May 31, 2007
Reuters has reported that "Markus Ferber, an EU lawmaker, is seeking
to water down the Commission's plan by seeking liberalisation from Dec.
31, 2010, with some states two years after that."
The
remarks of the Postmaster General at yesterday's address before the
National Press Club has been posted on the USPS web site.
From
the
U.S. Postal Service: "The International Service Center (ISC) in
Miami, Fla., is being recognized with an International Post Corporation
(IPC) Certificate of Excellence for exceeding the highest international
standards in mail processing."
Road Transport has reported that "Business Post predicts its UK Mail
postal arm will overtake its parcels business in the next three to five
years. Chief executive Guy Buswell says that UK Mail generates 27% of
the revenue for the company and this fits in line with Business Post's
growth strategy to become "the leading integrated postal operator".
According to
EurActiv, "Members of a key committee in the European Parliament are
set to demand a delay in reforms as plans to subject Europe's postal
sector to full liberalisation by 2009 sparks fury among postal workers
across the continent. Plans, presented by EU Internal Market
Commissioner Charlie McCreevy in October 2006, to open up Europe’s €88
billion mail sector to full competition, had intimated a near end to the
already nearly 20 year long battle to break the stranglehold of Europe’s
powerful national postal monopolies. But opposition to the proposal is
gaining territory."
Kent News has reported that "Royal Mail has come under fire for
axing two-thirds of a bus service that serves isolated rural areas."
The
Christian Broadcasting
Network has reported that "When it comes to issuing stamps, the U.S.
Postal Service has what might be called an eleventh commandment: "Thou
shalt not celebrate religious themes." Postal Service spokesman Roy
Betts says the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee that considers new
designs for postage makes an exception for religious holidays, so stamps
celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and the Muslim Ramadan and Eid
observances are allowed. At a news conference in Washington yesterday,
the Reverend Rob Schenck urged Postmaster General John Potter to make an
exception and approve a stamp honoring the Ten Commandments."
The
Sioux Falls Argus Leader has reported that "Bell Inc. announced
Wednesday a new deal with the U.S. Postal Service to manufacture 200
million courier envelopes annually to comply with the "Cradle to Cradle"
standards."
EurActiv has noted that:
-
While the goal of liberalising the postal sector is
more or less broadly backed, divisions remain as to the 'when' and
the 'how', says
Professor Paul R. Kleindorfer, an expert on postal
liberalisation.
-
Derek Holt, director at independent economics consultancy Oxera
shares his view with EurActiv on how to finance the universal
service obligation in the context of further liberalisation in the
European postal sector.
From
CNW Telbec: "Amazon.ca Teams with Canada Post to Deliver the Final
Harry Potter Book to Customers' Doorsteps on July 21 for the Same Price
as Express Shipping."
Advertising Age
has reported that "Postmaster General John Potter attacked
Wachovia Corp. for suggesting in a TV ad that the mail was a major
source of identity theft -- and that customers should pay bills online
instead. Asserting that mail accounts for less than 4% of identity theft
and that the problem is already confusing enough to consumers, Mr.
Potter first ripped the ad, created by Interpublic Group of Cos.'
Mullen, Winston-Salem, N.C., without mentioning that it was for the
nation's fifth-largest bank. "I have no problem with competition -- it's
a good thing, it can keep everyone at the top of their game," he said.
"All I ask for is a little honesty when you're doing it." Asked
specifically about the bank, he accused Wachovia of "really doing a
disservice to the American public."
The
Financial Times has noted that "US life assurers are adopting a more
aggressive model to reflect the greater likelihood that certain
neighbourhoods will fall victim to terrorist attacks or catastrophes.
The move, in which the industry has implemented the kind of risk
management tools previously restricted to property and casualty
insurance, means that life assurers could start to charge clients
according to which city or even which neighbourhood they live in.
Location used to have little bearing on premiums, with many life
assurers simply keeping an eye on overall exposure. But now, according
to a survey conducted by Towers Perrin, the professional services firm,
assurers are refining their approach by monitoring aggregate exposure
by postal code or city.
According to
EurActiv, "The EU is entering the final stages of a 15-year process
to make European postal services more efficient by opening them up to
competition. But member states will first have to overcome differences
of opinion regarding the speed of liberalisation and how to achieve a
universal service for consumers."
Brunei Direct has reported that "From June 1 onwards, all 24 post
office branches in the country will have automated counters. With the
new system, work will be more efficient, and the public can also pay
their bills at these counters. The Postal Department plans to offer more
payment services in future."
The
Times of Malta has reported that "The Union Haddiema Maghqudin
yesterday instructed postal workers not to deliver notices related to
registered mail after the management reacted to a previous union
directive related to the delivery of registered letters. The UHM had
ordered postal workers not to deliver registered letters and the
management issued an order to postal workers to deliver notifications so
that customers could collect the registered letters themselves through
the hubs. However, the union has now issued a new directive to ensure
that registered letters remain undelivered and uncollected."
Thanh Nien News has reported that "Vietnamese prosecutors have filed
charges against 22 more postal officials for defrauding the state in a
2005 equipment purchase scam."
The
Financial Times has reported that "Post Office Financial Services, a
joint venture with Bank of Ireland, said it had secured 1m customers in
just over three years since its launch, making it the fastestgrowing
provider of financial services in the UK."
Reuters has reported that "The United States Postal Service will
begin using packaging made with recycled materials and take other steps
to reduce its impact on the environment, Postmaster General John Potter
said on Wednesday. "In our small way we're making the world a better
place," he said as the Postal Service introduced the new packaging.
Potter said the new environmentally-friendly supplies will be used by
each post office once they have exhausted their current inventories."
See also Federal
Times and
Planet Ark.
EPA Press Release:has reported that "The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized the environmental achievements of
the U.S. Postal Service vehicle maintenance facilities in Albany and
Syracuse, N.Y., by welcoming the facilities as new members of the
National Environmental Performance Track program."
Press Release: "More than 500 postal workers from across Europe
marched through Berlin on 30 May to deliver giant protest cards to the
German government urging Chancellor Angela Merkel - the current European
Union president - and her ministers to defend the universal postal
service. In the postal uniforms of many nations and carrying national
flags the colourful procession took more than two hours to march through
central Berlin from a rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate to the
Labour and Economy ministries."
From
the
U.S. Postal Service: "The U.S. Postal Service is the only mailing or
shipping company in the nation to achieve “Cradle to Cradle”SM
Certification at the Silver level from MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design
Chemistry) for human and environmental health. Postal Service mailing
and shipping supplies already had exceeded government requirements,
including recycled content standards from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Going beyond existing federal and state agency
requirements was a goal in seeking certification."
May 30, 2007
According to the
Daily Express, "the majority of postal workers are now in favour of
a national strike which would cripple deliveries this summer."
From
Business Wire: "Siemens announced that it has been awarded a $217.5
million fixed-price contract to provide key technologies of the Flats
Sequencing Systems (FSS) contract from the Northrop Grumman Corporation
(NYSE: NOC). Northrop Grumman was contracted by the U.S. Postal Service
to provide 100 FSS to further automate its flats mail stream, which
includes large envelopes, catalogs and magazines."
CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
A stagnant turnover caused a slump in profits for Post Danmark
during Q1 2007. CEO Helge Israelsen said last Friday that the
stagnant turnover resulted from various factors, e.g. a decline in
press and unaddressed mail distribution accompanied by rising costs.
Wage trends and a growing rate of sickness absences had had a
negative effect on the result.
The new president of Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, Bernhard
Heitzer, has defended the decision to abolish Deutsche Post’s
monopoly in Germany as of 1 January 2008.
There is a possibility that the postal market opening date may be
postponed at EU level. Quoting European Parliament rapporteur Markus
Ferber, German trade journal »Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung« (26.05)
reported that the complete opening of the market would be postponed
by 2 years, granting East European member states and Greece a 2-year
extension of that deadline.
Despite a decrease of around 9% in mail volumes (6.7 billion
consignments, - 8.96%) India Post managed to increase its turnover
in the financial year 2005/2006 by over 26 percent to 220.5m euros.
However, the post is still in a difficult situation.
Last Tuesday Austria’s Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer spoke out
against a privatisation of the post. In his address at the postal
and telecommunications workers’ annual trade union meeting he
clarified that there would be "no privatisation of Telekom Austria,
Österreichische Post and its interlinked system".
Last year saw Japan Post’s mail segment achieve a profit yet again.
People in South Tyrol appear to be absolutely fed up with Poste
Italiane, and are now taking mail matters into their own hands. "We
intend to take over the entire postal service, including banking,
not just the delivery service", said Luis Durnwalder, head of the
South Tyrol provincial government in an interview with »Südtirol
Online«.
Yet another leading bank has turned its back on Royal Mail. Media
reports last week claimed that HSBC, the world’s third biggest bank
(2006 turnover: 61.7bn USD), had decided to let private operator UK
Mail handle its mail in future.
The Turkish and the Russian post are set to co-operate with each
other in the future. On 14.05, representatives of both post
companies signed a letter of intent that aims to facilitate joint
projects and cooperation.
Britain’s regulatory authority Postcomm intends to change the
current licensing regime in force since January 2006. The aim is
said to be to facilitate market entry and promote the development of
the UK’s postal market.
According to a DHL announcement published this Tuesday, "a new
traveller’s luggage forwarding service will be introduced just in
time for the holiday season" in Germany.
The web sites of the Italian and Spanish posts in particular have
become the targets of "phishing" attempts. Both the Poste Italiane
and the Correos web sites are frequently copied. Via a link in an
e-mail, which appears to stem from the post companies, customers are
linked to the copied web sites and prompted to submit their
passwords. The bogus web sites even show the familiar www.correos.es
and www.posteitaliane.it addresses - but only at the end of the
address line.
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.)
Forbes has reported that "The Dutch parliament will likely pass a
law fully liberalising the domestic postal market in June after
compromising with the cabinet on the sticking point of labour
provisions, the parliament's official website confirms. The legislation
will open the market for letters under 50 grams next year to TNT NV
competitors Sandd and Selekt Mail, a Deutsche Post subsidiary that
counts Dutch publisher Wegener NV as a stakeholder."
Precision Marketing has reported that "Postcomm has lost its High
Court battle to impose a £1m financial penalty on Royal Mail for failing
to ensure it did not gain a fair advantage over its competitors in the
‘access’ market."
American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus told his
members that "The long-standing APWU position is that mandatory subjects
of collective bargaining are best left to the parties for resolution,
even when bargaining has not achieved the desired results. I believe the
danger of Congress determining conditions of employment for postal
employees far outweighs the possibility of short-term success in
specific areas. The concept of petitioning Congress to declare that mail
delivery can be performed only by career postal employees is much more
complicated than it appears at first glance. Collective bargaining was
never intended to guarantee specific results. Through our unions we are
guaranteed the opportunity to continue to try."
The
Chronicle of Philanthropy has reported that "Charities will probably
soon receive a temporary discount on mail pieces known as "flats," which
are larger than letters, under a recommendation made by a key postal
service body."
According to the
Socialist
Worker, "Post workers say it's the bosses who are overpaid. Royal
Mail bosses Allan Leighton and Adam Crozier state that postal workers
are 25 percent overpaid and 40 percent underworked."
From
CCNMatthews: "Quebecor World Inc. announced today its plans for
creating greater customer value by expanding its co-mail platform into
the Northeast with two new 30-pocket machines. This increased co-mail
capacity will help satisfy soaring customer demand for co-mail services
and aid magazine publishers and catalogers in mitigating the current
postal rate case increases. To enable Quebecor World to better serve its
current and future customers the Company has entered into a two-year
exclusive agreement with the leading co-mail machine manufacturer to
enable Quebecor World to continue to expand its co-mail offering."
Newspapers & Technology has reported that "Commissioning at Cox
Target Media Inc.’s $200 million Valpak production center in St.
Petersburg, Fla., began last month, representing the beginning of the
end of a four-year project to redefine how the direct marketer prints
and distributes its familiar blue envelopes."
The
Czech Daily Monitor has reported that "Czech state-owned postal
services operator Ceska posta (CP) generated a before-tax profit of
Kc331m in 2006, two-thirds less than the year before, the company said
today. However, were it not for one-off accounting operations linked to
the company's transformation into a joint-stock company, CP would have
posted a profit of Kc1bn. CP with 38,000 staff is one of the largest
employers in the country."
The
Charlotte
News-Observer has reported that "A postal worker rooted through
years of mail looking for cash, credit cards and checks before burning
and burying piles of envelopes in her yard with the help of family
members, authorities said."
May 29, 2007
An
award-winning postal historian will be the featured speaker at a public
lecture and book signing on Wednesday, May 30, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.
at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum in Washington,
D.C. University of California, Berkeley, professor of history David
Henkin is one of two winners of the first Rita Lloyd Moroney Award,
created by the Postal Service to recognize excellence in scholarship on
the history of the U.S. postal system and to raise awareness about the
significance of that system in American life. Henkin's book, The Postal
Age: The Emergence of Modern Communications in Nineteenth-Century
America, merited the Senior Prize ($2,000) for work published by faculty
members, independent scholars, public historians and other non-degree
candidates. The Junior Prize ($1,000) for work written or published by
undergraduates or graduate students was awarded to Texas Tech University
student Jesse Vogler for his paper, ‘“Correct and Perfect’: Post Office
Design Guidelines and the Standardization of the National Postal
Landscape.” When he wrote the paper, Vogler was a student in the College
of Architecture.
The
Sri Lanka Columbo Page has reported that "Sri Lanka Postal
Department is considering to lower the recently increased parcel postage
rates from Rs.120 to Rs. 50 per kilogram. Postal Department workers say
that the recent postage hikes have caused the parcel post unpopular due
to high postage."
According to the
U.S. Government Printing Office, "the first U.S. Census was taken by
U.S. marshals on horseback that counted 3.9 million people in 1790.
Nearly 220 years later, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and RR
Donnelley have formed a unique partnership to use the latest 21st
century technologies to produce and coordinate the mailing of
questionnaires for the 2010 Census. GPO expects questionnaire packages
will be printed and delivered to more than 120 million American
households. The $49.7 million dollar contract between GPO and RR
Donnelley will be for three years."
FXStreet.com has reported that "Public transport, health services
and schools are likely to be the hardest-hit sectors in Portugal's
biggest strike in years Wednesday, the latest protest against government
reforms aimed at making the economy more competitive. Union leaders said
they expected widespread disruption of train, bus and subway services.
Also, schools were expected to cancel classes and hospitals were
postponing surgery. Officials also predicted disruption in trash
collection and postal services, which are run by public-owned companies.
The
Los Angeles Business Journal has reported that "Northrop Grumman
Corp. has received a $874.6 million fixed-price contract from the United
States Postal Service to provide 100 Flats Sequencing Systems designed
to automate the flats mail stream, the company said Thursday. The flats
mail stream includes large envelopes, catalogs and magazines. Northrop's
first generation of flats sorting technologies is in operation at Postal
Service processing centers nationwide. The new system will sort mail to
the delivery sequence of each carrier, reducing manual sorting. Northrop
is serving as the prime contractor. It jointly developed the key
technologies in the Flats Sequencing Systems with Solystic, a company
subsidiary in France, and Arlington, Texas-based Siemens Energy &
Automation. Installation of the first production units at USPS
facilities nationwide is expected to begin in 2008 with the remaining
installations scheduled for completion by 2010."
InTheNews.co.uk Royal Mail says the last year was the "best-ever"
for its customers in terms of service. The group today claims that
during the last 12 months its quality targets have been both met and
surpassed. Ninety-four per cent of first class letters arrived the next
day in 2006, meaning the 93 per cent target was "comfortably exceeded".
And 98.9 per cent of second class mail was delivered within three days,
beating the target by 0.4 percentage points. In total 11 of Royal Mail's
12 targets were met, based on 88,500 sample letters, parcels and packets
sent to 6,000 addresses. The claim comes after the government announced
earlier this month that 2,500 post offices would close after the network
became "unsustainable". The Communication Workers union described the
closures as a "devastating blow" for millions of people, condemning the
government's consultation period as a "sham". But Millie Banerjee, chair
of postal services watchdog Postwatch, said that "severe pruning" was
necessary if the post office network was to survive.
PersonnelToday has reported that "Royal Mail's HR chief has urged
the organisation's staff to "consider all the facts" before deciding
whether or not to vote for strike action."
"Britain looks set for a national post strike this summer after
independent polls showed that a clear majority of Royal Mail workers
intend to vote in favour of action next month,
The Times has learnt."
The National Association of Major Mail
Users has reported that:
-
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of
Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and Minister responsible
for Canada Post Corporation, announced the appointment of Mr. Donald
Woodley as interim chair of the Canada Post Corporation board of
directors for a period of 90 days. Mr. Woodley joined the board of
directors in August 2006, and is currently a member of the board of
directors of Gennum Corporation, as well as president of The Fifth
Line Enterprise. The interim appointment of Donald Woodley was
necessitated by the resignation of Gordon Feeney, who was appointed
to the position in September 2004 for a term of three years. Mr.
Feeney resigned of his own accord on April 26.
-
Canada Post’s second annual public meeting will be
held in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, on June 12, 2007,
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. NDT (Newfoundland time.) The intention is to
hold this meeting in a new location each year, and this year in
Canada’s most eastern province. The forum will provide an
opportunity to learn more about the current and future plans of the
Corporation, receive the latest financial results and pose questions
to senior members of the executive team present. Members are advised
a simultaneous, bilingual webcast of the meeting will be held.
May 28, 2007
According to the
Akron Beacon Journal, "Rising postal costs and changes in what
package shippers allow are causing business owners to whittle down their
mailing lists, find cheaper ways to send products and rely more on
communicating electronically."

CargoNews Asia has reported that "Armed with a new structure to
tackle the international market, the US Postal Service aims to get
a bigger slice through co-operation rather than acquisitions. Last year,
the USPS handled over 793 million pieces of international mail, which
translated into US$1.9 billion in revenues. To lay the foundations of
the international expansion drive, Paul Vogel, who was appointed
managing director of international business and senior vice-president of
the USPS last summer, has restructured the postal agency's international
activities, consolidating the separate elements into one global business
unit."
The
Los Angeles Times has reported that "the cost of getting magazines
into your mailbox will shoot up July 15. How much? It depends. Magazine
publishers are facing a radical postage rate restructuring that favors
those with large circulations and transfers costs to small- and
mid-circulation publications. Past increases to periodical postage were
applied fairly equally across all publications. But this time, things
are drastically different — and potentially damaging to the diversity of
voices that our founders strove to foster when they created the national
postal system."
According to the
Press of Atlantic City, "A rise in postal rates may adversely affect
the operations of nonprofit organizations in the region and nationwide.
Most affected by this increase are organizations that send out
fundraising letters, for example. Even more affected are organizations
that mail larger pieces, such as books and calendars. Such organizations
may pay anywhere between 20 percent and 40 percent more to mail such
pieces, known as standard mail flats."
A
major new report "RFID
for the Postal and Courier Service", IDTechEx estimates that the
global market for RFID systems, including tags, in this sector will be
$3 billion in 2016. It could be much bigger if current efforts to tag
individual items gain widespread acceptance. In due course, over one
trillion postal items will be tagged yearly, making this the second
largest application of RFID in the world after the retail supply chain."
Federal
Computer Week has reported that "The Government Accountability
Office, whose mission is to investigate the operations of federal
agencies for Congress, now finds itself under lawmakers’ scrutiny. House
and Senate subcommittees are investigating GAO’s performance-based pay
system after receiving complaints about the system from increasing
numbers of GAO employees. “What GAO was doing was supposed to
demonstrate the success of the new compensation system,” said Del.
