holders, according to bank officials. Mid-State Bank and Trust mailed 94 personal savings account statements without envelopes, after a batch accidentally made its way into the postal system Friday, said Leslie Stone, Mid-State Bank and Trust Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing. Some residents in San Luis Obispo, Goleta and Ojai were affected."

June 8, 2006 -- The International Herald Tribune has reported that "European Union regulators were wrong to allow the French state-run postal service to help a unit expand into express delivery in the 1980s and '90s, an EU court ruled Wednesday in a case brought by FedEx and DHL International. The regulators' conclusion in 1997 that France did not provide illegal subsidies by allowing La Poste to grant logistical support to its Chronopost subsidiary was unjustified, the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg ruled."

June 8, 2006 -- The DM Bulletin has reported that "Royal Mail is to meet with the Communication Workers Union within the next few weeks to discuss increasing the amount of unaddressed mail carried by the union's postal worker members. The move would be a breakthrough for door-drop clients frustrated that Royal Mail limits delivery of unaddressed mail to three items a household each week."

June 8, 2006 -- As Don Soifer noted in the Cumberland Times-News, "For years, lawmakers have been urging the U.S. Postal Service to cut costs, in the interest of both taxpayers and mail users. It's ironic, then, that in a climate of ever-rising stamp prices, just when the USPS has made a bold move in the right direction, some Members of Congress are trying to trip it up."

June 7, 2006 -- Available on the Postal Rate Commission website: The U.S. Postal Service's "Area Mail Processing (AMP) Notifications Tool Kit," which is used in conjunction with its communication outreach regarding its Evolutionary Network Development (END) program.

June 7, 2006 -- The latest Semiannual Report to Congress by the the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General  has been posted on the USPS OIG website.

June 7, 2006 -- The Association for Postal Commerce welcomes its newest member:

Trackmymail.com, 8341 Beechcraft Avenue Gaithersburg, MD 20879-2509, represented by Dave Lewis, President.

June 7, 2006 -- PostCom Members! The latest issue of PostCom's newest member-only publication, the PostCom Postal Policy Report, has been posted on this site. In this issue: news about the USPS' proposed definitions for flats, not-flat-machinable mail, and parcels.

June 7, 2006 -- The King Township Sentinel has reported that "Markham MP Lui Temelkovski is hoping to get government action started Friday regarding rural mail delivery. Temelkovski put forth a private member's motion last month, calling on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Lawrence Cannon to "use his power to direct Canada Post to maintain traditional rural mail delivery and protect public safety when rural constituents are required to collect mail at designated group mailbox locations, long distances from their homes." He lucked out, as his motion drew a high priority position in the draw of private members items, and the issue is slated for discussion in the House of Commons Friday. Curtailing rural deliveries has become a major issue."

June 7, 2006 -- Il Sole 24 Ore has reported that "The Italian treasury and state-owned investment group Cassa Depositi e Prestiti stand to receive a dividend of 117.8m euros from Italy's post office, Poste Italiane. In previous years, all profits have been re-invested in the business, but Poste Italiane's CEO, Massimo Sarmi, said that the decision to pay out 50 per cent of last year's net profit figure (349m euros) was testament to the solidity of the group."

June 6, 2006 -- From NewsReleaseWire.com, "Letter carriers collected 70.5 million pounds of food donations along their mail routes in the nation’s largest one-day effort to combat hunger, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) announced today. Final results showed 70,493,150 pounds of food were collected along postal routes in the postal union’s “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive conducted annually on the second Saturday in May in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions. The food was delivered to local food banks, pantries and shelters to help needy families." Boy, when you talk about doing something for the common good, this pretty much sets the standard. Kudos!

June 6, 2006 -- According to WIFR.com, "Today if you send a letter within the city of Rockford it only takes a day or two to get to a local address. But the US Post office is considering changing that, requiring your letter to travel at least 150 miles, even if its destination is right next door."

June 6, 2006 -- The Envelope Manufacturers Association Foundation for Paper-Based Communications has announced the launch of an economic jobs study for the mailing industry in Canada. The study will look at the economic impact of the mailing industry in Canada.

June 6, 2006 -- In the Clarion-Ledger, USPS communications chief Azeez Jaffer wrote that "In a commentary ("Don't raise postal rates quickly," May 11), Sam Ryan presents a convoluted if not inaccurate explanation for why the Postal Service is seeking to adjust prices in 2007 that cries out for a response. Here are the facts. We receive no tax dollars from the federal government for our operations. We are a self-supporting agency, using the revenue from the sales of postage and postage-related products to pay expenses."

