![[PostCom logo]](../../postcom3.gif)
Postal News from October 2010:
Yahoo! News has reported that "Air freight carrier DHL has tightened checks
at its German hub on goods coming from Yemen at the request of the US
authorities, Germany's transport ministry said late Saturday."
The Express has reported that "church leaders are furious with Royal Mail
bosses who ditched Christian images on Christmas stamps in favour of children’s
favourites Wallace and Gromit. The plasticine stars of The Curse Of The
Were-Rabbit will appear on seven different stamps but those wanting a religious
theme have only one choice, the image of the Madonna and Child that has been on
sale for the past three years."
The Telegraph has reported that "A female engineering student has been
arrested in Yemen on suspicion of posting the packages containing bombs found on
two cargo jets in Dubai and Britain. The 22-year-old woman, named locally as
Hanan al Samawi, was traced through a phone number left with a cargo company.
The bomb intercepted in Britain on its way to America was designed to explode in
mid-air and may have been targeted at the UK. US and British security officials
believe Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born figurehead of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP) was behind the foiled attack in which two ink cartridge bombs,
posted in Yemen, were intercepted in Britain and Dubai on the way to America.
Al-Awlaki, who is in hiding in Yemen, is regarded by the CIA and MI6 as the
driving force behind the transformation of AQAP from a regional group into an
international terrorist organisation."
As the
Associated Press exasperatingly put it, "Oh, that campaign mail...."It's
direct mail — the bomb-throwing language always does well," said Chris Maiorana,
a Republican strategist who has designed Senate candidates' mail programs. Mail
is by no means a new tool in campaigns and the final days always bring a pile of
political paper as campaigns compete for the last undecided voters." [EdNote:
Take a look at Hearts and Minds.]
The
Washington Post has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is temporarily
suspending acceptance of inbound mail from Yemen in response to potential terror
threats from the country."
October 30, 2010
PC World has reported that "Online Americans like their news the old
fashioned way--through network television, newspapers and magazines--but more
than half of them think old media's time is limited."
The
Wall Street Journal has reported that "The U.S. economy remains mired in a
sluggish recovery, unable to grow fast enough to create the masses of jobs
needed to bring down unemployment. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure
of the goods and services produced by the economy, rose at an inflation-adjusted
annual rate of 2% in the third quarter, up from 1.7% in the second quarter , the
government said Friday."
Bloomberg has reported that "Explosives found in air-freight shipments from
Yemen spotlight a dangerous hole in U.S. screening efforts and may spur the
government to change how air cargo is handled, security specialists said. While
new U.S. rules implemented in August require screening of all cargo in the
bellies of passenger airliners, goods on air freighters aren’t subject to those
checks. UPS is the world’s largest package-delivery company, and Memphis,
Tennessee-based FedEx runs the biggest cargo airline. “You cannot possibly
inspect every last package that is sent across the globe,” said Christopher
Boucek, an analyst specializing in al-Qaeda and the Middle East at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace in Washington. “That is an inherent, massive
weakness.”
The Telegraph has reported that "Royal Mail could be allowed to drop its
guarantee to deliver post anywhere in the UK six days a week if it becomes too
costly, the Government has admitted."
From the Federal Register:
Postal Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
New Postal Products , 67148–67149 [2010–27467]
[TEXT] [PDF]
67147–67148 [2010–27469]
[TEXT] [PDF]
67146–67147 [2010–27474]
[TEXT] [PDF]
According
to
The Guardian, "Parcelforce wants us to pay nearly £50 tax to deliver our
Christmas gifts."
The Business Times has reported that "Singapore Post saw net profit slide
2.5 per cent year on year to $39.5 million for its second quarter ended Sept 30,
despite revenue rising 5.6 per cent to $137.6 million as its mail and logistics
segments did better."
DMM Advisory: IMb™ Services Update. PostalOne!® Software Maintenance: Due to software maintenance, the PostalOne! system (production, TEM and FAST® OPS web services) will be unavailable during the scheduled 4 a.m. – 8 a.m. (CDT) maintenance window on Sunday, October 31, 2010. PostalOne! Release 25.0 and FAST Release 15.0 will deploy to production Sunday, November 7, 2010. PostalOne! production (including FAST OPS web services) will be unavailable from 9 p.m. (CDT) Saturday, November 6 through 8 a.m. (CST) Sunday, November 7. PostalOne! Release 25.0 will deploy to PostalOne! Test Environment for Mailers (TEM) on Monday, November 8. TEM (including FAST OPS web services) will be unavailable Monday, November 8, from 4 a.m. (CST) through 2 p.m. (CST). PostalOne! Release 25.0 notes and FAST Release 15.0 pre-release notes are posted on RIBBS.
October 29, 2010
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
CP2011-3 Order No. 573 - Order Approving Priority Mail Contract 28 Negotiated Service Agreement Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70689/Order_No_573.pdf http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70689/Order_No_573.docx MC2011-2 Order No. 573 - Order Approving Priority Mail Contract 28 Negotiated Service Agreement Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70689/Order_No_573.pdf http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70689/Order_No_573.docx MC2011-3 Order No. 574 - Order Approving Priority Mail Contract 29 Negotiated Service Agreement Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70690/Order_No_574.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70690/Order_No_574.pdf CP2011-20 Order No. 572 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.pdf CP2011-21 Order No. 572 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.pdf CP2011-22 Order No. 572 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.pdf CP2011-23 Order No. 572 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.pdf CP2011-24 Order No. 572 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.pdf CP2011-25 Order No. 572 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70686/Order_No_572.pdf
In
cooperation with the FBI, local authorities have confiscated a suspicious
package at the FedEx facility in Dubai. The shipment originated in Yemen and as
an additional safety measure, FedEx has embargoed all shipments originating from
Yemen. The Company is cooperating fully with the authorities on this matter; any
additional information regarding this matter must come from the FBI.