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). “The fact is, GAO held itself out as
being able to show that a [pay-for-performance] system could work. I
don’t see how on the basis of what GAO has done and the reaction of its
upper-tier employees...that this system should now be spread to other
agencies without a great deal of more work."
The
Reno Gazette-Journal posed the following to its readers: "Question:
A Postal Service official said that annual postage increases may become
the norm. Has the time come to privatize all mail delivery?"
There's an interesting piece on Canada Post that's been posted in a
Toronto blog on "Where's
the Mail?"
The
Edinburgh Evening News has reported that "ROYAL Mail bosses have
apologised after a disabled man was asked to pay for an unstamped letter
- even though it had been sent by the post office. David McKenzie - who
suffers from breathing difficulties as a result of a heart operation -
was told to pay up after workers forgot to stamp a letter containing his
road tax. Now Royal Mail has apologised and offered the 61-year-old, who
owns the Connect Cafe in Comely Bank, compensation for the
inconvenience. He was forced to collect the letter and fork out the 24p
postage - plus a £1 fee for the blunder."
The Sri Lanka
Daily News has reported that "The Postal Department has appealed to
the Treasury for funds to fill 1,000 vacancies prevailing in the
Department for a long period, Post Master General S. Senadeera said. As
the dearth of personnel continue in all sections of the Department, it
has caused a serious hindrance to carry out the day-to-day work of the
Department."
May 27, 2007
The
Kuwait News Agency has reported that "Ministers and officials in
charge of postal services and communications began a scheduled meeting
on Sunday to discuss issues of common concern including fees and
tariffs. Mohammad Al-Mazroui, the GCC Assistant Secretary Geberal for
Economic Affairs, addressing the inaugural session on behalf of GCC
Secretary General Abdul Rhaman Al-Attiah, noted that the member states
of the council expanded the communication sector to a competitive level,
according to international standards. He confirmed that the conferees
would discuss plans for modernizing further the postal sector in the
member states, establishment of a private postal company and holding
joint exhibitions."
eTrucker.com has noted that "FedEx to add more hybrids to its fleet
By Kristie Busam FedEx Express announced it has signed agreements with
Azure Dynamics to develop hybrid electric powertrains for its delivery
fleet. Once the development phase is completed, FedEx Express has
committed to purchase a minimum of 20 pre-production hybrid electric
Ford E-450 delivery vans, to be delivered by May 2008."
In South Africa, the
Business
Report has noted that "The National Credit Act (NCA) is yet to come
into full effect but consumers are already reaping the benefits as some
sectors start changing the way they do business to comply with the act.
The call centre industry, which has been criticised for unsolicited
phone calls and e-mails, has introduced the Do Not Contact Me database
for those people who never want to be contacted by call centres again.
Since the opt-out list was launched two months ago, more than 21 700
people have put their names on it. It is an initiative of the Direct
Marketing Association (DMA) and it ensures that your postal address,
e-mail address, telephone and cellphone numbers are no longer available
to organisations who want to make offers, or send information, that you
have not asked for."
According to the
Pacific Daily News, "Catalogs. Credit card offers. Coupon packets.
Candidate fliers. No matter the shape, size or message, they arrive
incessantly, adding up by pounds and tons. The U.S. Postal Service and
marketers, who pay billions of dollars to get the messages to you, call
it advertising mail. Most recipients call it junk mail -- and it's
growing every year. There is a growing movement among legislators" to
pass laws controlling junk mail, said Kentucky state Rep. Jim Wayne,
D-Louisville, who has pledged to introduce a junk-mail registry bill --
similar to the "no-call" lists for telemarketers -- next year. No state
has enacted such a law, but the legislation is being considered in
Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Rhode
Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington state. Bulk-mail proponents point
out that similar bills have been withdrawn in Arkansas, Maryland,
Missouri and Montana."
The
Home News Tribune has reported that "Highland Park resident Bridget
Wade calls it a waste of paper. Fellow resident Morris Moskowitz says he
throws it in the garbage. It's junk mail — and both Wade and Moskowitz
say it seems like they've gotten more and more each year. "It's too
much," said Moskowitz, 78. "It's garbage and that's where I put it. Only
thing I do before dumping it is remove the portion that has my name and
address." Wade, 33, said although she may look through it, mostl of the
junk mail she receives ends up in the recycling bin. When told that
lawmakers in some states are looking for ways to control the seemingly
never ending advertising mail, Wade said she would welcome a similar
effort in New Jersey."
Yahoo has posted the
latest UPS financials.
The
National Association of Letter Carriers has reported that "Sen. Tom
Harkin (D-IA) on May 23 introduced in the U. S. Senate legislation to
protect city and rural letter carriers from having their work contracted
out by the U.S. Postal Service to private fi rms and individuals. The
bill, S. 1457, is titled the “Mail Delivery Protection Act of 2007” and
would forbid the Postal Service from entering into any contract “with
any motor carrier or other person for the delivery of mail on any route
with 1 or more families per mile.” The only exceptions allowed are
contracts in effect at the date of enactment of the bill which could
continue until terminated under the terms of such contract, or could be
renewed, and also service on a rural route may be converted to contract
delivery service when such route no longer serves a minimum of 1 family
per mile."
According to the
Kalamazoo Gazette, "Businesses should consider reshaping their
marketing budgets and shipping strategies to account for changes in
postal rates that took effect May 14, printing and shipping experts
say."
As
the
New York Post has noted, "Vanity ZIP codes could be a gold mine for
the United States Postal Service. Just days after upscale department
store Sakes Fifth Avenue convinced the USPS to give it a vanity ZIP code
for its shoe department, the always cash-strapped postal service said it
was exploring the idea of using vanity ZIP codes as a way to generate
additional income."
The
Houston Chronicle has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service rates
that went into effect this month have people living in Alaska's remotest
villages worried about more than just paying 2 cents more for a stamp.
The Postal Service also bumped up rates for Alaska's one-of-a-kind
discount mail program, which ensures that groceries and other basic
supplies arrive regularly in 139 villages that cannot be reached by any
road. For these communities, where prices already are high, the roughly
13 percent increase will affect the cost of all sorts of items from milk
to fresh fruit, experts said. Even before the postal hike, a
regular-size box of cereal could cost more than $8 in some villages and
milk cost more than $7 a gallon. "The villages are already having a hard
time. A lot of people live on food stamps, and I don't think they get
very far," said 85-year-old Josephine Roberts, who lives in the
Athabascan Indian village of Tanana."
The
Sunday Times has reported that "The Postal Department faces an
urgent need for structural reforms if it is to be commercially viable
and improve the services it provides through a countrywide network of
4,000 post offices.“Public and private sector partnerships to improve
postal services have been stalled due to union and political pressure
but some improvements can be done even within a departmental framework,”
Post Master General, K .A. Sherwin Senadeera told The Sunday Times FT.
He said there was one post office for every 14 km and every 4,100
persons. The department has the highest distribution force in the
country. Most of the businesses send their local mail through the Postal
Department and use courier services to send their foreign mail. The Post
Master General said that around 7,500 postmen are engaged in the
delivery of mail throughout the country and their mode of transport is
still the bicycle because most of them have to cover remote rural areas
with poor road conditions. He noted that it was feasible to use bicycles
even in some urban areas as they had to deliver mail to households
situated in narrow by lanes where the road conditions were also poor in
many parts of the country."
May 26, 2007
The
Washington Post has reported that "For the past four years, the
Clintons have jetted around on Vinod Gupta's corporate plane, to
Switzerland, Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico -- $900,000 worth of travel. The
former president secured a $3.3 million consulting deal with Gupta's
technology firm. His presidential library got a six-figure gift, too.
Gupta, whose big donations to the Democratic Party earned him a Lincoln
Bedroom overnight when Bill Clinton was president, has emerged as a key
benefactor of Clinton's post-presidency -- and Hillary Rodham Clinton's
presidential candidacy. Gupta's generosity toward the Clintons has
proved so controversial within his firm -- a major provider of
database-processing services -- that it prompted a shareholder lawsuit
complaining that hiring the former president was a "waste of corporate
assets."
The
Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail, the former postal
monopoly, has yet to draw on a £1.2bn loan made available to automate
its operations under a new financing framework arran-ged more than a
year ago. The investment package announced last May by Alistair Darling,
trade and industry secretary, was intended to help Royal Mail compete
against the new breed of private-sector postal operators after it lost
its monopoly at the start of 2006. But although big business mail users
are deserting Royal Mail in droves, Britain's dominant postal operator
has failed to take advantage of the new system."
As
one writer for
DM
News has noted, "The most recent postal rate increase isn’t a shock
to anyone. But it should be a wake-up call for retailers who aren’t
taking a well-integrated, multichannel approach to marketing."
The
Town
Crier has reported that "New plans to close more Post Offices has
led to an angry backlash by Cambridgeshire's MPs. More than 4,000
branches have already been closed since 1997 and the Secretary of State
for Trade and Industry Alistair Darling wants to close another 2,500
over the next 18 months. But, the watchdog for postal services Postwatch
said: "The reality of the situation is that without severe pruning the
whole network is in jeopardy. It is without doubt in the best interests
of customers that Post Office closures are planned rather than
unplanned."
The
Malta Independent has reported that "The Union Haddiema Maghqudin
said yesterday that despite attempts by the General Workers Union to
disrupt the strike action at Maltapost, the UHM was satisfied with the
way that its members had implemented directives. The union said that the
support and solidarity shown by the workers themselves testified to the
fact that they knew who was working in their best interests. A total
strike was ordered from early yesterday morning over a disagreement with
the management with regard to a new collective agreement, and workers
who were on the night shift stopped working as from midnight." See also
The
Times of Malta.
Postal rate payers aren't too
pleased with the Postal Regulatory Commission decision regarding
Standard Mail flats. One PostCom member wrote: "(1) The
"transitional" nature of this is pointless, since the Board of Governors
will not even decide on this matter until June and it lasts only until
the end of September. The time period is entirely too short to have any
meaningful value for anyone. (2) ECR flat rates were also impacted
significantly by the PRC decision. For larger mailers, the ECR rate is
the most critical cost cell. As you probably know, many smaller mailers
like us co-mail with other catalogers through partnerships arranged by
the printers. Through that mechanism, smaller mailers enjoy the benefits
of ECR rates just like the larger mailers. Many mailers, such as us, had
used the co-mailing mechanism as a primary method of mitigating the
impact of the rate case. Now, those efforts, although not in vain, will
not begin to cover the impact. (3) We are concerned that this proposal,
if adopted, would be the end of the discussion as far as the Post Office
is concerned. Nothing short of permanent relief needs to be granted for
flats. We strongly believe that either the contingency should be
adjusted or the flats/letter differential should be narrowed, or a
combination of both."
Another reacted by wondering on what planet the PRC is living. "You
have got to be kidding me! As a mail services provider, I’m going to
give a client and the USPS a Postage Statement that has hand calculated
discounts? Do they not understand that everything we do in regard to
postage payment and entry of the mail must rely on software? It’s a lot
more than just calculating the discount! "
May 25, 2007
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
-
The Postal Regulatory Commission today recommended a “transitional”
temporary rate reduction of three cents per piece on all Standard Mail
Regular flats and two cents for all Standard Mail Nonprofit flats. The
temporary rate would end September 29, 2007, and Standard Mail flats rates
would return to levels that became effective May 14.
-
Concerned about last week’s postage increases, the writer of this editorial
proposes a creative response.
-
Potter names new Postal Service officers. New USPS Inspector General reports
posted. DMM Advisories: Delivery Confirmation Required for Priority Mail
Open and Distribute, and Final Mailing Standards for Periodicals Pricing
Change. DMA urges mixed paper recycling. World Mail Award winners announced.
Earth Class Mail finalist in CNET web competition. NALC supports dog-bite
prevention bill.
-
U.K. to close thousands of small post offices. Royal Mail, La Poste order
oversize mail sorters. Kuwait wants a bigger stage.
-
A list of upcoming postal-related events.
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The
Portsmouth News has reported that "a ballot for strike action is
being held by Royal Mail workers in a dispute over pay and cuts. About
130,000 papers were sent out yesterday to Royal Mail workers asking them
to back industrial action that could lead to a walk-out. The ballot will
end on June 7 with an announcement on the same day. The Communication
Workers’ Union, the main postal union, said the precise action would
depend on the response from members so it was too early to make a
prediction."
CNET News has noted that "Madison Avenue used to have high hopes for
the lowly postage stamp. For decades, advertisers imagined that if only
the legal barriers against commercial images on postage stamps came
down, they could do great things on envelopes. Those obstacles went away
last year, when Congress swept aside a law against advertising on stamps
and the United States Postal Service authorized businesses to use
postage for marketing purposes. The Postal Service renewed the program
on May 16, but has yet to see a great deal of revenue from the stamps,
which have so far been little more than a niche product....The custom
stamp program was reauthorized this month, and the agency agreed to
permit custom stamp providers to offer presort postage rates. "
From
PR Newswire: "The Partnership for Public Service announced today
that Samuel J. Palmisano, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of
the IBM Corporation, and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) have been
named the 2007 Private Sector Council Leadership Award recipients for
their outstanding contributions to improving the federal government
through public-private sector partnerships. The awards were presented
last night at the Partnership's annual Leadership Awards Dinner in
Washington, D.C. The Partnership has singled out both Senator Collins
and Palmisano among their colleagues for their leadership and commitment
to improving government effectiveness in a number of critical areas.
Senator Collins has led efforts to reform the U.S. intelligence
community, improve chemical security and modernize the postal
service. She also led the bipartisan Senate inquiry into the
government's response to Hurricane Katrina, and recently sponsored FEMA
reform legislation."
The
Direct Marketing Association (DMA) expressed its disappointment
today at the refusal of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to revise
its recommendation for exorbitant postage increases for Standard Mail
Flats, and instead offer postal customers less than four months of
“transition time.” “Over the past several months, postal officials have
heard a loud and clear message from the mailing community that these
outrageous rate increases will force catalog and nonprofit mailers to
make significant cuts in mailing volumes,” said DMA President & CEO John
A. Greco, Jr. “Giving mailers a ‘summer break’ doesn’t change that fact.
Come October – just as companies head into the peak holiday mailing
season – the hurt will be on once again.” DMA is asking the Governors to
approve the rate reduction without the deadline, leaving it in effect
until the next postal rate change, likely in mid-2008, under the new
procedures established by the Postal Reform law that were enacted late
last year."
PostCom Members! The latest issue of the
PostCom Postal Policy Report has been posted on this site.
Svoboda – Collins, a Chicago based private equity fund, in conjunction
with Mark Majeske an investor and new CEO, has acquired of Superior
Mailing Services, Inc. of Bedford Park, Il.
According to the
Associated
Press, "Wisconsin seems to be in the sights of scam artists using
fake checks and bogus sweepstakes promises to separate people from their
money, a postal official says."
From
the Federal Register:
-
The
Postal Regulatory Commission seeks more specific comments on the
same topic. The Commission anticipates using these comments as
guidance for drafting proposed regulations.
- The
Postal Service has published a final rule that provides the
revisions to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) that we will adopt to support the new
Periodicals prices effective on July 15, 2007.
The
Brunei Times has reported that "Postal Services Department is ranked
17th globally in terms of performance parameters by the Universal Postal
Union (UPU), the United Nations body that coordinates postal policies
worldwide."
Reuters has reported that "The Dutch centrist coalition has reached
a compromise on minimum employment standards for postal workers,
clearing the way for a new postal law to pass, a senior lawmaker said on
Friday."
The
minutes of the May 16, 2007
Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee
(MTAC) has been posted on the USPS RIBBS web site.
International Mailers Take Note: "On May 14 2007, the United States
Postal Service eliminated the International Surface Mail service from
their mailing options. Someone is petitioning to let the USPS know how
important the International Surface Mail option is to businesses,
customers, expatriates, and individuals all over the world that rely on
this service. (International Surface Mail is the service provided from
the USPS that normally takes 4-12 weeks for delivery and is cheaper than
air mail or other services provided) The hope is that the USPS will
reconsider its decision and [reimplement] this service swiftly so that
customers may again enjoy cheaper shipping rates and avoid changes that
will be made by US companies to offer this service to their customers."
The latest issue of PostCom's
PostOps Update has been posted on this site.
In this issue:
-
Intelligent Mail Gets New Legs With Service Measurement
Requirements
-
USPS Envisions End-To-End Package Visibility
-
MTAC FSS Update Sets Stage For Flats Symposium
-
MAilers And USPS Looking At Flats Prep/Entry Under FSS
-
Flats Address/Barcode Standards Under FSS
-
MTAC Welcomes New USPS Addressing Manager
-
CASS Cycle L – Aug 1 Date Moves Closer; USPS Says It’s Prepared
-
List Certification Workgroup FinalizIng Recommendations
-
New MTAC Workgroup To Focus On “Great Addressing”
The
DM Bulletin has reported that "Royal Mail's VAT exemption could be
challenged by rival TNT Post after a development in the High Court this
month. The High Court has granted TNT Post permission to apply for a
judicial review of the exemption and is expected to rule soon that the
European Court of Justice carry out the review. All postal services
provided by Royal Mail are VAT exempt, but services provided by all
other operators are not."
The
Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) today
offered interim rate relief for Standard Regular flats and catalog
mailers in response to the Governors of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
who requested reconsideration of the recommended rates in March. The
Commission’s
Second Opinion and Recommended Decision on Reconsideration
recommends a transitional
temporary rate reduction of three cents ($0.03) for all Standard Mail
Regular flats and two cents ($0.02) for Standard Regular nonprofit
flats. By law, the average
revenue per piece for nonprofit mail is only 60 percent of the average
revenue for commercial mail. No other rate changes were recommended by
the Commission. If the Governors accept the Commission’s recommendation,
there should be minimal administrative or transaction costs since the
savings could be easily measured at the end of the transition period or
at the time of mailing. Mailers would not need to reprogram computer
hardware or software to accommodate this temporary change. Mailers could
simply multiply the number of flats mailed by $0.03 to calculate their
savings in this transition period. Nonprofit mailers could multiply the
number of flats mailed by $0.02. Today’s PRC action responds to the last
of three issues returned to the Commission by the Governors in relation
to Docket No. R2006-1.
The temporary transitional rate
relief for Standard Regular flats mailers ends on September 29, 2007,
the last Sunday before the test year begins.
The
Daily Progress has reported that "Mail is critical to Christian
Children's Fund -- about 10 million pieces a year. It sends millions of
letters soliciting donors for its programs helping impoverished children
worldwide. It thanks donors. It sends follow-up statements. And like
many organizations, it mails an annual report. The cost of sending all
that mail increased May 14 when the U.S. Postal Service changed the cost
of bulk mailings as well as raised the cost of a first-class stamp 2
cents to 41 cents. "There will be a tremendous negative impact on the
cost of doing business due to the rate increase," said Betty Forbes,
CCF's vice president of marketing and sponsor services. The
Richmond-based organization has not tabulated what the extra expenses
will be."
La Stampa has reported that "Postel, the subsidiary of Italian post
office Poste Italiane that provides communications and document
management services to business and the public sector, recorded turnover
of 360.2m euros last year, meaning it has quintupled revenues since
1999. The company's operating margin is 11 per cent, and it is a world
leader in its field with 1.7 billion items of correspondence handled
every year."
Computerworld has reported that "Dell will begin selling two models
of its desktop PCs at Wal-Mart Stores on 10 June, fulfilling a series of
recent hints from chief executive Michael Dell that the company would
move beyond the direct sales model that once made it the world's largest
PC vendor. The strategy marks a major change in how Dell sells
computers. The direct-sales business model is no longer such an
advantage, since competing PC vendors say they have learned their lesson
and trimmed their own costs. And critics note that buyers in
developing countries don't trust their postal systems enough to
purchase expensive PCs through the mail.
