Postal News from April 2007:
April 30, 2007
Mediaweek has reported that "Royal Mail is offering a new direct mail service that allows companies to send customised CDs to individual consumers. The Personalised Integrated Media service, which uses Sony DADC technology, uses a unique code so every CD can be tailor-made for the recipient. If customer puts the CD into their computer, they can deal direct with the business to buy goods or services."
ThomasNet has reported that "Sybase iAnywhere today announced that Correos, the Spanish Postal Service, has deployed its RFID Anywhere(TM) software platform in one of the largest RFID projects in Europe."
The Glasgow Evening Times has reported that "customers are to be hit with penalty charges if they fail to tell their bank they have changed their address. Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Mint plan to introduce a £12 fee from tomorrow."
FromBusiness Wire: "Dramatic changes in technologies, regulations and customer preferences are reinventing the global mailstream, and the top management of Pitney Bowes Inc. said today this means new growth opportunities for the 87-year-old company."
In response to an editorial in theBoston Globe concerning magazine postal rates,Postal Regulatory Chairman Dan Blair wrote that "The Commission's decisions have long supported the widespread dissemination of diverse editorial matter, and our most recent decision should preserve and foster continued diversity among magazines by increasing the editorial discount available to all periodical mailers. Our decision also reflects the overall need to encourage efficient mailing practices that hold down costs to the Postal Service that otherwise would have to be paid by other mailers. The Commission estimates that even after the increases are implemented, the average price for delivery of a magazine still will be less than 30 cents, far lower than the price for a First-Class letter stamp. The Commission was careful to make recommendations in this rate case that ensure fair and equitable rates for all mailers while safeguarding the long-term vitality of affordable universal postal service for all Americans."
Business Week has asked: "Which brick-and-mortar retailer attracts the most shoppers to its Internet store? The answer may surprise you: J.C. Penney Corp. (JCP ), the century-old, moderate-priced department store chain so troubled six years ago that many were predicting its imminent demise."
New Kerala has reported that "The Postal Department has launched Instant Money Order (IMO) scheme in the Malabar region of Kerala to provide speedy and hassle-free cash transactions at comparatively cheaper tariff. ''It takes only five minutes to make the payment to the beneficiary and that too at cheaper tariff,'' through any head post offices (HPOs) in the country,'' Assistant Director N V Balan, coordinating the scheme, said."
Reuters has reported that "Pitney Bowes Inc.
FromFBODaily:
According to theNews-Press, "Consumers may not look past the rate increase for a first-class stamp from 39 cents to 41 cents, but more sweeping regulatory changes approved along with the increase may have a more dramatic impact on businesses that rely on mail service."
TheIrish Independent reports that consumers who want to use the post office as a one-stop shop for banking will have to wait 12 months before Postbank will provide a full suite of services.
TheIrish Times has reported that "An Post, the state postal service, will tomorrow launch a banking operation that over the next five years aims to take 5 per cent of the retail banking market. Postbank, a joint venture with Belgian bank Fortis, will initially operate out of 250 post offices nationally, rising to 1,000 over the next 12 months."
TheNews Letter has reported that "Irish representatives of the House of Commons met at the King's Arms, Old Palace Yard, to discuss a bill before Parliament that was intended to improve postal and passenger services between Ireland and England."
According to the Sacramento Bee, "The U.S. Constitution includes postal services, which have been a traditional government function. On that basis, the Postal Service needs to ensure that churches aren't using contract post offices to proselytize and entangle government in promoting religion."
Transport Intelligence has reported that "French based logistics provider Geodis has announced that its revenue rose 18.0% in first-quarter 2007 helped by the acquisition of TNT Freight Management."
April 29, 2007
According toMultichannel Merchant, "As the May 14 postal rate increase draws closer, it is essential for companies to understand the complexities of those changes. That means mailers need to get in the habit of keeping their databases extra clean."
The Columbo Page has reported that "The Sri Lanka Postal Department introduced a business postal service with the increase of postal charges."
The Guardian has reported that "Postal union leader Dave Ward is to step down as a member of Labour's ruling national executive committee, saying there is a conflict of interest between fighting government policy and sitting on the body. The news comes as the Communication Workers Union meets this week to finalise the timing of a strike ballot over Royal Mail's latest pay offer."
The "Pochtovaya Troika" Forum sponsored by Russian Post is held every 2 years. The first Forum traces back its history to the year of 1993. With each succeeding Forum, more and more postal industry experts from all over the world and representatives of various businesses, whose joint effort contributes to development and efficiency of postal service, attend the Forum. This year, the Forum will be held on 19 — 21 June 2007 at the Saint-Petersburg Strategic International Forum And Exhibition.A registration form for the Forum is available on the Russian Post web site. Speaking at the conference will be senior executives from the Universal Postal Union, Russian Post, Latvia Post, Royal Mail, La Poste (France), Kenya Post, Emirates Post, Post of Slovenia, the European Commission, Republic of Belorus, Republic of Moldova, Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Ukraine Post, Uzbekistan, IBM and the Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom). |
April 28, 2007
Be sure to check out PostInsight, where you can find the following: "Selected Presentations from UPU Symposium, April 23, 2007Berne, Switzerland - April 26, 2007." Check out also theUPU's web site, where you can find other interesting paper and presentations on posts around the world.
Lloyds List has reported that "Recent changes to aviation security are shaping up as a significant challenge to the airfreight industry in Australia. They include couriers, freight forwarders and cargo agents, cargo terminal operators at airports, express post services such Australian Air Express and FedEx; regular international postal services and truck drivers who transport air cargo between terminals."
TheNALC President Young announced on April 26 that the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service have agreed on renowned arbitrator Richard Bloch as the neutral arbitrator in the impending hearings on the letter carriers' national agreement. Bloch and the two other panel members have set four weeks for testimony: Sept. 10-14, Sept. 24-28, Oct. 29-Nov. 2, and Nov. 5-9. "Given this schedule, it is anticipated that a decision on the contract will be rendered in mid-November," Young said.
TheAsahi Shimbun has reported that "The Japan Post group, to be born via privatization in October, will consist of five companies that will dwarf or equal private-sector rivals, according to a business plan submitted to the government. The Japan Post group will consist of a holding company and four operating firms, each of which will be in charge of mail delivery, post office management, postal savings and postal life insurance. The four operating companies will exceed, or at least equal, the biggest players in the private sector in their respective fields. The mail delivery company and the post office management company, which have more than 100,000 employees each, expect modest profits. The mail delivery company plans to enter the direct mail service sector, which is the turf of private home delivery companies. "
April 27, 2007
The latest issue ofthe
PostCom Bulletin
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From thePostal Rate Commission: In this Opinion and Recommended Decision on Reconsideration, the Commission reviews the evidentiary record already made in this proceeding in light of the views expressed by the Governors, the Postal Service, and participants who submitted comments on these two issues. We agree with the Governors' analysis of the appropriate bases of the rate for the Priority Mail Flat Rate Box, and recommend the $8.95 rate advanced by the Postal Service. We also concur generally with the Governors' opinion on the appropriateness of extending applicability of the nonmachinable surcharge to First-Class letters beyond the first ounce, and recommend the minor change in the pertinent mail classification provision proposed by the Service to accomplish that result.
The latest
DMM Advisory from the U.S. Postal Service dealing with PAVE has been posted on this site.
ThePresiding Officer of the Postal Regulatory Commissionhas denied the motion of the Coalition of Catalog Mailers to reopen the record in Docket No. R2006-1 (the 2006 postal rate case). In part it wrote: "The Commission is specifically concerned that granting the Intervention Motion might unreasonably burden participants who fully participated and litigated the issues in this case on the record. The record is currently closed and further discovery and examination of witnesses is not allowed. The Commission finds that on balance, CCM's request to supplement the record is outweighed by the material prejudicial effect towards the other participants and the needs of the Governors. Initial comments on the reconsideration of Standard Mail flats are due no later than May 4, 2007.
DM News has reported that "The Chicago Association of Direct Marketing on April 30 and May 1 will host its 2007 Direct Marketing Days & Expo event. The event will honor Donald L. Harle, vice president of postal affairs at Diamond Marketing Solutions, vice chair of the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee and past president of the CADM. Mr. Harle has been named the CADM's 27th Charles S. Downs Chicago Direct Marketer of the Year. He will receive the award May 1."
According to theBoston Globe, "smaller magazines across the country, such as The Nation, the American Spectator, Ms., and The New Republic could end up getting a bad case of what postal officials call "rate shock." The cause is the United States Postal Service's dubious plan to raise the price of mailing periodicals on July 15."
TheUK Express has reported that "postal workers will share a £175million windfall if they agree to a new pay deal."
Forbes has reported that "The state-owned Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) bank would be unlikely to sell the roughly 30.1 pct stake it holds in Deutsche Post AG to The Children's Investment Fund (TCI), financial sources close to the matter said."
According toUnion Network International (UNI):
DM News has reported that "To help mailers prepare for pricing changes taking effect May 14, the U.S. Postal Service has published an updated edition of its Domestic Mail Manual. The new DMM — available at www.usps.com/ratecase — contains all of the agency's new mailing standards and prices, along with an updated index and table of contents. The Domestic Rates and Fees Reference has also been updated. It includes the new rates for Periodicals that will take effect July 15."
As the USPS' Rick Arvonio noted in an article for DM News, "The U.S Postal Service is taking an aggressive move toward eliminating undeliverable-as-addressed mail with its Aug. 1 implementation of CASS cycle L. Yet many mailers are still completely in the dark about what CASS is, why this is happening and what investment is required to retain their postage discounts and predictable mail delivery."
Reuters has reported that "Singapore Post , the country's main mail group, on Friday reported a 25 percent rise in quarterly profit, due to higher rental and property-related income and said this year's focus would be on regional growth."
TheIrish Examiner has reported that "as many as 100 post offices across the country could close as part of An Post's plans to review its branch network.
TheIrish Times has reported that "An Post said it was on track to make a profit this year, but admitted it would be three years before it achieved the regulator's target of delivering more than 90 per cent of mail the next day."
Supply Chain Digest has reported that "DHL has won the 2007 edition of the "Great Package Race" competition dreamed up by Professor John Barthold at Georgia Tech, where the three main parcel shippers are annually to see which can get packages the fastest to challenging locations all over the globe."
From theU.S. Postal Service: "We published two notices for comment in yesterday's Federal Register, proposing new standards for mailing lithium batteries [TXT] | [PDF] and for mailing sharps and other regulated medical waste [TXT] | [PDF]. The new standards would allow mailers to send all small consumer-type lithium batteries when properly labeled and packaged, and would increase the allowable weight of medical waste mail-back containers, while requiring additional packaging safeguards. Both proposals ensure safe, easy, and cost-effective mailing options for these materials."
April 26, 2007
Finfacts has reported that "Irish State postal service, An Post, recorded an after-tax profit of €75.7m for 2006, resulting in part from exceptional profit on the sale of the former parcel hub site on Dublin's Naas Road. Turnover increased by €65.9m (8.8 per cent) to €818.8m reflecting a strong sales drive and 4 per cent growth in core mails revenue, mainly in the bulk mail sector. While the basic letter tariff remained unchanged at 48c in 2006, rate increases for certain mails products combined with volume growth and a buoyant economy to increase turnover." See alsoRTE.ie.
In a postal perspective for the PostCom Bulletin regarding Docket No. MC2007-1,Gene Del Polito wrote: "Neither the OCA nor Valpak seem willing to note that Congress has passed a new postal law that is designed to move the nation's postal business to a more rational, business-oriented plane. Instead, they seem totally justified in their noodling simply because this proceeding was initiated under the old rules framed by the Postal Reorganization Act (PRA) rather than the new world view of things envisioned by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA). For both parties, let alone the PRC, to address this case as if Congress had not repudiated the old business model that underlaid our nation's postal system for the past 35 years for the sake of something better is sheer folly."
IT-Pro has reported that "One in six MPs didn't bother to respond to a constituent's email inquiry, according to an investigation by weekly computer publication Micro Mart. Posing as a constituent named Alex Brown, IT PRO's sister publication Micro Mart contacted all 625 MPs for England, Wales and Scotland by email, asking a question about how to go about recycling two computers and a washing machine. While over 84 per cent of MPs replied in some way, 98 ignored the inquiry - including such high profile politicians as William Hague, Lembit Opik, Ruth Kelly and David Davies. The Micro Mart team received replies from the offices of all party leaders, with no party performing significantly better overall than the others. Of the majority which did reply, 73 needed a second message to be sent before they responded, with some taking nearly two months. "Considering MPs can claim allowances running to over £100,000 of taxpayers' money to fund their offices - including a specific £10,000 communications allowance - we were staggered to find so many hadn't put any system in place to simply reply to a constituent's emailed question," said Micro Mart's editor, Simon Brew. "Given the speed and convenience of electronic communication, not least the amount of paper it saves, we expected a greater willingness to reply to an e-mail than we found." [Makes you wonder how American legislators would score.]
UNI has reported that "A day of action by postal workers across Europe is planned for June 6 as part of the growing campaign to save the universal postal service in Europe. UNI Postal global union will also be organising a rally in Berlin on May 30 of postal workers in uniforms from the 27 member states to deliver a message to the German EU presidency. The aim is to head off European Union moves to take away remaining protections from traditional postal operators."
AuctionBytes has reported that "Amazon.com told US sellers it would raise variable fees and increase Marketplace shipping credits for Books, Music, Movies, Video Games and Software, on May 14, 2007. The shipping-credit increase ranges from $0.39 to $2.51, depending upon the product category and shipping method, and is in response to the USPS postal rate changes going into effect on May 14. The Books, Video Games and Software standard shipping credit will be increased from $3.49 to $3.99. The Music, DVD and VHS standard shipping credit will increase from $2.59 to $2.98. A full breakdown of shipping credits can be found on the Amazon website."
Globes has reported that "As the privatization of Israel Post Company Ltd. gathers steam, the company plans to begin offering financial services, and market mutual, provident and pension funds at post offices. Israel Post also wants to begin selling non-life insurance, such as compulsory vehicle insurance and home insurance, by the third quarter of this year."
TheCommunications Workers Union has told its members that "At this stage Royal Mail are offering you nothing on basic pay. Royal Mail says you are "over paid and under worked". Unless there is a dramatic change in Royal Mail's attitude there is no prospect of us reaching an agreement and a major dispute is inevitable."
TheIrish Independent has reported that "rural rights campaigners protested outside the Dail yesterday to underline their fury at the threatened closure of more than 500 post office branches nationwide. The protest - supported by 50 campaigners who travelled to Dublin from all over Cork - warned the coalition that the plight of rural post offices is now set to become a major general election issue."
AllAfrica.com has reported that "The Angolan National Post and Telecommunications Firm will invest USD 24 million until the year 2012, in the rehabilitation and modernisation of about 160 of its centres, throughout the country. The information was given to Angop over the last weekend, in Dondo, northern Kwanza Norte Province, by the company's administrator for the technical area, José Manuel de Almeida, who also informed that this investment is part of the institution's steering plan, being implemented since 2004, aimed at improving their service to the public."
AsFederal Computer Week has noted, "The U.S. Postal Service has awarded a $51 million contract for engineering support services as part of an effort to develop new mail-processing technologies, according to an April 24 press release. Under the contract, Serco will provide technical, project management and information technology services for future equipment. The company will also perform quality assurance consulting, testing and evaluations of the technologies, according to the press release."
TheEl Paso Times has reported that "Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., sent a letter Monday to the U.S. postmaster general to ask him to evaluate whether moving Las Cruces processing operations to El Paso was necessary and in the best interest of residents of the region. Postal processing operations in Las Cruces were moved to El Paso in June, and the change has caused worry about overworked postal employees and mail delivery delays in El Paso and the surrounding region."