Dead Tree Edition has told its readers that "As it announced it would do a
week ago, the U.S. Postal Service filed an appeal today of the Postal Regulatory
Commission's rejection of proposed "exigent" (emergency) rate increases. USPS
filed the appeal this morning in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia. The filing in "United States Postal Service v. Postal
Regulatory Commission" does not reveal any of the Postal Service's arguments in
the case. It merely states, "The United States Postal Service hereby petitions
this Court for review of Order Number 547 of the Postal Regulatory Commission
(PRC), issued on September 30, 2010, which denied the Postal Service's request
for exigent rate adjustments. The court set deadlines of Nov. 29 for procedural
motions and Dec. 13 for dispositive motions (that is, motions for the court to
issue a summary judgment or to dismiss the case)"
The
Journal of Commerce has reported that "U.S. law enforcement officials
searched UPS aircraft coming into the United States from Europe on Friday after
suspicious packages shipped from Yemen were discovered on their way into the
country."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: The
PRC has just issued an
information request asking the USPS to provide additional information in
regards to its request for temporary
waivers to periodic reporting of service measurement. The PRC has given the USPS until Nov. 12 to provide a response. Accordingly, the PRC also has issued an order extending the deadline for comments from others until Nov. 19.
DMM
Advisory:
New MailPro
Available.
The September/October
MailPro [HTML]
[PDF] is
available now on
usps.com/mailpro. You’ll
find informative articles on National PCC Day, FSS processing,
Frederick
W. Smith, chairman, president and chief executive officer of FedEx
Corporation, will receive the 2010 George C. Marshall Foundation Award following
a luncheon Nov. 16 at American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C. The
Marshall Foundation will honor Mr. Smith for his success in building a company
that has changed business around the world and for the generous use of FedEx
resources to provide humanitarian assistance to countries and regions in need.
Now hear this: "This Week In Postal".........the latest podcast posted now!
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
"The
cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service has fallen behind in generating revenue from
new applications of information technology, such as switching to a FedEx-like
tracking system, selling USPS data to mailers and charging local governments to
issue various citizen identification credentials at post offices, says the
agency's independent regulator. One of the biggest challenges in realizing
benefits from IT has been how to expand the use of the so-called intelligent
mail barcode -- a series of lines printed on commercial letters and packages
that computers scan to identify each parcel as it moves through the processing
system. The tool also can measure the amount of time it takes to process items.
"I think we're all a bit frustrated that the IMB has taken much longer than we
thought to be implemented," said commission Chairwoman Ruth Goldway in an
interview with
Nextgov. "But we still see its potential . . . as a service that will give
the Postal Service a vast array of data and control over the mail stream."
Process and Control
Today has noted that "The new Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) has all but
replaced the old POSTNET and PLANET barcodes used in United States Postal
Service (USPS) automation. FASTechnology Group, already the leading developer
and supplier of high-speed selective binding and mailing controllers used to
address large mailings, anticipated the need for an
inspection system that would validate the quality and conformity of IMBs
to help mailers avoid potential additional charges. FASTech used the Cognex
In-Sight® 5613 because it provides powerful tools for IMB verification and
automation control connectivity that greatly reduced development time. As a
result, the FASTverify Postal Verification System is
the first system that not only verifies the readability and critical metrics of
the bar code but also verifies that it is the right barcode."
ZDNet has reported that "It may seem counter intuitive, but Doc was not
completely surprised to see that in the results of a new study on direct
marketing, for certain types of products and services, young people in the 18-34
year old bracket prefer receiving messages by print. The study, titled “Finding
the Right Channel Combination: What Drives Channel Choice?” was conducted by
ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting, and surveyed over 2500 U.S. and 2200
Canadian households and found that, when asked their preference, consumers
prefer direct mail over online media for many types of marketing
communications."
According
to the
Lafayette Journal and Courier, "What began as a civil public meeting to
discuss a planned mail processing consolidation quickly turned into a heated
debate between residents and postal service officials."
YLE has reported that "A backlog in postal deliveries continues across the
country although postal workers returned to the Pasila mail distribution centre
on Thursday night after a day-long work stoppage. It's estimated that
distribution delays will continue into the middle of next week, and will affect
deliveries across the country, as Pasila is a critical hub in the mail
distribution network."
Legalweek has reported that "Royal Mail has kicked off a review of its
employment and property panels which will see five firms appointed to step in
when the current panel contract expires next year. The review is being led by
general counsel Doug Evans, who joined Royal Mail in 2006 from logistics company
Exel, and is part of an effort by the organisation to to cut legal spend and
rationalise its adviser roster. Successful firms will sign a framework agreement
for a term of three years with the company reserving the option to extend the
contract for a further year. The current panel arrangement is due to expire on
31 March next year."
The
Azerbaijan Business Center has reported that:
From the Federal Register:
Postal Regulatory Commission
RULES
New Postal Products , 66677–66679 [2010–27344]
[TEXT] [PDF]
NOTICES
Post Office Closing , 66804–66805 [2010–27350]
[TEXT] [PDF]
The
Hindu Business Line has reported that "The Government is focusing on
retraining the entire staff of the Postal Department to service the customers
better, said the Union Minister of State for IT & Communication, Mr Sachin
Pilot, at a function held to inaugurate 16 modernised Head Post Offices in
Karnataka here on Thursday. “We are focusing on retraining the entire staff to
make sure they interact with and service customers with a smile,” he said. With
an objective to modernise the Postal Department, the Government launched an
initiative, Project Arrow, to revamp post offices completely. “We realised the
need for modernising and upgrading to the times and needs of 2010,” said Mr
Pilot."
Hellmail has reported that "Estonian Post is nearing the final stage of the
introduction of automated parcel terminals after it announced this week that
invitations for bids has been sent to three suppliers. The new machines are
expected to appear in Estonia, followed by Latvia and Lithuania. The deadline
for submission is the 2nd of November."
The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.
DutchNews
has reported that "Postal workers unions are to send an ultimatum to TNT Post on
Thursday threatening a 24 hour strike if the company does not do more to limit
compulsory redundancies under delivery workers. TNT has already agreed to make
no more than 3,100 people redundant as part of its efforts to cut delivery
costs. The aim of the cuts is to reduce spending by €430m between now and 2017."
October 28, 2010
Press
Release: "The international postal sector is the first services industry
worldwide to commit to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to
the International Post Corporation (IPC). The U.S. Postal Service and 21 other
postal operators in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region — all
members of IPC — have pledged to measure CO2 emissions and collectively reduce
them by 20 percent by 2020, under IPC's Environmental Measurement and Monitoring
system (EMMS.)"
Trading
Markets has reported that "Deutsche Post has announced that it will be
introducing price changes for a number of international postal products on
January 1, 2011. The number of prices for international postcards and letters
weighing up to 1,000g will be reduced from 10 to four, while the prices of
letters and postcards being sent to addressees within Germany will remain
unchanged, Deutsche Post said."