EUX.TV has
reported that "Police have been intercepting mail in the German city of
Hamburg, the postal company said Friday as a hunt continued for radicals
who have attacked cars and homes with petrol bombs in the run-up to next
month's G8 summit. Deutsche Post, the successor to the former post
office, said police had presented a warrant from a magistrate before
three days of searches started Tuesday. Police also accompanied a
postman who was clearing city letter-boxes."
Stabroek News has reported that "A collaborative venture with a
United States-based cash transfer entity and a new local money transfer
service are just two of the initiatives that the Guyana Post Office
Corporation (GPOC) has taken in recent years in an effort to "re-invent"
itself, broaden the base of its revenue and enhance its competitiveness
in the financial services sector. Deputy Post Master General Mayglen
Adams is acutely aware of the antiquated image of the local postal
service and makes no secret of her support for the changes that are
taking place."
Union Network International has noted that "Hundreds of postal
workers from across the European Union will be marching through Berlin
on Wednesday May 30 in their different uniforms. UNI-Europa Post and
Logistics is taking its campaign against a proposed European Commission
directive on postal services to the German Presidency. The march starts
at 10.30 am from the Brandenburg Gate. The European Commission wants to
remove remaining protections from traditional postal operators from
January 1 2009 for mail below 50 grammes. But unions warn that there is
no funding arrangement ready to ensure operators will still be able to
provide a universal postal service to citizens wherever they live at a
common, affordable price in a totally de-regulated postal market. The
unions also warn that tens of thousands of jobs will go if the directive
is approved."
NEWS! Event Date: May 30, 2007 Event Name: John E. Potter
Event Type: NPC Luncheon Time: 12:30 PM Sponsored by: Speakers
Committee Event Location: Ballroom The National Press Club
luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. Remarks will begin just after
1 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. Reservations should
be made by telephoning 202-662-7501. Cost of luncheon admission is $16
for National Press Club members, $28 for their guests, and $35 general
admission.
IndLaw.com has reported that "Federation of Karnataka Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has opposed the proposed Indian Post
Office Amendment Bill, which it said would seriously affect the Courier
industry, providing employment to a large number of people."
Forbes has reported that "Germany's Federal Cartel Office still aims
to abolish Deutsche Post World Net AG's monopoly on letter delivery as
of January 1 and rejects proposals to selectively allow only some
competitors on Germany's mail market, the Office's new head Bernhard
Heitzer told WirtschaftsWoche magazine in an interview."
Expatica has reported that "Most cities will not be receiving any
post today as postal workers participate in a general strike. It will
not be clear until later in the day how many post offices are actually
open. Work was stopped last night in sorting centres for Flanders, Ghent
and Antwerp. "This means that no letters were sorted. Postal workers who
do decide to work will have less to deliver." See also the
International Herald Tribune.
The
San Francisco Chronicle has reported that "The former president of a
postal workers union was indicted today by a federal grand jury in San
Francisco on charges of embezzling more than $170,000 and falsifying
records to cover his tracks. Graham Paul Vane, 59, of Pacifica stole
money from the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO, Branch
1280 from January 2002 to March 2006 and spent it on dining, travel,
massages, jewelry, wine, pet expenses, personal utility bills, groceries
and gas, the indictment said."
National Association of Major Mail Users Toronto Chapter Director, Craig
Porter (Mackenzie Financial), invites you to an information-packed
session and another opportunity to shape direction on postal
initiatives. The Chapter agenda features two important Canada Post
product and program updates with built-in opportunities to share ideas
for the future; and three national NAMMU Council status reports. AGENDA
Address Management: Background, Address Accuracy rules – current and
new; Future Plans: SERP Presenters: Paolo Tuscano, Address
Management-Data & Systems Support; Gaston Bouchard, Manager Product
Management and Support-Data Products; Alexis Zamkow, General Manager
Data Products BRM: eLabel; 4-state barcode usage for automated billing;
proposed changes in artwork for april 2008; open discussion on future
enhancements. Presenter: Rachel Carriere, Product Manager, Unaddressed
Admail and Business Reply Mail NAMMU National Council Reports
Transaction Mail Council - VAM Council - Mail Marketing Council
Questions or additional information:
cporter@mackenziefinancial.com
May 24, 2007
Here's one that caught our eye. The headline in the Connecticut Post read: "Postal Service may move all to Stamford." For a moment it seemed that Pitney Bowes has just purchased the Postal Service.

From the
U.S. Postal Service: "Tom Day, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, has been named the new Senior Vice President, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality. The three organizations currently within Government Relations and their Vice Presidents (Consumer Advocate, Public Affairs and Communications, and Government Relations and Public Policy) will report to the PMG. He also announced the new Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy, Marie Therese Dominguez, effective June 11."
From the Postal Regulatory Commission: "The Postal Service, in a status report on settlement negotiations [Docket No. MC2007-2, Repositionable Notes] and related notice filed in response to Order No. 14, advises the Commission that reaching a settlement in this case is not likely. This conclusion is based on participants' representations in response to recent Postal Service inquiries and on the experience in two predecessor cases, where settlements were not reached, despite lack of opposition thereto.1 The Commission appreciates the Service's efforts to facilitate settlement, its timely report, and its frank assessment of the situation. With the prospect of settlement nil, the Commission believes it is preferable to proceed to build a record to support prompt issuance of an opinion and recommended decision in this case, rather than to suspend action."
From the
U.S. Postal Service: "We published a notice for comment [PDF] | [TXT] in today's Federal Register proposing new standards for Priority Mail Open and Distribute service. Currently mailers may use the electronic option for Delivery Confirmation service on Priority Mail Open and Distribute containers at no additional cost. Our proposal would make this optional extra service a requirement. Delivery Confirmation helps us monitor these mailings and communicate the delivery status of each container to mailers. We encourage mailers to review and comment on our proposal before June 25."
The soap opera plotline concerning the "ownership" of postal addresses has taken another twist. According to leaked letters seen by The Guardian, the latest set of negotiations between government-owned agencies over payment for address data has broken down.
The Financial Times has reported that "Business Post, the postal services group, more than doubled revenues of its UK Mail operation in the year to March 31 following the full opening of the letters market to competition at the start of last year. The company, which handles more than one in 20 letters posted in the UK, reported a more than twofold rise mail revenues to £90.3m."
The Scotsman has reported that "John Swinney, the finance secretary, yesterday pledged to do everything in his power to fight post office closures north of the Border. Last week, the Department of Trade and Industry declared 2,500 post offices would be closing across the UK, including about 200 in Scotland. Because the network is a reserved issue, Mr Swinney has only limited powers to prevent the closures. But in his first statement as a government minister, Mr Swinney said there were a number of measures the Scottish Parliament could take, including meeting managers of the Royal Mail to prevent closures; getting involved in local consultations; supporting community buy-outs and making post offices more viable by increasing the public services available on the network."
New Straits Times wants to know "Where's all the mail going to?"
Gulf Times has reported that "Q-POST has initiated the steps for its much-awaited scheme of post boxes in villa compounds and flat complexes, inquiries found. An official of the post boxes department said yesterday that in response to the advertisement carried by Q-Post some time ago, owners of some villa compounds had responded to express their willingness to avail of the scheme."
According to KFOX-TV, Senators Bingaman and Domenici are not too happy to have learned that the U.S. Postal Service intends to use temporary employees to address its El Paso processing and distribution center needs. Both released statements to KFOX. "Hiring temporary employees is not the impression or understanding that I got. No where in the agreement does it say anything about these employees being temporary. I will make an inquiry into this immediately," Domenici said. "I'm very unhappy to learn that the 15 new U.S. Postal Service employees hired to staff the El Paso mail processing facility will be temporary. Mail delivery problems in Las Cruces are in need of a permanent solution and not a quick fix. I will continue to work with the U.S. Postal Service to ensure this problem is addressed," Bingaman said."
DMNews has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is preparing to test new standards around letter-size booklets, also known as "slim jim" catalogs. As more catalogers may switch to the lower-priced format in light of the current rate increase, the agency fears these slim jims may jam the agency's delivery bar code sorters. The USPS, as a result, is cautioning catalogers who may be considering switching to a slim-jim format to put those plans on hold until the standards are set."
As WOOD-TV had noted, "Dog attacks weren't the only reason why the U.S. Postal Service indefinitely suspended mail delivery to a Detroit neighborhood. Staged daytime dogfights also played a major role in the decision, the city postmaster said. "There was pit bull fighting two or three times a week," Postmaster Lloyd Wesley Jr. told the Detroit Free Press for a story Thursday. "We're talking about the middle of the street in broad daylight." There were 57 dog bite cases involving Detroit postal carriers in 2006."
DMNews has published a piece on "What every mailer must know about the USPS' rate case."
Triangle has announced this year's World Mail Award winners. The
World Mail Awards are organised annually by Triangle Management Services to highlight, reward and celebrate best practice within the mail industry across the globe.
May 23, 2007
From the
Federal Register: "This proposed rule provides revisions to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) that we will adopt no earlier than 18 months from the publication date of this notice. Move Update, the process for updating names and addresses, is currently required for mailers to obtain discounted rates for First- Class Mail. All address records used on pieces in discounted-rate mailings of First-Class Mail must be matched with customer-filed change-of-address orders received and maintained by the USPS using a USPS-approved method within 185 days of the date of mailing. Our proposal includes the following changes related to move update processing: (1) Extending the Move Update requirement to all Standard Mail and (2) reducing the window for move update processing of names and addresses used for mailings of discounted First-Class Mail from 185 days to 95 days prior to mailing. The revised timeframe would apply to all pieces in Standard Mail mailings. Comments must be received on or before June 22, 2007."
MediaBuyerPlanner has reported that "With the recent hike in postal rates, delivering direct mail via newspapers has become a popular way of getting catalogs into the hands of consumers. With that in mind, the Tribune Company launched Direct Delivery +, a low-cost alternative available via the Chicago Tribune that allows catalogs to be delivered with the newspapers. For 9 cents per catalog, a marketer provides the Chicago Tribune with their mail files, which are then matched against a list of paid newspaper subscribers at the sub-zip code level, looking for areas where there is a high percentage of matches between the brand marketer's list and Tribune subscribers. Mailing via the USPS can cost as much as 20 cents per catalog. The Tribune also offers lifestyle segmentation analyses of areas that are not necessarily on the cataloger's mailing list to see if those areas are worth targeting."
TransWorldNews has reported that "Earth Class Mail™, a global service that delivers postal mail online, is a finalist for CNET's "Webware 100" awards. The Earth Class Mail online postal service gives customers online access to their postal mail from anywhere in the world, at any time."
From PR Newswire:
- The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has launched a major new initiative to encourage consumers to recycle catalogs and mixed paper. Beginning this summer, DMA member companies, which represent many of the country's leading brands, will be adding "Recycle Please" logos to their catalogs and direct mail pieces.
- Online Market World, a broad e-commerce event set to debut at Moscone Center West Hall in San Francisco October 3 - 5, 2007 is attracting the support of vendors, service providers, industry associations, publications, and online media. This morning, its producer, The Chase Group, announced that the Business Marketing Association (BMA), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the Web Analytics Association (WAA), the Web Marketing Association (WMA) and wsRadio have signed on as sponsors. Other participating organizations include Allurent, Baynote, ChannelAdvisor, Doba, eBay, Endicia, GOT Corporation, HammerTap, Infopia, Optimost, PayPal, U-PIC, and Zoovy, among others.
Europa has posted the text of a dinner-debate by Charlie McCreevy European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services
on the Third Postal Directive at the FFPI (Free and Fair Post Initiative) Strasbourg, 23 May 2007.
Royal Mail CEO Allan Leighton shares his thoughts on "the stamp of good leadership" in The Telegraph.
The Financial Times has reported that "UPS is counting on information-related services to give the international delivery company an edge in China's highly fragment domestic express market, a growing industry battleground. The ability to offer sophisticated logistics services is seen as a competitive advantage the "big four" international operators - UPS, FedEx, DHL and TNT - hold over domestic counterparts."
The Express has reported that "Trade Secretary Alistair Darling has said 'No' to reprieve for post offices.
From PR Web: "Starting today, the Postal Service will provide broadcast-quality video downloads of the production of the new Star Wars Commemorative Stamps series, as well as footage of several Star Wars movies, courtesy of Lucasfilm. The video downloads are available from the NewsRoom section of the U.S. Postal Service web site. (http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/allnews)
Green Valley News has reported that "Volunteers from Green Valley and staffers from the Attorney General's office sorted through huge piles of mail plus a U.S. Postal Service box crammed with more Monday, as part of the Seniors Strike Back Program. As participants in the program, which aims to cut down on mail scams, many Green Valley residents sent their junk mail to the Attorney General Terry Goddard's office in Tucson or dropped it off at the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council offices in the Green Valley Mall for Monday's event."
Sharecast has reported that "Parcel and mail delivery group Business Post was helped by a strong second half, with annual profits up a touch on last year, while trading at the start of the current financial year has been in line with expectations."
DMNews has reported that "The theme of interconnectedness runs through so many areas of our industry, from how pervasive multichannel direct marketing is today, to the need for direct marketers to work together to influence legislation in Washington, to the different meanings "environment" has for different people. DMA President John Greco reiterated his issues with the actions of the Coalition of Catalog Mailers to address the rate case. "If our original strategy had not been undermined it is very likely that the PRC would have also reconsidered its decision for Standard Mail flats in time," Mr. Greco said, alluding to the fact that the PRC did reconsider two other rates that had been returned under protest in advance of last week's increase. "But instead one splinter group, acting alone, without any discussion or consideration of other mailer associations, including DMA, precluded victory for all of us," he said." See also Multichannel Merchant.
According to ThisIsMoney, "HSBC has become the latest major bank to give Royal Mail the sack. UK Mail, the postal arm of parcels courier Business Post, said today it now acts for three of the five High Street banks after HSBC joined Royal Bank of Scotland in ditching Royal Mail for the sorting for delivery of its bank statements. Lloyds TSB had already switched to UK Mail's arch-rival, the Dutch postal group TNT, but UK Mail today announced it had also picked up part of the Lloyds TSB contract."
The York Press has told its readers that "If you are fed up with your post coming later every day, can you switch to another postal service provider? Royal Mail is still the only company of the 18 rivals now in the market who offers what is known as a "universal service" - a complete service, from collection at the post box to delivery door-to-door, anywhere in the country, for the price of a single stamp. Royal Mail has increasingly been making noises about how unfair it is that it has to use the profits from business mail to subsidise the non-profit-making stamped mail. Royal Mail remains overwhelmingly dominant, however, with more than 90 per cent of the market."
CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
In this year's first quarter, Schweizerische Post was able to increase its turnover as well as its profit considerably.
Pitney Bowes (PB) intends to take over Asterion, a subsidiary company of the Belgian La Poste in France.
There is an ongoing debate concerning working conditions in Germany's postal market.
Both trade unions and the political opposition have delivered sharp criticism of plans to close a number of Royal Mail's post offices, comparing the closure of post offices in small communities to antisocial behaviour on the part of the government.
Wash me, but don't get me wet! This sums up the attitude of Österreichische Post with regard to the market liberalisation issue. Bearing in mind the post's current expansion efforts, it seems out of place for CEO Anton Wais to join the camp of liberalisation opponents.
Spanish postal workers are planning a protest march on Sunday 10 June to support their demands for fair pay, better working conditions and a qualityproducing post.
Privatisation of government-owned companies, among them the post, is causing controversy in Hungary.
On 6 June, postal workers across Europe will be holding demonstrations in support of the universal service. The demonstration has been initiated by umbrella trade union UNI Postal Union. But it seems that postal workers and unions have missed the point that the EU is not questioning the existence of the universal service provision. Only at its latest plenary session on 25 and 26 April this year, the EU Economic and Social Committee (EESC) made it clear that the current directive would remain in place, thus guaranteeing the continuation of the universal service.
Leading members of the Chilean postal workers' unions have repeatedly complained to Osvaldo Andrade, Secretary of State for Employment, about the poor working environment within the state-owned Correos de Chile.
Germany's Deutsche Post and trade union ver.di have reached a temporary agreement on the controversial matter of extended weekly working hours for civil servants.
UPS has presented the transport workers' union Teamsters with a new proposal as part of the wage and pensions negotiations for the US logistics operator's employees. Teamsters announced that UPS had suggested setting up a new pension fund for employees, to be run jointly with the union.
The Finnish post continues to extend its activities in the Russian logistics market.
Only weeks after Christian Emery was appointed President and CEO of Chronopost, the staff carousel is turning merrily for the French express service provider again.
TNT is swiftly implementing the announced share buy-back scheme
"Deutsche Post - the post for Germany" is the slogan chosen by the German post for a long-term brand marketing campaign which is set to run way into next year. The sub-slogans "close, reliable, everywhere" have been added to promote Deutsche Post's mail service.
According to a newspaper report, France's Banque Postale is considering taking over Caisse Centrale de Réescompte.
According to a report in German daily "Handelsblatt" (15.05), Deutsche Post is continuing its cost saving policy in Germany. A company spokesperson confirmed to the paper that 800 to 1,000 jobs would be scrapped following the merging of the parcel and letter segments.
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.)
Transport Intelligence has reported that "Throughout this month details have been leaking out about UPS losing Dell's business in the US. Local US newspaper reports and analysts on Wall Street have stated that Dell has not renewed its contract with UPS to provide 'home delivery' services in the US. The contract is said to have ended at the beginning of April. It appears that the issue behind the failure to renew the contract may be about pricing, with UPS being quoted in the local US press as saying the two sides "were simply unable to reach an agreement for pricing or renewal of this particular contract". It is unknown exactly what logistics services Dell is using at present. It is suggested that it is using FedEx and DHL in the US, however this is unconfirmed. It is also not known if these services are being bought on a 'spot' basis."
The LaCrosse Tribune has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has decided against moving some mail processing operations from La Crosse to Rochester, Minn."
The Island Packet has reported that "A Beaufort-based postal service worker is under investigation for not delivering mail on time, according to authorities. The investigation is being handled by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General in Washington, D.C. Although officials were unwilling to offer details Tuesday, Beaufort's postmaster confirmed that the case, in part, is connected to a complaint made by state Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort."
The NPMHU National Union has expressed its outrage over a payroll system delay, and for management's lack of foresight and planning in the administration of its data and payroll operations. In response to this delay of payment, the NPMHU has filed a National-level grievance, which seeks the payment of interest and/or other penalties by the USPS to all Mail Handlers affected by this delay in the payment of retroactive wage amounts."
The U.S. Postal Service has posted its final mailing standards today to accompany the Periodicals price change effective on July 15. The final standards in PDF and HTML formats are now available on usps.com/ratecase, and will appear in the Federal Register (both in print and online) next week.
May 22, 2007
The following reports have been posted on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General website today. If you have additional questions concerning the report, please contact Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286.
From Business Wire: "Group 1 Software, Inc., a Pitney Bowes Company, today announced that MMI Direct, LLC, a Maryland-based provider of high quality data processing and related services to the direct marketing industry, has chosen Group 1 Software's Address Quality Hub™ software solution to improve mail deliverability and maximize postal discounts in preparation for more stringent postage discount rules scheduled for implementation on August 1, 2007. Under the new delivery point requirements, only addresses that include verified primary number (or delivery point) information, such as street, PO Box numbers, and Rural Route Box numbers, will be eligible for postal discounts. Group 1 Software estimates that this could lead to a two-to-five percent reduction in the number of mail pieces eligible for postal discounts. Combined with higher postage rates scheduled for implementation on May 14, 2007, this could mean significant cost increases for large-volume mailers."