June 6, 2006 -- As Traffic World has noted, "Even as competitors reconfigure networks to deliver ever faster service, FedEx Freight is suggesting that sheer speed isn't everything. Its acquisition of long-haul LTL carrier Watkins Motor Lines shows there's still a place for four-day alongside the next-day and second-day service that FedEx Freight and others have been rushing out."

June 6, 2006 -- From eMediaWire: "Direct marketers looking to maximize the impact of their marketing message now have the ability to not only track direct mail but also influence the timely delivery of their pieces. World Marketing Inc., a premier provider of integrated direct marketing solutions for Fortune 1000 companies nationwide, unveils InsideTrack, a proprietary new service providing direct marketers the ability to strategically place, manage and expedite mail. InsideTrack uses United States Postal Service (USPS) PLANET® codes to identify and track mail—from the moment it enters the delivery stream until the time it reaches the mail carrier. While many companies offer PLANET® code tracking, World Marketing is the only company offering its proprietary InsideTrack service to actually influence mail delivery."

June 6, 2006 -- The Jamaica Gleaner has reported that "SIX YEARS in the making, Government hopes to soon present legislation to turn Jamaica's postal service into a statutory body to enable its modernisation. Kern Spencer, Minister of State in the Ministry of Information, Technology, Energy and Commerce (MITEC), says the move would give Jamaica Post the necessary independence to revive its fortunes, having lost almost $100 million last year. Mr. Spencer, who has been entrusted with responsibility for Jamaica Post since he was moved from the Ministry of National Security in the new Cabinet, said the draft legislation should be presented in Parliament over the next three months. Mr. Spencer recently returned from a meeting of the Caribbean Postal Union (CPU) in Trinidad, where the privatised Trinidad and Tobago Post was held up as a model of best practice for the region."

June 6, 2006 -- The Hindu has reported that "The Postal department will launch `Delivery of Cash at Doorstep' on Friday for postal savings bank account holders in the 92 head post offices across the State. To be made available in select sub-post offices also, it will help senior citizens and working persons who, among others, are finding it difficult to visit post offices to withdraw money."

June 6, 2006 -- From PR Newswire:

• In a recent survey of Teamster members at UPS, 89 percent of those surveyed urged the union to pursue early contract negotiations so that members' pensions and health care will be protected in the future. "Our members at UPS want to know that their pensions and health care will be safe, and we will urge UPS to come to the table early so that we can protect our members' interests," said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. "We cannot afford to wait until late next year or early in 2008 to begin tackling these crucial issues. The National Master United Parcel Service Agreement, which covers more than 200,000 Teamsters at UPS, expires on August 1, 2008.
• RAF Technology, Inc., the leading provider of OCR software to the mailing industry, announced today the acquisition of MidSouth Technologies, LLC, a privately held supplier of integrated mail processing solutions and services to presort mail companies in an asset purchase transaction. MidSouth is recognized as a leader in the development of innovative, cost-effective technology designed to maximize the efficiency of existing mail processing equipment. The acquisition of MidSouth is a natural extension for RAF and expands a long-standing partnership between the two companies to serve the needs of the mailing industry. The combination will create a strong foundation for new product design, process integration and market development in the software, hardware and service sectors.

June 6, 2006 -- The Carrol County News has reported that "If it seems like its been taking longer for you to receive your newspaper in the mail lately, you're not alone. The U.S. Postal Service implemented a 24-piece periodical sack rule that went into effect May 11."

June 6, 2006 -- The Association for Postal Commerce welcomes its newest member:

Corporate Graphics of Arden Hills, MN represented by Joanne Clark Vice President, Sales

June 6, 2006 -- The Globe and Mail has reported that "Following a wave of public condemnation, Canada Post officials will hold public information sessions this week to discuss their reasons for suddenly stopping individual mailbox delivery in a number of rural areas. Canada Post spokeswoman Avril Vollenhoven said Monday that, so far, service has been suspended to 53,000 mailboxes across Canada as the corporation embarks on a health and safety review of rural delivery. The workers say they are suffering repetitive stress injuries from reaching into mailboxes. As well, there are concerns about heavy traffic on some roads. But rural residents say they're fed up with Canada Post's decision to stop delivery to the mailboxes, pending a review of its entire rural delivery system."