AFP
has reported that "the Internet contributed 100 billion pounds (155 billion
dollars, 115 billion euros) to the British economy last year, about 7.2 percent
of gross domestic product (GDP), a report showed Thursday. The sector is bigger
than the construction, transport or utilities industries in Britain, according
to the study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which was commissioned by the
British arm of Internet giant Google. The research also predicted that by 2015,
the British 'Internet economy' is likely to grow to 10 percent of GDP, eclipsing
the financial sector."
The
U.K.
Parliament news center has reported that "Secretary of State for Business,
Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable, introduced the second reading of the Postal
Services Bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday 27 October.
The
Bill's provisions are divided into four main parts.
The
Helsinki Times has reported that "Postal workers staged a walkout at the
Helsinki sorting centre late on Wednesday, causing serious disruption in the
capital's post deliveries. The chief shop steward at the sorting centre said the
employer had attempted to hire scabs. Read more: Postal workers stage walkout at
Helsinki sorting centre."
The
Azerbaijan Business Center
has reported that "The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is
preparing to launch technical assistance to Azerbaijan’s national postal
operator Azerpoct in connection with beginning of financial and banking services
by the latter. The Baku-based SECO office informs that the Secretariat has
already undertook commitment to award a grant of $1.7 million for the purpose."
Macauhub has
reported that "The company Correio Expresso de Moçambique (Corre), a partnership
split evenly between the postal services of Portugal and Mozambique, was
officially established on Wednesday in Maputo."
"Royal
Mail centres across Britain could be paralysed if managers walk out on strike
next month,
Tribune has learned."
Air
Cargo World has reported that "DHL said 600 companies have responded to its
launch of a Germany-centric shopping portal designed for small and medium-sized
retailers and consumers aged 50 and over. With a focus on technology, living,
fashion, hobbies and lifestyle sectors, the portal is available to full-range
and niche suppliers, said the company. DHL will charge the retailer a
transaction fee of 4 to 8 percent of the selling price and a one-time
registration fee of EUR20 ($28)."
Think mail is dead as a communications medium? Not when you read what WNYC
has reported. "the mail keeps coming. For good reason. “Mail moves voters,” said
political consultant Scott Levenson, who’s done work for Hilary Clinton, Andrew
Cuomo and David Dinkins. Levenson says no other medium has the power to put the
candidate’s image and message in voters’ hands, even if they walk the flyer
straight to the recycle bin. And mail is especially useful in New York City,
where a 30-second TV ad can cost millions to produce and air. By contrast, a
campaign can use the same money to send repeat communications directly to the
homes of moms, or veterans, or small business owners. “It’s the best, most
effective way to reach a large number of voters and know who you're reaching,”
said Steven Stites, a consultant for the Grimm campaign." [EdNote: Of course,
once elected to Congress, then all of a sudden many of those "power of mail
believers" seem quite content to let the postal system languish and suffer a
slow, miserable death.]
Reuters has
noted that "The Obama administration on Monday proposed the first ever fuel
efficiency and emissions standards for big tractor trailers and other commercial
trucks. Firms that would be affected by the changes include YRC Worldwide, UPS
Inc, FedEx Corp, Ryder System, Landstar System and J.B. Hunt Transport
Services."
The
Boston Globe has reported that "State Democratic Party officials are denying
a claim by Republicans that their fund-raising tactics violated US Postal
Service regulations, breaking their silence after the GOP called for an
investigation of a spate of major donations by Democratic candidates."
The Independent has reported that "An Post will have slashed staff numbers
by more than 400 by the end of the year ahead of the opening-up of the postal
market to competition in January."
YLE has reported that "Major problems are expected with postal deliveries in
the Helsinki area on Thursday. About a quarter of the staff of a large sorting
centre in Pasila walked off the job around 11 pm Wednesday. Meanwhile talks in a
paper industry dispute resume on Thursday. The centre’s shop steward says that
employees were reacting to the arrival of outside workers at the site. The
postal workers’ union PAU has imposed a ban on overtime and extra work while
contract negotiations are underway."
Hellmail has reported that:
Deutsche Post is to introduce price changes for a number of international postal products on 1 January 2011 although it said on the whole customers will benefit from price reductions. At the same time, the price structure for international postal products has been simplified to become more customer-friendly, meaning that the number of prices for international postcards and letters weighing up to 1,000g will be reduced from ten to four. The prices of letters and postcards being sent to addressees within Germany will remain unchanged in the year to come. A relevant price application filed by Deutsche Post has just been approved by the German Network Agency which is responsible for regulating letter prices.
The Slovakian postal service reported this week that it is now struggling with a lack of stamps at some post offices and in some cases, stocks have dwindled to zero. Slovak Post said the shortfall had been caused by a delay in the supply of stamps, which is entirely the remit of state authorities in Slovakian law, despite Slovak Post ordering new supplies well in advance. Some areas have seen stamps sold out completely.
ABC News has reported that "With scam calls bombarding the U.S. from abroad
and identity theft on the rise, the United States Postal Service has taken the
unusual step of mailing a warning brochure to every single home in the nation."
The
Irish Times has reported that "An Post has laid off the equivalent of 260
full-time staff under a cost-cutting programme introduced at the start of this
year, according to one of the company’s unions."
The
Daily Mail has reported that "The beleaguered post office network was thrown
a £1.3billion lifeline by ministers last night in an effort to prevent a repeat
of mass branch closures under Labour. Unveiling details of the controversial
Royal Mail sell-off yesterday, Business Secretary Vince Cable said he was
determined to protect the future of branches, which will not be included in the
sale." See also
The Guardian,
Reuters, and the
Wall Street
Journal.
October 27, 2010
The Guardian has noted that "The thought of striking managers caused
hilarity in the posties' smoking shed this morning."
According
to
All Things Digital, "Investors are cheering on Netflix as it moves from DVDs
to streaming video, and keeps adding customers along the way. But “digital”
doesn’t equal “cheap” for Reed Hastings’ company. In fact, the online move has
cost Netflix at least $1.2 billion."
According
to
Sky News, "MPs will vote on plans to privatise the Royal Mail when the
Postal Services Bill comes to the Commons for its second reading later."
ePolitix.com has reported that "Postal workers from across the country are
to meet with MPs ahead of the first debate in Parliament on plans to privatise
Royal Mail."