Federal Times has noted that "The blue and white packages of the U.S. Postal Service are getting greener. The agency says all of its Priority and Express Mail packages are now made with 100 percent recyclable paper. About 500 million such packages worth $6 billion are used each year, according to Postal Service spokeswoman Joanne Veto."
From PR Newswire: "The president of the 298,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers today announced the postal union's support for House Resolution 419, sponsored by Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI), calling on communities to take steps to protect letter carriers and other citizens against dog bites."
Reuters has reported that "a proposal to regulate stamp prices of Dutch mail company TNT -- which analysts have said could hurt the company's stock market valuation -- is set to become law, a member of parliament said on Monday. Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok, a member of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's Christian Democrat party, told Reuters the contents of a rule to regulate stamp prices had been agreed. There might still be some minor tweaks to the language of the law, said Van Vroonhoven-Kok, who is responsible for postal liberalisation."
Finland Post has announced that "in the next few years, Post Finland Group (as of 1 June Itella Corporation) will invest circa €150 million in its mail processing. The aim is to enhance and improve the processing and handling of mail and, thus, in the future ensure a reasonably priced nationwide mail delivery service for the public and businesses alike. This will entail the biggest investment made by the Post Finland Group for decades."

PostInsight has reported that "CEO of the French Post Office, La Poste, Jean-Paul Bailly was honored with the Industry Leadership Award at the 2006 World Mail Awards in London on May 21st. The award, which is sponsored by Pitney Bowes, was presented to Mr. Bailly by Michael J Critelli, Executive Chairman of Pitney Bowes." See also Business Wire.
As the Tahlequah Daily Press has noted, "It's bad enough dealing with gas prices at the pump. But for folks who ship a lot of packages, rising fuel prices are even more painful. Both FedEx and UPS add a "fuel surcharge" to the cost of shipping any package, to help offset the increasing cost of the fuel used for delivery. Both companies tack on a 4 percent surcharge for Ground shipping, and an 11 percent surcharge on Air and International delivery (Express delivery, in FedEx parlance). Beginning June 4, those surcharges will go up to 4.5 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively. One shipping company that isn't implementing a fuel surcharge is the U.S. Postal Service. Stamps might keep going up, but added charges to compensate for fuel prices won't be seen at the post office."
The New York Times has reported that "A new study examining turnover among top executives has found that corporate boards were nearly three times as likely to pull the trigger on failing chief executives than they were a decade ago."
According to Business Report, "SA Post Office chief executive Khutso Mampeule was removed from the board yesterday by communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. Mampeule's future as chief executive is now in the hands of the Sapo board members. His removal came after a "loss of confidence" in him by the minister."
Financial Times Deutschland has reported that "The German postal service operator Deutsche Post and the services sector union Ver.di have criticised, as unrepresentative, an expert report presented by the German networks regulator Bundesnetzagentur, which concludes that average employee pay at Deutsche Post is unusually high for the sector and therefore not a yardstick for rival businesses."
DM News has reported that "The newly formed American Catalog Mailers Association has said it is not looking to promote an adversarial relationship with the Direct Marketing Association. "It's not a cat fight at all," said Mike Muoio, president/CEO of Lillian Vernon. "The catalog industry needs to look in the mirror" when it comes to how the recent postage increase came about, Mr. Muoio said. The increase, about 40 percent for some catalogers, was the industry's punishment for not taking a more active role in its own representation, he said. Letter mailers and periodical mailers each have their own special interest groups that represent their industries for legislative issues in Washington. "We should have had this organization years ago," Mr. Muoio said."
The York Press has reported that "customers are facing later mail deliveries in the York area, local postal workers claimed today. A Royal Mail briefing document to York staff, which has been passed to The Press, shows that later start times across the business are being planned, "due to
road transport legislation and automation".
As the
Paramus
Post has noted, "for those companies that can't reduce or redesign their
mail, the effect of the new rate changes could be devastating, said Kate
Muth, vice president of the Association of Postal Commerce, a trade group
for companies that use the mail as their primary form of
communication....The companies being hit the hardest are those with an
extensive catalog business....National Pen Co., a company that specializes
in promotional products such as pens and key chains, is also facing large
and unexpected increases in its postal costs."
KOTV has noted
that "Gas prices are making things rough on rural letter carriers. Unlike in
the city, letter carriers that handle the rural routes have to supply their
own vehicle. Some deliveries you can do without. But most people in the
country would probably say that mail isn't one of them. The News On 6's
Steve Berg reports rural letter carriers say they're feeling the gas crunch
more than most. The old saying goes; neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of
night will stop the postal carrier. You'll notice it doesn't say anything
about gas prices. "It's hard to run every day," said postal carrier Scott
Moore. "It costs a lot to fill this tank up every day."
PressConnects has reported that "Lockheed Martin UK announced Monday
that it will provide additional address recognition services to Royal Mail
as an extension of the current Address Interpretation program. Under the
extended contract, Lockheed will provide the address recognition services
for 20 Flats Sorting Machines and also develop, deploy and support new FSM
recognition solutions to enable the machines to interact with Royal Mail's
latest hardware and operating systems. The technology serves to decipher
printed or handwritten addresses and exemplifies Royal Mail's ongoing
modernization strategy."
The
Chicago Sun-Times has reported that "Marketers, who pay billions of
dollars to get the messages to you, call it advertising mail. Most
recipients call it junk mail -- and it's growing every year. ''This is a
symbol of unnecessary waste,'' said Todd Eklof, pastor of Clifton Unitarian
Church, who recently carted 50 pounds of the stuff -- a year's worth -- to a
Louisville, Ky., postal branch as a protest. The Sierra Club uses bulk
mailings to solicit new members. Sierra Club spokesman David Willett
acknowledged that ''there's an environmental impact for large-volume mail,''
but said, ''we take steps to minimize that, like using recycled paper.'' See
also
Florida Today.
As
Expatica has noted, "The strike by Ghent's postal workers is having much
more widespread consequences than initially anticipated, De Post said on
Tuesday. Last night Ghent postal workers blocked the industrial sorting
centre for Oost and West-Vlaanderen at Wondelgem. Delivery trucks that were
supposed to bring post to offices in Oost and West-Vlaanderen were stopped
from leaving the centre. Postal workers based in the centre of Ghent have
been on strike for 11 days already."
From
PR
Newswire: "Northrop Grumman Corporation announced that its postal
automation subsidiary Solystic has been awarded contracts with La Poste
(France) and Royal Mail (UK) for the supply and installation of 40 TOP2000
high-performance sorting machines for oversize mail. Each of these
state-of-the-art machines will be capable of automatically sorting 38,000
flat mail pieces an hour."
According to
The
Hindu, "In this age of Internet and competitive courier services, it is
the good old Department of Posts (DoP) that has taken a severe beating. Year
after year, the performance of DoP is on the decline, mainly due to its
operational inefficiencies and failed modernisation plans." A report
prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said that "DoP
continued to incur losses during the last five years and 16 out of 20 postal
services continued to sustain losses over the years."
Air Cargo
World has reported that "DHL continued to build its U.S. presence,
consolidating operations and expanding in Atlanta after nearly tripling its
space in Salt Lake City. DHL Global Forwarding moved its two Atlanta
locations, some 20 minutes apart, to a 220,000 square foot facility near
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. With 190,000 square feet of
warehouse space and 30,000 square feet for offices, the new location is
40,000 square feet larger than the old operations combined. The move,
merging the company's Exel and DHL Danzas business on one site, creates the
largest freight forwarding center in the Atlanta area, the company said."
The
Las Cruces Sun-News has
reported that "A third shift is now working at the U.S. Postal Service
Processing and Distribution Center in El Paso, expanding operations there to
24 hours a day. Because of the extra shift, 15 new employees are being
hired. The extra shift has been created to improve mail service in Las
Cruces and El Paso."
More
from
Multichannel Merchant on the rhetorical sparring between DMA and the
catalog mailers group.
May 21, 2007
According to
Rasmussen Reports, "The U.S. Postal Service is holding its own in the
era of e-mail and instant messaging—at least in the court of public opinion.
Despite its designation as deliverer of "snail-mail" and another increase in
the price of stamps, the Postal Service is viewed favorably by 64% of
American adults. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that
just 20% hold an unfavorable view."
Environmental Leader has reported that "Of the 12 companies in the
Fortune Global 500 mail, freight, and shipping sectors whose environmental
and sustainability reporting was analyzed (PDF) by the Roberts Environmental
Center in 2006, Royal Mail Group (UK) was graded A+ and United Parcel
Service (U.S.) and Deutsche Post (Germany) both received grades of A."
Federal Times has
reported that "The May 14 postal rate changes may force agency employees,
from mail room clerks to program managers, to re-evaluate how they manage
mail, U.S. Postal Service and industry officials say. The changes also
require re-evaluating what mail is sent and how often. That affects not just
mail managers and clerks but some higher-level officials like program
managers. "
Transport Intelligence has reported that:
-
Dutch-based express company TNT, has expanded its integrated road
network into Vietnam following a further €6 million investment bringing
its total investment to date to €8 million. TNT plans to extend the Asia
Road Network to reach China through the north-eastern border of Vietnam
by the end of 2007.
-
FedEx Express has signed agreements with Azure Dynamics Corp., a
leading developer of hybrid-electric and electric powertrains for
commercial vehicles, to develop gasoline parallel hybrid-electric
powertrains for their delivery fleet.
-
DHL has completed the sort automation of its major ground hub in
Allentown, Pa. With the completion of the automation at the Allentown
facility, the entire $160 million DHL network integration and automation
initiative, which included key air and ground hubs in Wilmington, Ohio,
and Riverside, Calif., is now complete.
Expatica has reported that "A majority of the drivers and postal
delivery workers based at the postal office Ghent 1 in the city centre have
rejected yet another proposal from management. As a result post will once
again not be delivered in the centre on Monday. The postal workers in Ghent
are striking because of problems with Georoute, the computer programme used
to draw up the postal routes, and in protest of the computerisation of
postal sorting. The strike has now entered its eleventh day."
As
ZDNet has noted,
"Effective information-sharing across the distribution of goods — visibility
into transportation supply chains and distribution networks — is a vital
part of the information revolution and the knowledge economy. Global and
local players in the total distribution channel are constantly looking for
reductions in cost, efficiency improvements, and slashed time to
distribution — all of which can substantially reduce the total cost of an
overall production and distribution activity, and heighten customer service
and satisfaction."
DM News
has reported that "The executive director of the American Catalog Mailers
Association sent a letter to John A. Greco Jr., president/CEO of the Direct
Marketing Association, regarding a message he sent to members that
criticized some mailers during recent postal rate case proceedings. In the
letter, Mr. Davison said that some catalogers have expressed to the ACMA
their view that the DMA cannot effectively represent the interests of the
catalog industry in all circumstances."
Multichannel Merchant has noted that "Born out of the frustration with
skyrocketing postal rates, an advocacy group formed in April promises to
fight in Washington for print catalogers. ACMA plans to bring the battle to
Congress through a lobbying effort, possible litigation, and a broad
membership."
AllAfrica.com
has reported that "postal workers across the country will be preening their
mullets with especial care today, in the hope that they stand a chance of
getting the nod if Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri axes Post
Office CEO Khutso Mampeule."
The
Jamaica Gleaner has reported that "In marketing its 'Magnum' tonic wine
via a promotion, Lascelles Wines and Spirits (Lascelles) has teamed up with
the Postal Corporation of Jamaica (Post Corp), in that Post Corp handles a
component of the customer- response logistics."
ATN has reported that "Australia Post has become the first customer in
Australia to take delivery of a new hybrid truck which has the potential to
reduce the environmental impact of its sizeable fleet."
May 20, 2007
The
Union Leader points out: "So you've been grumbling about that two-cent
increase in the cost of a first-class stamp? Jamie Trowbridge, president of
Yankee Publishing, figures it will cost his company an extra $100,000 a year
to mail Yankee magazine to its 360,000 subscribers, after the U.S. Postal
Service raised its rates last Monday."
According to the
Mail Tribune, "First-class postage rates have gone up to 41 cents. Now,
if you're like most Americans, you pay 20 to 30 bills per month. So for
those of you still "going postal," the increase will cost you some 40 cents
to 60 cents per month. Big deal, you say. But as online banking improves, I
see the increase as a clear tipping point. If you're still in the shrinking
postal crowd, it's time to take another look."
As the
Waco Tribune has noted, "Political mailers have proved to be an
effective tool in influencing the outcome of elections, but they aren't
worth the postage to mail them if they don't arrive on time. And in this
month's city council elections, the political action committees of the Waco
Police Association and the Waco Professional Firefighters Association
learned that lesson the hard way. On the Monday after the May 12 election,
more than two-thirds of the groups' 3,325-piece bulk mailing was found in a
sack awaiting delivery by postal employees."
May 19, 2007
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
-
Mailers and postal suppliers at this week's Flats Symposium learned about
the future of flat mail, and the opportunities and challenges facing the
Postal Service as it moves toward full implementation of the Flats
Sequencing System.
-
The Postal Service this week told MTAC meeting attendees that while flats
mailers can begin using the new OneCode ACS service on flats (effective May
1, 2007), the OneCode ACS rate is not available to flats, thus requiring
them to pay the much higher electronic ACS rate.
-
The Postal Service published proposed new standards for address quality on
its website this week. It would extend the Move Update requirement to all
Standard Mail pieces and would require mailers to perform Move Update
processing for discounted First-Class Mail and Standard Mail no more than 95
days prior to mailing.
-
USPS Vice President Mike Plunkett said this week's postal increase did not
seem to cause many problems for the Postal Service, but the more complex
changes in the rate case don't take effect until July 15.
-
It's going to be a busy summer now that the Postal Regulatory Commission has
issued a second advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, inviting specific
comments on issues "central to implementing the necessary regulations" to
establish a modern system for setting rates.
-
As of Aug. 1, Cass Cycle L will mandate that the primary number in an
address must be delivery-point verified to receive a ZIP+4 code, and thus,
qualify for automation rates. Additionally, the Cycle L release of coding
accuracy software will include LACSLink, which converts rural-route style
addresses into city addresses.
-
Dan G. Blair, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, made a case for
periodical rate increases in this letter to the New York Times. Blair
defended the rate increases as the "need to better align postage rates with
the costs incurred by the U.S. Postal Service."
-
American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus says the news media
has misled Americans about the cost of labor in the U.S. Postal Service and
how it affects the price of postage.
-
Customized MarketMail postage drops 30 percent with new rates. New USPS
Inspector General reports posted. Online billing use up.
-
National postal strike looms on Royal Mail's horizon.
-
A list of upcoming postal-related events.
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The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.
May 18, 2007
Logistics
Management has reported that "It hasn't made the splash that the Forever
stamp has in the mainstream press, but shape-based pricing is making news
this week. The United States Postal Service (USPS) just put this rate change
into effect, and shippers who were not prepared for it may find that items
that didn't go out with the correct postage are either being returned to
them or the extra charge is being passed on to their customers."
Scripps News has
reported that "Rising postal costs and changes in what package shippers
allow are causing business owners to whittle down their mailing lists, find
cheaper ways to send products and rely more on communicating
electronically."
Experian has posted on its web site its most recent netcast on issues
pertaining to the R2006 postal rate case and the new postal law.
As
Easier Finance has noted, "The Post Office will launch a broadband
service later this year under a strategic partnership with BT Wholesale. The
agreement marks a key step in the Post Office's drive to expand its range of
services and products to generate new revenues to support the branch network
by helping replace lost income from a decline in its traditional business."
From
Business Wire: "Pitney Bowes Inc. announced that Engineering Fellow John
P. Miller, Senior Engineering Fellow John Sussmeier and Senior Engineer
Anthony Yap received the 2006 Invention of the Year Award. The winning
invention relates to high speed digital metering using multiple print heads.
The employees received their award at the company's 15th annual Inventor
Recognition Dinner held last evening at the company's World Headquarters in
Stamford. The winning invention allows two ink jet printers to be used in
connection with a high speed inserter system for printing postage indicia.
This means non-stop printing, a "no-mess" work station and the ability to
add advanced messaging onto mail pieces. The patent is currently used in the
Pitney Bowes DM Infinity™ Mailing Machine."
ElectricNet has reported that "Utilities today — especially those in
Europe where deregulation is already a reality — have prioritized enhancing
relationships with their customers in order to maintain revenue growth. One
way leading utilities have improved the customer experience is by
implementing an Enterprise Document Presentment (EDP) system. EDP also
delivers savings in bill distribution. Accepting a raw data feed from
enterprise systems, it produces and outputs bills in whatever format the
customer prefers — print, electronic, Web, etc. Customers can select their
preferred delivery format, but organizations can drive the adoption of
electronic delivery via targeted messages on paper bills; greatly reducing
print and postal cost."
The Point has reported
that "GAMPOST has taken a bold step to transform itself into a futuristic
institution. In the wake of the enactment of the Gambia Postal Services
Corporation Bill in December 2006, the management of GAMPOST drew up a
strategic plan that sought to reform postal services, use up-t-date
technologies to better postal networks and speed up money transfers and
micro-finance transactions through public-private partnership.
Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services, is seeking
views on the current licensing regime to ensure that it continues to support
the development of the UK postal market. Postcomm also has commented on the
Government's long-term plans to safeguard the future of a viable and
sustainable Post Office network.
Postcomm Chairman Nigel Stapleton said: "Steps to secure the long-term
sustainability of the Post Office network must now be the priority. The
Government's timetable for closures is ambitious and it is vital that, at
the same time, Post Offices are being given the right range of services and
products to give them a long term future. In order for it to survive, the
Post Office network needs a clear vision, well trained and motivated people
and associated set of commercial products and services."
Expatica has reported that "The trade unions representing postal workers
have called on all employees of De Post to go on strike on Friday 25 May.
The workers are unhappy with the recruitment policy, the remote transfers of
some workers, and the reorganisation within the company."
?
Your question of the day. Europe has some of
the most stringent privacy protection laws in the Western world. Yet, Europe
is experiencing a change of character from being predominantly an industrial
economy to one that is increasingly an information-based economy. But how do
you foster the growth of an information-based economy when stringent privacy
laws (which seem more suited to address 20th century abuses than 21st
century needs) choke off unimpeded access to information?
According to the
Daily Herald, "It is sometimes argued (particularly after a postal rate
increase is announced) that private-sector companies could do the job better
and for less money. But we're skeptical. Chopping up mail service and giving
it to private companies would more likely result in a patchwork of uneven
service."
The
Kuwait News Agency has reported that "Kuwait's postal service delegation
discussed with officials of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Bern
Kuwait's nomination for the union's board membership during the conference
to be hosted by Nairobi in August 2008. Kuwait's director of international
postal relations and marketing Saeed Al-Mazidi told Kuwait News Agency
(KUNA) that he sensed interest on the part of the UPU, adding that the two
sides also discussed means to boost Kuwait's role at international
conventions."
Air Cargo
World has reported that "Deutsche Post World Net, the German mail and
logistics group, reported operating profit in the first quarter rose nearly
9 percent from a year ago, as its DHL express unit significantly improved
its performance in the United States."
According to
The
Independent, "The Government yesterday confirmed that it was pushing
ahead with the closure of more than 2,500 mainly rural post offices. More
than a fifth of the network, it is a cull reminiscent of the Beeching
railway closures back in the 1960s. As many have observed, this is a tragedy
not just for those the Post Offices employ, but also for the communities
they support." See also
The
Mirror.
The
Daily Bulletin
has reported that "The city's downtown post office, where renown California
artist Milford Zornes painted an interior mural in the 1930s, is being
pushed by a group of residents for addition to the National Register of
Historic Places. The mural was commissioned by the Bureau of Public Art
through a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. It
was completed by Zornes in 1937."