EurActiv has reported that:
According toMultichannel Merchant, "With the impact of user-generated content such as blogs and YouTube at consumers' fingertips, the future of direct mail is still The Direct Marketing Association's biggest concern. That's because with consumers dictating what they want to read and when they want to read it, legislation such as do-not-mail could affect direct marketers more so than do-not-call initiatives, said DMA chairman Markus Wilhelm."
The Times has reported that "The country faces its first national postal strike for more than a decade in a dispute over pay and cost cuts that would halve collections and bring in other sweeping changes, The Times has learnt. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has said it will ballot for industrial action after Royal Mail offered a pay freeze for this year, with small lump-sum payments for some workers. It is the first time in many years that a pay freeze has been proposed." See alsoAFX.
The Guardian has reported that "Tucked away at the end of an 83-page report by Postcomm, the regulator which oversees postal services in the UK, is an annexe that contains some very important figures: the profit and loss account for the Royal Mail's operation of its Postcode Address File."
As theEconomic Times has noted, "A bill to amend the 1898 Act was initially introduced in the parliament in 2002. The bill was to reinforce DoP's monopoly for handling letters weighing less than 300 gms, lawfully allow the private couriers to convey articles beyond 300 gms, introduce a registration fee along with a 10% universal service obligation charge on private couriers and set up the mail regulatory and development authority. Luckily, all of that remained on paper due to dissolution of Lok Sabha. Later, DoP prepared a draft bill in 2006 but never finalised the amendment. Now, DoP has readied yet another version and government plans to table the bill during the forthcoming parliament session. The new draft reportedly directs private couriers to price their services at five times (two-and-a-half times for urgent letters) the corresponding postal tariff! Such anti-competitive legislation to cover up operational inefficiencies, to divert revenues from running private businesses to a government outfit and to support monopoly creation, seems completely out of place and ought to be rejected, scrapped and killed."
April 25, 2007
According to the
Utne
Reader, "Every year, devotees of the independent press lament the death
of another worthy publication. This year, we may be mourning an outright
slaughter."
From
Business Wire: "DHL, the world’s leading express delivery and logistics
company, today announced a major service upgrade for international express
shipments to the United States. US importers and international customers
that use DHL’s International Express services to the US will now receive
12:00 noon delivery – an upgrade from the previous end of business day
transit time. The newly upgraded service will benefit customers of DHL
Import Express, an all-inclusive, door-to-door service for expediting
imports to the United States. With Import Express, shipments are handled by
DHL from pickup outside the US to delivery in the US, with all tracking,
invoicing and single-currency payment through DHL. International customers
using DHL’s Worldwide Priority Express and International Document Service
will also benefit from faster transit times to the US market."
From the
U.S. Postal Service: "The Postal Service has published a new edition of
the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) to help you prepare for the pricing change on
May 14. The new DMM is available in
HTML and
PDF formats on
usps.com/ratecase and contains all of our new mailing standards and prices,
with an updated index and table of contents. In addition to the DMM, on
usps.com/ratecase you can find the New Domestic Rates and Fees Reference,
which includes the new Periodicals rates effective on July 15, in HTML and
PDF formats.
USA Today has reported that "FedEx says that the FAA's decision to end a
controversial landing procedure at the cargo carrier's Memphis hub should be
reversed because it could lead to serious delays in package deliveries
across the nation."
Reuters has reported that "The rising popularity of text messaging on
cell phones poses a threat to writing standards among Irish schoolchildren.
Text messaging, with its use of phonetic spelling and little or no
punctuation, seems to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing.
The report laments that, in many cases, candidates seemed "unduly reliant on
short sentences, simple tenses and a limited vocabulary." [Hmmmm. Short
sentences...simple tenses...limited vocabulary...as in many direct mail
letters?]
ABC News has
reported that "An arrest was made at 8:03 a.m. ET this morning in the case
of the so-called "Bishop Bomber," who in January allegedly mailed a package
containing an explosive device to a Kansas City investment firm."
Reuters has
reported that "Malaysia's postal operator, Pos Malaysia & Services Holdings
Bhd , aims to grow revenues by 5.6 percent this year after missing its 2006
sales target, the company said on Wednesday. It released its performance
targets for 2007 to the stock exchange, aiming for 868 million ringgit in
revenues and to pay out 35 percent of net profit as dividends."
Deutsche
Welle has reported that "The German government agreed to end the letter
delivery monopoly of Deutsche Post as planned, but the issue is still a
thorn in the eyes of the grand coalition. Christian Democrats (CDU) and
their Social Democratic (SPD) coalition partners agreed to liberalize
Germany's mail delivery market as part of European Union moves to deregulate
postal services across the 27-member bloc. Starting Jan 1, 2008, letters
weighing up to 50 grams (1.8 ounces) will no longer be the monopoly of
Deutsche Post, the world's biggest post and logistics group."
UPS has reported a 7.9% increase in adjusted diluted earnings per share
to $0.96 on a 3.3% revenue gain, thanks to a strong performance by its
international operation and significant improvement by its supply chain and
freight segment.
Postalnewsblog has reported that "It has been customary over the years
to see long lines at the James A. Farley Post Office on tax day. This year
was no exception. Unfortunately, long lines at the windows at the JAF, or
the main post office, as most New Yorkers refer to it will be commonplace.
On Saturday, April 28, 2007, the USPS is reducing sales associates at the
windows at JAF from its current complement of 69 down to only 49. This is a
facility that is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Compounding the
negative impact of this decision by postal management is the fact that on
Monday May 14, 2007 there will be a hike in postal rates, which will only
exacerbate an already difficult situation."
In its
comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission on the pending postal rate
rulemaking, the
Association for Postal Commerce noted that Congress did NOT
intend a reimposition of cost-of-service ratemaking. "The Commission is
empowered only to guard against the Postal Service’s abuse of its monopoly
power—defined principally as undue or unreasonable discrimination—and the
Commission’s rules regarding complaints and compliance reviews should
reflect this principle. The old “fair and equitable” standard is
incompatible with the broader objectives of the PAEA and the operation of
the price cap regime."
According to
Online Media Daily, with the purchase of Hitwise "the big opportunity is that
Experian has packaged a comprehensive advertising media mix offering for
direct marketers, which forces a consolidation of the roles of online and
offline advertising analytics within large advertisers. This will make
advertising more effective and relevant to the changing buying behavior of
consumers, who are voting with their "clicks," and no longer with their mail
and phone responses."
The
agenda for the May 15
– May 16, 2007 meeting of the Postmaster General's Mailers Technical
Advisory Committee (MTAC) has been posted on this site.
CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
In the Netherlands, the decision concerning a complete market opening has been deferred.
Royal Mail wants to save a large part of its top branches, the so-called Crown Post Offices (CPO), through outsourcing.
German parcel service Hermes has demanded an unbiased debate on the ending of the postal monopoly.
Belgium’s radio BRR reports that a new wage agreement for La Poste’s 35,000 workers has been sealed.
Spain’s highest court, the Tribunal Supremo, has ordered Correos to allow 10,000 former postal workers back into its internal job exchange and pay them compensation.
UNI Global Union has joined the current debate on postal sector wages.
The German Association of Courier, Express and Postal Service Providers (BdKEP e.V.) says its member firms exceed the minimum social standards of the postal sector.
Liberalisation of EU postal markets is around the corner -while private operators are raring to go, many still-monopolists are asking exactly what effects liberalisation will have on their business.
The Republic of San Marino will enjoy more postal autonomy in future. The change comes about as the existing postal agreement between Italy and San Marino expires and is replaced by new trade agreements.
Last year, the Moroccan post achieved a 5% increase in turnover to 116.1m euros. Around 42% of the turnover, or 48.9m euros were attributable to financial services, 6.4m euros were generated through press deliveries and the remainder through traditional mail business.
GeoPost, the express parcel holding company of France’s La Poste, increased its turnover by over 17% to 2.969bn euros last year.
time:matters, which claims to be Germany’s leading Special Speed operator, is now offering a same-day delivery service to and from Scandinavia.
Last week, DHL launched a service for private customers in Britain.
SG Holdings, the umbrella organisation for Sagawa Express, arguably Japan’s second biggest parcel service, has published its medium-term business development plans.
![]()
German express service Trans-o-flex (Tof) announced the conclusion of a cooperation agreement with Spanish CEP and logistics operator Redur S.A. on Tuesday.
Singapore’s national investment firm Temasek Holdings looks set to enter the Indian CEP market.
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. (We appreciate the courtesy extended by CEP News to help whet your appetite for more of what CEP offers.)
Angola
Press has reported that "The Angolan National Post and
Telecommunications Firm will invest USD 24 million until the year 2012, in
the rehabilitation and modernisation of about 160 of its centres, throughout
the country."
Barron's Online has reported that "despite United Parcel Service's
and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' long and sometimes
tumultuous history, we believe that an agreement regarding a new parcel and
small-package driver contract could likely be reached well ahead of next
year's expiration. Indeed, UPS and the Teamsters announced in June 2006 that
they would be heading to the bargaining table nearly two years early. If
successful, we believe investor fears of freight diversions at UPS should be
eased and a major overhang on the stock removed."
Japan Today has noted
that "a faster-than-expected drop in postal savings has prompted Japan Post
Corp to lower a net profit estimate to 508 billion yen for its group in
fiscal 2008 after the postal system's privatization this October, informed
sources said Wednesday."
According to
Sharewatch,
"The news is admittedly slightly negative for Deutsche Post," said a
Frankfurt-based trader. "But after German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck
made it clear that he still has concerns about the liberalization, there may
well be further discussions in the German parliament about the issue."
The
Houston
Chronicle has reported that "The federal probe into corruption related
to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff could be inching closer to former U.S.
Rep. Tom DeLay of Sugar Land as investigators focus on a former DeLay chief
of staff who later employed the Republican leader's wife. Several former
DeLay associates have been helping federal law enforcement agents as they
continue their investigation of Buckham and others. Taking deals for
testimony were former DeLay staff members Tony Rudy and Michael Scanlon,
both of whom had close ties to Abramoff. Court papers in Rudy's guilty plea
stated that Rudy, while working for DeLay, arranged for the congressman to
sign a letter opposing a postal-rate increase to aid an Abramoff client and
helped kill an anti-gambling bill opposed by another Abramoff client."
DutchNews has reported that "Labour (PvdA) MPs are threatening to join
forces with the left-wing opposition to block plans to fully open the postal
delivery market to competition unless the Christian Democrats (CDA) agree to
more rights for delivery workers, the Financieele Dagblad reports on
Wednesday. MPs were yesterday debating plans to allow firms to compete for
the delivery of letters weighing under 50 grammes. The PvdA, Socialist Party
and other minor parties are angry that newcomers to the market, such as
Sandd and Selektmail, don't actually employ their delivery workers, but
treat them as freelancers and pay them a couple of cents for every item they
deliver.
KSL-TV has reported
that "If you've written a letter to your congressman and waited weeks for a
reply, don't blame him, blame anthrax. Special security measures are still
causing major postal delays, more than five years after a mysterious
murderer sent anthrax germs to congress. We've all griped about mail
service, even though it usually does get there in a day or two, but if your
letter is addressed to a lawmaker in Washington, don't be surprised if takes
two or three weeks or even a couple of months."
Robotics Online has reported that "ABB Robotics received a Supplier
Performance Award from the United States Postal Service (USPS), honoring the
company’s commitment to providing the USPS with quality products and
excellent customer service. The awards recognized companies that
collaborated with the USPS to create supply chain management best practices
that the government agency will continue to use in 2007 and beyond.
Postmaster General John E. Potter presented 10 companies with awards during
a ceremony held at the Postal Service headquarters in Washington, D.C."
Business World has reported that "An official of the Philippine Postal
Corp. (PhilPost) in Eastern Visayas is confident of hitting the state-owned
firm's income target of P50 million this year. Raul Buensalida, PhilPost
Eastern Visayas regional manager, said they earn P4 million to P5 million
monthly despite the competition from couriers and logistics companies and
the advent of electronic mail."
Shanghai Daily has reported that "China Postal Group (CPG) plans to set
up an insurance company which will be the country's first insurer with sole
investment from the postal sector, Wu Dingfu, chairman of China Insurance
Regulatory Commission (CIRC), said. China's postal sector, boasting 36,000
outlets nationwide, simply serves as the sales agent of insurance products
for the moment, but was urged to explore further cooperation with the
insurance sector." See also
People's Daily.
The
Associated Press has reported that:
U.S. District Judge Dominic J. Squatrito, in a case involving a church-run post office in Manchester, ordered the Postal Service to notify the nearly 5,200 facilities run by contractors that they cannot promote religion through pamphlets, displays or any other materials. He also told the agency to monitor those offices, which are distinguishable from government-run facilities and employ workers who are not Postal Service employees, to make sure they comply with his ruling.
A federal appeals court agreed Tuesday to reconsider an earlier ruling that UPS Inc. discriminated against deaf employees by automatically barring them from driving parcel delivery trucks.
From the
U.S. Postal Service: "Robert Galaher has been appointed manager,
Business Mail Acceptance, Headquarters."
Hellmail
has noted that "Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services, has
published its updated guidelines which define the limited geographical
conditions or other exceptional circumstances in which Royal Mail is exempt
from its universal service obligation to deliver mail once every working day
to every address in the United Kingdom. The guidelines have been formulated
following a consultation that invited views on all areas of the current
policy, including a number of amendments proposed by Postcomm to take into
account changing circumstances since the guidelines first came into effect
in April 2003."
From
the
Government of Canada: "Canada Post is pleased to announce it has
successfully negotiated a new four-year collective agreement with its
largest bargaining agent, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). The
new agreement will be in place until January 31, 2011."
From
WebWire:
"Mail remains the safest way to communicate and share information, and
represents the smallest threat to identity theft."
Multichannel Merchant has noted that "Catalogers and multichannel
retailers are facing a number of key issues in the marketplace. But the one
issue that is currently on the minds of all who mail flats and catalogs is
the huge postage increase scheduled to be implemented May 14. Unless the
Postal Rate Commission reduces its proposed increase to flats mailers
(which, if it occurs will most likely not happen until sometime after May
14), most flats mailers will see postage increases that will exceed 20%."
From
PR Newswire: "The U.S. Postal Service is meeting its performance
challenges head-on with a $51 million contract with Serco Inc., Vienna, Va.,
for engineering support services, including support for research and
development of new technologies. The contract also provides for technical,
project management and IT services, as well as quality assurance consulting
work and testing and evaluation of future mail-processing equipment."
According to the
Daily
Yomiuri, "Japan Post, which will be privatized on Oct. 1 into a holding
company and four service firms, plans to post combined after-tax profits of
587 billion yen in fiscal 2011, sources said Tuesday. According to the
sources, the figure is included in a business plan for the privatized group.
In the plan, the banking company is expected to post an outstanding deposit
balance of about 164 trillion yen and an after-tax profit of 304 billion yen
as of the end of fiscal 2011, thus putting it in the same league as a
megabank, but possibly luring criticism from the private sector for
adversely affecting their business."
April 24, 2007
From
PR Web:
"Intellareturn Corp., innovator of the world's leading microchip-based
postal automation solution, Smart Stamp®, has announced its Append® Envelope
Technology at the Envelope Manufacturers Association's (EMA) Spring Meeting
in Tuscon, AZ. As part of the conference, 'Center for Technology and Trends'
session, the company presented technological advances in paper-based
communication. The Append® microchip-based "Smart Stamp" system links
supplemental text, audio and video files to envelopes. Elliot Klein of
Intellareturn Corp. declared this will one day "transform how we utilize
envelopes and the postal mail." The Smart Stamp service can be sold as a
book of self-adhesive labels or pre-manufactured into envelopes, taking
envelope manufacturers into the wireless ecosystem with new business models
to store, control and deliver rich-media content."