June 5, 2006 -- WQAD.com has reported that "Senior postal service officials will be in Rockford tonight for a public meeting about a proposal to move mail processing operations out of the city. The processing for seven counties would be relocated to the Chicago suburb of Palatine. U-S Representative Don Manzullo is urging northern Illinois residents and business owners to attend the meeting and show their support for keeping the processing in Rockford. He says the move would cause delivery delays in northern Illinois."

June 5, 2006 -- The Slovene Press Agency has reported that "Posta Slovenija, the Slovenian postal company, made a net profit of SIT 3.6bn (EUR 15m) in 2005, which is its best result ever."

June 5, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "Meridian Systems(R), a provider of enterprise project management software, announced today that the U.S. Postal Service has selected Proliance On Demand to manage new capital projects and facility renovations. The U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume."

June 5, 2006 -- From PR Web: "There is now a web-based solution for taking action to reduce mailbox clutter, specifically pieces of mail which are repeatedly delivered to the wrong address. Visitors to the site are not required to post names, just the address where the misdirected mail is being received. Although www.fixmymail.com is not affiliated with the United States Postal Service, it may soon prove to be a valuable tool for improving the address quality of U.S. mail. The service this site provides is free and does not require visitors to login, provide names, phone numbers or email addresses."

June 5, 2006 -- IPP Media has reported that "Owning and nursing the postal services in the country is a big challenge for the Tanzanian government, according to the Minister for Infrastructure Development, Basil Mramba."

June 5, 2006 -- The Jamaica Gleaner has reported that "RURAL COMMUNITIES could benefit from a mobile postal service in the near future, Acting Postmaster General/CEO (PMG) Michael Gentles announced during a tour of the Eastern Portland constituency last Monday."

June 4, 2006 -- "What's the best way to ride out today's volatile markets", asks Business Week. "Stick to companies with brand names and sound fundamentals, says Jerome Heppelmann, a stockpicker at Liberty Ridge Capital. He scouts for companies with leading-edge products that have a dominant market share, a steady stream of earnings, and free cash flow, and pay hefty dividends. One such: Pitney Bowes (PBI ), usually seen as a ho-hum stock. It isn't, says Heppelmann."

June 4, 2006 -- The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that "Victorian postal workers have targeted the Australia Post CEO, Graeme John, in a protest over the loss of penalty rates. Workers have rallied outside the home of Mr John in Melbourne. They say they have lost 15 per cent of their wages, after their start times were changed from 6:00am to 6:30am. Communication Workers Union secretary Joan Doyle says Australia Post needs to consider whether its managers are paid too much."

June 3, 2006 -- According to American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus, "In direct contradiction to the clear intent of the U.S. Constitution and later laws, postal management has now shifted the focus and purpose of postal services, replacing service “to the people” with service “to the business community.” This transformation has led to the distortion reflected on the cover of this issue of The American Postal Worker, where corporate CEOs decide the future of the USPS network while ordinary citizens are excluded. Decisions, including network redesign and plant consolidations, are not based on their impact on the people, but on their effect on the large mailers. The objectives of large mailers have been adopted by the top ranks of USPS management as their own. Representatives of the “mailing industry” have been provided access to the internal functioning and strategies of a government service that was originally intended to serve the people. This business model — shaping the Postal Service based on the needs and objectives of large mailers — has, by its design, excluded “the people” for whom the service was originally intended."

June 3, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "OTN, a leading specialty pharmaceutical services company and one of the largest distributors of products and services to the community physician market, today announced that UPS, the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, will serve as OTN's logistics and delivery partner, distributing oncology products to OTN's customers nationwide from its FDA-registered healthcare logistics center in Louisville, Ky.

June 3, 2006 -- According to the Calcutta Telegraph, "Apart from stamps and inland covers, post offices in the state will now also be selling Assam tea, sanitary napkins, and reproductive and children’s health products. The announcement comes after the department’s attempt to sell Corangini Tea through select post offices received a “tremendous response”. The director of postal services of Jharkhand, Anil Kumar, said they had taken the delivery of 300 kg of the tea and it “sold like hot cakes” in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Chaibasa and Daltonganj."