Response Source has reported that "Risk & Compliance Screening and Data
Management specialists, Datanomic, today announced that Deutsche Post DHL
(DPDHL), the world's leading mail and logistics services Group, has standardised
on Datanomic’s award-winning dn:Director for Sanctions & PEP Screening solution
to screen four million freight and logistics customers and subcontractors
worldwide, and comply with stringent German, European Union, international and
United Nations anti-terrorism regulations. The Datanomic solution is being
deployed in both German and English."
The
Daily Tribune has reported that "Letter carriers in several southeastern
Michigan communities are raising the same concerns about a hostile work
environment many raised five years ago, in particular that they're being told to
speed up, to deliver the mail without overtime. And — as they learned to do
months before a fired worker killed four postal workers, wounded others and
killed himself in 1991 — they're petitioning U.S. Sen. Carl Levin to
investigate."
Ekklesia has reported that
"Plaid Cymru MPs will today (27 October) attempt to stop Post Office
privatisation in its tracks. They are tabling an amendment to the Postal
Services Bill. It calls for the Bill to go no further and not to be given a
Second Reading. Plaid say that they aim to “prevent the spiralling privatisation
agenda of the ConDem UK government”. Plaid Cymru’s Hywel Williams MP has
previously raised concerns about the consequences the Bill will have on the
postal service in rural areas and the importance of maintaining the Universal
Service Obligation for businesses. The amendment insists that the Bill would
harm services of vital importance to rural areas in Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland. It “notes the importance that sub-post offices play in the delivery of
postal services and believes the continuing uncertainty is undermining the
confidence of sub-post masters”.
Civil.ge has reported
that "The Georgian Economy Ministry announced on October 27 about the plans to
privatize the Georgian Post, which is wholly owned by the state. The ministry
said potential investors should submit their bids till December 1, 2010. The
Georgian Post, which provides postal, courier, money transfer services, has an
extensive network of branches throughout the country with total 100,000 square
meter office space and 87,000 square meter of land."
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
bpost allegedly plans to acquire a stake in Greek’s Elta.
TNT plans to completely withdraw from its Austrian alternative postal service redmail.
Post Denmark fears that standard letter volume could halve within five years.
Canada Post plans to reduce its delivery workforce by 7,000 with a new delivery method.
The absorption of Royal Mail’s pension fund in the public budget could be subject of an investigation by the EU competition authority.
The MRU, founded in 1992, is the only consultancy in Europe, which has specialised in the market of courier-, express- and parcel services. For large-scale shippers and CEP-services in particular, the MRU provides interdisciplinary advice for all major questions of the market, as there are for example market entry, product design, organisation, and EDP.To learn more about the stories reported above, contact CEP News. (We appreciate the courtesy extended by CEP News to help whet your appetite for more of what CEP offers.)
The
BBC has
reported that "Boley Smillie has been appointed the new chief executive of
Guernsey Post, after holding the post temporarily since July."
Postal
news from Hellmail:
The
National Post has reported that "Canada Post, trying to maintain parcel
volumes in the face of a declining letter transport business, is launching a
shopping website that lets users buy products online from retailers selling
specifically to Canadians. The crown corporation said the site, called Canada
Post Comparison Shopper, will use a ranking system that filters through 4
million products from 500 established retailers marketing directly to Canadian
residents. The system offers search and filter capabilities not available on
competing shopping sites, Canada Post said, like a feature that screens for
retailers actually shipping to Canada. The site also estimates an “all-in” price
for a product, which includes taxes, shipping and customs fees."
The Independent has reported that "Growth in air cargo dipped last month,
reflecting weak consumer and business confidence across the world, the
International Air Transport Association (Iata) warned yesterday."
The
outgoing
President of the APWU has told his members that "The announcement of
Postmaster General John Potter’s retirement comes with shock and disappointment.
We have had disagreements on a variety of issues – most notably, the cozy
relationship he fostered with major mailers, and the policy of granting them
excessive postage discounts. But Potter has always considered the impact his
decisions would have on postal employees. Having begun his career as a
distribution clerk, he has never overlooked the contribution of workers....have
no inside information about the reason for Potter’s decision, and no reason to
believe that his retirement was demanded by the Board of Governors; but if it
was, the Board has made a terrible mistake. The Postal Service is at a
crossroads, and its relevance in American society is being questioned."
The
Postalnewsblog has posted "PMG’s farewell letter to postal employees."
Cato
Institute is of the opinion that "Congress has shown virtually no interest
in giving the USPS, which is bleeding red ink, the greater flexibility it needs.
This makes me wonder if Potter will reach the same conclusion that his
predecessor, William Henderson, reached following his departure from the USPS.
Three short months after Henderson stepped down as postmaster general in June
2001, he penned an op-ed in the Washington Post that called for the USPS to be
privatized."
According
to the Gerson
Lehman Group, "The “paperless office” is among the most over-promised and
under-delivered concepts of the information age. The generation that started the
information age still loves paper. However, three necessary components; viable
technology, a supportive legal framework, and clear economic incentives, will
make this decade the one in which we finally realize significant decreases in
paper and printing utilization."
Multichannel Merchant has reported that "Chairman of the Board of Governors
Louis J. Giuliano said in a statement that Potter has been “a steadying and
far-sighted leader throughout a period of dynamic change in America’s use of the
mail and during times of economic uncertainty. The hallmark of your success was
your ability to build respectful relationships with all stakeholders, customers
and employees that established a trusted level of credibility. We unreservedly
regard your tenure as one of great accomplishment.”
Government Executive
has reported that "Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of
Letter Carriers, called Potter "an honorable partner," but noted his union also
had "profound strategic differences" with the outgoing leader. Rolando said he
looked forward to working with the new postmaster general in the coming months."
October 26, 2010
According
to the
Washington Post, "Age -- not declining mail volume, sinking profits or an
uncooperative Congress -- triggered John E. Potter's decision to step down as
postmaster general after 9 1/2 years, he said Tuesday. And after three decades
delivering letters and packages on behalf of the nation's largest private firms,
he's seeking out a new employer."
According to
Daily Nation, "Social mail in Kenya has been declining over the past seven
years at an average rate of 13 per cent due to technological developments.
Communication has shifted to e-mails, telephones and SMSs,” said Dr Enock
Kinara, the organisation’s general manager in charge of the Nairobi Postal
Strategy. The postal service business has been limping, taking heat on several
fronts. The technological revolution has seen the cost of mobile phones decline
by more than 50 per cent, enabling Kenyans who could not afford the gadget in
the past become proud owners of mobile phones. This signalled the beginning of
the decline in social mail or the snail mail. Instant messaging and e-mails, for
example, have made the art of letter writing seem quaint."