From the
U.S.
Postal Service: "The U.S. Postal Service’s most familiar and trusted
mail products —Express Mail, Priority Mail and First-Class Mail — are going
international starting May 14, 2007. To make it easier for customers to mail
letters and packages worldwide, the Postal Service (USPS) has simplified the
eight main International Mail products into four: Global Express Guaranteed,
Express Mail International, Priority Mail International and First-Class Mail
International." According to one DM expert "the Post Office has too many
MBA’s and analysts focusing on misguided ways to generate more postage
revenue. This will eventually lead to a decrease in the mail volume by
individual consumers as well as businesses who will continue to opt for
email and internet alternatives to direct mail."
From
Business Wire: 'DHL and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services Inc.
(STTAS) have announced their partnership to provide customs and trade
compliance services. STTAS will work closely with DHL to provide operational
services, including overall business process enhancement, tariff
classification, compliance with government supply chain security
initiatives, free trade agreement optimization, and customs training, to
DHL’s importer/exporter clientele."
From
PR Urgent:
"New postal rates are fairly straightforward but fail to address the real
issue of how to increase postage revenues as a whole over the long term.
Increased rates instantly increase sales revenue per unit. However, higher
postage leads to a decrease in overall consumer demand for services as well
as a shift in consumer demand from direct mail to competing services such as
email, e-cards and online catalogs."
Forbes has reported that "Unions and a works council within TNT NV have
said they will keep a close eye on the Dutch parliament which is scheduled
to vote this afternoon on market liberalisation legislation that will open
the Dutch postal market to competition on deliveries of less than 50 grams.
The
Times-News has reported that "After about a year of internal review, the
postal service has decided to keep its area-mail processing center in Twin
Falls instead of combining it with the center in Boise."
The
Inland Valley
Daily Bulletin has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has intentions
to increase the number of areas contracted out with independent delivery
service operators. Known as the Growth Management Program, the Postal
Service is slowly allowing more delivery from private contracts, who would
then subcontract employees to deliver mail in areas throughout the United
States."
The
Economic Times has reported that "According to the latest survey
conducted by the universal postal union (UPU), almost two thirds of public
operators across the globe are anticipating a drop in the proportion of
income generated by the letter post, with the proportion of income generated
by parcels & logistics and to a lesser extent by postal financial services
set to increase accordingly. Compared to express parcels and logistics,
projected to grow at almost 25% over the next three years, the letters and
post segment is projected to grow at only 8% to 10%."
Graphics Arts Monthly has noted that "Send a catalog and the recipient
is twice as likely to make a purchase at the retailer's Website. Soon-to-be
released survey results from the 2006 holiday shopping season reveal that
the mail-Internet media combination is even more powerful than four years
ago."
Hellmail
has reported that "Adam Crozier spoke to Jeff Randall on BBC 5 Live on
Sunday night about the changes at Royal Mail in more recent years. He said
that Royal Mail had suffered from lack of investment by previous governments
and that meant they were technically lagging behind as well as not being as
efficient as they need to be. However he said there was no point in dwelling
on what should or should not have been done and they needed to get on with
the job of modernisation and providing an efficient service. He said that
Royal Mail is bringing in new products to widen the scope of the services
they provide and to help Post Offices but 14,000 are private businesses and
far too many are creating massive losses for Royal Mail."
Today's Zaman has reported that "All addresses in Turkey will soon have
an exclusive 10-digit identity number that will be used in all official
transactions instead of their old mailing addresses. The application, which
aims to make bureaucratic operations more efficient, will also remove the
possibility of having “the wrong address.” Addresses will be written
alongside the new code on documents, and postal workers, after checking to
make sure the address and code match, will make sure the information is
entered into the data base. If the address is not yet registered in the
system, the document will be returned noted as having “no address.”
April 23, 2007
From
WebWire:
"World’s largest eBay seller’s group, Dallas eBaybes & eMales, will host a
meeting with USPS officials to discuss looming rate increases. The meeting
will be held at 6:00PM on Monday, April 23rd in Plano, Texas. The success of
an eBay seller is directly affected by shipping costs and many eBay sellers
are extremely upset about the impending doom of the USPS changes, which
include eliminating some of the services completely. eBay is a business
partner to USPS and the majority of eBay sellers rely on the post office to
ship all of their packages, as it has always been the most affordable
option. As of May 14th, many eBay sellers may decide not to go postal after
all and switch to one of the competitors, like FedEx, UPS or DHL. eBay
sellers bring billions of dollars in revenue to the USPS, so it’s very
important to their bottom line to maintain that partnership."
AuctionBytes
has reported that "Shipping is a vital part of online sales, and eBay is
getting ready to handle postal rate changes coming in May. As a recent
AuctionBytes survey revealed, eBay sellers are concerned about higher
shipping costs and many of them are concerned that postal tools they use may
not be ready when the changes go into effect."
Expatica has noted that "The works council at TNT Post is threatening to
block competitors' locations with its trucks if Parliament does not agree to
approve better labour conditions for postal workers on Tuesday. The works
council wants Parliament to adopt a motion from Ferd Crone (Labour PvdA) and
Cynthia Ortega (ChristenUnie) on Tuesday, but it does not look so far as if
the motion will get majority support."
According to the
Merced Sun-Star, "Merced's postal patrons deserve better than they are
getting."
The
Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service will meet in Washington,
D.C., at Postal Service Headquarters, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, on May 1-2,
2007. The public is welcome to observe the Board’s open session, scheduled
to begin at 8:30 a.m. on May 2 in the Ben Franklin Room on the 11th floor.
In a
letter to all members of the House and Senate postal oversight committee
members,
Mailers Council executive director Robert McLean wrote: "I write to ask
you to join all the individuals and businesses that use the postal system in
opposing the Postal Service's plan to file for a postage rate increase in
the next few months."
In an
apparently widening scandal, the postmaster of the Far Rockaway Post Office
has been temporarily relieved of his duties and a supervisor has been
arrested for stealing thousands from the government, the
New York Daily News has learned.
According to the Las
Cruces Sun-News, "A lot depends on who you talk to, but apparently there
still are problems getting some U.S. mail to you. Bulk mail, such as
newspapers, magazines, and fliers are still taking several weeks to be
processed by the U.S. Postal Service. The delays still frustrate customers
who rely on those magazines."
The
Philadelpha Inquirer has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service's grand
30th Street building and surrounding properties in Philadelphia have been
the subject of development dreams and rivalries for two decades. Now, in the
final stretch toward their $2 billion reconstruction as a glittering gateway
to University City, surprising details are emerging about
multimillion-dollar deals underpinning the project. Federal investigators
have concluded that Keating Development Group of Philadelphia, which
represented the Postal Service, had an "apparent conflict of interest" by
playing multiple roles in the project."
AllAfrica.com
has reported that "Posta Uganda will soon place a fleet of 18 executive
buses on the Kampala-Nairobi route at reduced fare and ease traffic and
cargo movement between the two cities. Marketing and sales general manager
Wilfred Musinguzi on Thursday said that using the international postal union
networks, the company intends to link up Dar es Salaam in a bid to expedite
regional inter-city mail delivery and communication."
According to
The
Scotsman, "Postwatch aims to get Royal Mail to deliver on its promises."
The
Jamaica Gleaner has reported that "Based on the trend of unscrupulous
persons using mail to transport many types of contraband, the postal service
is now even more vigilant in its analysis of mail items to detect such
infringements and contain them."
April 21, 2007
AdWeek has reported that "In the last two years, Web retailers have
increased marketing budgets without seeing any increase in their strikingly
low sales-conversion rates. Two recent studies explore the problem and come
to similar conclusions: online marketers are largely unaware of their
customers' preferences. One of the studies also suggests an overreliance on
Web metrics is to blame. More consumers than ever are buying merchandise
online, but the ratio of those who make purchases on any given site compared
to those who just browse remains tiny--and appears to be shrinking."
KBTV
has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service today announced that the Beaumont
Remote Encoding Center (REC) will be closed as part the next phase of a
nationwide consolidation plan. The facility, located at 750 Pearl Street
will close in November, 2007."
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
Hey! You've not been getting the weekly PostCom Bulletin--the
best postal newsletter anywhere...bar none?
Send us by email your name, company,
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April 20, 2007
Dow
Jones has reported that "Postal and logistics company TNT NV (TNT)
intends to start its EUR400 million share buyback program next week, Chief
Executive Peter Bakker said Friday at TNT's annual shareholder meeting. TNT
announced the share buyback program at the presentation of its annual
results on Feb. 26."
CommonDreams.org
has noted that "A broad coalition of small and independent publishers sent a
letter to the Postal Board of Governors last night, opposing a plan that
burdens smaller publishers with higher postage rates and unfairly locks in
the best prices for the largest media companies. The crippling hike —
proposed by the nation's largest publisher, Time Warner Inc. — could push
many smaller magazines into bankruptcy and make it almost impossible to
launch a new independent publication. The coalition, which includes
publishers from across the political spectrum, is demanding that the postage
increase be delayed until Congress can determine how postal regulators came
to the decision without public involvement or congressional oversight.
Publications that signed the letter include The American Prospect, The
American Spectator, Commonweal, In These Times, Mother Jones, Ms. Magazine,
National Review, The Nation, The New Republic and WORLD, among others."
Forbes has reported that "TNT NV shareholders voted at the Dutch postal
company's AGM against a proposal that would allow an issue of preference
shares that would protect the company in the event of a possible takeover."
The
latest copy of the
National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental
affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.
From the
U.S. Postal Service: The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal
Service will meet in Washington, D.C., at Postal Service Headquarters, 475
L’Enfant Plaza, SW, on May 1-2, 2007. The public is welcome to observe the
Board’s open session, scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on May 2 in the Ben
Franklin Room on the 11th floor. The Board is expected to discuss the
following items: Wednesday, May 2 at 8:30 a.m. 1. Minutes of the previous
meetings. 2. Remarks of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board (Jim
Miller and Alan Kessler). 3. Remarks of the Postmaster General and CEO John
E. Potter. 4. Committee reports. 5. Board of Governors bylaw amendments. 6.
Capital investment – Additional delivery bar code sorters and stacker
modules (Walt O’Tormey, vice president, engineering). 7. Quarterly Report on
Service Performance (Delores Killette, consumer advocate and vice
president). 8. Quarterly Report on Financial Performance (Glen Walker, chief
financial officer and executive vice president). 9. Integrated Financial
Plan Addendum (Glen Walker).
From the
U.S. Postal Service: "The recently passed Postal Accountability and
Enhancement Act (PAEA) provides for predictable annual price changes. As we
work with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on the best time to
implement these price changes, we are seeking feedback from the mailing
community. Please take a few minutes to respond to this short survey so we
can consider your input.
Click here for
survey. We look forward to receiving your survey. Responses must be in
by Thursday, April 26, 2007.
PostCom Members! Posted on this site you
will find a recap of the
congressional postal oversight hearings held earlier this week.
DM
News has reported that:
Ron Barnes has joined the Direct Marketing Association as it’s new vice president for state affairs. Mr. Barnes comes to DMA from CTIA – The Wireless Association, where he managed the association’s state regulatory advocacy.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, asked Postal Regulatory Commission Dan G. Blair how important rate shock is to the agency’s decision on Standard flats mail, at a hearing yesterday. In her opening statement, Sen. Collins explained how many small catalogers in her state will be negatively impacted by the rate increase. Ms. Collins also said that she hopes the USPS does not file another rate increase under the old law.
New Jersey has joined the roster of states introducing a legislative proposal that would create a do-not-mail registry in the state, similar to the federal do-not-call list. New Jersey now joins other states that have introduced do-not-mail bills including Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington. Several other bills — in New York, Virginia, New Jersey and Washington — offer related measures, such as the creation of a no-mail registry of certain senior citizens and people with mental illness and a ban on mailing credit-card solicitations to people under 21.
As
Harte-Hanks'
Chet
Dalzell has noted in an article published in DM News, "The Direct
Marketing Association has been highly engaged over the past 18 years on the
environment issue. First, with a board-level task force led by Robert Teufel
of Rodale Press. Second, with the publication of the “DMA Environmental
Resource for Direct Marketers,” now in its third edition. Third, an
environmental awards program, the Robert Rodale Environmental Achievement
Awards, later administered by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which has had a
who’s who of honorees including Seventh Generation, National Wildlife
Federation, the U.S. Postal Service, L.L. Bean and Williams-Sonoma. Most
recently, the DMA board of directors named a standing committee on the
environment and social responsibility, led by Jennifer Barrett of Acxiom
Corp., which comprises a cross-section of the DMA membership and has focused
on new ways to bring environmental performance to the direct marketer’s
bottom line."
Online Media Daily has reported that "aiming to offer its clients deeper
digital marketing intelligence, Experian is acquiring Hitwise, which
monitors Web sites' performance and provides online marketing insight. The
$240 million deal is expected to close next month, subject to regulatory
approval. In snapping up Hitwise, the consumer data giant Experian is merely
following its clients which are increasingly turning from mass media
platforms to digital ones with the ability to specifically target niche
audiences. The acquisition of Hitwise is expected to help Experian expand
its market research offerings to clients by delivering sophisticated and
unique data about consumer online behavior in search, along with other
online activities."
KBTV
has reported that "The Postal Service remains tight-lipped about the
possible shutdown of a mail processing center in Beaumont, but that
possibility has a lot of other people talking - and not just the hundreds of
employees whose jobs could be on the line. Many people are considering how a
closure of the Remote Encoding Center would impact the city`s attempt to
revitalize downtown. The facility is a major employer, with 300 regular
workers and 500 temporary workers."
The Guardian has reported that "The Communication Workers Union
yesterday called for a boycott of WH Smith and raised the threat of
industrial action after Royal Mail announced it was switching 70 crown post
offices to the high street chain. The decision to transfer the 70 branches
follows a trial of the franchise concept in six WH Smith stores. Royal Mail
said the deal would help maintain a sustainable network." See also the
Daily Express.
From the postal oversight hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Financial
Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International
Security.
Air Cargo
World has reported that "FedEx Express expanded two of its International
Priority services in Asia Pacific and Europe."
The
Communication Workers
Union has told its members that "A further meeting took place with Royal
Mail yesterday afternoon. The meeting concluded with Royal Mail still
refusing to offer our members any basic pay increase. Instead, they revised
their position by increasing the range of lump sums on offer from between
£250/£400 to £250/£550. These lump sums remain conditional on the Union
signing up to specific savings initiatives, most of which amount to
significant pay cuts and involve major change. Royal Mail’s position on
local productivity remains unchanged."
April 19, 2007
According to
CNET News, "Your grandchildren may use a stylus on a tablet PC instead
of a Bic on tablet paper, but they will continue to write. That's because
even in an era when elementary school students are adept at mousing and
teenagers are fiends at text-messaging, some experts say that writing with a
pen is still the backbone for teaching people how to read and learn facts."
The
lastest issue of the
National Association Of Postal Supervisors Postal Legislative
Update has been posted on this site.
Reuters has reported that "British retailer WH Smith said on Thursday it
had struck a deal with the Royal Mail under which it would operate Post
Offices in 70 of its stores in an attempt to stem falling sales." See
also the
Financial Times.
From
eMediaWire:
"Document Command, Inc., which operates its global Remote Control Mail™
service for delivering postal mail online, today announced a re-branding of
both its company and services under a common name, Earth Class Mail™. The
Earth Class Mail online postal service gives customers ranging from mobile
workers and military personnel to college students, expatriates and
foreign-based companies online access to their postal mail, from anywhere in
the world, at any time. Earth Class Mail receives mail each day, scans the
outside of the sealed envelopes and presents these images to the customer
online. The customer then determines whether to have the mail opened and
scanned, shredded, recycled, transferred elsewhere, or forward-shipped -
similar to how people manage their mobile phones and emails. The Earth Class
Mail system is convenient, reliable, and cost-effective."