June 3, 2006 -- The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• In many instances in the USPS’ R2006-1 rate case proposals, as in most rate case proposals, the devil is in the details in terms of the potential impact on mailers that can be wrought by implementation rules and mailing standards. But in the case of the USPS’ Confirm pricing proposals in R2006-1, not only will the devil be in the details for Confirm users – the devil is right out front in the pricing proposal itself.
• PostCom Director and mail addressing expert Joe Lubenow shares his view of the Postal Service’s Confirm program in this postal perspective.
• In this perspective, PostCom Vice President Kate Muth examines the change in business thinking and forward-looking decisions that led to the Postal Service’s new Customized PC Postage.
• After much waiting, the Postal Service Board of Governors this week approved the Postal Rate Commission’s recommended decision by paper ballot in the Bookspan NSA case. The NSA, the first-ever in Standard Mail, took effect June 1.
• Maxine Moss, assistant director of postal and government affairs for Bookspan, discusses the importance of the Bookspan NSA in this perspective.
• New hope for postal reform bills in Congress. USPS Clarifies Price Change Proposal for Periodicals, Other Classifications. Postal Service Starts Search for Identity Card Vendors. DHL, ABX Air are latest Teamster targets. FedEx, Teamsters continue employee vs. contractor fight. Help Wanted: Executives in Search of ...
• U.K. government calls on agencies to use cheaper private mail. Zumwinkel: Deutsche Post stock trading will be slow to develop. Royal Mail negotiating links to FedEx, UPS? Holding companies interested in 40-plus percent of Deutsche post? PIN aims at 15 percent of German market. Bankers’ hours won’t get it. Competition forces DHL to cut German parcel rates. Austrian Post share offering very popular. TNT Post acquires U.K. delivery service. Bulk mail venture under development in Denmark. European postal earnings generally positive.
• A list of upcoming postal-related events.

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June 3, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "Encouraging the citizens of Louisiana to show the U.S. Postal Service "the respect and honor befitting them and their service" to the state, the Louisiana Legislature has declared today as "United States Postal Service Day" in the state."

June 3, 2006 -- The Salt Lake Tribune has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has created three new zip codes in Herriman, Riverton, Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs to accommodate rapid development in the area."

June 3, 2006 -- The CBC has reported that "The union representing postal workers in the Fredericton area says it's being unfairly blamed for the end of rural mail delivery in some areas. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers simply wants to make sure rural routes are safe for its drivers, spokeswoman Heather Maunel said. Drivers have legitimate concerns that need to be addressed, she added. "There have been many many accidents, and many areas that needed attention." But Canada Post overreacted to those concerns by cancelling the routes, she said. "

June 2, 2006 -- PC Magazine has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service was recently asked to start delivering packages and letters based on someone's e-mail rather than street address. The request is from Los Angeles-based Inventerprise LLC, which wants to conduct a trial run of its so-called Shelmail e-mail-to-snail addressing system sometime in 2008. The Shelmail proposal is noteworthy because it suggests that e-mail addresses are a better means of delivering physical mail than what the postal service uses now."

June 2, 2006 -- KTVO has reported that Commercial Envelope of Kirksville is worried about recent talk of a postal rate increase in 2007. That's because direct mail flyers are a major part of what Commercial Envelope does. "We have major concerns about it, there's already been a postal increase this year, and they're talking about additional increase, and our concerns are if it gets out of control it will stifle the growth of direct mail, which is what we're dependent on," Commercial Envelope Plant Manager, Todd Geiger, said.

June 2, 2006 -- WIFR has reported that "U.S. Congressman Don Manzullo says moving mail processing operations to Palatine would be a disaster for the U.S. Postal Service."

June 2, 2006 -- According postal operations guru Joe Lubenow in a postal perspective prepared for publication in the PostCom Bulletin, "the USPS proposed pricing for Confirm is fundamentally unbalanced.  It needs to take more fully into account the value of intelligent mail to the institution itself, to the mailing industry, and to the larger society.  It would be helpful to retain some positive features of the current subscription pricing structure, including the unlimited service option.  If that can be achieved, discrimination by mail class when pricing scans will also fall by the wayside."

June 2, 2006 -- People's Weekly World has reported that "The 33rd Constitutional Convention of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has gone on record urging Congress to enact HR 676, a bill introduced by Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to implement a single-payer health care system in the U.S. The ILWU, whose convention met the third week in May, represents all dockworkers in West Coast ports from San Diego to Vancouver. Several other international union conventions this summer are slated to consider the legislation in response to resolutions from their local union bodies. Included in this list are the United Auto Workers, National Association of Letter Carriers, Plumbers and Teamsters....In Michigan, the state convention of the American Postal Workers Union adopted a similar resolution. Seventy-one members of Congress have now signed on to the bill."