As DM
News has reported that:
-
While mailers understand the long-term benefits of the
U.S. Postal Service's flat sequencing systems, they are concerned about
some short-term issues. Mailers and the USPS offered their comments
about the FSS at the
Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee USPS Flats Symposium, which
took place here at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. The summit was held in
preparation of the major changes that will come for mailers and mail
service providers as a result of the FSS.
-
Many mailers attending the
Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee meeting here yesterday were
happy to learn that the U.S.
PostalService will lower the height of the
bars in the Intelligent Mail bar code from .134 inches to .125 inches.
-
Catalogers are at a unique inflection point. Over the past hundred
years, catalogers adapted to a number of changes, frequently coming out
stronger than before. But in 2007, a series of forces are occurring at
the same time providing catalogers with a unique set of challenges.
Catalogers need to further explore online marketing as a viable
marketing channel. Think ahead to a day when postage becomes more
prohibitive. Begin jumping across the marketing digital divide, fully
practicing online marketing as a complementary form of direct marketing.
-
The majority of
Americans do not mind advertising mail. Studies show that 70 percent
of the U.S. population prefers direct mail to e-mail or phone calls.
However, people only like receiving direct mail that is relevant to them
and their purchasing habits.
The Press has reported that "the Royal Mail wants to scrap all Sunday
and Bank Holiday collections, York postal union leaders have claimed."
The Courier has reported that "Scotland's new
nationalist government was on collision course last night with UK ministers
over the controversial decision to close thousands of post offices."
As the
LaCrosse Tribune has noted, "The Postal Service is one of the biggest
bargains we have and people grumble about it. We have not had an increase in
postage for a number of years and then we get a measly two cents and all
hell breaks loose."
Transport Intelligence has reported that "FedEx Corp. and the Commerce
Department's U.S. Commercial Service have announced a new five-year
agreement aimed at boosting exports from U.S. businesses. The agreement is
designed to help simplify the complexity of international trade,
particularly for small- and medium-size businesses looking to source and
sell in the global marketplace."
The
Postal Regulatory
Commission posted a second advance note of rulemaking. "It's critical
that interested parties continue to participate in our rulemaking process.
This second advance notice provides an important opportunity to weigh in on
the development of the new ratemaking process," said Dan G. Blair, chairman
of the Postal Regulatory Commission.
May 17, 2007
FindLaw has reported that "Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate surged to an
unprecedented 3,714 percent at the end of April, the official state
newspaper reported Thursday, as the government set up a new commission to
try to bring price hikes down to single digit levels. On Monday, the state
postal service upped its charges by 600 percent, the second increase in
three months. A stamp for a local letter weighing 20 grams (0.7 of an ounce)
went up to Zimbabwean $40,000, or US$2.60 (euro1.90)."
As
Multichannel Merchant has noted, "Catalogers considering switching to a
slim-jim format to save on postage costs might want to put those plans on
hold. The U.S. Postal Service will begin to test a variety of booklets—which
by postal definition includes slim-jims. The result could be revised
specifications for such mail pieces."
As the
Daily Mail has noted, "Stamps issued with a schoolboy spelling error
which left the Royal Mail red-faced are selling for a small fortune at
auction. Royal Mail was forced to recall thousands of its Glorious England
stamp sets, which were to be released on St George's day, because the Isle
of Wight was misspelt 'Isle of White'."
Staten Island Live has noted that "Rep. Vito Fossella's amendment to
provide military families free mail privileges to send letter and care
packages to active-duty service members in Iraq and Afghanistan passed the
House yesterday. Fossella's legislation provides a voucher every two months
to a family of any soldier on the ground or participating in Operation Iraqi
Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom to cover the full cost of postage for
one package up to 10 pounds or one letter up to 13 ounces."
EUX.TV has
reported that "Hungary's main opposition party Fidesz on Thursday called on
the government to withdraw a bill on further privatizing state assets the
party says could "destroy" Hungary. A bill restructuring the state-asset
management system - merging several existing agencies and also allowing
certain key state-owned companies to be partially or fully sold off - is set
to go before parliament."
From the
U.S. Postal Service:
"The Postal Service is testing an additional application of the Seamless
Verification System using Friend-To-Friend Mail postcards. The Seamless
Verification System takes advantage of the latest advances in postal
technology, using an Intelligent Mail barcode in combination with ID Tags
applied during mail processing to generate unique scan data that will allow
USPS to count Friend-to-Friend Mail postcards in the mailstream during the
test. Postage is charged by linking the scan data to a Centralized Account
Payment System account created for the test."
ABC.money.co.uk
has reported that "A number of Hungarian state-controlled companies could
see full or partial privatisation under a draft law proposed by the
government, reports the Hungarian press. The proposed law could see the
state reduce its stake to 75 pct in national grid operator MVM Zrt and
Magyar Posta Zrt, the national postal service." See also
Hemscott.
ITN
has reported that "The news was immediately condemned by campaign groups for
dealing a devastating blow to the lives of millions of pensioners. Trade and
Industry Secretary Alistair Darling will tell MPs that the postal network
will be slashed to around 12,000 offices, as indicated in proposals last
year. Speaking ahead of the announcement the minister made it clear in a
radio interview that the plans will not be changed, following a consultation
which drew thousands of responses, including many from people opposed to
post office closures."
Seacoast Online has noted that "A stronger and faster Internet has paved
the way for small businesses to reach beyond traditional borders. Yet
despite the global horizon for small businesses, small business owners still
face several challenges. One obstacle small businesses will face takes
effect May 14 when the U.S. Postal Service increases its postage rate, not
just for its first class stamp, but for weighted mail as well. This new
increase comes barely 18 months after postage increased by 2 cents to 39
cents in January 2006. Many small businesses, no matter how technologically
savvy, depend on mailings to drive their business and keep customers, and
potential customers, informed. A postage rate increase will mean additional
trips to the post office, which will cost time, and additional guess-work on
package weights, which will cost money."
DM
News has reported that "Yet another postal rate increase took place on
May 14 and marketers of every stripe are feeling the burn. Circulation pros,
acquisition specialists and their brokers are scrambling to boost their
return from every campaign dollar. A lot of smart marketers are driving
increased ROI with a new consumer-targeting tool — the performance
cooperative. The detailed performance information in these databases is a
powerful predictor of response and payment, and marketers are moving
aggressively to leverage these resources across every type of effort, with
impressive results."
Transport Intelligence has reported that "Dutch-based express company
TNT, has expanded its integrated road network into Vietnam following a
further €6 million investment bringing its total investment to date to €8
million. TNT plans to extend the Asia Road Network to reach China through
the north-eastern border of Vietnam by the end of 2007. Once completed, the
network in Southeast Asia will cover almost 60 per cent of the region and
link over 120 cities across 4,000 km."
Lucknow Newsline has reported that "In a bid to fight competition from
the private sector, the Postal department is overhauling itself in a big
way. As part of this plan, the Postmaster General of Kanpur Region, Ram
Bharosa, inaugurated the Instant Money Order (iMO ) Service in Nawabganj
post office on Wednesday. iMO is an instant online money transfer service
which facilitates financial transactions between individuals in different
parts of the country."
icWales has reported that "plans to axe hundreds of Welsh post offices are due to be confirmed by Ministers today. Trade and Industry Secretary Alastair Darling will tell MPs that the Government is sticking to its policy of closing more than 2,500 offices across the UK – although there could be a reprieve for a handful of rural offices. Even after today's announcements many communities will have to wait to discover the fate of their local post office as a new round of consultation begins."
May 16, 2007
Cayman Net News has reported that "Furthering their relationship with
Cable & Wireless, Cayman Islands Postal Service will now be selling cell
phones in most Post Offices throughout Grand Cayman. Cable & Wireless
customers have already been able to pay bills and purchase top-ups at some
post offices."
From the
UPU: "More reliable telecommunications systems offering reasonably
priced services in developing countries: this is what the Universal Postal
Union needs to step up its efforts to extend its postal financial network
throughout the world."
The
Gaylord Herald Times has noted that "About a year and a half after the
United States Postal Service (USPS) initiated plans to study potential
consolidation of mail processing facilities in Gaylord, officials announced
Tuesday afternoon the study has ended and there are no plans to move the
services from Gaylord to Traverse City."
According to the
Austin Daily Herald, "Bulk rate saves area non-profits from postal
hike."
U.S. Postal Service DMM Advisory: "We published a notice for comment [PDF]
| [HTML]
on our Web site today proposing new standards for address quality. Our
proposal would extend the Move Update requirement to all Standard Mail
pieces and would require mailers to perform Move Update processing for
discounted First-Class Mail and Standard Mail no more than 95 days prior to
mailing. Move Update is the process for updating names and addresses in a
mailing, and our revised standards will help ensure quality addressing on
mailpieces and timely delivery to intended recipients. We will publish this
notice in both the online and print Federal Register early next week.
AllAfrica.com
has reported that "the Federal Government has engaged the services of
Nethpost Consult of The Netherlands to reposition Nigeria Postal Service for
profitability and viability over the next two years."
As the
St. Petersburg Times has noted, "Last year, the postal service announced
plans to reroute St. Petersburg's mail to a facility at the Tampa airport, a
money-saving measure in the face of a slowdown in letter-sending. That meant
St. Pete letters would be postmarked "Tampa." Maybe this is no big deal to
you. But I think mail should say where it comes from, that you should be
able to look at a postmark years later and know that it's accurate."
Expatica has reported that "The personnel at the postal department in
Ghent have rejected the preliminary accord reached by unions and regional
management. The strike will continue. Residents of Ghent city centre will
most likely not receive post or newspapers today either."
Le Monde has reported that "La Poste has should present, Thursday April
12, results in significant rise for the year 2006, of more than 700 million
euros, as had announced it its president, Jean-Paul Bailly, in December
2006."
The
Wall Street
Journal has told its readers that "Families feeling the pinch of price
increases can reduce the pain by making a few small changes. To save on gas,
keep tires properly inflated. Gas mileage decreases by about a half-percent
for each pound of underinflated pressure for all four tires. Clean out the
trunk to cut down on wind resistance that saps gas mileage. Take care of
your car -- gas mileage improves by as much as 10% just by changing the air
filter every 12,000 miles. Slow down -- every 5 m.p.h. over 60 equals about
20 cents a gallon more at the pump.
To keep postage costs low, pay more bills online."
According to the
Louisville Courier-Journal, "Catalogs. Credit-card offers. Coupon
packets. Candidate fliers. No matter the shape, size or message, they arrive
incessantly, adding up by pounds and tons. The Postal Service says such
advertising and other bulk mail is important to the national economy -- even
though "it can be annoying." The direct-mail advertising industry employs
more than 3 million Americans, contributing $400 billion to the economy and
about $20 billion to Postal Service. "
Malta Media has reported that "Maltapost has opposed to industrial
actions ordered by the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin (UĦM) to postal operators in
hubs, whereby door-to-door addressed and unaddressed post is not to be
processed."
According to
Gibbons Stamp Monthly, "A man has purchased $8,000 (around £4,000) worth
of the new Forever stamps recently issued by the US Postal Service."
Dutch News has reported that "Post group TNT said on Wednesday it was
cooperating with an independent inquiry into a reorganisation of its postal
activities, which threatens up to 11,000 jobs. The inquiry was set up by the
unions. TNT is planning to cut 7,000 jobs, but said the number could be as
high as 11,000 if workers do not agree to cuts in their working conditions
and a pay freeze. The probe is being carried out by the Boston Group." See
also
Forbes.
CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Both turnover and profit are on the increase as Deutsche Post enters the
last year of its letter monopoly in Germany.
A
compromise on the matter of market opening is becoming more and more
likely within the EU.
The Spanish government will use sanctions to force Correos to implement
stricter transmission time targets.
During this year’s first quarter, Österreichische Post achieved a 29.5%
increase in turnover. In a press release (11.5), the post explained that
the good result was due to "the consolidation of specialist German
logistics firm Trans-o-flex (acquired late in 2006) which is reflected
in the result for the first time" as well as "organic turnover growth".
Britain could be facing its first nationwide postal strike in over a
decade. Collapsed wage negotiations between Royal Mail and the trade
unions have prompted the fears.
After two meagre years with a declining turnover things are looking
better for Posten Åland again.
The Dutch regulatory authority for post and telecommunications OPTA is
not allowed to check agreements between TNT and its clients.
Royal Mail is losing ground to competitors faster than expected with
disastrous consequences for its profit.
Spain’s post Correos appears to have gained the upper hand in a dispute
with Belgian operator International Mail Spain.
The German Ministry of Finance has called a report by weekly »Euro am
Sonntag« (13.05), which claims that a draft bill is under way for the
abolition of VAT on all postal services, correct "in principle". Thus,
all mail could be exempt from VAT from 2008; at present, only Deutsche
Post enjoys the exemption.
Switzerland’s KEP&Mail association demanded a swift and extended
liberalisation of the Swiss postal market at its April AGM.
The takeover of German direct marketing operator Meiller Direct by
Österreichische Post (ÖP AG) has reinforced the Austrian post’s presence
in a neighbouring country.
GLS,
the European parcel network of Britain’s Royal Mail, is looking back on
a successful financial year 2006.
DPD, the leading operator in Germany’s B2B parcel market, is employing a
new strategy to detract market shares from rivals DHL, Hermes and UPS,
among others.
A recent analysis carried out by Mexican post and logistics magazine
»T21« confirms the difficulties encountered by the Mexican post and
discussed by its new CEO Ms Carpintero. Mexico’s post Sepomex is
increasingly losing shares in the logistics, mail and courier markets to
both domestic and foreign operators.
Clever cost management: a TNT Airways 747-400 freight aircraft is going
to be flying for Emirates Sky Cargo, too.
The
integration of British CEP operators City Link and Target Express
appears to be progressing rapidly.
The postal organisations in the Arabic countries wish to reinforce their
efforts in establishing a joint strategy.
Deutsche Post says it is looking into the possibility of Sunday mail
delivery.
UPS
does not appear to take any interest in the European mail market.
The Czech post has come under suspicion of corruption.
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
National Executive Board of the APWU has voted unanimously to support a
boycott of Circuit City stores, due to the retailer’s despicable treatment
of its [Circuit City] employees.
News.dnevnik.bg has
reported that "Econt Express, the Bulgarian provider of postal and cargo
delivery services, said it has added 14 locations to its nation-wide office
network. The new launches bring to 91 the locations across the country where
the company operates. Econt said it is also offering a new service, express
delivery of mail, parcels and wire transfers.
According to the
BBC, "Members of the Communication Workers Union voted seven to one in
favour of a strike because Royal Mail wants to close the Heanor office. CWU
branch secretary Simon Walker said: "The reason for the vote is that there
was no consultation whatsoever."
The
official Quarter 2 financial results for the U.S. Postal Service have been
posted at
http://www.usps.com/financials/fcr/
The
American Postal Workers Union has noted that "The increase in postage
rates that took effect May 14 has been the subject of numerous news stories
purporting to analyze the size of the increase and speculating about the
future role of hard-copy communication. In general, these reports seem to
accept the fact that inflation drives all costs, but many go on to link the
postage increase directly to the cost of labor. Virtually all of the
articles have recited the claim that 80 percent of postal expenses can be
attributed to labor costs. Based on this misleading statistic, comparisons
have been made to private delivery companies, such as Federal Express and
United Parcel Service. The 80 percent figure is deceptive because it
includes the salaries and benefits of the Postal Service’s entire management
structure, including supervisors, managers, and executives, as well as
casual and other non-career employees who are not represented by the postal
unions. The Postal Service has chosen to report labor costs as a single
line-item, grouping craft employees who have collective bargaining rights
with supervisors, managers, and contract employees. It is this artificial
grouping that results in the 80-percent figure."
May 15, 2007
According to
Union Network International, "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. A rally is also being organised in Berlin on May
30 of postal workers in uniforms from the 27 member states to deliver a
message to the German EU presidency. Total liberalisation of Europe’s postal
services (proposed by the European Commission for 2009) will mean the end of
universal and affordable postal services, Philippos Thomas, of the Greek
postal union, told the Athens Conference that also changed the postal
sector’s name to UNI Post and Logistics global union."
From
Business Wire:
- A new mailstream management system for the
City of West Haven has already reaped rewards in the form of
significant cost savings, improved data accuracy, and faster payment
processing. With the help and expertise of Pitney Bowes Inc., the City
has updated and streamlined its mailstream process to operate more
efficiently and better serve constituents.
- Pitney Bowes Inc. has announced that
Dr. Judith Auslander, Senior Fellow, Pitney Bowes, is one of 26
newly elected members of the Connecticut Academy of Science and
Engineering (CASE). CASE is a private, nonprofit, public-service
institution similar to the National Academy of Sciences. Membership is
limited by statute to 250 members. CASE will recognize Auslander at its
32nd Annual Meeting and Dinner on May 22nd at the Hilton Mystic Hotel,
Mystic. At this event, the Academy will honor the achievements of
Connecticut’s student scientists, hear a keynote speech by Dr. Robert
Ballard, President of the Institute for Exploration/Sea Research
Foundation, and recognize the election of new members.
According to ZDNet,
"In September 2007, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its Foton M3
microgravity mission from Baikonur. The spacecraft will carry the Young
Engineers' Satellites (YES2) payload. The goal of this experiment — designed
by 500 European students — is to send a 6-kilogram package from space to
earth. This spherical parcel, named Fotino, will be attached at the end of a
32-kilometer-long tether. This tether, made of Dyneema, will have a
thickness of only 0.4 millimeter. When it's completely deployed at an
altitude of about 250 kilometers, it will be cut and Fotino will re-enter
the atmosphere to land in Russia, inaugurating the first space postal
service."
Transport Topics has reported that "The top executive at Arkansas Best
Corp. said he expects to offer his fleet’s unionized employees a less-costly
company-funded pension benefit plan and withdraw from the current Teamsters
multi-employer funds as part of a new labor agreement with the union.
Separately, the Teamsters last week
confirmed that UPS Inc., the nation’s largest trucking company and largest
single employer of Teamsters, has offered the union a similar proposal.
These developments set the stage for potentially significant changes in the
way the Teamsters and motor carriers handle the distribution of health
benefits and retirement payments to employees covered under
collective-bargaining agreements."
The
Times of
Malta has reported that "As from today, people are unlikely to find
"junk mail" cluttering their letter boxes or flapping about on their door
steps after the Union Haddiema Maghqudin directed postal workers not to
process door-to-door mail. The directive covers promotional leaflets and
magazines as well as bulk mail. The UHM said it felt justified in ordering
the action because postal operators were being burdened with bags weighing
in excess of 50 kilos."
Be sure to check our "sister" sites,
PostalNews.com and PostInsight,
for altenative takes on the domestic and international postal news.
The
Stamford Advocate has reported that "The new chief executive officer of
Stamford-based Pitney Bowes Inc. has predicted that by the end of the decade
half of its growth will come from new products and services focused on
mail-stream technology, its core business. Pitney Bowes will continue the
growth strategy it established in 2000 to concentrate on mail-stream
products, Murray Martin said yesterday after the company's annual meeting at
its headquarters."
The
Beaumont Enterprise has reported that "U.S. Postal Service human
resources representatives will return to the Beaumont Remote Encoding Center
next week as the agency tries to soften the blow for the more than 900
employees who will lose their jobs when the center closes in November, a
postal service spokesman said."
From
PR Web:
-
Avery® Print and Mail Center (PMC), the direct mail marketing group
of Avery Dennison Office Products, and its fulfillment partner, Modern
Postcard, announce the launch of their mailing list service. Small to
mid-sized businesses can now target new customers and sales leads based
on specific demographics, such as household income, age of household
members, addresses, travel time to their business, and more.