According to the
Leamington Observer, "postal deliveries are being stretched to breaking
point in the area by unusually high numbers of staff taking time off sick.
Royal Mail bosses admitted the pressure had been on to get the post out over
the past few weeks and residents have felt the knock on effects first hand."
The
NewMexicoChannel
has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service said it plans to hire 75 workers
to improve mail delivery to New Mexicans. Members of the state's
congressional delegation said the Postal Service plans to add the new
workers in the Albuquerque district. Frustration with the Postal Service
peaked last winter when customers around New Mexico flooded hot lines with
complaints about late mail, overdue bills or even no mail at all."
Ha'aretz has
reported that "Sanctions undertaken by postal service workers over the past
weeks eased as of yesterday, at least for a few days, following a hearing
before the Tel Aviv District Labor Court. Israel Postal Company management
requested the court to issue an injunction to cease sanctions, saying the
strike is a political move against the government, not a labor dispute."
April 18, 2007
CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Deutsche Post fears that (foreign) private service providers would capture market share if the market is opened on 1.1.2008, and the German post would not be able to retaliate in other European countries.
Last year, the French La Poste enjoyed a growth in turnover and a considerable increase in profit....Straight after La Poste’s announcement of last year’s business results, French trade unions put forward demands for better pay.
The Slovenian post has extended co-operation with other post companies in the region.
Germany’s Federal Network Agency has not found any evidence during abuse proceedings that Deutsche Post is undercutting prices through its subsidiary In Haus Service GmbH.
After Poste Italiane announced that it would start marketing mobile phone services, the Italian post has declared its intention of putting more energy into e-commerce.
The positive trend from the last few years continued in 2006 for Postel, a hybrid subsidiary of Poste Italiane.
Sweden’s Posten AB is using new printing technology to fight stamp forgery.
Subsidiaries and joint ventures played a main role in contributing to the Norwegian post’s favourable business results last year.
TNT is obviously cautious when it comes to dealing with British trade unions.
According to Nigerian daily »The Tide« (13.04), more than 60 private courier firms were closed in Nigeria last week following a government decree.
Parcel deliveries to private households could become much simplified in future, should a concept developed by British CEP operator Parceline prevail.
Last week, the French La Poste reached a final decision on the sale of its airline Europe Airpost.
German trade union ver.di has launched a campaign aimed at the transport and logistics industry by demanding a minimum wage of 7.50 euros per hour.
According to a press release (5.4) Parcelnet, the British courier and home shopping subsidiary of German mail order company Otto, has bought British courier operator Redcats.
Deutsche Post has announced its intention to make some smaller logistics acquisitions this year.
The controversial restructuring programme "Energie 2007" put in place by the French Chronopost is going according to plan, reported »Les Echos«.
By the end of next year, Germany’s Hermes wants to control 20% of Austria’s parcel market and operate in the black.
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. (We appreciate the courtesy extended by CEP News to help whet your appetite for more of what CEP offers.)
The
Financial Times has reported that "The German government may extend the
monopoly of Deutsche Post, the postal company, over delivery of letters
beyond December 2007 as postal service liberalisation is less advanced in
other European Union countries."
U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced a bipartisan
amendment reaffirming that both federal law and the Constitution protect
sealed domestic mail from being searched. The amendment is in response to a
signing statement that the White House issued in conjunction with the
signing of the Collins-Carper postal reform legislation. In a speech before
the U.S. Senate, Senator Collins explained that following the singing of the
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, the White House issued a
statement that resulted in confusion about the Administration’s commitment
to abide by the basic privacy protections afforded sealed domestic mail.
Senator Collins’ resolution is cosponsored by Senators Carper, Daniel Akaka
(D-HI) and Norm Coleman (R-MN).
Daily Times has reported that "Pakistan Post Director General Arshad
Khan informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Communications
that measures have been taken to transform Pakistan Post (PP) into a modern
organisation through the use of information technology."
The
Trinidad & Tobago Express has reported that "Workers at TTPost Diego
Martin delivery office have staged "sick-out" action since Monday, in
protest over what they are calling "unsatisfactory working conditions".
The Hindu has reported that "As part of an image makeover, post offices
are being refurbished to create an inviting ambience. The reeky, dingy rooms
that housed post offices will now become things of the past, with the
Department of Posts initiating a chain of activities that has given a
facelift to its image. A tie-up with Ambika group, the leading manufacturers
of perfumed incense sticks, is the latest move made by the department to
bring more colour and fragrance to its extensions. As per the arrangement,
post offices will sell not just mail material like stamps and envelopes but
incense sticks too from Wednesday."
According to
Sify, "Sending packets through private courier companies could get
expensive, with the Government proposing to stipulate higher tariffs for
mails less than 150 gm. The draft Postal Bill, which is expected to be
tabled in the ongoing Budget session, has proposed to impose a tariff on
mails carried by courier companies that is fives times the charge taken by
the Postal Department."
ChannelInfo.net has noted that "Postcomm, the Postal Services
Commission, is the independent regulator for the postal market. It is
holding a number of regional events where stakeholders and postal users will
be able to meet the PostComm team and get an update on the latest
initiatives being undertaken in the postal market."
According to
DM News,
"With paper, postage and shipping costs all steadily inching upwards in
recent years, many catalogers have become blasé about “another price
increase.” However, next month’s jump in postage costs is so significant —
anywhere from 20 percent to upwards of 40 percent for catalogers — that the
industry has been voicing its opposition to Washington in an unprecedented
way. In addition, businesses are finding themselves looking under every rock
for a few extra pennies."
DutchNews.nl has reported that "Postal workers’ unions say they will not
protest against the complete opening of the postal market from January 2008
if MPs make sure new players pay their delivery workers proper wages. MPs
are to debate the opening of the market on Thursday. New postal firms such
as Sandd and Selekt Mail pay delivery staff on a piecemeal basis based on a
couple of euro-cents for each item they deliver rather than an hourly rate."
According to Steve Barr in the
Washington Post, "Snail mail still draws a lively crowd. At yesterday's
House hearing on the future of the U.S. Postal Service, the witnesses
jousted before the microphones at the front of the room while the crowd
jostled to find seats in the back."
FuelCellWorks.com
has reported that "Masterflex Brennstoffzellentechnik GmbH, a subsidiary of
Gelsenkirchen-based Masterflex AG, will be presenting the Cargobike with
mini fuel cells, which is now ready for series production, at the Hannover
Messe Energy 2007. The Cargobike is particularly well suited for use in
inner-city logistics such as for postal service providers."
In an
editorial in
Mother Jones, smaller circulation publications are issuing a call to
postal action. See also
CommonDreams.org.
Posted
on this site are the other pieces of testimony that were given before the
Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of
Columbia of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; United States
House of Representatives:
Statement of James C. Miller III, Chairman, Board of Governors, U.S. Postal Service
Statement of William Burrus, President, American Postal Workers Union
Statement of William Young, President, National Association of Letter Carriers
Statement of Donnie Pitts, President, National Rural Letter Carriers Association
Statement of John Hegarty, President, National Postal Mail Handlers Union
Statement of Oscar "Dale" Goff, President, National Association of Postmasters of the United States
Statement of Charles Mapa, President, National League of Postmasters
Statement of Ted Keating, President, National Association of Postal Supervisors
The
Hindu has reported that "The Government has proposed to reserve the
lucrative letters segment of up to 150 gm for the postal department and
allow private players to carry these letters only if they charge up to five
times more than the Government tariff." See also the
Business Standard.
According to the
Economic Times, "The UPA government clearly has a dirigiste, regressive
streak. The latest example is a bizarre attempt by the department of posts
(DoP) to force private courier companies to charge more for letters below
150 gm. The DoP’s draft Cabinet note proposes that private couriers charge
at least five times the postage tariff charged by the DoP. For urgent mail,
courier companies would have to charge 2.5 times more than the corresponding
speed post tariff."
The
Financial Express has reported that "The UPA government clearly has a
dirigiste, regressive streak. The latest example is a bizarre attempt by the
department of posts (DoP) to force private courier companies to charge more
for letters below 150 gm. The DoP’s draft Cabinet note proposes that private
couriers charge at least five times the postage tariff charged by the DoP.
For urgent mail, courier companies would have to charge 2.5 times more than
the corresponding speed post tariff."
Japan Today has
reported that "The United States reminded Japan Tuesday that it wants Tokyo
to secure a "level playing field" when the government-backed Japan Post is
privatized."
April 17, 2007
The
BBC has reported
that "The French postal service, La Poste, plans to order 10,000 electric
delivery vehicles, which it says are far more economical than normal cars or
vans. The state-run service is inviting tenders from European manufacturers
for the first batch of 500."
The
Associated Press has reported that "Even with postage rates going up,
the Postal Service expects a deficit this year as struggles with a swiftly
changing communications market, Postmaster General John Potter said Tuesday.
"The dynamics of the 21st century communications market have altered —
forever — the basic assumptions of postal economics," Potter said in remarks
prepared for the House Oversight and Government Reform postal subcommittee.
The rapid growth of electronics communications have resulted in declines in
lucrative first-class mail, though lower-cost advertising mail continues to
increase. In addition, private companies have taken a growing share of the
package and rapid delivery market. "Competition exists for every piece of
mail that we move through our system," Potter said." See also
GovExec.com
and
Investors Business Daily.
From the
U.S. Postal Service: The April 17, 2007 Statement of
Postmaster General
John E. Potter before the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service
and the District of Columbia of the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform; United States House of Representatives has been posted on the Postal
Service's web site.
From the
Postal Regulatory Commission: The April 17, 2007 Statement of
Dan Blair,
Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, before the Subcommittee on
Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia of the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; United States House of
Representatives has been posted on the PRC's web site.
From the
U.S. Government
Accountability Office: The Statement of
Katherine Siggerud, Director,
Physical Infrastructure, U.S. Government Accountability Office before the
Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of
Columbia, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of
Representatives has been posted on the GAO web site.
Press
Release: "PennySaverUSA.com, the Web site of the shopper publications of
Harte-Hanks, Inc., has announced it is working with Google to provide
coupons and other local business data collected by Harte-Hanks-owned shopper
publications The PennySaver and The Flyer and from affiliate publishers of
PennySaverUSA.com. These local business listings and offers will appear on
Google Maps search results when a consumer is searching for related
information. According to the agreement, Google will receive coupons and
various business data online from PennySaverUSA.com and its affiliate
publishers, including business name, mailing address, telephone number(s),
e-mail address, hours of operation, payment methods and other relevant data.
The coupons offer savings from local small and medium-sized businesses all
across the United States, from dry cleaners to dentists and from handymen to
pizza stores.' "
From
MarketWire: "RPost® US Inc., the leader in managed outbound messaging
with its flagship Registered E-mail® service suite, today announced that
Quality Assurance International (QAI), the global leader in organic
certification services, uses RPost Registered E-mail messages for all
communication required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) during
the organic certification process. The RPost system provides QAI
certification agents with an electronic receipt that proves precisely what
e-mail content and attachments were sent and received, by whom and when. The
power of the e-mail receipt enabled QAI to transition from a paper-based
system to a more efficient and environmentally friendly electronic system."
Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "Deutsche Post, the German
postal service operator, has indicated that it could make smaller
acquisitions this year in business with logistics. The company has
emphasised, however, that this would represent only a comparatively small
part of its expansion strategy."
WMAQ has noted
that "Postal workers call them "government look-alike mail," marketers call
them selling tools, but consumers call them maddening. Official-looking mass
mailings can be deceptive and confusing -- and even illegal in some cases.
Ron Goodstein is a marketing professor at Georgetown University, and is not
a fan of official notices. "This is a primary example of what we call
perceived manipulative intent," said Goodstein. In other words, he says
they're "sleazy."
April 16, 2007
In its
filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission,
Valpak Direct Marketing Systems opposed a motion by the Coalition of
Catalog Mailers to reopen the record to receive new evidence in Docket No.
R2006-1.
Here's a
piece from the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution that you might find interesting: "UPS,
FedEx look to neighborhoods."
From the
Federal Register: "The Postal Regulatory Commission has established a
formal docket to consider extending the provisional Repositionable Notes
(RPN) service by one year. Shortly before the expiration date, the Postal
Service filed a request seeking to maintain the status quo to allow time to
determine how RPNs may be affected by the recent implementation of the
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA). This document describes
the requested change and identifies several initial procedural steps,
including authorization of settlement negotiations. DATES: April 20, 2007:
Deadline for intervention, responses to request for consideration under rule
69, comments on suspension of this docket, answers to Conditional Motion for
Waiver, and comments on appropriateness of authorizing settlement
procedures."
The EU
social partners, PostEurop (employers) and
UNI Postal Europa (trade unions) organised with the assistance of the EU
Commission a workshop in Brussels on 2 April 2007 on Postal Sector
Evolution. It was organised in the light of the Commission's proposal for a
new postal directive to fully open the EU postal market in 2009 and
maintaining the universal postal service at the same time.
The
House Committee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District
of Columbia will hold what it has called its"U.S. Postal Service 101"
hearing on Tuesday, April 17, 2007, 10:00 a.m. in Room 2247 of the Rayburn
House Office Building in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Federal
Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and
International Security will hold its hearing on the current state of the
Postal Service along with the efforts underway to implement the Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act (Public Law 109-435) at 2:00 p.m. at the
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rm. 342.
From
PR Newswire: "Pitney Bowes Inc. has appointed Dennis Shea to lead the
company’s lobbying efforts in Washington. Shea succeeds David Nassef, who is
returning to Connecticut after ten years in Washington to support Chairman
and CEO Michael Critelli in a wide range of assignments."
The
Chicago Tribune has reported that "A congressional subcommittee charged
with overseeing the U.S. Postal Service will meet in Chicago next month to
explore the city's stubborn mail delivery problems, said U.S. Rep. Danny K.
Davis (D-Ill.)."
Accoriding to the
Postal
Service's Greg Whiteman writing in DM News, "It’s a chain reaction for
retailers. Plain and simple. Send someone a catalog and he or she is twice
as likely to make a purchase at the retailer’s Web site. As BusinessWeek
magazine reported recently, “Net shopping isn’t rendering catalogs obsolete.
It’s just changing their role.”
According to
New Orleans CityBusiness, "U.S. Postal Service representatives say mail
service in the New Orleans area is almost back to normal but business owners
beg to differ."
AMEInfo has reported that
"Officials of postal administrations from Arab countries called for a
greater role in the global postal strategies and appointed a task force to
develop a postal strategy for Arab countries, at the 14th meeting of the
Arab Permanent Postal Council held in Amman, Jordan."
The
Jerusalem Post has reported that "The union of Israel Postal Company
employees decided Sunday night to resume sanctions they applied last week
instead of the full strike that shut down postal services on Sunday."
April 15, 2007
The
Anchorage Daily News has reported that "The Bush is about to get more
expensive. The U.S. Postal Service is boosting rates across the nation May
14, including a dramatic increase for a program designed to keep grocery
costs down in rural Alaska."
According to
AuctionBytes, "Seventy-seven percent of eBay and online sellers are
concerned about higher shipping costs when new USPS rates go into effect in
May, and 26 percent are concerned that postal tools they use may not be
ready when the changes go into effect, according to a recent AuctionBytes
survey. Postal rates are going up in the United States on May 14, 2007, and
will have a significant effect on online sellers."