YLE has reported that "Worsening disruptions to mail deliveries are expected
this week. Thousands of households did not receive their mail on Monday as a
result of a ban on overtime work by postal workers. Postal workers, who are
without a contract, have continued their ban on overtime work since last
Wednesday. Negotiations resumed on Monday afternoon, but are expected to drag on
for several days."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
The
Wall Street
Journal has reported that "Dutch postal and express group TNT NV (TNT.AE)
said Tuesday its Express unit will start a direct scheduled B747 service between
Chongqing in Western China and Europe through TNT's Liege hub."
From
PRWeb: "Greeting cards emerge as a cost-effective and feasible alternative
for expensive gifts. The greeting card industry has been fairly immune to the
recent slowdown in the economy, thanks to the launch of novel and unique designs
of cards, catering to various sentiments and occasions of individuals and the
ability to convey emotions, particularly in the times of recession. The industry
recorded robust growth figures between 2004-2007. However, during 2008-2009 the
market registered flat growth rates, due to the recession and growing popularity
of e-cards. Innovations in designs and make of cards enabled card vendors to
survive despite the gloomy economy. The United States represents the largest
regional market for Greeting Cards worldwide, as stated by the new market
research report on Greeting Cards."
According
to the
Washington Post, "it's unclear how Donohoe will be any different from Potter
since he's spent the last five years in his shadow, implementing cost cuts and
operational changes
that both have touted as their solution to solving the
Postal Service's financial woes. "We're not going to do things to kill this
organization, far from it," Donohoe said in an interview with The Federal Eye
late last year. "I grew up in Pittsburgh, I watched the steel mills go away. My
mom and dad worked for General Motors, I watched General Motors go away. We will
not let that happen in this organization." "Like Potter, Donohoe eagerly wants
Congress to back off and let postal executives manage USPS in a more nimble way.
"Leave us alone. Providing access to the American public is a critical thing, we
know that," he said. "I think that Congress should rest easy that everybody here
- our board of governors or leaders in our organization - want to do the right
things," Donohoe said. "Our unions want to do the right thing. We have to
resolve pay and labor issues internally and I think that it's important that we
do that, because if we do that, that makes for a stronger Postal Service."
Postal news from
Postal Technology International:
UPS reports strong growth across all segments
From the Federal Register:
Postal
Regulatory Commission
PROPOSED RULES
Periodic Reporting:
Temporary Waiver Request , 65593–65594 [2010–26835]
[TEXT] [PDF]
NOTICES
Meetings; Sunshine Act , 65674–65675 [2010–27231]
[TEXT] [PDF]
New Postal Products , 65675–65676 [2010–26957]
[TEXT] [PDF]
65676–65677 [2010–26982]
[TEXT] [PDF]
Periodic Reporting Rules , 65677–65678 [2010–26981]
[TEXT] [PDF]
Dead Tree Edition has told its readers that "At the ripe age of 55,
Postmaster General Jack Potter announced his retirement today from the worst CEO
job in America. Some will no doubt speculate about the reasons -- a coming
change in Congress or perhaps the failure so far to notch any major political
victories on such issues as rate increases, five-day delivery or
retiree-benefits reform. But I have my own theory. The job stinks."
The
Washington Post has
reported that "The nation's top mailman is turning in his bag, retiring after a
lifetime of service with the U.S. Postal Service.
Postmaster General John E. Potter will retire on Dec. 3 after nine
years at the helm of the mail agency, according to multiple sources familiar
with the move. His deputy, Patrick R. Donahoe will
succeed him, sources said. USPS will make a formal announcement later
this evening. Potter, 55, is in Chicago for meetings with the Postal Service
Board of Governors and personally phoned lawmakers and postal regulators on
Monday to tell them the news, according to sources." See also
Business Week and the
Associated Press.
Bloomberg has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. expects to handle
430 million packages globally between Thanksgiving and Christmas and has added
flights in China to meet surging export demand, Chief Executive Officer Scott
Davis said."
The
Belfast Telegraph has reported that "Buckingham Palace is in discussions
with Government over the future use of the Royal Mail name once the body is
privatised, postal affairs minister Ed Davey said. Any buyer would wish to
continue using the name, Mr Davey suggested, but "safeguards" were being
identified to guard against "misuse" of the Royal title. The measures would
ensure Royal associations were used "respectfully and appropriately" - and that
they could be stripped away if necessary." See also the
Daily Mail.
Life Hacker has reported that "The shift to email isn’t great news if you’re
the national postal organisation, but Australia Post isn’t entirely stuck in the
backwaters. New data reveals that an increasing number of its customers are
using smart phones to access its service."
According to
the APWU,
"More than half-way through the 90-day period established for contract
negotiations, the APWU is becoming impatient with the pace of bargaining. The
union negotiating team is well aware that the Postal Service is experiencing
serious financial difficulties. For that reason, we anticipated that bargaining
would be difficult as we attempt to build on the advances negotiated in past
years. Yet as the Nov. 20 contract expiration approaches, I am increasingly
disgusted by management’s refusal to get to the heart of the matter: Bargaining
began on Sept. 1, and representatives for both sides have been meeting each week
to explore issues of agreement. The APWU negotiating team is led by the
President and Director of Industrial Relations, and includes the Executive Vice
President and the Craft Directors. As expected, USPS proposals have included
efforts to maximize supervisory control of the workplace and reduce costs by
removing previously negotiated contractual protections."
A University of South Carolina professor is this year’s recipient of the
Rita
Lloyd Moroney Award from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), recognizing
excellence in published works involving USPS history.
October 25, 2010
The
Washington Post has reported that "a federal jury said FedEx must pay $66
million to now-defunct ATA Airlines, saying the package delivery company broke a
contract that ultimately pushed ATA into bankruptcy."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
CP2010-95 Notice of Updates to Product List Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.pdf http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.doc MC2010-34 Notice of Updates to Product List Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.pdf http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.doc MC2010-35 Notice of Updates to Product List Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.pdf http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.doc R2010-5 Notice of Updates to Product List Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.pdf http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.doc R2010-6 Notice of Updates to Product List Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.pdf http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70592/Secy_Notice_102510.doc
The
Wall Street
Journal has reported that "The Greek government has already received initial
expressions of interest from the Belgian Post Group and several other
international firms for its planned sale of a stake in the Hellenic Postal
Service, a senior person with direct knowledge said Monday. Hellenic Postal
Service is 90% state-owned and provides postal service throughout the
cash-strapped Mediterranean country. The government has previously said it wants
to reduce its holding in the organization as part of its privatization program
under the EUR110 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the
European Union."