-
WhatTheyThink.com, the leading online media organization serving the
printing and publishing industry, today announced the results of their
most recent webinar held May 9, 2007. Responding to concern about
postage rates for selected classes and preparation categories that will
be going up 20%, 40%, and even 60%, or more, WhatTheyThink.com assembled
a webinar panel from five major trade associations representing
companies designing, producing and distributing direct mail, catalogs,
and periodicals.
Transport Intelligence has reported that "DHL has completed the sort
automation of its major ground hub in Allentown, Pa. With the completion of
the automation at the Allentown facility, the entire $160 million DHL
network integration and automation initiative, which included key air and
ground hubs in Wilmington, Ohio, and Riverside, Calif., is now complete. The
network system upgrades increase letter-and-package processing capabilities
and provide increased track-and-trace package visibility. DHL projects to
generate an approximate 13 percent improvement in network wide shipment
capacity, in addition to improved operational efficiencies, as a result of
the completion of the automation programmes at all three hubs."
Expatica News has reported that "The personnel at the postal department
in Ghent have rejected the preliminary accord reached by unions and regional
management. The strike will continue. Residents of Ghent city centre will
most likely not receive post or newspapers today either. The strike that was
called on Friday is partly due to management's failure to correct problems
with the computer system used to draw up the postal workers' routes. But the
transfer of the night shift and the computerisation in the new sorting
centre in Wondelgem are also causing unrest among personnel."
Bloomberg has reported that "Deutsche Post AG, Europe's biggest postal
service, said first-quarter earnings rose 4 percent as the express unit
posted a profit thanks to lower costs and higher prices in the U.S. The
shares rose as much as 3.3 percent."
According to one writer published in the
Baltimore Sun, "the time has come to stamp out the Postal Service's
monopoly."
AllAfrica.com
has reported that "The Ethiopian Postal Service (EPS) is preparing to take
over out of town mail deliveries by assigning its own vehicles to offer the
services to regional and rural branches."
EU Business
has reported that "Some 30,000 German postal workers protested in Berlin on
Monday against the planned opening of the country's postal services market
to competition on January 1, 2008. The Deutsche Post workers came from
across the country to protest against opening the local market, a year
before the planned liberalisation of the entire European postal market."
As
Marketplace has noted, "A first-class postage stamp rose 2 cents to 41
cents today. One rate that didn't go up today but will in July is for
mailing periodicals. Jeremy Hobson reports that for some small magazines
it's a welcome delay."
May 14, 2007
The
Scunthorpe Telegraph has asked: "What on Earth is happening to the
British postal system? In recent months, thousands of post offices across
the country have either closed down or been threatened with closure - and
now, in another blow, customers have to face up to the fact their postal
deliveries could be made later in the day.The Royal Mail operates with
little competition and, despite the threat of rising costs, leaves many
without any feasible alternative. Potentially, all businesses large or small
rely on items being delivered by Royal Mail, and the consequence of a
delivery delay is at best frustrating and at worst costly."
Environmental Times has reported that "Logistics firm DHL Exel Supply
Chain has started to investigate operating its delivery vehicles using
recycled cooking oil from a major UK pub chain converted to 100% biodiesel.
The
Kyodo News Service has reported that "The communications ministry has
demanded that Japan Post work out a plan to prevent postal workers from
committing crimes, including a numerical target for crime reduction."
The
Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has noted that "You may have mail.
When Greensburg, Kansas and Kiowa County residents and business owners left
their battered or destroyed homes and businesses, mail to those addresses
became undeliverable. Residents and business owners in Greensburg and Kiowa
County need to notify the post office of their new mailing address. Without
the newest change of address, mail cannot be forwarded and may cause
important information or checks to be returned as undeliverable."
The
Capital Times lamented that "A first-class stamp costs two cents more
starting today, but that's nothing compared to what small magazine
publishers are facing. "
The
Beauregard Daily News has told its readers that "We - as a community,
nation and a people - are being fleeced. It's been going on for quite some
time and it's not some regular con man bilking us, but our own government
and major corporations. Another organization that's bleeding the American
public dry is the Unites States Postal Service (USPS). To go along with that
increase, a number of other USPS services will also increase in cost.
However, to not look like the money-grubbing con artists they are, the USPS
is offering a new Forever stamp that will be good “forever,” even after the
next postage increase - which is probably slated for December at this point.
With all the new and faster methods for communicating with people, paying
bills and sending information it doesn't make any sense for the Postal
Service to increase their rates. They're just going to drive more and more
consumers away."
Dow
Jones has reported that "The long-delayed deregulation of the postal
services in European Union nations faces continued strong opposition and is
becoming a major test of the 27-nation bloc's will to free up its markets,
E.U. Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy warned Monday. The
European Commission proposed last year ending the final vestiges of postal
letter monopolies on Jan. 1, 2009. But McCreevy acknowledged that many
countries - led by France - are demanding more time."
On The Media
has reported that "In July, thousands of small magazines will see 20% hikes
in their mailing costs. Increases for larger magazines will be much lower,
and critics say that’s because Time Warner created the new rate scheme. U.S.
Postal Regulatory Commissioner Ruth Goldway insists it’s a fair plan, but
Free Press President Bob McChesney says it undercuts a basic tenet of
American democracy."
As
DM News
has noted, "The differences between the Direct Marketing Association and the
Coalition of Catalog Mailers became public Friday, just 48 hours from the
inauguration of the new postal rate regime in place today."
The
following reports have been posted on the U.S. Postal Service Office of
Inspector General website today. If you have additional questions concerning
the report, please contact Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286.
From the
U.S.
Postal Service: "In its current issue (Spring 2007), Careers & the
disABLED magazine says the Postal Service received the award “for its
progressive efforts to recruit, hire, and promote people with disabilities”
and was selected as one of the top five employers for whom readers would
most like to work or believe is progressive in the hiring of people with
disabilities."
According to the
Austin Statesman, "The price of sending a first-class letter rises today
to 41 cents. As usual, there's some grumbling about the increase, generally
along the lines of how the U.S. Postal Service ought to first do a better
job of delivering the mail. Frankly, we can't work up any outrage. Truth is,
even at 41 cents, a first-class stamp is a bargain."
The
Associated Press has noted that "The new U.S. Postal Service rates that
go into effect today have people who live in Alaska’s remotest villages
worried about more than just paying 2 cents more for a stamp. The postal
service also is bumping up rates for Alaska’s one-of-a-kind discount-mail
program, which ensures that groceries and other basic supplies arrive
regularly in 139 villages that cannot be reached by any road. For these
communities, in which prices are already high, the increase of about 13
percent will affect the cost of all sorts of items from milk to fresh fruit,
retailers say."
The
National Business Review has reported that "An international secure
electronic messaging service is targeting New Zealand government departments
to help prevent email leaks."
May 13, 2007
ThisIsMoney has reported that "Royal Mail is threatening to freeze
£1.2bn in crucial investments if its employees vote next month for a
national strike. Faced by a rapidly shrinking market and growing
competition, the postal service is determined to end antiquated working
practices. But an all-out strike, the first for ten years, would have a
devastating effect by further boosting competition from private companies
that are soon expected to handle one in five letters and parcels."
May 12, 2007
In its
reply comments regarding the Governors' request for reconsideration of
Standard Mail letter and flat rates, the
Association for
Postal Commerce (PostCom) said: "The Postal Service (and those
commenting parties who seemingly support its view of “rebalancing”) got it
half – but only half – right: it is beyond question that the Commission’s
assessment of the extent to which mailers of flat-shaped pieces would be
able to “convert” their mail into letters – an assessment induced by the
Postal Service’s own testimony (see PostCom Initial Comments at 2-3) – was
overly optimistic. The Board of Governors remand order concedes as much and
the comments the Commission has received on remand confirm this. Where the
Postal Service and its supporters founder is in advocating that mitigation
of the flats rates should be “offset” by an increase in the Standard Regular
and Non-profit letter rates. This proposition is nothing less than a claim
that only a mechanistic “rebalancing” of letters and flats can achieve the
Postal Service’s revenue requirement."
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
-
Through three name changes and 60 years, the Association for Postal Commerce
has remained true to its mission to serve as the voice of the customer.
PostCom Chairman Jim O’Brien, vice president of distribution and postal
affairs for Time Inc., presented the association’s two highest awards, the
Stan Woodruff Award to PostCom General Counsel Ian Volner of Venable LLP,
and the J. Edward Day Award to PostCom President Gene Del Polito.
-
The USPS, in its initial comments to the PRC on reconsideration of rates for
Standard Mail, has proposed a rebalancing of flats and letter rates in
Standard Mail Regular incorporating adjustments it claims would be close to
revenue-neutral.
-
The Association for Postal Commerce says the PRC should mitigate the rates
it has proposed for Standard Mail Regular and Nonprofit flats, but not at
the expense of increasing letter mail rates. That was the view expressed by
PostCom in its reply comments on the reconsideration of Standard Mail flat
rates.
-
In this commentary, direct mail consultant Cary Baer dishes about the USPS
Board of Governors and its powerful labor unions.
-
New postal rates effective May 14. New pricing site on USPS.com. New
Inspector General reports posted. Alaska opposes Bypass Mail increases.
Changes slated for ADVO’s ‘Have You Seen Me?’ program. Don’t proselytize in
the post office.
-
CWU threatens national strike in U.K. Chinese express market growing.
-
A list of upcoming postal-related events.
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The
Federal Times has
a nice piece on Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL).
The
Guardian has reported that "The threat of the first national postal
strike for over a decade drew closer last night as the union representing
130,000 Royal Mail workers threw out management's final pay offer and opted
to ballot members. The move is a blow to Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton
and chief executive Adam Crozier who last week issued a personal plea to
staff to ward off the first dispute since 1996." See also
The
Independent and the
Financial Times.
The
Irish Examiner has reported that "rural leaders were warned yesterday
that the post office network could collapse if there is a further fall in
the volume of social welfare payments they transact."
According to the
American Chronicle, "In true government fashion the U.S. Post Office
with monopoly power , without a worry about competition, is on the road to
oblivion. Cost control by an arrogant subsidized protected organization is a
feeble gesture that only is used for propaganda and has no baseline to
relate to. Without having to demonstrate a bottom line and meeting the
competition, the lumbering Post Office blatantly raises its rates and
changes its way of charging for postage with no regard to the consequences
to businesses and consumers. Meanwhile as they ignore the market changes in
moving messages and literature, the demise rears its head for those who are
looking to the future."
The
Daily Globe
has reported that "The stamp-price increase to 41 cents marks the first of
what may become annual rate hikes, according to Charles Guy, the former
director of the Postal Service's Office of Economics and Strategic Planning.
"If the Postal Service does not address its ballooning costs, stamp-price
increases could become regular events," said Guy, now an adjunct scholar
with the Lexington Institute." See also
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The
American Postal Workers Union has reported that "A bill introduced in
the U.S. House of Representatives would establish firm deadlines for Area
Mail Processing surveys and would prohibit the USPS from removing equipment
or reducing the workforce in affected facilities during AMP studies. Rep.
Bart Stupak (D-MI) introduced H.R. 2177, which would require the Postal
Service to complete AMP studies within 180 days. Extensions of 60 days would
be permitted only if “persons likely to be affected” are notified prior to
the expiration of the original deadline."
Air Cargo
World has reported that "The U.S. Department of Transportation provided
Final Orders approving a transaction between an Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
subsidiary and DHL Express. Under terms of the agreement, DHL Express will
acquire a 49 percent equity interest and a 25 percent voting interest in
Atlas subsidiary Polar Air Cargo. The two also will finalize a 20-year
commercial agreement giving Polar a long-term anchor customer and
guaranteeing aircraft capacity for DHL in key global markets."
According to the
U.S. Government Accountability Office, "Data in the Civilian Personnel
Data File and provided by the U.S. Postal Service show that as of the end of
fiscal year 2006, the overall percentages of women and minorities have
increased since 2000 in both the federal career SES and the developmental
pool for potential successors and the Postal Career Executive Service (PCES)
and the developmental pool of potential successors (EAS levels 22 and above)
since 1999." See also the report at
GovExec.com.
From
PR.com: "Shipping
Sidekick v2.0, featuring free side-by-side comparison of USPS and DHL
shipping rates and transit times as well as those of FedEx and UPS for paid
users, is now available at www.shippingsidekick.com. When sending a package,
users simply enter the destination and package information to quickly and
easily retrieve the published shipping rate and delivery time of each
shipping company allowing the user to choose the shipper with the best price
for the delivery time needed."
Bizjournals.com
has reported that "AT&T Inc. is counting on the latest postal rate increase
to spur consumers to start using online billing services such as its own
AT&T eBill service. The company is pointing to a recent report by Forrester
Research that it says demonstrates a trend in that direction in the market.
The report predicts that the number of online billing users will grow by 63
percent to roughly 60 million households across the United States during the
next five years."
In an
opinion piece for the New York Times,
Postal
Regulatory Commission chairman Dan Blair wrote:
The May 8, 2007 editorial "Stamping Out Diversity" fails
to address the need to better align postage rates with the costs
incurred by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Under applicable law, each
class of mail, including periodicals, must be self-supporting. Magazines
make the lowest contribution to overhead of any class of mail –
providing roughly $3.6 million to fund almost $35 billion in overhead
costs. As magazines make essentially no contribution to overhead,
individual consumers, business mailers, and advertisers must cover these
costs....
The principle of promoting the free flow of ideas is
fully and firmly embedded in the Commission's decisions on magazine
rates. Our most recent decision preserves and fosters the continued
widespread dissemination of political and cultural thought by increasing
the editorial discount available to all magazine mailers. As a result of
the Commission's approach, small publications with circulations of
15,000 or less will see lower increases than under proposals made by
large magazine publications or the Postal Service.
Today.az has
reported that "Within the scope of the Financial Services Development
Project between the World Bank and the Government of Azerbaijan, aimed at
improving payment systems for the utility bills collection, and access to
financial services and basic business infrastructure in smaller urban and
rural areas through the postal system, the country will increase the number
of access points for financial services outside Baku to include 1,200 post
offices."
According to the
Jamaica Gleaner, "The Postal Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) will be
resuming its express mail service next week Friday, following a two-week
suspension. Gordon Brown, public relations officer for the PCJ, told The
Gleaner yesterday that the agency was forced to suspend the service because
of the unavailability of forms."
May 11, 2007
As one
writer for the
DM News
has noted, "If the direct marketing and telemarketing industries would
remove the names of deceased individuals from their customer and prospects
lists, they’d be saving big bucks in mailing and telephone expenses.
Unfortunately, they don’t bend over backwards to remove these names. The
U.S. Postal Service says 5 percent of consumer mail is sent to the dead.
What a waste of printing and postage. It’s reported that 15 million to 17
million households receive mail addressed to the deceased each year. It may
take from six months to 2 years for marketers to remove these names from
their lists."
The
Alaska Journal of Commerce has reported that "Changes in the bypass mail
system have increased food costs, is the cause of more food spoilage and has
impacted North Slope Borough school nutrition programs, according to a new
report. The report was released May 10, just four days before the U.S.
Postal Service mail rate was set to increase. The review looked at the
impacts of bypass mail to communities of Fairbanks and Barrow."
The
Anchorage Daily News has reported that "U.S Sen. Ted Stevens has
convinced the U.S. Postal Service to ease up on cost increases that would
have made living in rural Alaska far more expensive. There will still be
increases. They will just be smaller."
ThisIsMoney has reported that "The exodus of big business from the Royal
Mail could see as many as one in five letters being handled by competitors
such as Dutch group TNT and the UK Mail arm of courier group Business Post,
it has emerged. Senior Royal Mail executive Stephen Agar has admitted latest
figures show that about 12.5% of the post was lost to the competition last
year. But with major customers continuing to ditch the Royal Mail at
alarming rates, Agar said that figure could rise to 20%."
The Guardian has noted that "As he [Adam Crozier] faces a national
strike threat, the Royal Mail chief reveals why he relishes taking on the
tough jobs."
The Times has reported that "Royal Mail is losing business to rivals at
a much faster pace than it expected, potentially devastating its profits,
The Times has learnt. The number of business customers abandoning Royal Mail
has risen by nearly 40 per cent, giving competitors one out of every five
letters."
According to the
Belfast Telegraph, "Royal Mail Group announced a 17.5% increase in
operating profits to £355m in 2005/6. All four of the group's businesses –
Letters, the Post Office, Parcelforce Worldwide and European parcels
business GLS – improved their financial performance. The improved financial
result triggered a £418 ‘share in success’ payment to workers, amounting to
a payout of nearly £2m to employees across Northern Ireland. The company
said it had delivered record quality service to customers in the last year
with the vast majority of letters exceeding their targets. But the market is
now open to full competition with rival organi-sations in the last 12 months
handling more than one billion letters under access arrangements, a number
set to hit three billion – or one in seven letters – in two years’ time, if
not sooner."
According to
Presse Portal, "Austrian Post performed quite favourably in Q1 2007.
Group revenue rose by 29.5%, to EUR 575.5m. This improvement can be
attributed to the initial consolidation of the German specialist logistics
company trans-o-flex (Parcel & Logistics Division), acquired at the end of
2006, as well as to organic revenue growth. Revenues from the Mail Division
rose by 1.8%, while the Parcel & Logistics Division improved by 222.4%. In
contrast, the Branch Network Division posted a decline of 1.2%. Considered
in terms of seasonal fluctuations, the first quarter of the year is
generally a high revenue period, due to the high mail volumes attributed to
business customers. This trend intensified in Q1 2007."
As the
Des Moines Register has noted, "The price increase beginning Monday also
changes the way companies conduct business. Postage expenses doubled? Tom
Child didn't believe it when a fellow business owner told him how the U.S.
Postal Service's new shape-based pricing would affect his company, Des
Moines Stamp. "I said, 'No way. You've got your facts mixed up.' " Beginning
Monday, though, the cost for mailing a single rubber stamp to one of Child's
customers goes from 63 cents to $1.30."
May 10, 2007
FinFacts has reported that "The Commission for Communications Regulation
(ComReg), the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for the postal industry in
Ireland, today published the results of its fourth independent annual report
on the Quality of Service performance of An Post."
The
Maine Antique Digest has told its readers that "M.A.D. has experienced
some problems with delivery of the paper, especially in the Washington,
D.C., area. We are told by the U.S. Postal Service to allow ten business
days for periodicals rate mail to reach its destination, but some
subscribers report much longer delivery times. M.A.D. spends a lot of money
on software that prepares, labels, and sorts the papers exactly to the post
office's specifications. We guarantee to get our paper into the mail on
time, and we guarantee that we will have our labeling and paperwork correct.
Unfortunately, the post office does not guarantee to deliver on time."
From the
U.S. Postal Service: "After a reconsideration by the Postal Regulatory
Commission, we are lowering the price for the Priority Mail flat-rate box to
$8.95 from the previously recommended $9.15, and extending the $0.17
nonmachinable surcharge to all nonmachinable single-piece and presorted
First-Class Mail letters, regardless of weight. These changes are effective
with the May 14 pricing change."
The
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the United States
Postal Service (USPS) and ADVO today announced changes to the “Have You Seen
Me?” mail program. Beginning May 14, photos of America’s missing children
will be larger, in full color and prominently featured on page four of
ADVO’s ShopWise mail circular. Previously, the photos were smaller and
printed in black and white on a detached address label, familiar to most
Americans as the white Missing Child Card they receive in the mail.
According to
Neuvo Excelsior, it's time to improve the Mexican postal system.
As
Morningstar has noted, "First-class postage rates are going to 41 cents.
