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.

• DR-AR-07-004 - Address Management System Information - Capital Metro Area http://www.uspsoig.gov/FOIA_files/DR-AR-07-004.pdf
• DR-AR-07-005 - Address Management System Information - Pacific Area http://www.uspsoig.gov/FOIA_files/DR-AR-07-005.pdf
• DR-AR-07-006 - Address Management System Information - Southwest Area http://www.uspsoig.gov/FOIA_files/DR-AR-07-006.pdf
• DR-AR-07-007 - Management of Administrative Vehicles http://www.uspsoig.gov/FOIA_files/DR-AR-07-007.pdf
• DR-AR-07-008 - Address Management Systems Information - Western Area http://www.uspsoig.gov/FOIA_files/DR-AR-07-008.pdf
• NL-AR-07-004 - Surface Transportation - Processing and Distribution Center Transportation Routes - Southwest Area http://www.uspsoig.gov/FOIA_files/NL-AR-07-004.pdf
• NO-AR-07-004 - Efficiency Review of the Bridgeport Processing and Distribution Facility - Bridgeport, Connecticut http://www.uspsoig.gov/FOIA_files/NO-AR-07-004.pdf

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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