 Welcome
to PostCom RadioJoin PostCom Vice President Jessica Lowrance, Lisa Bowes, Manager, Account Services, Intelisent, Angelo Anagnostopoulos, Vice President, Postal Affairs Grayhair Software, and Phil Thompson, Manager, Postal Systems, Quad Graphicsin a discussion of "Here Comes Full-Service ready or not." (A Service of the PostCom Education Committee) |
The
Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail is pressing ministers for a
drastic loosening of regulation in an attempt to make the ambitious
privatisation plan for the state-owned postal operator succeed. Ed Davey, postal
services minister, has been warned by executives that, without a relaxation of
“suffocating” controls on its commercial freedom, the plan to sell off part or
all of Royal Mail may fail to attract investor interest. Moya Greene, the
company’s new chief executive, is urging the government to lay down a new,
lighter-touch regulatory regime that would reassure the markets in the run-up to
a sale over the next two to three years. Without that, she fears a continued
haemorrhage of mail volumes to e-mail, digital media and rival operators will
worsen its fragile financial position and threaten its ability to maintain the
universal service."
Management Today has reported that "Managers at the Royal Mail will find
themselves on the horns of a dilemma this week, when they are balloted over
strike action for the first time in more than 30 years (since the 1979 Winter of
Discontent). On the one hand, senior management is apparently planning to make
about 1,500 of them redundant, and the Unite union argues that they need to take
a stand before things get even worse. On the other, Royal Mail points out that
mail volumes have plummeted by 13m a day over the last five years; drastic
action is clearly required, and a strike could actually strengthen the
Government's argument for privatisation." See also the
Wall Street Journal,
Hellmail, the
London Daily News, and
The Scotsman.
According
to Intelisent,
"Full Service requirements are both expensive and hard to handle. Managing the
sequence numbers on the mailpieces is not all that difficult. However, Full
Service also requires unique sequence numbers on the trays, sacks and pallets.
Pallet placards must be affixed to the outside of pallet wrapping, which doesn’t
sound like much, but adds an adhesive expense and handling for the mail service
preparer. And - if one of those placards falls off in transit and handling -
poof, goodbye discount, downstream. This loss of discount would take place well
after the mail has already been accepted. Take a look at the list of Guides you
need to reference in order to familiarize yourself with is needed to do a Full
Service mailing: http://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=intellmailguides There is
a Beginner’s Guide, and eDocs Guide, a Customer Supplier Agreement Guide,
Mail.dat Guide, Mail.XML Guide, the Main Intelligent Mail Guide (190
pages-including 48 pages of different Service Type IDs) - there are so many
guides and specifications that the USPS has a guide to all the guides! By far
the biggest issue when dealing with Full Service is the USPS current push to
look at using requirements and subsequent penalties as a revenue stream, instead
of as a corrective action."
The
Monterrey Herald has reported that "For the second time in a year, Monterey
County postal workers Saturday set up informational pickets in Salinas to
protest the possible shutdown of the Salinas mail-processing plant and
displacement of up to 43 employees. The San Francisco Bay Area district of the
Postal Service launched a study Oct. 8 — a process expected to take several
months — to determine whether there would be economic benefits to relocating
mail-processing from Salinas to San Jose. Those protesting in front of the
Salinas plant on Post Drive said a closure would disrupt lives — employees could
be transferred as far as 900 miles — and delay mail."
WBKO has reported that "The United States Post Office is considering moving
mail production out of the area, which could mean lay-offs. Denny Palmer,
President of American Postal Workers Union, says "We're trying to educate the
public on what's going on with the U.S. Postal Service. Doing a study to test
the feasibility of moving our mail from Bowling Green to Nashville, Tennessee.
We're out here trying to protest that decision." With the postal service
considering moving the processing center, the possibility of workers losing
their jobs is a big worry. Cindy Creighton, an employee of the Post Office, says
"Jobs could be impacted. Some employees may have to take jobs in other states."
These employees held the rally simply because they want their jobs and mail to
stay in Kentucky."
October 24, 2010
According to
Business Day, "As momentum builds at the highest political levels to extend
Australia Post's reach into banking, it is understandable that the state-owned
enterprise's chief executive, Ahmed Fahour, is reluctant to replicate what he
previously ran at National Australia Bank. For while the former boss of NAB's
Australian operations is keen to push further into financial services to ensure
that Australia Post maintains some kind of relevance in the digital age, Fahour
argues that becoming a full-service bank is not the answer."
According
to Doug Bandow of the
Cato Institute, "The USPS is in crisis. It is locked in a declining market.
It can only survive with indirect taxpayer subsidies and a ban on private
competition. Instead of forcing Americans to pay more for less service, Congress
should open mail delivery to all comers."
"As the
arguments over privatisation of the Royal Mail continue, the
Hellmail mailbag is
seeing a flurry of concerns by private operators and independent consultants who
fear that not only will the switch from Postcomm to Ofcom weaken strides to
encourage competition, but that it places just too much emphasis on the
universal service."
The
Guardian has reported that "Thousands of rural and urban post offices will
be under threat of closure as a result of government plans to privatise Royal
Mail, John Denham, the shadow business secretary, will warn this week."
October 23, 2010
The
Gibraltar
Chronicle has reported that "Thousands of Royal Mail managers in Britain are
to be balloted for strikes in a row over job cuts in the first move of its kind
since 1979, the year of the Winter of Discontent, it was announced yesterday.
Unite said 8,500 managers based in head offices at the Royal Mail, Parcelforce
and the Post Office will vote on whether to launch a campaign of industrial
action. The union said the ballot was being held in protest at plans to cut
1,500 managers' jobs at the postal group."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: Postal
Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
New Postal Products , 65531–65532 [2010–26787]
[TEXT] [PDF]
65532 [2010–26814]
[TEXT] [PDF]
65533 [2010–26831]
[TEXT] [PDF]
According
to
Dead Tree Edition, "The U.S. Postal Service’s decision, announced today, to
appeal the Postal Regulatory Commission's exigency-rate ruling could backfire,
and yet in a way the Postal Service can’t lose. Regardless of what happens in
the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the appeal is likely to be a
winner in the court that really matters for the Postal Service – Congress."