Now, if you're like most Americans, you pay 20 to 30 bills per month. So for
those of you still "going postal," the increase will cost you some 40 cents
to 60 cents per month. Big deal, you say. But as online banking improves, I
see the increase as a clear tipping point. If you're still in the shrinking
postal crowd, it's time to take another look."
This Day has
reported that "The postal communications sector has made a significant
stride in its quest for affordable, reliable, quality and universal basic
postal services that will meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated
end user. Significant, no doubt because on April 4,2007, key stakeholders
discussed the issues, challenges and prospects of the postal sector in
Nigeria and suggested input into the formulation of a Postal Sector
Policy/Strategy and Postal Reform Bill. The forum also secured the buy-in of
all stakeholders and created awareness among potential investors, service
providers and consumers on investment prospects."
Computerworld Australia has reported that "QAS, an Experian® company,
one of Australia’s leading address management specialists, today announced
the launch of a new data set solution, QuickAddress Geocode. QuickAddress
Geocode references the PSMA’s* G-NAF (Geocoded National Address File),
producing latitude and longitude coordinates for physical addresses. The key
objective of this new solution is to provide the ultimate source for actual,
physical address data. The new data set solution is designed for and
targeted at businesses which need sub-metre accuracy of addresses, such as
telecommunications, government, insurance and transport organisations."
According to the Los
Angeles Daily News, "Chronic mail delays in Los Angeles have declined
over the past year, but millions of letters and magazines continue to arrive
late, a new federal audit has found. A three-month investigation by the
Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service concluded that the Los Angeles
Processing and Distribution Center has slashed backlogs by more than half -
particularly for first-class, priority mail and packages. But while auditors
praised the facility for "significant improvements," they also called for
action in fixing the still-plagued standard mail and periodical deliveries."
Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Dan G. Blair will be online Monday,
May 14 at 11 a.m. ET to explain new stamp, bulk mail and package mailing
prices and pricing methods, how the commission arrived at them and how new
rules passed by Congress will affect them in the future.
From the
U.S. Postal
Service: "The USPS has a new web site URL —
usps.com/pricing — to provide an
overview of the pricing changes that go into effect on Monday.
May 9, 2007
The
U.S. Postal Service will demonstrate a variety of products, services, and programs that make the mail more useful, convenient, accessible and environmentally friendly. WHEN: Thursday, May 10 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Friday, May 11 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Saturday, May 12 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) WHERE: The National Mall, Washington, D.C. (7th Street entrance between Madison and Jefferson Streets).
CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Italy's post boss wants to go for it but the government and the EU Committee are less keen - at times, the debate on postal market liberalisation becomes somewhat abstruse in Italy.
Poste Italiane is already struggling with a deficient domestic mail segment. In this context, Mr Sarmi likes to remind people that the Italian government is currently only paying half of the contractual sum of 400m euros towards financing the post. Two main competitors have emerged in the mail market: TNT Post Italy and Uniposta. TNT Post Italy has got off to a good start in Italy, too.
Business figures for TNT's 1st quarter 2007 feature growth in both turnover and profit.
Against the backdrop of a cyclical upsurge, Sweden's Posten AB achieved a strong turnover and profit growth during the 1st quarter 2007.
Despite a 4% increase in mail volumes, Ireland's An Post suffered a drop in operating result last year.
At the end of last month, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel used her authority to put a stop to quarrels between government coalition partners over the abolition of the letter monopoly.
Singapore Post (Singpost) remained one of the world's most profitable post companies with an over 32% net profit-turnover ration in 2006.
According to market observers, Deutsche Post has begun paving the way for a successor to its chairman by splitting responsibilities within the mail management department.
A clear increase in turnover accompanied by a decrease in operating result made for an uneven 1st quarter 2007 for Norway's Posten AS.
Canada Post has achieved a profit for twelve consecutive years.
For the first time in company history, the Portuguese post CTT Correios is able to pay its owner a dividend.
Japan Post Corp.'s 4-year business plan was submitted to Home Secretary Yoshihide Suga for approval at the beginning of May.
The stake held in Belgian La Poste by the Danish post and CVC Capital Partners seems to be paying off.
After much toing and froing regarding the closure of post offices in small communities in the Italian mountains, the country's parliament has finally presented a draft bill to settle the matter.
GeoPost has bought 25% of its Turkish partner Yurtici Kargo.
In order to remain competitive in the liberalised EU postal market, Austria's Österreichische Post aims to acquire specialised service providers as well as Eastern European operators.
In the Netherlands, a decision concerning the opening of the postal market has again been postponed.
French multinational transport operator Geodis enjoyed an 18% turnover increase to 1.1bn euros during Q1 2007.
Belgium's Belgischer Distributionsdienst (BD) has filed a complaint with the regulatory authority against La Poste, according to daily newspapers »De Tijd« and »De Morgen«
The Finnish post ended Q1 in a strong position with double-digit growth rates.
Poland will abolish the unlimited government guarantee for the Polish post from 1 July 2008.
Pos Malaysia has set itself a 5.6% turnover increase target for the current financial year.
From June this year, Schweizerische Post will be selling newspapers and magazines.
The government-owned Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd will not be allowed to change its name to Taiwan Post Co.
China Postal Group is planning to establish its own insurance company.
Plans hatched by Nigeria's post and government to set up an independent regulatory authority are taking shape.
"We have no concrete plans for an involvement with other post companies", a Deutsche Post representative told German daily »Handelsblatt« last week - thus putting an end to all speculations concerning possible plans by the German post to acquire a stake in foreign post companies.
Members of the Swiss KEP&Mail association gave a clear vote in favour of a rapid and extended liberalisation of the Swiss postal market at their AGM in Bern on 25.4.

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.)
Small Biz Resource has reported that "From Bangor, Maine, to Beijing, China, if you came up with an idea that turned into a business that took off, UPS (NYSE:UPS) wants to hear from you. You could win $25,000. Last year, several small businesses – including one dedicated to teaching children about money management and another that provides products and ideas to help people with dementia – were rewarded for their creative thinking and original business concepts. This year, UPS is taking its third annual UPS Best "Out-of-the-Box" Small Business Contest global."
Transport Intelligence has reported that "Amid management changes at Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), press reports are suggesting that Frank Appel will be the next CEO of DPWN, succeeding Klaus Zumwinkel. It is also beleived that private equity companies are circling the company."
According to China Daily, "China's express delivery market is facing a time of unprecedented change. Four major foreign players, China Post, private local firms and State-owned companies are all busy adjusting their strategies, and the government is poised to revise business policies."
According to PC Advisor, "The UK Post Office has launched a barcode for cash service aimed at providing businesses with a way to offer their customers promotional incentives or payments cheaply and speedily. The Payout service allows businesses to send their customers a barcode by mobile phone text message, email or post, which the recipient can redeem for cash at any of the 14,000 Post Office branches."
WLS-TV has reported that "ABC7 gets an exclusive inside look on how postal officials are promising to resolve major delays and address mix ups. Cheryl Burton found out how service may have gotten so bad. Over the past several months, ABC7 has uncovered the latest mail problems in the area. The US postal general called Chicago the worst mail delivery service in the nation."
From PR Web: "Earth Class Mail™, a global service that delivers postal mail online, has hired Natalee Roan as chief marketing officer. The former Sprint & Nextel marketing executive has spent 20 years in operational roles in marketing, sales, and finance."
According to Newsday, "Businesses have been pondering the shape of their mail - even, in some cases, whether to fold their correspondence in thirds or in half - because on Monday, those dimensions will matter more than ever. That's when the new rate structure for the U.S. Postal Service will go into effect, and prices will depend on shape as well as weight.Some businesses said they have been preparing, buying new machines and advising staff to abide by the new restrictions to keep a lid on increased expenses. But catalog companies and those relying on direct mail advertising likely will have to rein in their mailings and turn to channels such as the Internet, industry experts say. And for smaller companies, the rate changes can be devastating."
The following reports have been posted on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General website. If you have additional questions concerning the report, please contact Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286.
May 8, 2007
SecureID News has reported that "In a significant advance for consumer privacy and security worldwide, financial institutions, governments, businesses and other distributors of contactless "smart cards" now have access to lightweight card sleeves and mailing envelopes that completely shield all personal and financial information on the card's memory chip from theft or unauthorized transmission. National Envelope Corporation, the world's largest envelope manufacturer, announced that it has developed and is now marketing Smart Card Guard™, a unique and cost-effective new line of products that shield a smart card and its electronic information when mailed or carried in an individual's purse, wallet or pocket. The company is initially targeting sales to financial services companies and government agencies, and the market is global."
Press Release: "BASF IT Services has announced that is has signed agreements to host all SAP systems of BÖWE BELL + HOWELL and its parent company, BÖWE SYSTEC AG. BÖWE BELL + HOWELL, a leading provider of document processing and postal solutions, recently announced implementation of SAP AG's mySAP™ Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution to drive process efficiencies across its service organization and deliver a more intimate level of customer service."
As the Wall Street Journal has noted, "Podcasts about the government are nothing new, but podcasts by the government are on the rise as federal agencies join the ever-expanding ranks of those broadcasting over the Internet."
[Editor's Note: Once again, city letter carriers across the nation are embarking on their annual campaign to help collect food for the hungry. This is an endeavor for which the National Association of Letter Carriers should feel very proud. It's an activity that cries out for recognition and thanks.]
The Sustainable Life has asked: "Letter writing? It's dead, isn't it? Replaced by e-mail, and at a likely gain in sustainability. But perhaps there still is a place for the old-fashioned pen and paper in the modern world."
From PR Web: "Window Book, Inc., has announced the launch of 'Postage Statement Form Filler', an easy and cost-effective mailing solution for quickly producing printed USPS Postage Statements."
According to the Today Show, "Consumer expert Sid Kirchheimer's tips for ending unwanted mail."
From Business Wire: "India's Express Service industry, valued at approximately USD 1.6 billion, has grown at a CAGR of around 33% over the past decade. The industry is highly fragmented with many unorganised players having regional presence. However, the large organised players account for more than half of the industry turnover. In the new era of internet, dependence on postal/express service has been adversely impacted however it has open new horizons by means of B2B and B2C trade models. New postal regulations pose concerns to growth of the industry."
DMNews has reported that "Some nonprofit mailers are concerned that their privileges may be rescinded as the U.S. Postal Service struggles with rising costs and diminishing First-Class Mail returns. That was the message from Anthony W. Conway, executive director of the Washington-based Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, who spoke May 7 at the Greater New York Postal Customer Council Nonprofit Workshop. Mr. Conway said while Nonprofit Standard Mail rates will continue for the time being, the USPS is facing business challenges unlike anything it has ever faced before, so there may be some changes in the future."
Transport Intelligence has reported that "TNT has returned encouraging first quarter numbers, with both Express and Mail divisions showing healthy growth. Group results showed revenue year-on-year up 9.1% at €2.6bn and Operating Income up year-on-year 7.3% at €351m. The group results were flattered by the sale of the freight forwarder business Wilson for €195m. The Mail division continued as expected with a revenue and operating income increase of just over 4%. Business in the Netherlands is falling slowly, due in part to higher levels of competition. However the motor continues to be the 'European Mail Network' which grew by 25% in the quarter after a downturn at the end of 2006."
WRCB-TV has reported that "A lot of folks are clearing out the clutter this spring. One way to tackle paper clutter is to keep it from ever entering your home. The U-S Post Office actually has a way to help. Here's more about what most of us call junk mail. Judy Mahafee says, "We call it business mail. It's just as important to us as 1st class mail. They are a big part of our business." Whether you call it presorted standard, business mail or junk mail, no one denies there is a lot of it. Take a look at what sits in huge bins waiting to hit your mail box each day. At least 5 million pieces like this a week go through the Chattanooga facility and are sent out to homes in the Chattanooga and North Georgia area. That's five million a week."
May 7, 2007
The
Association for Postal Commerce has filed its reply comments regarding the Postal Regulatory Commission's docket concerning regulations establishing a system of ratemaking.
In its comments on the R2006 remand, the U.S. Postal Service has recommended that the Postal Regulatory Commission "reduce the price for minimum-per-piece rated pieces and the piece rate for piece-and-pound rated flats by $0.03 per piece and raise the price for automation and nonautomation machinable letters by $0.007 per piece. These adjustments would be approximately revenue-neutral."
Transport Intelligence has reported that "Austrian Post has established a presence in the Hungarian Parcel & Logistics market by acquiring 100% of the shares of logistics providers Road Parcel Logistics Services Kft and Merland Expressz Logistics Services Kft."
The Blue Ridge Business Journal has reported that ""Those who can reconfigure their mail pieces will save money," states David Partenheimer, spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service at its Washington, D.C., headquarters. "The unique feature of shape is an effort to address increased efficiency in the mail flow. The new price approach reflects labor costs for handling a variety of mail packaging. The more efficiently a specific size of mail can be processed automatically, the less it should cost."
Marketers who demanded and achieved increased audience response rates through direct mail marketing were the winners in the first annual Deliver Top Picks contest, a competition created by
Deliver magazine, the custom publication from the U.S. Postal Service.
Aviation Week has noted that "As trade barriers have broken down across the globe, the modern air cargo industry has evolved. Air carriers serve as the nerve system of globalization moving mail, packages and materiel to every corner of the world. The group of air carriers known as integrators--FedEx, UPS, TNT and Deutsche Post World Net--have spread their reach through consolidation to meet needs of shippers, carrying time-definite overnight packages, cargo and offering a variety of delivery options. They have created logistical systems to further support their customers."
As the Wall Street Journal has noted, "Whether or not content creators like it, this is the age of fragmentation. In industry after industry, consumers are voting with their feet against old methods of packaging and distributing information. They want to pick and choose what's of interest to them, without having to pay for or wade through what isn't. That change, midwived by technology, has shaken or shattered content companies' business models. It's made everything they do more risky. And it's stripped them of power they once enjoyed, forcing them to work with new companies and industries that somehow got to set the rules. Faced with such a situation, it's understandable that content creators are angry. But the chance to set the ground rules passed some time ago, and it's high time for content creators to realize that and adjust." [The same also can be said for the content creators called mail "advertisers" and "marketers"...."What you want to send them they may not want to read."]
The Turkish Daily News has reported that "Çaglar Gögüs and Hamit Hamutçu are two young management consultants. The U.S. Postal Service had been losing $2 billion a year up until 2001. When the duo were hired, the consultants developed a new business model for the firm, helping it to earn a profit of $800 million a year. Restructuring the postal service, which has the status of an autonomous public organization, the duo even managed to have a ruling passed in the United States Congress so that the organization can be freed of its current structure and assume a new identity. With this restructuring, the firm has been able to gain back market share it had lost to giants such as FedEx and UPS. It now operates on the business model that the two consultants have developed in 40,000 locations through the United States. The duo is now working on helping South African and Egyptian telecom operators' profit."
May 6, 2007
AMEInfo has reported that "The Emirates Corporation for Commercial Postal Services (Empost) has chosen Al Ain International Airport as the main hub for their international air cargo business."
May 5, 2007
AllAfrica.com has reported that "Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) pensioners yesterday staged a protest in the premises of former Ministry of Communications, Lafiaji, Obalende, Lagos to press for payment of their pension arrears for six months."
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
- The Association for Postal Commerce joined by the Direct Marketing Association, the Parcel Shippers Association and the Mail Order Association of America in a letter to Board of Governors Chairman James C. Miller asked the BOG to delay the Standard Mail Regular rate increases. The four associations sent a letter to the Board of Governors earlier this week asking the governors to hold in abeyance all rate changes recommended for Standard Regular and Nonprofit Mail until the later of July 15 or a reasonable time after the resolution of the Governors' March 29 decision requesting reconsideration of the PRC-recommended rates for flat-shaped Standard mail.
- The Association for Postal Commerce joined by the Direct Marketing Association, the Parcel Shippers Association and the Mail Order Association of America in a letter to Board of Governors Chairman James C. Miller asked the BOG to delay the Standard Mail Regular rate increases. The four associations sent a letter to the Board of Governors earlier this week asking the governors to hold in abeyance all rate changes recommended for Standard Regular and Nonprofit Mail until the later of July 15 or a reasonable time after the resolution of the Governors' March 29 decision requesting reconsideration of the PRC-recommended rates for flat-shaped Standard mail.
- American Business Media, an association that represents business-to-business media and has historically fought for its members in the Periodicals rate class, joined PostCom, the Direct Marketing Association, the Parcel Shippers Association and the Mail Order Association of America in asking the Board of Governors to delay the Standard Mail Regular rate increases.
- The Postal Regulatory Commission has spoken. Despite an appeal from the Coalition of Catalog Mailers, the PRC says the record in the R2006-1 rate case will remain closed.
- The Postal Regulatory Commission has spoken. Despite an appeal from the Coalition of Catalog Mailers, the PRC says the record in the R2006-1 rate case will remain closed.
- USPS CFO and Executive VP Glen Walker told the Board of Governors the Postal Service's volume growth stagnated and revenues dropped in the quarter, adding up to a disappointing second-quarter.
- Catalogers thinking about re-designing their flats into "slim jim" style catalogs to mailed as automation letters might want to wait a few months because the Postal Service will be conducting tests to determine which physical specifications are causing processing problems on its letter sorting equipment, after which it will make changes to the standards.
- Mailers Council Executive Director Robert E. McLean appeals to Rep. Henry Waxman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in this letter opposing the Postal Service's efforts to file a new rate case under the old law.
- In this commentary, Lexington Institute fellow Robert Schrum endorses the Postal Service's increasing use of private contractors to deliver the mail and criticizes the postal unions that oppose it.
- Board notes: Governors approve barcode sorter purchase, USPS pledges to fix Chicago. Amazon increases fees, shipping allowances in view of USPS rate hike. Women's logistics, deliver council to host postal trends panel.
- Royal Mail gets into customized electronic direct mail. Austrian Post focuses on Eastern European expansion, acquisitions. TNT posts healthy first-quarter earnings. Japan Post components to be huge businesses. UK bank customers face late-reporting penalty. SingPost in on-demand printing partnership. Nigeria to regulate couriers.
- A list of upcoming postal-related events.
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The Financial Times has reported that "The postal workers' union is threatening the first national strike since 1996 in a move that Royal Mail has described as "madness". The Communications Workers Union said it had received a "full and final offer" of a 2.5 per cent pay rise for 2007, conditional on "unacceptable" changes in working practices. The offer would mean job losses, earnings cuts and an increased load for postal workers, the CWU said. Royal Mail wanted to reduce working at nights and weekends, introduce later start times and raise the amount of junk mail delivered with no extra payment."
From 24-7: "Getting involved in postal franchises, including mail and package delivery services to businesses and individuals, can also be one of the most high-energy and fast paced business to run. While many people have the desire to start up their own business but lack experience, this sector, and franchising in general, provides a huge amount of support and training for entrepreneurs looking to begin with a strong base for their business. Mail and postal franchises can also be set up independently or as part of an already established business, meaning a warehouse or home improvement centre or company could utilise a mail franchising section to increase their profitability."
The Tahlequah Daily Press has noted that if you "need to send a package to Tikrit, Iraq, or maybe Yangon, Myanmar? That yellow DHL truck or van may be the best choice for delivery – not based on advertisements or company say-so, but based on a recent race."
WMDT has reported that "The U-S Postal Service won't be moving a mail-processing operation from Cumberland to Frederick. Senator Barbara Mikulski says that means about 30 people will keep their jobs."
May 4, 2007
The latest copy of the
National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on this site.