Arab Times has reported that "The Ministry of Communications (MoC) is
planning to privatize the postal and transportation sectors in order to
offer better services to citizens and to bring these services at par with
those in the developed countries, reports Al-Qabas daily. Undersecretary at
the ministry Abdul-Aziz Al-Osaimi said the ministry is trying to be in tune
with the changing times and plans to adopt all the latest technological
advancements that have taken place in these sectors."
April 14, 2007
Ha'aretz has
reported that "A strike by Israel's Postal Authority inched closer Saturday,
following the suspension of crucial Saturday evening talks between the
Histadrut labor federation and government officials."
The
Orange County Register has reported that "Letter carriers dropped their
U.S. Postal Service delivery bags and picked up signs protesting the hiring
of contract workers Friday afternoon in Orange. The picketing was in
response to the recent hiring of the county's first contract worker in
January. However, officials said contracting workers has been a common
practice with the post office since the days of the Pony Express."
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
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.

DM News
has reported that "Many large financial services firms are experimenting
with a blend of direct mail and e-mail marketing to communicate with their
current customers and merchandise their new products and services. In
contrast many smaller financial services have turned to e-mail to attract
new customers with acquisition offers."
WWTI has reported that "The Postal Service has ended its Area Mail
Processing (AMP) study of mail processing operations at the Watertown Main
Post Office located on Commerce Park Drive in Watertown. The Postal Service
was proposing the consolidation of the Watertown facility and moving
operations to Syracuse."
Motley Fool has reported that "A new service developed by Royal Mail
could help banks trace customers with dormant savings accounts. A 60 per
cent success rate is being claimed by the postal service for a technique
which can locate account holders who have moved home but have neglected to
inform their banks. Royal Mail uses information gathered over the last 16
years from its Mail Redirection service to ascertain the whereabouts of lost
customers, and the method has already completed a successful trial."
The
Atlanta Business Journal has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc.
is continuing its expansion in China, building the first U.S. air hub in
that nation in the city of Shanghai."
CNET has reported that "Google and PennySaverUSA.com are working on a
deal in which free "shopper" publications would contribute classified
listings to Google's search index and add local merchant pages with coupons
to Google Maps, according to a consultant who heard a presentation on the
deal at an industry conference. The companies also are talking about running
a "bid-for-print" advertising test between PennySaverUSA.com's parent Harte
Hanks and Google. Under the deal, Google also could end up training sales
reps at the "shopper" publications to sell AdWords to offline merchants that
Google otherwise would have a hard time reaching, says Peter Zollman,
principal of Classified Intelligence, a consultancy in the classified and
local advertising industry."
The Tide has reported that "More than 60 courier companies have been
closed down as part of efforts to restore public confidence in the nation’s
postal sector. Head of the Courier Regulatory Agency, Dr Simon Emeje, told
our correspondent, yesterday in Abuja that some 15 other companies have had
their licences revoked due to mail pilfering and dumping. “We met an
industry that was seriously battered, with the problems of unregistered
companies, dumping and pilfering among others,” he said. He said the agency
had taken measures to sanitise the sector."
April 13, 2007
Air Cargo
World has reported that "FedEx is moving to "modernize" its retirement
plans for most of its fulltime employees in what industry observers say may
be a prudent business move but one that likely will prompt unions to
throttle up their organizing drives there - something the company has long
fought. The move certainly appears to have further soured relations between
employees and management, according to various sources."
The
Steering Committee of the Women in Logistics and Delivery Services Council
(WILDS) and Postal Regulatory Commissioner Goldway is pleased to invite you
to a special event at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15th: a Panel Discussion and
Reception.
Check
it out.
From the
U.S. Postal Service: "The U.S. Postal Service is implementing a
program to convert all paper personnel folders to electronic folders, which
will transform the way employee information is stored, retained and
retrieved, ultimately enabling postal employees to have 24-hour access to
the content of their personnel folder. The Postal Service awarded a contract
to SOURCECORP BPS, Inc. to convert the files from paper to electronic as
part of the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) program. SOURCECORP
BPS, Inc. has extensive experience scanning and securing banking, medical
and government documents."
As
HellMail
has noted, "The UK's postmen and postwomen are having their rounds assessed
- by a computer program called 'Georoute'. Georoute is routing software,
designed to maximise efficiency of collection and delivery arrangements for
postal operators. Royal Mail is using Georoute to help improve efficiency by
ensuring that routes are well planned."
Buffalo Business First has reported that "National Fuel Resources Inc.
has reached a two-year contract with the United States Postal Service to
supply natural gas and related gas management services at 166 USPS locations
throughout New York state."
Ha'aretz has
reported that "Postal employees are causing work disruptions and are also
threatening to ramp up labor actions into a full blown strike on Sunday,
despite progress this week in meetings between Finance Minister Abraham
Hirchson and Communications Minister Ariel Atias. The two agreed on a fee
structure policy - the very reason workers took labor actions this past week
in the first place. Postal branches and postal banks have been closing early
to the public this week. It has been impossible to carry out income tax or
VAT payments, and mobile postal services to rural areas and diplomatic mail
have been shut down."
Dow
Jones has reported that "The Dutch parliament Thursday decided to
postpone its decision on the deregulation of the Dutch mail market until
next week, but during its debate on the topic it became clear that a large
majority will support the plan to liberalize the market as from Jan. 1,
2008."
i-Grafix.com has reported that "The first NPES Industry Summit, recently
in Chicago, provided an optimistic view of print's current and future
prospects and a preview of the world's most promising growth markets for the
years ahead. PRINT OUTLOOK delivered a day-and-a-half review of how print is
performing in the communications marketplace today and what lies ahead, both
for the industry and for the American economy. PRIMIR attendees heard an
update on the recently completed study, "Effect of Postal Reform on the
Demand for Print." Between 2007 and 2008, postal reform and rate increases
will remove between 800m and 900m catalogues from the US mail stream, along
with up to 350m periodicals and 3bn pieces of direct mail advertising, the
study consultants projected. In many areas, however, a "wait and see"
approach will be required as details of the new rate setting process
emerge."
The
Washington Post has noted that you should "forget the rain, sleet and
snow. Outsourcing is what worries a major postal workers union. Concerned
that the U.S. Postal Service plans to step up use of contractors to deliver
mail in cities and suburban areas, the National Association of Letter
Carriers is lobbying Congress to get involved and study the use of contract
delivery services. The union plans to draw attention to the issue by
picketing postal headquarters on L'Enfant Plaza on Monday."
[Wait a minute....Unions are asking
Congress to get involved in an issue that was the result of prior collective
bargaining? What ever happened to the union demand that Congress stay out of
business that's the subject to collective bargaining?]
Rural Mail Carrier Postal News has reported that "The National Rural
Letter Carriers lead by President Donnie Pitts will join NALC President
Young and the NALC in an informational picket on Monday, April 16 at 2:00 PM
EDT. The National Rural Letter Carriers will join the NALC and members of
Congress angered at the Postal Service’s decision to outsource mail delivery
to private companies and individuals."
DM News
has reported that "Rate increases, declining prospecting, talent absorption,
the failure of net neutrality, online intensity and new systems. These were
just a few of the monster trends that are about to shake the world of direct
marketers, according to direct mail guru Don Libey, who spoke at the Direct
Marketing Club of New York’s April luncheon at the Yale Club. Mr. Libey said
another monster trend is online intensity, and it is only going to get more
intense. “We’ve only seen about 10 percent of the ultimate online share of
the market basket,” Mr. Libey said. “Expect a near-doubling of online
influence and sales over the next three years."
In a
motion filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission, a
coalition of
catalogers has petitioned the PRC to reopen the record in Docket No.
R2006-1 to permit the presentation of testimony regarding the need "to
permit catalog companies a reasonable transition period to adjust their
businesses in the most efficient manner possible."
RoadTransport.com has reported that "TNT has moved quickly to reassure
employees that it has no plans for redundancies in the UK after revealing
heavy cutbacks in the Netherlands."
April 12, 2007
Reuters has reported that "A Dutch minister rejected calls on Thursday
for tighter supervision of dominant Dutch mail company TNT NV when the post
market is fully opened to competition next year."
From
PR Newswire:
"For the first time, consumers in Internet-connected households are paying
more of their bills online than by paper check, according to a new study
conducted by Harris Interactive and the Marketing Workshop."
From the
U.S. Postal Service: "New Quick Service Guides in
HTML and
PDF formats
and Notice 123,
Ratefold, are now available on usps.com/ratecase. The Quick Service
Guides will be linked to the new edition of the Domestic Mail Manual as soon
as it becomes available next week. Use the Quick Service Guides, new Postage
Statements, frequently asked questions and other tools at
usps.com/ratecase to
help you prepare for the May 14 changes to rates and mailing standards. If
you have any questions, please contact your local manager of Business Mail
Entry. To find the office nearest you, use the
BME locator on
usps.com."
According to
Reuters, "Package delivery company FedEx Corp. said on Wednesday it has
agreed to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit against its express unit,
FedEx Express, for $53.5 million. The suit alleged that FedEx Express
discriminated against its African-American and Hispanic workers by passing
them over for promotion, paying them less than white workers, and treating
them unfairly in evaluation and disciplinary proceedings. Memphis-based
FedEx has denied committing any acts of racial discrimination. "There has
been no finding of wrongdoing on the part of FedEx," said FedEx spokeswoman
Sandra Munoz."
Click2Houston has reported that "A man pretending to be a U.S. postal
worker is committing robberies in the Houston area, officials told KPRC
Local 2 Wednesday. Crime Stoppers and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service
asked for the public's help in identifying the robber."
BBC News has reported that "More than 16,000 people have signed a
petition to keep Coventry's postal sorting office open."
The Hindu has reported that "The Tamil Nadu Postal Circle has
reorganised its Speed Post articles' delivery with effect from Wednesday.
Eighty-six postmen in the 12 sub-depots have been provided orange-and-blue
uniforms representing the colours of Speed Post. The articles will be
delivered in the morning and afternoons. Exclusive arrangements have been
made to deliver to corporate and business houses. Customers can track the
status of their postal articles at
www.indiapost.gov.in."
Expatica has reported that "Postal workers gathered in The Hague on
Wednesday to protest unfair competition on the postal market. The unions
want to prevent developments that could lead to postal workers being paid
per item delivered rather than an hourly wage. TNT Post recently announced
that thousands at the company would be made redundant because of the
pressure from the competition with new postal companies."
According to the
Jerusalem Post, "A joint team of Finance Ministry, Communications
Ministry and Israel Postal Company officials will meet soon to discuss the
future of the government company after its 7,000 workers applied sanctions
to protest the government's decision not to lower the rates of bulk mail,
which would allow the company to be competitive with private businesses that
will be able to deliver such mail beginning this summer."
DM
News has reported that "Newgistics is set to announce today the
acquisition of Logistics Management Inc., a provider of transportation
brokerage services optimized for less-than-truckload shipping. The returns
management services provider will use LMI’s transportation management
capabilities to expand the set of services offered beyond the company’s
traditional returns management business."
The
Chicago Sun-Times has reported that "Rep. Danny Davis said he's hopeful
the city's dismal mail service will improve now that the U.S. Postal Service
has promised to hire 200 new letter carriers. Davis said Postmaster General
John E. Potter assured him Chicago will be getting everything it needs to
run a "topflight" organization."
According to
Vanguard, "the dual mandate (operator and regulator roles) of NIPOST has
placed a burden on its operation as a player in the industry, as it is
saddled with additional responsibilities of acting as a regulatory body, in
the process, slowing down its speed of operation and effectiveness.
According to the findings of this group, the dual responsibilities of being
a player and a regulator has made efficient running of NIPOST in accordance
with UPU standard rather difficult."
April 11, 2007
Time Inc.
has urged the Commission to "reject the Postal Service’s proposal to
‘rebalance’ Standard Mail rates for flats at the expense of letters and
pursue an alternative solution that
will reduce the impact on Standard flats without shifting the burden to
Standard letters. One such alternative would be to re-evaluate the
demand elasticity assumptions for Standard flats. These assumptions are
subject to reasonable adjustment, and the PRC can reasonably assume that
with a lower Standard flat rate and higher volume levels, the same amount of
revenue would be generated. This would result in lower Standard flat rates
without increasing the Standard letter rates. The Commission can surely
generate a variety of similar alternatives with the goal of maintaining or
increasing volume for both letters and flats."
The
Jordan News
Agency has reported that "Director General of the Universal Postal Union
(UPU) Edouard Dayan said that the development in Internet telecommunications
services has not weaken the postal services as a traditional service. On the
contrary it serves as supporter to the postal sector particularly after the
marked development in E-commerce, Dayan said in a press conference on
Wednesday, on the sidelines of meetings of the Arab Permanent Committee for
Post in Amman. The Internet and its accompanying services for E-commerce
have increased reliability of postal services especially in delivering goods
that were purchased on line."
From
PR Newswire: "Harry & David Holdings, Inc. announced today that Harry &
David Operations Corp. (the "Company") and its Jackson & Perkins Operations
subsidiary have completed the previously announced sale of its Jackson &
Perkins business, including the direct marketing and wholesale businesses,
the Jackson & Perkins(R) brand, catalog, e-commerce website and associated
inventory, including premium rose plants, horticultural products and home
and garden décor, as well as its direct marketing and wholesale customer
lists and relationships, to an investment group led by Donald and Glenda
Hachenberger. The transaction closed on April 10, 2007."
In a
letter addressed to the Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission,
Sens. Thomas Carper (D-DE) and
Susan Collins (R-ME) wrote:
The section of the Act calling for the creation of a new system for regulating the Postal Service's Market Dominant products lays out the nine major objectives of the new system. It also lists fourteen factors that the Commission should consider when developing the new system. The primary requirement, however, is the requirement that, for at least ten years, the system "include an annual limitation on the percentage changes in rates to be set by the Postal Regulatory Commission that will be equal to the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers." We intended the objectives to supersede the factors in issues affecting the system's design.
In drafting the rate-setting section of the bill, we did choose to allow the Postal Service to carry unused rate authority over into future years, even if using such authority may result in a breach of the Consumer Price Index cap. We also chose to call for the development of a mechanism whereby the Postal Service may raise rates above the cap under "extraordinary or exceptional circumstances" that may hinder the Postal Service's ability to fulfill its universal service obligation or its ability to provide high quality service standards. We intended for this mechanism to be used sparingly, however.
In our view, the "extraordinary or exceptional circumstances" referenced in the language may include terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other events that may cause significant and substantial declines in mail volume or increases in operating costs that the Postal Service cannot reasonably be expected to adjust to in the normal course of business. We expect that, in accordance with the requirement written into the bill, the Commission will closely examine any request from the Postal Service for permission to raise rates above the cap and hold public hearings in which the public may comment.
So long as a rate change put forward by the Postal Service is within the Consumer Price Index cap, it was our intention that the Postal Service should have significant flexibility to price their products in the manner they deem most appropriate to meet their needs and the needs of the mailing public. The 45-day period that the Act gives the Commission to review rate filing is largely intended to be used to determine whether or not a rate filing is within the rate cap.
The
Chicago Tribune has reported that "The Postal Service in Chicago is
hiring 200 new letter carriers in an effort to turn around its lackluster
performance, U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter said Tuesday, pledging
that customers will see a difference in their mail delivery within six
months. Potter was in Chicago to prepare for congressional hearings next
week. U.S. Rep Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), chairman of the recently revived
subcommittee that oversees the U.S. Postal Service, called the hearings, in
part to explore why Chicago's delivery performance lags behind other major
cities. Potter pulled no punches Tuesday when he talked about the problems,
which became more pronounced in 2005 and 2006."
The
DM Bulletin has noted that "TNT Post has appointed field marketing
agency Tribe to promote its local mailing services and build its UK customer
database."