June 2, 2006 -- According to the Calcutta Telegraph, "Enthused by the positive response to the door-to-door collection of telephone bills, the postal department is planning to spread its wings. Now, it is mulling to pick up electricity bills from your doorstep, that too for Rs 5 only. "

June 2, 2006 -- According to Business Times, "The Malta Communications Authority is proposing a 1 cent increase in postal services for items weighing up to 50 grams, after an application was submitted by Maltapost back in March to revise tariffs by 2c."

June 1, 2006 -- The Journal of Commerce has reported that:

• The Teamsters union says it is stepping up its campaign to organize workers at DHL and at its package services provider, ABX Air. Teamsters President James Hoffa led a rally with 300 ABX and DHL employees at the carrier's main Wilmington, Ohio, hub late last week and pledged to ramp up efforts to organize ABX's 1,200 aircraft mechanics and 5,000 workers at the largest hub in the DHL network. The union said it already represents about 12,000 DHL-related workers, including drivers in the DHL network of independent cartage carriers. "The workers organizing as Teamsters in Wilmington is the next logical step," the union said.
• At the official start of the North Atlantic's 2006 hurricane season, DHL announced the DHL Disaster Response Team Americas, based out of the express carrier's Americas headquarters in South Florida. The team will provide logistical support to ensure that relief goods will reach victims of major sudden-onset natural disasters in the U.S., Caribbean, Central America and South America quickly, the company said in a statement from its offices in Plantation, Fla.

June 1, 2006 -- From Business Wire: "As hurricane season approaches, Capital One Financial Corporation has released disaster-planning guidelines and a checklist to help small businesses prepare for emergency situations. The Capital One Small Business web site (www.capitalone.com/smallbusiness) also contains additional information and business tips to help them operate more effectively and efficiently. Direct deposit, online bill pay and corporate credit cards are just a few of the tools that businesses can explore."

June 1, 2006 -- GovExec.com has reported that "House and Senate members meeting with White House officials on the Postal Service overhaul bill might have found common ground on how the agency should spend its growing escrow fund. After meeting with White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten last week, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she felt "confident that we've reached a solution" on the escrow fund, one of the issues that has stalled final approval of the sweeping bill. Talks among Bolten, Collins and House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., also seek to reconcile the pension issue. The Postal Service contends rate increases are inevitable if it is forced to maintain the liability. Davis said "we're close" to naming House conferees and approving the first Postal Service overhaul bill in three decades. He said he expected conferees to be named and the conference report voted on by the July 4 recess."

June 1, 2006 -- According to Federal Computer Week, "The U.S. Postal Service has released a presolicitation to prequalify vendors for implementation of its Personal Identification Verification (PIV) card system. Under Homeland Security Directive-12 (HSPD-12), all agencies must have a secure, interoperable PIV card system in place by Oct 27."

June 1, 2006 -- The Border Mail has reported that "A PROPOSAL to replace the Beechworth postal service with a contractor would downgrade the service, a Communication Workers Union official said yesterday. John Hogg said the Beechworth Post Office staff had been told Australia Post wanted to contract out the service, replacing employees working under award conditions. Mr Hogg said if this occurred three “posties”, three retail staff at the historic office and three existing contractors who deliver parcels would be affected. He said the move to use contractors to provide the entire service “takes the focus off service and into cost-cutting”.

June 1, 2006 -- PC Magazine has posted a report on DYMO Stamps.

June 1, 2006 -- As CNET has noted, "Explosive college basketball coach Bobby Knight once summed up his views on journalists, and in doing so may have unintentionally explained why newspapers are struggling to deal with Internet bloggers. "All of us learn to write in the second grade," Knight said while the coach at Indiana University, according to a 1983 story in the Washington Post. "Most of us go on to greater things." Blogs written by so-called citizen journalists are increasingly challenging newspapers for readers."

June 1, 2006 -- From the U.S. Postal Service: "We’ve received a number of questions about the details of our pricing proposal. In the upcoming weeks, we will use the DMM Advisory to clarify some of the issues raised by these questions. This week, we will address the Periodicals per-container charge, the Standard Mail Not Flat-Machinable (NFM) category, OneCode ACS, and automation letters."

June 1, 2006 -- The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service have approved the "Opinion and Recommended Decision of the Postal Rate Commission on Rate and Service Changes to Implement Baseline Negotiated Service Agreement with Bookspan in Docket No. MC2005–3."