The
Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) has filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission its final comments in the matter of the Commission's reconsideration of R2006 recommended rates for Standard Mail letters and flats. PostCom said, in part, that "there is abundant evidence in this record upon which the Commission can, and, in the exercise of its expertise should, mitigate the rates it has proposed for Standard Mail regular and Nonprofit flats. This must be accomplished by an across-the-board reduction of each of the rate cells in the Regular and Nonprofit subclasses. [T]here is absolutely no support in the record for the Postal Service's proposal to "rebalance" the Standard Mail Regular and Notprofit subclass revenues by offsetting reduced flats rates by a corresponding increase in the rates for letters. The Postal Service's proposal to "rob Peter in order to pay Paul" is not only unsupported, but utterly irrational and unnecessary. PostCom urges the Commission to reject the Postal Service's mechanistic "rebalancing" proposal. Instead, the Commission should exercise its judgment, as the statute plainly empowers it to do, in order to reach a result that mitigates the harm that will be caused to flats mailers under the current rates in a way that does not cause harm to any other type of mailer or to the Postal Service."
[A draft of these comments had been posted earlier.]
The DM Bulletin has reported that "Experian has acquired French email marketing services company Emailing Solution for an undisclosed sum. Emailing Solution provides email development, delivery and management services, as well as hosting and managing email address databases. The company employs 50 people, of which six are based in Barcelona, and has more than 300 clients including Axa, Orange, Staples and HP.The acquisition expands Experian Marketing Solutions' range of services in France beyond address management. Experian will integrate the company into its own email marketing services business Cheetahmail, which already operates in the UK, US, Ireland and the Netherlands."
Hindustan Times has reported that "Waking up to the necessity of protecting the consumers' interests when couriers are a booming business, India Post proposes to amend the archaic Indian Post Office Act, 1898 for applying the Consumer Protection Law on these services. A new draft bill containing this provision and other measures to regulate the multi-crore courier industry is now awaiting the Union Cabinet's nod."
From Business Wire: "iMergent, Inc., a leading provider of eCommerce software for small businesses and entrepreneurs, announced its partnership with ATTO Solutions, LLC, which provides small parcel management, to offer discount shipping services with DHL and other leading national small parcel carriers to StoresOnline™ Pro merchants using links available directly through iMergent's eCommerce software platform became available as of May 3rd. By using the ATTO Solutions links, StoresOnline Pro merchants will receive shipping discounts as well as access time and money saving solutions. Merchants wishing to utilize the shipping tools simply access the service through the new features section of the user maintenance website. This option now offers discounts to iMergent merchants for their shipments and adds to the UPS and United States Postal Service (USPS) shipping feature StoresOnline already offers merchants."
According to DM News postal commentator Cary Baer, "unless the caliber of all the members of the board improves, the potential benefits of the reform legislation will be difficult to realize.
According to the Associated Press, "When postal rates go up on May 14, many small business owners will be looking for ways to save on their mailing costs. Many will switch to e-mail and other high-tech methods, while others will opt for smaller envelopes or thinner packages. And some will take more drastic steps - such as abandoning higher-cost, low-margin parts of their businesses."
KFOXtv has reported that "The Postal Distribution Center in El Paso will make Las Cruces mail a top priority, said the City of Las Cruces. The U.S. Postal Service has announced Thursday it's hiring an additional 15 employees to work day shifts. They will focus on sorting bulk business mail and magazines bound for Las Cruces." See also the Las Cruces Sun News.
KTVA has reported that "There's a new fight to keep Bypass Mail rates from going up. That's after Bethel Representative Mary Nelson's bill unanimously passed in the House Thursday urging Alaska's congressional delegation to intervene or eliminate the scheduled May 14th increases."
From PR Web: "According to a United States Postal Service study, 98% of consumers bring their mail in the day it's delivered and spend an average of 30 minutes reading it on any occasion. Meanwhile, postcards were found to have the highest read rates of all direct mail media, compared to other media such as letters, flyers and magazines. Considering consumers are hit with over 3,000 advertising messages on a daily basis, having the highest-read-rate percentage speaks for itself."
DMNews has noted that "After May 14, businesses in every sector will experience sticker shock as shape-based postage rates take a bite out of their bottom lines. But few, if any, will be harder hit than the direct marketing industry."
The National Association of Major Mail Users has reported in its most recent newsletter that "In its 2006 Annual Report tabled May 1 in Parliament, Canada Post Corporation reported its twelfth consecutive year of profit for its group of companies. The Corporation recorded a consolidated net income of $119 million for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2006. The return on equity was 8.4 per cent. The Corporation will make an annual dividend payment at the rate of 40 per cent of net income to its shareholder and is expecting to pay a dividend of approximately $48 million to the Government of Canada in 2007." The full Canada Post report is on the post's web site.
The Hill has reported that Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.) will introduce a bill this week to make absentee ballots postage-free for voters."
May 3, 2007
The Sioux City Journal has reported that "Members of the Sioux City Postal Workers Union Local 186 picketed at the mail processing center Thursday morning to continue protesting a proposal to move Sioux City's mail processing to Sioux Falls."
FromWebWire: "the U.S. Postal Service has a suggestion for a unique gift that will help sons, daughters and grandchildren everywhere put a little love in the mail to Mom: homemade and hand-dipped gourmet cookies. Made with that special ingredient. Stamps. The sugar-coated, edible kind."
Die Welt has reported that "Deutsche Post, the German postal service operator, is planning further changes in management. According to reports, the supervisory board will on Tuesday approve the appointment of Jurgen Gerdes, the current head of the group's business with postal services in Germany, as the replacement for Hans-Dieter Petram, the member of the management board responsible for business with letters."
Thomson Financial has noted that "Belgo-Dutch bancassurance group Fortis NV said its 50-50 Irish financial services joint venture with AN Post, the Irish Post Office, will extend to over 1,000 post offices in the next twelve months. Postbank started trading at over 250 post offices on May 1."
According to theGainesville Sun, "When postal rates go up on May 14, many small business owners will be looking for ways to save on their mailing costs. Many will switch to e-mail and other high-tech methods, while others will opt for smaller envelopes or thinner packages. And some will take more drastic steps - such as abandoning higher-cost, low-margin parts of their businesses."
ChannelNews Asia has reported that "SingPost has set up a joint venture with two partners, GPN International and Océ Singapore, to go into the print-on-demand business. This is another bid by SingPost to diversify from its domestic postal business after the industry was liberalised last month."
TheIMAG report from the UPU. [If you're involved with cross-border mailings, you should really give thought to joining the International Mailers Advisory Group (IMAG).]
FromPR Newswire: "Officials of the Platinum Shield Association (PSA), whose members own and operate United Parcel Service franchises across the United States under the Mail Boxes Etc. brand, charged today that UPS imposes higher shipping costs on franchisees due to UPS' manipulation of the dimensional weight system used to determine package size and weight for shipping."
TheChina Post has reported that "The Legislative Yuan rejected notification from Taiwan Post Co. yesterday of its action in February to change the name of the state-owned company from Chunghwa Post. Lawmakers of the opposition "pan-blue alliance" of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the People First Party controlled the voting in the meeting of the legislative committee of transportation on a proposal by KMT Legislator Tsao Erh-chung to discard the notice and advise the Executive Yuan to disallow the name change before the law regulating postal operations is revised."
TheEast Anglian Times has reported that "the wide variations in the time of daily mail deliveries in the east of England varies is completely unacceptable, a postal watchdog claimed last night."
TheWeston & Somerset Mercury has reported that "Weston's postal service is set to plunge into chaos under new EU rules which say delivery vehicles have to drive more slowly. Postmen say the changes will threaten their livelihoods as they will be forced to deliver mail much later in the day and businesses will turn to private couriers. Royal Mail vehicles, which bring letters and parcels to Weston's sorting office, will only be allowed to drive up to 56mph. This means the post will get to Weston later."
AllAfrica.com has reported that "The Federal Government is set to establish an independent courier services regulatory body to oversee operations of courier companies in the country. NIPOST Post Master General, Ibrahim Mori Baba, said this in Abuja, at a two-day conference held for public relations officers of the organisation. Baba, who was represented by Mrs Agnes Okoye, Deputy Post- master General, Territorial Administration, said the new body was part of the reforms aimed at restructuring the courier sub-sector to ensure effective regulation and monitoring."
News.bg has reported that "Oesterreichische Post AG's 500 mln eur acquisition and expansion programme will focus on niche markets, private carriers in Eastern Europe and technology providers, according to Chairman Anton Wais. Wais told the Viennese daily Die Presse that the Austrian postal services company had already earmarked investments of 80 mln eur for expansion in Eastern Europe, up to 150 mln eur for Western Europe and around 120 mln eur for the acquisition of companies with technology expertise. Wais said that Oesterreichische Post's acquisitions will continue to focus on niche markets, avoiding direct competition with such parcel logistics giants as DHL and TNT. Private carriers in Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine will be the next targets of the Austrian company's acquisition strategy, while investments in national postal providers will only be an option at a later stage, according to Wais. " See alsoForbes.
TheWashington Post has cautioned: "Beware those mailings offering you money, says the county's Consumer Affairs Branch, which warns that as the housing market softens, exploitative lenders are using the Postal Service to pick up unsuspecting customers, especially older people, those with poor credit and those whose English is weak."
Also from theWashington Post, "These Stamps Are Forever, but the Savings Are Not."
TheInternational Herald Tribune has reported that "Dutch postal company TNT NV reported strong first-quarter earnings Thursday, boosted by one-time gains from the sale of its freight operations. Net profit was €427 million (US$582 million), more than doubling from €205 million a year ago, due to a €195 million (US$266 million) gain from the sale of its freight operations to French logistics service provider Geodis SA. Sales were up 9.5 percent to €2.68 billion (US$3.66 billion), due mostly to strong growth at TNT's global express mail operations." See alsoDutchNews.nl.
dBusinessNews Indianapolis has reported that "Monday, May 14, new postal rates go into effect that MST Marketing Group of Indianapolis predicts could have a significant impact on business operation costs – particularly for those businesses that engage in direct marketing, catalog or parcel mailings."
FromCanada NewsWire: "Canada Post's annual report announced record volumes and $119 million in net profits in 2006, its twelfth consecutive year of making millions and its twenty-fifth year of providing universal, affordable public postal service."
American Business Media has joined with DMA, PostCom, MOAA, and PSA in asking the Governors to delay Standard Mail Regular rate changes until the Postal Regulatory Commission has acted on the Governors' request to reconsider Standard Mail Regular letter and flat rates.
May 2, 2007
At today's USPS Board of Governors meeting:
- The USPS did not turn in a particularly stellar second quarter.
- The Governors' tom-toms already are beating possible need for more revenue
- Gov. Carolyn Gallagher, who heads the compensation committee, said the Governors had approved a compensation plan for 12 top officers in light of the new law.
Postal rates are going up over 40% for some Standard mail categories. Periodical mail increases are approaching 20% and some short-run small circulation publishers may see postage exceed one third, or more, of their production costs. What's a mailer to do?
WhatTheyThink.com offers this free educational webinar for print service providers, publishers, and direct mailers to learn how to meet the challenges of current postal rates and future postal reforms.
From the U.S. Postal Service: "The U.S. Postal Service attained a 95 percent on-time performance score for overnight delivery of First-Class Mail in major metropolitan areas for the second quarter of fiscal year 2007, the agency's consumer advocate told the Board of Governors during its meeting today in Washington, D.C. The assessment, measured independently by IBM Consulting Services, also cites 91 percent on-time for three-day delivery — which is carried by air — Jan. 1 through March 31."

Hemscott has reported that "Oesterreichische Post AG said it has bought Hungarian parcels and logistics companies Road Parcel Logistics Services Kft and Merland Expressz Logistics Services Kft for an undisclosed sum."
The Governors of the Postal Service announced today they accepted the decision of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to modify two of its earlier rate case recommendations: lowering the price of the Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box to $8.95 and extending the nonmachinable surcharge (which encourages mailing efficiencies) to all single piece and presorted First-Class Mail letters, regardless of weight. Still pending is the Governors' request that the PRC reconsider its decision relating to Standard Mail flats. No date has been announced for that decision. All new rates are scheduled to go into effect May 14, except those for Periodicals (magazines and newspapers), which are scheduled to go into effect July 15.
USPS Chief Financial Officer Glen Walker's presentation before today's Board of Governors meeting has been posted on this site.. Presentation also includes recommendation to amend this year's integrated financial plan, which was approved by the Board.
Precision Marketing has reported that "Royal Mail has appointed five agencies to its roster to handle its £28m four-year digital account. The postal giant has hired Tullo Marshall Warrren, Proximity London, Zulu Network, Reading Room and Cheetahmail to handle its interactive services. The agencies will be tasked with overhauling Royal Mail's website, creating and designing online campaigns and creating new online strategies."
"I can't believe the American public wants private contractors delivering their mail," said William Young, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, prior to a protest staged recently in Washington, D.C. The union recently broke off its contract negotiations with the U.S. Postal Service. Joined by members of other postal workers unions, the demonstration was organized to oppose the contracting of mail delivery to private firms. Mailmen from 18 different states attended the rally. But, asRobert Schrum of the Lexington Institute noted, with labor costs hovering around 80 percent of total expenditures — compared with about 50 percent in the private sector — USPS management would be wise to take advantage of the cost-cutting opportunities that private contractors provide. Otherwise, consumers will continue to face the burden of ever-rising postage rates, leading, in all likelihood, to less mail for postmen to deliver. In just a few weeks, a new stamp-price increase will go into effect. And Postmaster General John Potter has hinted that USPS will now begin increasing rates annually.
DM News has reported that "While the U.S. Postal Service is pleased that the legislation enacted Dec. 20, 2006, offers needed flexibility in pricing and product differentiation, it said the legislation does not repair the agency's broken business model, according to Postmaster General John Potter. Mr. Potter said growth is the agency's greatest challenge as it shifts from a transaction-based mail stream to one centered on marketing and advertising. The latter relies heavily on lower-margin Standard Mail."
CommonDreams.org has reported that "Senator Bernie Sanders said today that he was deeply concerned about new mailing rates which will raise mailing costs significantly for small to medium-size publications. Sanders expressed concern that, at a time when fewer and fewer large media conglomerates control the flow of information in our country, these rate increases for small publications will make it harder for them to stay in business and may lead to even more media concentration of ownership. Sanders is working on a legislative strategy to counteract the Postal Service action. "This rate increase is tantamount to a tax on free speech," Sanders said."
According toMarketingSherpa, "Email and postal mail can work together to make a much more powerful message for your campaign ... when done correctly."
FromPR Newswire: "DST Output, one of the largest and most experienced statement and billing output providers, today announced that it has completed a two-year implementation of its advanced high-speed, color printing and inserting platform called Digital Press Technology or DPT. With this innovation, DST Output becomes the largest inkjet systems printer, propelling the industry forward in a rapid transition from toner-based to inkjet printing technology."
RFID Solutions Online has reported that "Symbol Technologies, Inc., The Enterprise Mobility Company, and its Premier Solutions Partner, Concord Unity International Limited, have been selected by China Post to supply RFID technology to track express mail bags within the postal district of Shanghai (Shanghai Post). RFID technology has been successfully deployed in the Shanghai Post Express Mail Service (EMS) operations, and is part of an on-going national pilot project co-sponsored by China's Ministry of Science and Technology to validate the benefits of RFID within China Post's operations. China Post has verified that RFID technology can reduce the amount of time it takes to process the mail bags, because the bags can be automatically tracked as they move through various points in their processing cycle."
May 1, 2007

The
New York Times has noted that "Newspaper sales continue a steep slide nationally, figures released Monday show, but two New York City tabloids continued to buck the trend, posting the largest gains among major papers. The industry as a whole reported a 2.1 percent drop in weekday circulation, and 3.1 percent on Sundays, in the six months ended March 31, compared with the period a year earlier. The figures, compiled by the Audit Bureau of Circulations but not yet audited, reflect 745 of the nation's more than 1,400 daily newspapers."
FromBusiness Wire: "With only days to go until the most sweeping changes to postal rates and rules in many years, Pitney Bowes is encouraging all mailers to tap into valuable sources of information that the company is providing to help organizations maximize their mailstream productivity."
From theU.S. Postal Service: "Mail internationally, domestically with one package."
From theFederal Register: "On December 20, 2006, President Bush signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (``PAEA'' or the ``Act'') into law. Congress intended the PAEA to increase competition and efficiency in the provision of mail service. The Act requires the Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission or ``FTC'') to prepare and submit to the President, Congress, and the Postal Regulatory Commission (``PRC'') a comprehensive report by December 20, 2007, identifying Federal and State laws that apply differently to the United States Postal Service (``USPS'') with respect to the competitive category of mail and to private companies providing similar products. To help prepare this report, the Commission is requesting public comment on several issues. Public comments must be received on or before July 2, 2007. Comments should refer to ``USPS Study, Project No. P071200'' to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope, and the original and two copies should be delivered to the following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room 135-H (Annex F), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580."
From the U.S. Postal Service: "Manifest Analysis Certification (MAC/MACGold/MACBatch) Cycle I interim certification will be granted to all products currently being tested for a period of 30 days after the implementation date (through June 13). All Certification of product under MAC Cycle E, MACGold Cycle D, and MACBatch Cycle H will expire on May 14. It is important to note that MAC/MACGold/MACBatch Certification does not now, nor has it ever, guaranteed acceptance. It is still incumbent on the software developers to make all necessary changes for the May 14th implementation date and distribute the products to their customers. Any product that is 'in-house' by the May 14th implementation date and was previously certified during MAC Cycle E, MACGold Cycle D or MACBatch Cycle H, will be granted a 30-day interim certification which will be renewable in 30-day increments. Those products will appear on the Certified Products Listing (CPL) with the interim expiration date. Products that are 'new' to the MAC Certification procedures or that were not previously approved during the last MAC cycle will not be provided an interim certification and must complete all required testing prior to being published on the CPL as MAC-certified. If you have questions please call 800-331-5746 and ask for the MAC Certification group."
According to DM News:
- TheUSPS' Mike Plunkett must have anticipated some backlash over the U.S. Postal Service's decision to raise rates starting May 14. What the USPS vice president of pricing and classification didn't expect — and nor did most attendees sitting in on his session on the postal rate case at the Chicago Direct Marketing Days & Expo — was the visceral reaction to the development. One representative of a midsize lettershop in the Chicago area said her firm was "absolutely dead" in the past two months. The company's clients have cut back on their direct mail plans, shocked by the postal rate increase.
- The new postage rates that go into effect on May 14 aren't the only reason that theVermont/New Hampshire Direct Marketing Group's annual conference this week promises to draw an impassioned crowd. With Vermont having recently introduced a do-not-mail bill, it's safe to say local mailers are feeling some pressure.
The Direct Marketing Association, the
Association for Postal Commerce, the Mail Order Association of America, and the Parcel Shippers Association has asked the Board of Governors to delay the implementation of Standard Regular and Nonprofit postal rate increases until July 15, 2007.
Thailand Post will soon be more than just a post office. It will be offering a range of one-stop services for business and individual customers,The Nation reports. Woodtipong Moleechad, chief operations officer for the company, said the agency would utilise new information technology to upgrade its "back-end" infrastructure in ways that will improve existing services and provide new ones.
TheHuntington News has reported that "Of the 12 companies in the Fortune Global 500 mail, freight, and shipping sectors whose environmental and sustainability reporting was analyzed by the Roberts Environmental Center in 2006, Royal Mail Group (UK) was graded A+ and United Parcel Service (US) and Deutsche Post (Germany) both received grades of A. Almost half of the publicly traded firms on this list comprise the national postal services of major industrialized countries."
TheTampa Tribune has reported that "St. Petersburg will lose some postal operations but likely retain its postmark under a U.S. Postal Service consolidation plan that drew criticism last year from residents and public officials."