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