AMEInfo has reported that:
Emirates Marketing & Promotions (EMP) a subsidiary of Emirates Post which provides direct marketing, call centre and promotional services is the first UAE federal government company to join The Federation of European Direct & Interactive Marketing (FEDMA) as a member.
Increasing mail volumes have prompted Emirates Post to increase the sorting capacity by acquiring more advanced sorting machines, which are due to be installed at Ramoul at the end of 2007
CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Britain’s Royal Mail has announced drastic cost cutting measures and does not rule out massive job cuts.
Deutsche Post’s CEO Klaus Zumwinkel has publicly abandoned his former claim that "Europe’s postal markets should be opened in unison".
"Changes to the employment package" is how TNT Post describes the axing of up to 7,000 jobs in the domestic mail segment.
An unexpected top level management reshuffle has occurred at Japan Post Group.
Germany’s Federal Patents Court in Munich has confirmed the cancellation of the POST word mark.
Polish direct mail service provider Integer.pl will be floated together with subsidiary InPost.
In an interview with the »Südtirol Online« (04.04) web portal, Deutsche Post’s CEO Klaus Zumwinkel ruled out a takeover of the Italian post by Deutsche Post AG.
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Emirates Post and Hong Kong Post agreed last week to intensify their express mail co-operation.
Last week, around 30 workers from the Russian post organised a protest picket in Saint Petersburg. They demanded higher wages and a more extensive automation of their work procedures.
From next year, Poste Italiane will offer customers mobile phone services, too.
Private mail service providers do not pay their delivery staff adequate wages. The VAT exemption is justified. These two arguments maintained by Deutsche Post have now been weakened by the results from two recent reports.
The Nigerian post Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) may become subject to privatisation soon.
The Chilean trade union Sindicato de Trabajadores de Correos de Chile (Sitech) has criticised poor working conditions at Correos de Chile.
"We’re currently holding takeover discussions in Spain with a view to reaching agreements within the next two months." In an interview with German daily »Die Welt« (03.04), Rico Back, chairman of the GLS group, came clean on his expansion plans.
After one year in business, Chinese logistics operator Sai Cheng, a joint venture partner of Australia Post, boasts a 40% growth rate.
François Copigneaux has been appointed director general of ColiPoste, the domestic parcel operator of La Poste in France.
The death last Monday of Josef Bösch, Schweizerische Post board member with responsibility for the PostMail division, came unexpectedly.
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. (We appreciate the courtesy extended by CEP News to help whet your appetite for more of what CEP offers.)
The
Irish Times has reported that "An Post will start offering new savings
and investment products through its joint venture with Belgian bank Fortis
by June and will create 100 new jobs by the end of the year."
The
Star-Ledger has reported that "Postal workers across the country are
frustrated that the FBI's investigation into the deadly mailed anthrax
attacks from fall 2001 hasn't landed anyone behind bars yet, Postal Service
union leaders said during a news conference over the anthrax investigation
yesterday in Princeton Borough."
From
PRWeb:
"Webplus, Inc., a leading provider of small business solutions, announced
today that its Shipping Sidekick (www.shippingsidekick.com)
shipping rate comparison web site is now offering a free shipping scale to
paid Gold and Platinum Shipping Sidekick members. These highly accurate
electronic scales feature a 36 lb capacity and a large LCD display and are
perfect for weighing boxes, large envelopes and most other small parcels."
TheWiseMarketer has noted that "In 2006, 69% of consumers in the UK used
a free sample that they received through the mail, and a further 37.6%
redeemed a money-off voucher or coupon, according to a report published by
the Royal Mail."
The
Jerusalem Post has reported that "Israel Postal Company management said
it regretted sanctions by postal workers that intensified on Tuesday,
resulting in the early closure of post offices around the country, mobile
post offices failing to enter periphery areas and diplomatic mail not being
sent. The workers are protesting the refusal of the government to lower
postal rates, especially for bulk mail, which would enable the new
government-owned company to compete with private entities."
The
Associated Press has
reported that "The "forever" stamp will go on sale Thursday, with an opening
day ceremony at the Li
berty
Bell in Philadelphia. The stamp, which carries an image of the Liberty Bell,
will sell for 41 cents and will remain valid for first-class postage
regardless of future rate increases. The current 39-cent price for first
class mail rises to 41 cents May 14, but buyers can use the forever stamps
before that if they wish. The stamps will be sold in booklets of 20 and
postal officials said there is no limit on purchases."
WALB has
reported that "The U.S. Post Office delivers 212 billion pieces of mail to
over 144 million homes, but that delivery is slowing down as business picks
up. Right now, the post office is being over run with spring advertisements
that seem to be slowing down business. Albany's Postmaster said spring
catalogues coupled with heavier volumes going into tax time is slowing down
their deliveries."
From
Business
Wire: "DHL, the world's leading global express delivery and logistics
company, today announced it has reduced delivery times from multiple points
in Europe to the U.S. market. As part of an ongoing DHL effort focused on
enhancing global transit times to the U.S. market, U.S. importers and
European exporters can now take advantage of one-day delivery to the U.S.
from six European countries."
As
Direct magazine has noted, "Last May the U.S. Postal Service filed a
rate case that kicked off 10 months of hearings before the Postal Rate
Commission — and much speculation. Then, just before the end of February,
the newly renamed Postal Regulatory Commission offered its own
recommendations to the USPS Board of Governors, and in doing so made a
definitive statement. The governors have sent some of the suggestions back
for a second look. But what was the PRC thinking?"
The
Times of India has reported that "As postal employees gear up to go on a
nationwide strike, senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury today asked Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene in the matter to resolve the standoff."
The
Jordan News
Agency has reported that "Delegates from 19 Arab countries, representing
the Arab Permanent Committee of Post, an affiliate of the Arab League, have
started meeting on Tuesday in Amman within the 14th meeting of the
committee, which is hosted by Jordan."
April 10, 2007
The Association for Postal Commerce welcomes its
newest member:
Ripon Printers, 656 S. Douglas Street, Ripon, WI 54971-0006 represented by Jerome Eiler, Postal Specialist
From
Business Wire: "Pitney Bowes Inc., the world’s leading mailstream
solutions company, announced today the introduction of four new
AddressRight™ printers to help businesses of all sizes drive revenue through
professional direct mail and customer communication. In addition, Pitney
Bowes is offering three new, enhanced DM Series™ Digital Mailing Systems
that automatically download new rates and class changes to help drive
operational efficiency."
Computerworld has reported that "NZ Post is claiming a 70% reduction in
IT operating costs, after moving to a service-oriented architecture and
open-source operating system — despite saying it is just 30% through its
transformation journey. Moving to a service-oriented IT environment is the
only way forward, says Alan Roberts, infrastructure and architecture manager
of New Zealand Post’s postal services group."
The
Wall Street Journal has reported that "Germany's Bertelsmann AG is
betting that in an age of Amazon.com, people still want to purchase books
from old-fashioned book clubs. Bertelsmann has agreed to buy out Time Inc.'s
interest in Bookspan, their book-club joint venture that includes
Book-of-the-Month Club. Bertelsmann will pay about $150 million for the rest
of Bookspan, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal,
announced today, would leave Bertelsmann as the only major operator of book,
music and DVD clubs in the U.S."
The
Financial Times has reported that
Gillian Alford is not a person to shun a challenge. The head of the BBC's employee relations and policy has joined Royal Mail's letters business to head its industrial relations, a newly-created role.
HSBC’s annual report has ballooned to such an unwieldy size that the Royal Mail – the UK postal service – has had to limit the number its postmen carry in order to prevent back injuries, according to the bank. The 454-page tome, which weighs in at 1.47kg, is the product of corporate reporting regulations causing frustration among executives and shareholders.
As the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution has asked, "How do you make the 63,000
people in Johns Creek disappear? Mail them a letter. The problem is that the
U.S. Postal Service doesn't recognize Johns Creek. The same goes for Milton.
For organizers of new Georgia cities, the lesson is this: A new city does
not automatically come with its own postal address. The state gives cities
the authority to tax, to throw people in jail and to decide zoning cases.
But when it comes to using your new city's name in a mailing address, you
have to ask the Postal Service. That's because mailing addresses are
determined by ZIP code and the post office that serves it —- not by
political boundaries."
According to the
Manila Standard Today, "The Manila International Airport Authority
forged recently an alliance with cargo forwarders, airline firms, and the
Philippine Postal Corp. to combat security threats and smuggling."
The
Brisbane Times has noted that "ratings agency Standard & Poor's has
affirmed its ratings on New Zealand Post, but revised its outlook to
negative because of slowing growth in its postal business." See also the
New Zealand Herald.
The
Tallahassee Democrat has reported that "A part-time employee of the
Monticello post office pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon to charges that
she stole gift cards and money from the mail on two occasions this
year....Earlier Monday, Darrell Gallagher, a 23-year veteran of the U.S.
Postal Service, pleaded guilty to throwing away advertising circulars on
Nov. 1, 2006. A second, temporary employee of the Tallahassee post office,
Willie Buck Jones, pleaded guilty last week to charges that he threw mail in
a Dumpster on two occasions in January."
The
El Paso Times has
reported that "Delays continue to plague the delivery of standard-class mail
in El Paso, and the United States Postal Service is leaning on overtime and
temporary workers to correct issues that several longtime employees said
demand a larger response. Similar delays last year to standard-class -- or
bulk-rate mail -- drew scrutiny from the office of U.S. Rep. Silvestre
Reyes, D-Texas."
Slovenia
Business Week has reported that "The management of the national postal
company signed a letter of intent on business cooperation with its
Macedonian counterpart on Friday, 6 April in what could be a prelude to a
tie-up. This is the fourth such agreement Posta Slovenije signed with akin
companies in the region."
Press Release: "Window Book, Inc., the leader in postal mailing and
shipping software announced that they will be showcasing their products at
booth #557 at On Demand Expo in Boston, MA in April."
Transport Intelligence has reported that:
Parcelnet, the UK courier delivery network and provider of home shopping fulfillment services, has announced that it is acquiring the Redcats UK courier network operation to further develop its existing delivery business. The combined courier network will consist of over 7,000 couriers.
DHL has announced that it is partnering with Florida's largest producer and importer of tropical fish as the exclusive provider of live tropical fish deliveries across the United States.
TNT Post has provided more details on the effects of the measures that it will be taking to safeguard its position in a domestic postal market that is experiencing declining volumes and increasing competition. The company hopes that it can avoid large-scale involuntary redundancies by complementing its operational efficiency measures with changes to employment conditions and benefits to bring these in line with the market.
From
PR Newswire: "Letter carriers from 18 states across the nation,
including National Association of Letter Carriers President William H.
Young, will demonstrate in front of U.S. Postal Service headquarters with
informational picketing on Monday, April 16 at 2 p.m. EDT to protest
contracting out of city letter carriers jobs. Young and the letter carriers
will be joined by members of Congress angered at the Postal Service's
decision to outsource mail delivery to both existing and future city letter
carrier territory to private companies and individuals. The NALC and its
supporters in Congress believe contracting out will expose both residential
and business postal customers to security problems, poor service, and a
disjointed and unreliable delivery workforce."
April 9, 2007
From
PR Newswire: "SteelCloud, Inc., a leading engineering and manufacturing
integrator of network centric and embedded computing solutions today
announced it has re-won a contract valued at over $8 million from the U.S.
Postal Service Engineering Department for SteelCloud specialized servers.
Deliveries will commence in April 2007 and continue for the remainder of the
Company's fiscal year which ends October 31, 2007. Under the terms of the
agreement, the U.S. Postal Service has an option to purchase additional
servers which would result in a total contract value that exceeds $10
million."
CNews
has reported that "The low automation level of work processes and the low
salaries made the employees of the St. Petersburg post to hold a picket.
They threaten a strike. The leadership says the picket is just a staging,
but do not deny the employee’s accusations. The picket took place near the
building of the Federal Postal Agency of St. Petersburg and its region,
Bolshaya Morskaya street 61. there are some 30 employees protesting. They
call themselves the members of the free trade union of post employees. They
demand the trade union to be recognized and their salaries increased.
Besides, they demanded to boost the automation level of work processes,
which according to them are of the XIX century. The trade union was formed
on March 11th, 2007. According to its representatives the union comprises
230 people."
MaltaMedia News has reported that "Maltapost has introduced a new
alphanumeric postcode, which is made up of three letters followed by four
numbers. This new postcode will compliment the restructuring of Maltapost’s
distribution system and continue to enhance further the efficiencies in the
system. The three letters in the new postcode indicate the locality, and the
first three digits refer to the road/or street with the last digit referring
to the actual street segment."
AllAfrica.com
has reported that "Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has embarked on a
study leading to the eventual privatisation of the Nigeria Postal Service
(NIPOST). However, the agency has fixed June 2008 date for the sale of the
NIPOST, it has not come up with the privatisation option to be adopted in
the transaction."
The
New York Times has reported that "the Postal Service is taking the
“ship” out of shipping, and thousands of small online booksellers are
bracing for trouble. The post office said last month that as of mid-May, it
would no longer transport goods internationally via cargo ships for
individual customers. These so-called surface deliveries have been the
crucial method by which booksellers have sold books to foreign markets
because the cost is about one-third that of air mail."
The
Dallas Morning News has reported that "UPS Store owners all over the
country are packing it in, including 10 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the
last two years. And the numbers could grow, raising alarms about a possible
franchise fiasco. The problem stems from an unusual situation: The stores
can't compete with United Parcel Service Inc.'s Web site. Many current and
former franchisees accuse the package delivery giant of using the Internet
to take away their customers."
The
Courier-Journal has reported that "UPS employment in the Louisville area
has topped 20,000 for the first time, and the shipping giant expects to add
more than 5,000 workers with the completion of a $1 billion expansion of the
Worldport air-package hub at Louisville International Airport in November
2010."
April 8, 2007
National
Association of Letter Carriers president William Young told his members:
"I truly regret to inform the membership that the top leadership of the United States Postal Service has flatly rejected NALC’s offer of a strategic partnership to protect the future of the Postal Service,” Young said. “We are shocked by their refusal to work jointly, and now have no choice but to pursue our bargaining goals through interest arbitration.” “The Postal Service power brokers have thrown down the gauntlet,” Young said. “They apparently don’t believe NALC is militant enough to fight them on these issues. They are sadly mistaken and will rue the day they so misjudged us....The current chairman of the USPS Board of Governors, James Miller III, earned his right-wing reputation as budget director during the Reagan administration, and is now trying to ram that ideology down the throats of all at the USPS.” “The Board of Governors believes it should risk the trust of the public and threaten the longterm viability of the United States Postal Service for quick and ultimately illusory savings offered by contracting out....Although NALC has no quarrel with traditional Highway Contract Routes, it will seek a legislative prohibition on expanded outsourcing....Young said. “The lawmakers who worked side by side with us to implement postal reform will not sit by and see all that good work undone by ideologues at L’Enfant Plaza."
In recent months, President Burrus has felt the need to criticize the NALC and other postal unions over postal reform, branding their leaders as “fools” for working to shape “bad” legislation. He routinely demonizes the nation’s major mailers. Indeed, he once famously referred to the customers who generate the majority of the Postal Service’s volume—and revenue—as “vermin.” ....[A]ll the chest pounding in the world doesn’t change one simple fact. Postal reform was finally passed by the Senate unanimous consent rules—an objection from just one out of the 100 senators would have killed it. President Burrus either did not have the courage of his convictions or he lacked the clout to find a single member of the Senate to stand up for him."
April 7, 2007
As
Force.Net has noted, ""To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars,
the Postal Service offers these special edition Express Mail envelopes
wrapped in the artwork of a galaxy far, far away."