October 22, 2010
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
 |
PostCom welcomes its newest member: Harlequin Distribution Center 3010 Walden Avenue Depew, NY 14043-2696 represented by John Reindl General Manager |
From the USPS co-chair: "The Five-Day Delivery website has been updated with information about the effect our five-day proposal would have on delivery times by product for single piece and commercial or bulk mail. You now can view delivery times by product based on whether your mail is entry- or destination-entered. Tables and mail flow charts show the service standard for each product and — depending on the day of the week the mail is entered — the start-the-clock day and the expected delivery day based on the service standard. For example, the updated website shows that with a five-day delivery schedule, Standard Mail destination-entered at a sectional center facility on Saturday will have a start-the-clock that day and is expected to be delivered by Tuesday. Another scenario shows Standard Mail entered at an SCF Wednesday –– which currently is expected to be delivered Saturday –– can be expected to be delivered Monday under five-day delivery.
The
U.S. Postal
Service has decided to file an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia regarding the Postal Regulatory Commission's decision on
the USPS exigency rate request.
Channel One has reported that "Guernsey Post has submitted proposals to
freeze the price of local and UK letters for household customers and introduce
some price cuts for business customers. But the plans also include tariff rises
for large letters and packets Bulk Mail customers are being promised
'significant' reductions in international prices from January 2011."
See
the
Nigerian Observer for an article on "Impact Of National Address Gazetteer On
Nigerian Sustainable Dev Plan."
The
Azerbaijan Business
Center has reported that "Iltimas Mammadov, deputy minister for
communications and information technologies, informs that World Bank’s Financial
Service Development Project (FSDP) with focus on establishment of postal banks
is to complete by 1 December. “From that moment all the country’s postal offices
will be able to render financial and banking services that is quite important
for remote and high mountain regions,” Mamamdov said."
Post & Parcel has reported that "Swiss Post has revealed a partnership with
Fribourg Cantonal to provide a variety of mailing services to the bank. Since
mid-August, Swiss Post has also been responsible for digitising documents,
operating the central in-house mail and processing slip-based payment
transactions for the bank."
Transport Intelligence has reported that "TNT has signed an agreement to
sell DIMAR s.r.o. (Prague) and Dimar Slovakia s.r.o. (Bratislava), its direct
marketing business, to its current management teams. DIMAR is part of European
Mail Networks and provides full-service direct marketing activities (database
management, consumer and business information, printing and creative design) in
the Czech Republic and Slovakia."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: Postal
Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
New Postal Products , 65386 [2010–26723]
[TEXT] [PDF]
Postal
news from Hellmail:
The Coloradoan has reported that "When Larimer County voters take their
ballots to the post office for mailing, they'll be charged 44 cents. Or 61
cents. No one can explain the discrepancy, but election officials and the U.S.
Postal Service stress that all ballots will be delivered, whether they carry 44
cents or 61 cents in postage"
The
Wall Street Journal has reported that "Detractors portray him as a
Republican pit bull-in-waiting who will lunge for the Democrats' jugular if his
party wins the House in next month's election. Rep. Darrell Issa wants to bury
that notion. He said he won't pepper the Obama White House with subpoenas and
showboat hearings if he becomes chairman of the House Committee on Government
Oversight and Reform. "That's not my plan at all," the California Republican
said in an interview. While fellow Republicans promise efforts to repeal the
Democrats' health-care overhaul and block funds to undermine the Obama agenda,
Mr. Issa talks cooperation. And cooperation, in particular, with President
Barack Obama. To hear Mr. Issa, his potential chairmanship might be a bit more
workmanlike. The items that top his target list if he
becomes Congress's top watchdog include: Dig into excesses in the
federal pension system; trim Medicare waste; downsize
and try to save the U.S. Postal Service; investigate potential abuses
within mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."
According
to
Wallet Pop, "It's another nail in the Postal Service's coffin. Magazines are
ripping a page from newspaper tradition and are ditching the U.S. Mail and
contracting with cheaper delivery services to hand-deliver their issues. The
change further dents our national mail's bottom line."
The Association for
Postal Commerce has filed comments with the Postal Service regarding its
proposed rule concerning "Address Correction Notices for Letters and Flats
Qualifying for Full-Service Intelligent Mail and Changes to Move Update
Standards."
California-based companies Quicksort Inc., Quicksort LA Inc. and Quicksort
Sacramento Inc. have agreed to pay the United States $4.2 million to settle
allegations that Quicksort violated the False Claims Act by falsely representing
the level to which it had pre-sorted mailings in order to obtain discounted
postage rates from the U.S. Postal Service, the
Justice
Department has announced.
October 21, 2010
Internet Retailer has reported that "Package delivery company United Parcel
Service of America Inc. reported today that average daily package volume
increased 5.0% globally to 14.97 million pieces per day during the third quarter
ended Sept. 30."
Business Spectator has reported that "Future Fund chairman David Murray has
held talks with the federal government about expanding the role of Australia
Post to offer banking and other financial services, as a way to increase
competition in an industry dominated by the big four banks, according to a
Fairfax Media report. Under the plan, nearly 3800 Australia Post branches nation
wide would offer the services, injecting more competition into banking and
providing an alternative role for Australia Post as its postal business
declines."
Hellmail has reported that "Ofcom, which is to take on the responsibilities
of postal regulator Postcomm, is to shed around a fifth of its staff as a result
of budget-cutting austerity measures announced by the government. It was
confirmed last week that Citizens Advice and Trading Standards would be taking
over the role of some existing quangos facing closure including the role of
Consumer Focus. Ofcom will see its present £143m budget fall by £30m in 2014/15.
Around 170 jobs are expected to go."