June 1, 2006 -- The Globe and Mail has reported that "Canada Post appears to be backtracking somewhat after cutting off rural mail delivery to a number of Fredericton-area customers this week. The Crown corporation now says it will set up community mailboxes in affected areas, beginning next week. Customers have complained that they were given no notice of the change, and some said they have had to make a 40-kilometre round trip to pick up their mail since the service cut."

June 1, 2006 -- Talk about writing from ignorance....Take a look at the following from the Bloomington Pantagraph.

June 1, 2006 -- According to a recent Lexington Institute op-ed piece published in the Baltimore Sun, "The Postal Service says the reason behind this new rate request is rising gas prices. On the surface, that seems reasonable. The price of gasoline has a major effect on the Postal Service's bottom line. But this excuse completely ignores the elephant in the room - the Postal Service's massive labor costs."

June 1, 2006 -- From the U.S. Marine Corps: "Criminals looking to steal your cash have started using a new scam that has already hit a few of our Marines at Camp Lejeune. In the last few months, the FBI has noticed an increase in the use of counterfeit U.S. postal money orders. Authorities indicate that a substantial percentage of these attempted rip-offs come from overseas, mostly from Nigeria, Ghana, and Eastern European countries. Often, the victims are contacted by email, and are tricked into accepting the fake U.S. postal money orders (usually worth several thousand dollars) as payment for items the victims are selling (sometimes on Ebay), or conned into cashing the U.S. postal money orders in return for a fee."

June 1, 2006 -- The Associated Press has reported that "Austrian postal services provider Oesterreichische Post AG made a strong debut Wednesday in trading on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Shares of the company, also known as Austrian Post, were trading at A20.90 (US$26.90), 10 percent above the A19 (US$24.45) issue price. The company said demand was strong for the IPO, the largest in Austria this year."

June 1, 2006 -- As Direct has reported, "The postal service is asking for all the increases they've been looking for since 2002,” said Association for Postal Commerce president Gene Del Polito. “When [the hikes] all finally take effect in 2007, they will be way ahead of the rate of inflation.”

June 1, 2006 -- From Canada NewsWire: "The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is committed to maintaining rural mail delivery while keeping those who deliver the mail safe. "We are trying to work with Canada Post to make sure rural residents keep their home delivery," said CUPW President Deborah Bourque. "But we are also trying to make sure rural mail carriers are safe while serving the community," she added. Many Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers have invoked their right to refuse unsafe work conditions in the last few months. Health and safety concerns include high traffic roads with narrow shoulders and repetitive stress injuries from leaning to the opposite side of the car through the window to deliver mail to mailboxes. Bourque believes there are options that will keep the mail arriving at rural homes, without risking the lives of members."

June 1, 2006 -- Radio New Zealand has reported that "The owner of a website for people living on lifestyle blocks says a new postcode system is unlikely to benefit rural people. New Zealand Post says the new system will make rural delivery more reliable."

June 1, 2006 -- The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that "HP putting its stamp on personal postage Palo Alto corporation will go where none has gone before -- an experimental logosphere promoting brands on postal turf."

June 1, 2006 -- From PR Newswire: "Pitney Bowes Inc. has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Advertising Audit Service (AAS) and PMH Caramanning. AAS offers a variety of web-based tools for the customization of promotional mail and marketing collateral. PMH Caramanning designs and manages customer and channel performance solutions. These operations will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, and operate as part of its Mail Services business led by Michael Monahan, Executive Vice President and President, Global Mailing Solutions and Services. Subject to the completion of customary conditions this transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2006."

June 1, 2006 -- Supply & Demand Chain Executive has reported that "the U.S. express and delivery market is still the largest in the world, but the market in the Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing globally, and China is set to become the sixth largest express market in the world by 2010, according to a new study by market analyst Datamonitor. According to the Datamonitor, the overall U.S. express and parcels delivery market is worth $65 billion. It is very mature, dominated primarily by UPS and FedEx, followed by DHL and the USPS. TNT Express, meanwhile, only has a small presence in the U.S. market. Domestic express and parcel delivery products account for almost 90 percent of the total U.S. market. Both UPS and the United States Postal Service (USPS) dominate the ground segment as a result of a long-standing ground delivery service network. FedEx and DHL USA mainly concentrate on the air express segment, although the former has expanded its market share in the ground segment over the past few years."