The
Alaska Journal of Commerce has reported that "A mail rate increase
scheduled for May 14 will push the price of milk and staples sky high in
rural Alaska, according to Alaska residents and businesses. “This increase
will definitely close the gap for using air freight over U.S. mail,” said
Michelle Adams, logistics manager for the Alaska Commercial Co. “We are
getting closer and closer to air freight rates.” The new rate will push a
1-ounce first class letter up to 41 cents, and a postcard will now cost 29
cents. The real increase in the mail rate will be felt harder by those in
the rural Alaska, according to Adams. “This is huge, I really feel for the
folks in the Bush,” Adams said."
As
Reuters has noted, "Electronic paper" has long been hyped as the future
of newspapers and books, but products like e-books have been slow to take
off. That may soon change, say executives involved in the pioneering
technology. While Internet companies are scanning libraries of books and
making them available online, E Ink Corp., which emerged out of MIT a decade
ago, is seeing a surge in orders for its portable, foldable displays that
mimic conventional paper to carry such books."
Brechin Today has reported that "Angus MP Mike Weir has warned that
there are only 90 days to save the Royal Mail's centuries old Universal
Service Obligation - where all mail is priced equally wherever it is sent in
the UK. Mr Weir's stark warning came after the Royal Mail announced plans to
introduce "zone pricing" for bulk business mail. This could result in higher
charges for the delivery of such mail in rural areas like the Angus Glens.
The plans, which do not affect normal postal deliveries, have now been
passed to the regulator, Postcomm, who have 90 days to respond."
Dow
Jones has reported that "FedEx Corp.'s FedEx Express unit signed an
agreement to acquire Flying-Cargo Hungary Kit, its Hungarian global-service
participant."
April 6, 2007
The
Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) has offered its initial
comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Regulations
Establishing a System of Ratemaking issued by the Commission on January 30,
2007 ("Advance Notice"), pursuant to the Postal Accountability and
Enhancement Act, Public Law 109-435 ("PAEA" or "Act"). Comments offered by
other mailer groups can be found on the
Postal Regulatory Commission web site.
According to
Yokwe, "A new bill (number 141) submitted to the Nitijela proposes to
change the structure of the RMI Postal Service and makes a new postal
authority with the RMI President as the chairman. The other four members are
to be appointed by the Cabinet."
The
Times-Picayune has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has approved a
plan to move regional mail-sorting operations from Mandeville to New Orleans
within 60 days."
The
Worcester Telegram & Gazette has reported that "The National Labor
Relations Board Region 1 has issued complaints alleging multiple unfair
labor practices against FedEx Corp.’s FedEx Home Delivery for allegedly
firing and harassing workers during a union organizing drive in late 2005
and early 2006."
According to the
National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), "Contracting out
delivery service threatens survival of the USPS. Today, the Postal Service
is breaking...[a] bond of trust in cities and towns nationwide by handing
the mail over to providers of “Contract Delivery Service,” just about anyone
who claims they can do the job on the cheap. From coast to coast, horror
stories are already emerging about undelivered mail and unsavory characters
hired as subcontractors. What is going on here?"
From the
U.S. Postal Service (contracting opportunties):
The US Postal Service is requesting proposals from companies that have proven capabilities to provide approaches to automate the movement of letter mail from input systems to final sorting systems. The input systems are primarily the Advanced Facer Canceller System (AFCS), but are not limited to the AFCS. The output systems are the Delivery Bar Code Sorters (DBCS). The AFCS separates mail into three categories, FIM (remittance) mail, local mail, and outgoing mail. Typically, each category of mail from the AFCS is sorted on a different DBCS. That is, there is one DBCS that sorts FIM mail; there is a second DBCS that sorts the local mail; and there is a third DBCS that sorts outgoing mail. Those companies with demonstrated technology that may be in use in the general public or for other postal administrations are asked to propose an approach that can accept as input the mail from multiple (at least 4) input systems and to distribute that mail to multiple (at least 3) output systems. The mail is to be distributed to the output systems based on delivery destination of the mail and the sort plans loaded on the output systems. Proposals will be evaluated on total cost to implement, functional risk, and performance risk. A single proposal will be selected for a field proof of concept evaluation of an engineering prototype system. The US Postal Service will provide funding for the field evaluation but not for the development of the engineering prototype. Interested suppliers must submit firm fixed price proposals for the field evaluation.
This is a notice of the United States Postal Service's intent to solicit for Terminal Handling Services (THS) at 66 sites throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The THS provides integrated material handling services in support of the USPS air and ground networks. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP), and the Postal Service may or may not issue a formal solicitation. In the event of a formal solicitation, the time frame for Solicitation is mid-May 2007 with contract award decisions in July 2007-August 2007. This pre-solicitation notice also provides potential THS suppliers an opportunity to prequalify to participate further in the process. The information in this synopsis allows potential suppliers to explore business opportunities at the various locations, including building options, transportation providers, labor resources and other administrative concerns.
According to
DM News,
"Every year companies conducting direct mail campaigns lose millions of
dollars on what seems to be an uncontrollable problem. Nearly 20 percent of
the American public moves to a new address each year and 10 percent to 20
percent of these movers do not notify the U.S. Postal Service of their new
address. Unaccounted-for movers – those that do not notify the postal
service of their change of address – can result in large-scale losses for
direct mail campaigns."
The
Daily Express has
reported that "UP to 50,000 postal workers could lose their jobs in the
biggest cuts in the history of the Royal Mail. Almost a third of staff in
the letters division could be hit, under plans to modernise the ailing
business. The cuts would be on top of 35,000 jobs which have gone through
redundancies over the past five years."
The
Chairman of the Postal
Regulatory Commission has granted a Coalition of Catalog Mailers its
request "for additional time to prepare a motion to reopen the record
includes persuasive justification for extending the deadline for submission
of its Motion to Reopen and Supplement the Record for Reconsideration."
From the
U.S. Postal Service: "Proposed Mailing Standards for Periodicals.
"We posted a proposal for comment today on usps.com/ratecase to provide new
mailing standards to accompany the Periodicals portion of the R2006-1
pricing change. We will also publish the proposal in print and online in the
Federal Register. Our new Periodicals prices will enhance efficiency and
better ensure that all types of Periodicals mail cover their costs. Mailers
will have new incentives to use efficient containers and bundles, and
copalletization will become a permanent offering to encourage more
publishers to combine mailings. We also add new prices for the editorial
portion of a mailing to give mailers of high-editorial-content publications
access to lower destination entry rates. We are delaying the implementation
of the new Periodicals prices and mailing standards until July 15, 2007, to
give postal employees and mailers more time to prepare for the complex
pricing structure recommended by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The
Commission recommended Outside-County rates based on pieces, pounds,
bundles, and containers. The new piece rates will vary based on
machinability and barcoding; bundle and container rates will vary based on
presort level and point of entry. We encourage all Periodicals mailers to
review and comment on our proposal as they prepare for the July Periodicals
pricing change."
Air Cargo
World has reported that "DHL introduced a Web-based service to provide
point-to-point tracking for shipments as they pass through the company's
international freight forwarding and U.S. Express network. The service is an
enhancement to the Consolidated Distribution Service that handles U.S.
imports."
The
International Herald Tribune has reported that "An unusual law that
shapes the way German companies operate is being re-examined yet again
following corruption scandals at Siemens and Volkswagen - even as more
companies are finding ways to skirt the requirements of the law. Under
German law, companies are required to give as many as half of their
supervisory board seats to labor representatives. That increasingly appears
to be leading to conflicts of interest and bribery in corporate Germany,
because executives need a board's support to keep their jobs and carry out
strategies. At Deutsche Post World Net, the German postal company and
operator of the DHL express delivery service, the chief executive, Klaus
Zumwinkel, has also been accused of getting too cozy with labor. Good
relations will be important next year when a commitment of no layoffs
expires. In one example, Deutsche Post has 530 employees who have put their
normal jobs aside to act as full-time labor representatives, often with
company cars and private secretaries. This is well above the legal minimum
of about 400 for the company, which has more than 500,000 workers and is one
of the world's largest employers."
The
Moscow
Times has reported that "Television producer Alexei Osipov, arrested for
extorting $20,000 in exchange for not airing compromising footage of a
senior federal official on NTV television, was blackmailing Igor Syrtsov,
head of the postal service, Kommersant reported Thursday."
The
New
York Press has reported that "new program called Carrier Alert System
will require your friendly neighborhood postman (or woman) to check in on
elderly and disabled folk."
From
PR Newswire: "CheckFree Corporation and Sovereign Bank today affirmed
their commitment to the environment by launching the "Go Paperless"
campaign. As part of the Go Paperless campaign, developed to educate
consumers about the green-friendly benefits of paperless bills, Sovereign
Bank and CheckFree will donate $1 to The National Arbor Day Foundation for
each new electronic bill (e-bill) that customers activate at Sovereign Bank
from April 1 through May 31, 2007. Each donation will help cover the cost of
planting one new tree. According to the United States Postal Service, more
than 10 million tons of paper travel through the mail each year."
April 5, 2007
The
New York Times has reported that "readers of a weekly newsmagazine will
soon be getting a bonus issue, but they will miss it if they look in
mailboxes or on newsstands. The magazine, The Week, will publish the extra
issue online, rather than in its regular printed format. The special issue
will feature articles on the environment — hence the decision to spare trees
by publishing it just on the Internet (theweekmagazine.com)."
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
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.

From the
U.S. Postal Service: "The USPS has posted the new international rates,
fees, and country listing tables (in easy-to-access PDF and HTML formats)
and the new Postage Statements effective May 14 on
usps.com/ratecase. We encourage
you to use our electronic tools as you prepare for the new prices..
According to the
Korea Herald, "Post offices in 101 cities and counties will start from
today using new street names for mailing addresses. The affected cities
include Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan. The
Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs announced yesterday
its plans to adopt a new mailing system that forces people to write street
names. In Korea, people previously did not need to write a street name for a
mailing address of a residential or office building, but only used certain
numbers of areas in the city - 100 Samsung-dong, for instance. However, the
address will be changed to a form of "Sarang-street, 100 Samsung-dong."
As
FinFacts has noted, "The Commission for Communications Regulation
(ComReg) today published the findings of its 2006 postal business and
residential surveys. An Post, the Universal Service Provider, delivers over
750 million items each year. Approximately 85% of Ireland’s domestic post is
business mail."
Logistics Business Review has reported that "TNT has announced that it
is to sell its logistics division to affiliates of Apollo Management, a US
private equity firm, for E1.48 billion. While the sale of the business unit
has been on the cards since 2005, Datamonitor's Chris Morgan questions
whether the new TNT Logistics will be able to take part in further market
consolidation which is no doubt inevitable in the short term."
RTE Business
News has reported that "Last night the communications regulator
published its findings for 2006 on how business and householders find the
postal service. It shows that business is sending more post but the rest of
us are sending less, while more of us are aware that there are competitors
to An Post."
The
Scott County Times has reported that "A Fed Ex package containing three
pounds of marijuana led authorities to two arrests recently. According to
police, weapons discovered at the location of the arrest may also link the
suspects to other crimes."
Arab News has reported that "Postal officials from Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) member countries discussed recently the final details of
establishing a delivery company for the GCC postal system. The company would
facilitate package delivery among the different postal systems of the six
GCC member states."
Multichannel Merchant has reported that "Postal rates are increasing in
May, and smart marketers are insulating themselves from the hit by plunging
headfirst into acquiring multichannel contact points for all of their
customers. E-mail appending, a service where a vendor matches missing e-mail
addresses to your postal file, must be considered. Typically, the costs are
per matched e-mail address, and you only pay for those addresses that are
deliverable. When done correctly, e-mail appending can be an effective
strategy to quickly increase the percentage of e-mail addresses in your
file."
The Times has reported that "Up to one third of postal workers are
likely to lose their jobs in the biggest swathe of cuts in the history of
the Royal Mail, unions have been warned. The cuts will follow increased
automation and an overhaul of the way the business operates as it struggles
to combat growing competition. Royal Mail has said that the changes over the
next four to five years will need efficiencies — or job losses — of 30 per
cent of its full-time workforce in the letters division. With 160,000 people
employed in Royal Mail letters, that means 48,000 job losses, well in excess
of the 30,000 in the last round of redundancies that began five years ago."
The
Financial Times has reported that "Vodafone will on Thursday announce a
wholesale deal on mobile telephony with Poste Italiane as part of efforts to
counter slowing revenue growth in its Italian business. The Italian postal
service, which has 14,000 branches, will offer mobile phones and related
services to its customers."
CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
"Reciprocity" seems to be the latest buzzword of Deutsche Post Chief, Klaus Zumwinkel. Together with SPD ministers Franz Müntefering and Peer Steinbrück, of late he has been using this expression to counter the opening up of the German postal market on 1.1.2008.
Whilst increasing its turnover, the Spanish post office, Correos, has been compelled to accept an appreciable fall in profit in the past year.
Poste Italiane has almost doubled its net profit over the last year.
The PIN Group has successfully completed a significant phase in the penetration of the German letter market.
Poczta Polska is to change its form to a public limited company and to be floated on the stock market.
In Scandinavia, the fact that, despite many parallels, there are also significant differences between the countries, is demonstrated not least by the annual reports of the four postal concerns.
Last year’s flotation of Österreichische Post AG clearly cost the state-owned holding company, ÖIAG, a "tidy" sum.
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The implications of the privatisation of Japan Post for the economy are evidently fuelling fears in the USA.
In Belgium, the closure of 277 post offices planned for 2007 could be delayed.
Namibia Post Limited (NamPost) has been in the black for the last two years in succession.
In future, India Post is intending to use an air freighter to service its operations in the North East of the country.
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The cooperation between GLS Austria, the parcels subsidiary of the British organisation Royal Mail and the mineral group OMV, which was announced last year, has failed.
Agility Logistics Solutions Ltd. is clearly hoping to expand still further, by means of acquisitions.
On the basis of a 4-year contract, the state-owned concern, Eesti Post, is to market the services of TNT Express up until February 2011.
The medium-sized courier sector in Germany has evidently overcome its difficulties and is once again experiencing an upturn.
This year Chronopost which, according to its own assessment, is the leading French express company with an 18-percent market share, is intending to concentrate particularly on expanding abroad.
Christian Hoy, Director of DHL Global Forwarding Denmark, resigned last week.
Charles Graham is the new CEO of DHL Aviation.
Deutsche Post announced last week that Jürgen Höfling will become the new Chairman of the Divisional Management Board of Brief International on 1 April.
Christian Emery will hold in his hands the destiny of Chronopost, the express subsidiary of the French organisation La Poste.
Rainer Schwarz has been appointed to the Management Board of DPD Austria.
Dennis Quek Hong Kai took charge of the Logistics and eBusiness divisions at SingPost.
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. (We appreciate the courtesy extended by CEP News to help whet your appetite for more of what CEP offers.)
The
Daily
Yomiuri has reported that "With six months left before the privatization
of Japan Post on Oct. 1, there are many hurdles to clear, such as the
purchase of government-commissioned special postal offices privately owned
by individuals across the country. Japan Post Corp., a company established
in January 2006 by Japan Post in preparation for postal privatization, will
submit to the government a detailed business plan at the end of this month
in a move to enter the final stage of preparations for postal privatization.
Japan Post Corp. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa, who has doubled as president
of Japan Post since Sunday, said at a news conference Monday, "A host of
issues read to be resolved before realizing postal privatization."
April 4, 2007
According to PostCom
chairman Jim O'Brien, "In R2006-1, the USPS admitted that its volume
variability assumptions for Standard flats were questionable. If there is
substantial doubt about the precision or reliability of these assumptions,
then there is some scope for the exercise of Commission discretion to make
adjustments to them." These volume volume assumptions [are wrong, and
catalog rates should be adjusted
downward.] With a reduced rate, the USPS will gain the exact same
revenue in the test year but would reduce the devastating impact upon the
catalog mailers....In addition, letter mailers would continue to provide
their projected volumes because
letter rates do not have to change from those in the recommended decision....This
will go a long way toward maintaining a stable Postal Service and a robust
U.S. economy."
PostInsight
has posted new research on postal services in Europe published by the EU
statistical office Eurostat.
From
Swiss Post: "Swiss Post launches PostCertificate for digital signature -
Secure data exchange 04.04.2007 From today, electronic signatures are
available for the first time in Switzerland from Swiss Post. As a result,
documents which previously had to be sent by registered post for legal
reasons can now be sent electronically. PostCertificates will form the basis
of electronic identities and perform the same function in the digital world
as a passport or identity card. Digital signatures ensure that documents can
be reliably identified and attributed when exchanged electronically. Senders
and recipients are reliably identified, confidentiality is guaranteed
through encryption of the electronic documents and proof of dispatch and
receipt are generated. Potential applications for the digital signature
include the exchange of legal documents, signed documents and procedures
involving government agencies in which proof of identity is required."
RTE Business
has reported that "New research shows that while businesses are sending more
post - with a fifth using other providers as well as An Post, households
sent a third less mail in 2006, compared to 2005. That is the result of the
2006 business and residential postal survey by ComReg (the Commission for
Communications Regulation). The average business spends €8,019 each year
with An Post, and a fifth of Irish businesses are now opting to use other
providers in addition to the Universal Service Provider." See also
FinFacts.
Multichannel Merchant has reported that:
Now that most of the changes proposed as part of the current postal rate case are scheduled to go into effect on May 14, catalogers are scrambling for ways to minimize their effect. The sense of urgency is compounded by the fact that the Standard Mail rate increases are steeper than originally proposed last year.
Many catalogers are expected to try to reduce costs by shifting grades and using lower basis weights as well. Until it's clear which tactics catalogers will take to compensate for the postal rate hikes, few are willing to make definitive statements regarding paper demand and pricing trends for even as soon as the second half of the year.
The
Irish
Post has reported that "Irish postal delivery rates are among worst of
any postal service within the EU according to a major new survey. More than
a quarter of all mail posted in Ireland is not delivered on the following
day - with just 72 per cent of deliveries made on time. Only the postal
services in Greece, Latvia and Cyprus have a poorer record on meeting
next-day delivery targets. The findings are contained in new research on
postal services in Europe published by the EU statistical office Eurostat."
AMEInfo has reported that
"Emirates Post and Hong Kong Post have agreed to enhance Mumtaz (express)
mail service between the two countries and increased use of the Dubai Mail
Transit Hub for mail re-distribution in the region."
Air Cargo
World has reported that "Express and logistics company DHL launched an
expansion of its Time Definite Delivery, carrying packages from the Asia
Pacific region to the United States within one, two or three days. TDD now
covers Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and the United States, providing
guaranteed door-to-door deliveries with collection times for pre-nine a.m.
or pre-noon. The new offering covers more than 1,450 postal codes in San
Francisco, Los Angeles and New York."
The
Financial Times has reported that "The managing director of Royal Mail's
letters division has left the group unexpectedly after just 13 months in the
job. Ian Griffiths, who was previously group managing director of GKN
Automotive, joined the postal operator in February and was a member of the
board. He is the second head of the letters business to leave in less than
three years. Elmar Toime, who joined Royal Mail in 2003 as deputy chairman,
left in October 2004. Royal Mail said Mr Griffiths was leaving the group
with thanks for his contribution and best wishes for the future. It refused
to comment on the reasons for his departure. Adam Crozier, chief executive,
is to take over the running of the letters business until a successor is
appointed, as he did after Mr Toime's departure in 2004." See also
The Times.
The
Bristol Press has reported that "Tom Rizzio of the USPS Public Affairs
Office said the promise extends to the automated processing of residents'
mail. Rizzio's statement comes after he heard of problems that have occurred
since all local mail began being sorted through the automated processor at
the USPS Wallingford plant. For years, town mail was processed at the USPS
Waterbury facility and then returned to town. For close to a year now, local
mail has been shipped to Waterbury, delivered to Wallingford for processing,
returned to Waterbury and then shipped to the local post offices. But,
according to Anthony Orsini, vice president of the Terryville Fish and Game
Club, there have been problems."
From
PRWeb: "Remote Control Mail™, the global provider of postal mail online,
has expanded services and now offers regional addresses in more than 18
major cities across the United States."
Hemscott has reported that "Business Post Group PLC said it expects
full-year revenue growth of around 17 pct driven by continued strong
performance of UK mail, and adds that its results for the year to March 31
will be in line with its previous expectations."
MENA-FN has reported that "Emirates Post, which plans to spend Dh1
billion on an expansion drive within the next 18 months, has set into motion
an ambitious programme to acquire 50 aircraft in five years to boost its
soon-to-be-launched airfreight activities." See also
Reuters.
The
Franchise Magazine has reported that "Mail Boxes Etc. (UK) Ltd., (MBE)
is offering sub postmasters and independent retailers an opportunity to
provide alternative postal services under a new franchised concession. This
could create postal services in areas where they did not exist previously
and would also enable sub postmasters facing closure to stay in business and
continue to serve their local communities."
Scoop has
reported that "New Zealand Post is increasing the price of the standard
domestic letter by 5 cents to 50 cents from 1 June 2007. The increase is the
first since April 2004, when the price moved from 40 cents to 45 cents.
Peter Fenton, New Zealand Post’s Postal Services Chief Executive Officer,
said that growth in the number of addresses to which New Zealand Post
delivers and significantly increased costs had made it necessary to increase
the domestic letter rate. “Even at 50 cents it costs less to send a standard
letter in New Zealand than it does in Australia, Britain, Canada and the
majority of the other OECD countries,” Mr Fenton said." See also
Bloomberg.
April 3, 2007
The
San Diego Union-Tribune has reported that "The San Diego Jewish Times, a
biweekly newspaper with about 16,000 subscribers, has ceased publication
after 27 years. Its last edition was dated March 30. “Ad revenue is way
down, and we don't have the reserves to carry us through,” said Mike
Schwarz, the paper's publisher. Because the paper was distributed through
the U.S. Postal Service, the pending increase in postage rates also
contributed to the decision, he said."
From
PRLog: "QuickAddress Pro v6 enables organisations to benefit from
improved search functionality and access to more address data, including the
Royal Mail's 'Not Yet Built Data' which comprises an average of 300,000
new-build properties at any one time."
Welcome
to PostCom RadioPostal Podcast Number 14 Join PostCom President Gene Del Polito and Arandell Corp.'s Vice President of Postal Affairs, Don Landis, and its Director of Postal Systems, Susan Pinter, in a discussion of the R2006 rate case and its impact on catalog marketers. |
From
UPS: "A key segment of Asia's business leaders believes their region's
economy will continue to enjoy strong growth in 2007, but many are more
excited about the growth of India than they are China, a new survey shows.
The survey of 1,200 leaders of small- and mid-sized business enterprises
(SME) in Asia also found wide agreement that China will surpass the United
States as the world's largest consumer economy in 10 years or less."
From
PR Newswire: "I.D. Systems, Inc. has announced that it
has received orders from the United States Postal Service (USPS) to deploy
the company's Wireless Asset Net(R) powered industrial vehicle management
system at seven additional USPS facilities."
Air Cargo News
has reported that "SODEXI has developed a new version of its software
package for computerised management of postal traffic. This latest
application allows the automated handling of all tasks, including the
tracking of shipments, while conforming to all the current security rules."
As
Multichannel Merchant has noted, "Each year, companies that rely on
direct mail campaigns lose millions of dollars on a seemingly uncontrollable
problem: unaccounted for movers and inaccurate mailing lists. The U.S.
Postal Service (USPS) reports that 14.2% of the public moves to a new
address each year. Of these movers, approximately 10 to 20% never report
their new address to the USPS. Unaccounted for movers cause inaccuracies in
mailing lists and result in large-scale losses for direct mail campaigns. An
inaccurate mailing list will cost companies the expense of printing and
mailing an undeliverable piece, as well as losing sales revenue from the
potential buyer. For example, for a mailing of 1 million pieces that cost a
modest $0.55 each and net $2.50 in revenue per piece, the losses can total
more than $365,000. Although it is nearly impossible to locate all
unaccounted for movers and maintain a 100% accurate mailing list, there are
actions a company can take to increase its list accuracy."
The
Postal Regulatory
Commission is looking for a new Inspector General. Interested?
Transport News Network has reported that "The European Express industry
is set to undergo drastic transition according to a report just published by
independent market analyst Datamonitor (DTM.L). The report 'Five Factors
that will shape future of Express Industry' puts this down to globalization,
deregulation of the postal sector, the wave of mergers and alliances and the
booming trade & e-commerce, the combination of which the report concludes,
will transform the express industry. Datamonitor expects the express
industry in nine EU countries (EU 9 - Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy,
Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden and Poland) to grow at a compound annual growth
rate of 4.1% to €41.2 billion by 2010. Air express and freight being driven
by just in time business operations and expanding international trade."
The
Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail's proposals to introduce a
more competitive pricing system have been attacked by mail users and postal
operators after the industry regulator launched an inquiry. The state-owned
operator wants to introduce a pricing structure for bulk mail to enable it
to charge different amounts depending on the destination. This, it says,
would help it to cope with mounting competition from private sector
operators."
El
Pais has reported that "Last year, Spanish postal services operator
Correos recorded a net profit of 142.2m euros. This figure represents a
decline of 19.8 per cent on its result for 2005, when it recorded a net
profit of 177.3m euros."
As the
Richmond Times-Dispatch noted, "Before UPS Freight could change its
corporate culture, it had to make sure its truck drivers could change their
socks."
Bloomberg has reported that "TNT NV, Europe's second-biggest
express-delivery service, will freeze wages and cut as many as 7,000 jobs in
the Netherlands, or 12 percent of its postal workforce, as competition
erodes earnings." See also the
International Herald Tribune.
The Standard has reported that "The Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK)
has officially launched PostaPay, its money transfer service, for Kenyans
living overseas.The service will enable Kenyans in the Diaspora to send
funds directly to places such as schools when paying tuition for relatives
or dependants."
April 2, 2007
PC
World has reported that "Online advertising is set to overtake radio
next year-- beating previous forecasts-- media experts have predicted. Media
services firm ZenithOptimedia forecasts that worldwide spending on internet
advertising will grow 28.2 percent in 2007, compared with a rise of just 3.7
percent in the rest of the advertising market."
From the
U.S. Postal Service:
"The U.S. Postal Service has filed a request with Postal Regulatory
Commission for an extension of the provisional Repositionable Notes (RPNs)
test. The Commission approved a one-year provisional test of RPNs, and later
a one-year extension of that test. RPNs are sticky notes that mailers can
place on envelopes, catalogs, magazines, and newspapers to highlight
important information or a special offer. The fees for RPNs are 0.5 cents
each when used with First-Class Mail and 1.5 cents each with Standard Mail
and Periodicals. We will use this extension to continue to evaluate the
changing market conditions and gather more data. Details are available on
the Commission’s Web site at www.prc.gov.
Click “Contents,” then “Pending Cases & Matters,” then “MC2007-2.”
Air Force Times has reported that "As many as 100,000 military
reservists who worked at the U.S. Postal Service between 1980 and 2000 could
be eligible for thousands of dollars in compensation because they were
improperly charged for their military leave, under a new ruling."
From
PR Newswire: "United Airlines today announced it has signed a long-term
contract with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for the carriage of domestic
mail. United is scheduled to begin carrying domestic mail April 28, 2007.
The agreement extends through Sept. 30, 2011, and is potentially worth up to
$400 million in revenue to United over the life of the contract. The new
contract is in addition to United's current position as the number-one
carrier of international mail for the USPS among passenger carriers."
La
Prensa Libre has reported that "Alvaro Coghi, general manager of Post
office of Costa Rica, affirmed that he has himself been working for the
modernization and fortification of the postal organization."
The Paper 24-7 has become yet another newspaper has opted for mail
versus private carrier delivery.
icCoventry has reported that "hundreds of people marched through
Coventry's streets in protest at bitterly-opposed plans to axe the area's
biggest mail sorting office. The rally was one of the largest protests seen
in the city for years with more than 400 postal workers and their families
turning out. Mail staff from all over the UK - including some who had
travelled down from Scotland - joined local workers on Saturday to fight the
closure of the city's main sorting office."
The
Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail proposals to make some of
its business mail prices more competitive face a delay of up to two years.
The postal operator has abandoned the original timetable for its plan to cut
some key delivery rates of bulk mail to "dense drop zones" - often city
centres - while raising them for London and other areas." See also
The
Independent.
Infoworld has noted that "Companies today are wrestling with a
conundrum: How do they cut costs and reduce environmental impact while
maintaining — or even sharpening — their competitive edge? For some
organizations, technologies such as virtualization are the answer. For the
publishing industry, the answer is the Internet. Make no mistake: The world
of traditional print publishing takes a heavy toll on our planet, much of
which derives from the energy involved in simply cranking out paper.
According to a 2002 study by the Energy Information Administration, a
division of the U.S. Department of Energy, the paper industry emits the
fourth highest level of carbon dioxide among manufacturers, after the
chemical, petroleum and coal products, and primary metals industries."
According to
IndianMuslims.com, "Saudi Arabia is fully committed to increase private
sector participation in the economic growth of the oil exporting country,
says its investment promoter. According to the Saudi Arabia General
Investment Authority (SAGIA), privatisation is a key element of the
kingdom's economic liberalisation and a host of sectors are being opened up
to the private sector."
The Telegraph has reported that "In an attempt to pressurise the Union
government to implement the Sixth Pay Commission to increase salaries, the
postal department today unanimously decided to go for an indefinite strike
in East Singhbhum and other districts of Jharkhand from April 24."
April 1, 2007
The
Daily Bulletin
has reported that "Office mailrooms are being sent packing. Modern
technology is changing the way we communicate."
According to
Globes, "The Tel Aviv District Labor Court has ordered Israel Post
Company Ltd. to pay NIS 680,000 compensation to three senior employees who
were fired. The court ruled that there were reasonable grounds for
suspecting that they were fired for political reasons. Israel Post said in
2005 that the three men were dismissed as part of a restructuring plan."
The
Wall Street Journal has reported that "The Bush administration imposed
new economic sanctions against China, a vivid reflection of the increasingly
tough climate in the U.S. toward free trade -- particularly with Beijing.
The new duties apply narrowly to complaints that Chinese producers of
glossy, high-quality paper used in books and magazines are unfairly
subsidized by their government -- just $224 million of annual imports, or
less than 1% of the total goods and services Americans buy each year from
China."
As the
Canton Repository has noted, "The U.S. Postal Service is funded by the
stamps you buy, not the taxes you pay. Despite its monopoly on delivery of
first-class mail, it is essentially a private business. So when the Postal
Service faces a decision about a controversial issue, it isn't subject to
the kinds of accountability that government officials are. It can ignore the
pressure of public opinion, the lobbying of special-interest groups, the
arguments of newspaper editorials. It can do pretty much what it wishes.
What are you, the customer, going to do if you disagree - stop sending mail?
Last week, Postal Service officials listened to public opinion anyway. Then
they abandoned an idea that would have hurt some Canton residents and the
city's image tremendously."
The Guardian has reported that "Royal Mail is planning to charge
businesses more to deliver post in London than in other parts of the
country. According to proposals submitted to industry regulator Postcomm,
business mail, including bulk deliveries such as bills, statements, and
mailshots, will attract a surcharge if delivered to London and low-density
rural areas. The plans have caused surprise at Postcomm and angered business
users because it was assumed delivery to urban centres would be cheaper than
to rural areas, where costs were higher."