SiliconIndia has reported that "The global economic downturn and the
popularity of e-mails as a preferred mode of communication are the two major
factors that have had significant negative impact on postal operators globally,
and the lack of real innovation by postal operators is the driver of this
negative growth. Over the past ten years, postal operators have introduced more
than 3,000 innovations, out of which only 25 percent of innovations are focused
on new products or business modes whereas the remaining 75 percent are targeted
at internal functions, mainly service and process optimization, reveals a new
study titled "Innovation Management in the Postal Industry - the Key for
Business Transformation" by the IT services and business consultancy company
Capgemini. According to the report, there are two types of operators in the
postal market - Market Shapers and Market Optimizers. Market Shapers have
well-organized innovation management but they lack confidence for implementing
impactful innovations and as a result have low profits. On the other hand,
Market Optimizers may not be well organized, but they have more spontaneous
approach to innovation management. They bring high-impact innovations to market
and often achieve high profits, the report says."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
CP2011-13 Order No. 566 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.pdf CP2011-14 Order No. 566 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.pdf CP2011-15 Order No. 566 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.pdf CP2011-16 Order No. 566 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.pdf CP2011-17 Order No. 566 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.pdf CP2011-18 Order No. 566 - Order Approving Six Additional Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreements Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.doc http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70570/Order_No_566.pdf
Engadget has noted that "It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating
Netflix's 2 billionth disc sent, but in announcing the company's Q4 financial
results, CEO Reed Hastings called his baby "primarily a streaming company that
also offers DVD-by-mail." Other notes include an indication that a streaming
only plan for US customers, mirroring its offering in Canada, currently in
limited testing could become widely available later in the fourth quarter of
this year, with a potential that "pure streaming" could become the core package
for Netflix going forward while DVDs might require a premium service charge like
Blu-ray does now. So what comes next? If all goes according to plan, expansion
beyond North America in late 2011, continuing to add more streaming content and
improving the UI on other devices."
According to
The Motley Fool, "The recession hasn't been kind to UPS, which comes in with
a score of 3. The shipping and delivery company is a bellwether for economic
conditions, and when overall business activity is slow, UPS doesn't get the
volume it needs to reap the biggest profits from its sophisticated and
capital-intensive operational structure. UPS has followed a slightly different
course from rival FedEx. UPS's higher debt levels boost its returns on equity,
but they also bring more risk from leverage if things go badly. What some don't
realize about UPS, however, is that it doesn't just deliver packages. It also
has a freight services business that competes with truckload and
less-than-truckload carriers like YRC Worldwide and Landstar System. UPS's
freight and supply chain segment represented 16% of its overall revenue in 2009,
but it's a low-margin business that pulls down UPS's overall profit margins."
BtoB has reported that "United Parcel Service will feature its new “We Love
Logistics” ad campaign on the National Geographic Channel’s upcoming seven-part
“Great Migrations” miniseries."
"APWU
President William Burrus has again refuted assertions about the financial
condition of the Postal Service that appeared in a recent column in The Daily
Caller: “The Postal Service Can’t Afford Unions.”
Hellmail has reported that:
Reuters
has reported that "Germany's postal service has announced plans to explore
improved service and help protect the environment by getting "bring buddies" --
ordinary people travelling across cities -- to deliver parcels on their way. The
amateurs find out online about parcels which need delivering to people who live
or work along the route they are planning to travel through the city and then
select the ones they want to take. Retrieval codes sent to their mobile phones
tell the bring buddies where to pick the packages up. Parcels can be taken part
of the way or passed on to another buddy but all buddies need to have the right
code on their mobile phone so the track and trace system can be updated.
Logistics companies will be responsible for overseeing the operation and
supervising transactions to ensure that the privacy of post is not violated."
Research magazine has reported that "Royal Mail will not face a financial
penalty after staff members were found to be rigging research to ensure members
of a service performance measurement panel received their post on time, the
postal regulator has ruled."
WBAY has reported
that "Postal workers in Oshkosh say a town hall meeting will take place in
November to discuss the potential closing of the mail processing facility in the
city. It's a claim the U.S. Postal Service denies. Postal Service workers in
Oshkosh fear their plant is one step closer to shutting down for good."
According to the
Journal of Commerce, "TNT Post has written to the unions saying that it is
prepared to reduce the number of involuntary redundancies (4500) by 1400. It
will also be possible to offer 200 people work temporarily, until the end of
2012."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
DMM
Advisory:
Keeping Letter and
Flat Trays in Circulation.
The fall and
The USPS OIG has posted his
2011 audit plan.
October 20, 2010
According to
The New York Times, "the country's largest newspaper publishers still
haven't been able to reverse a slump in advertising sales more than three years
after it began. The latest prognoses for the newspaper business came Tuesday in
a pair of third-quarter earnings reports from The New York Times Co. and
McClatchy Co. Both showed that print advertising fell compared with a year ago,
when ad sales had already taken a big plunge from 2008 levels. And neither
company was able to draw enough new business from its digital operations to make
up for the losses in print. The outlook entering the holiday season isn't much
better. Both the Times Co. and McClatchy, which owns The Sacramento Bee, The
Miami Herald and other newspapers, said advertising fell more sharply in
September from a year ago."
Information Week has reported that "There will be an estimated 5.3 billion
mobile cellular subscriptions globally by the end of the year and 90% of the
world's population now has access to mobile networks, according to the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in its "The World in 2010" report.
Deployment of 3G has grown significantly in both developed and developing
countries, with 143 countries offering 3G services in 2010 compared with 95 in
2007, the report from the United Nations (UN) agency said. Additionally, several
countries have begun offering next-generation 4G services, including Sweden,
Norway, the Ukraine, and the United States. The report also found that the
mobile market is reaching saturation levels and mobile cellular growth is
slowing worldwide. From 2009 to 2010, there has been only a marginal growth of
1.6%, according to the ITU. In the Asia Pacific region, cellular penetration
rates will grow to 68% by the end of the year, notably in India and China, which
will have an estimated 300 million mobile subscriptions. The 68% mobile phone
penetration rate in developing countries is "higher than any other technology
before,'' said Sami Al Basheer, director of the ITU's telecommunication
development bureau, in a statement. "These countries have been innovative in
adapting mobile technology to their particular needs and will be able to draw
even greater benefits from broadband once adequate and affordable access is
available."
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Spain’s largest federation of trade unions, CCOO, has warned that the cuts in Correos’s investment spending would lead to job losses.
In addition to usual services like mail forwarding requests and ’poste restante’ services, Poste Italiane now offers its customers the Dimmiquando service. With this service addressees can now decide for a period of 3, 6 or 12 months, on which day of the week they want to receive their mail.
The government of the Principality of Liechtenstein decided to redraft the country’s postal law.
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.)
YLE has reported that "As of midnight on Tuesday, some 22,000 members of the
Finnish Postal and Logistics Union turned their backs on overtime work and extra
duties. The ban affects both post distribution and post office services. The
protest action is, however, not expected to affect newspaper deliveries. Postal
workers' collective agreement with the employers' association TIKLI expired last
Friday. Among other issues, postal workers are concerned about newcomers
entering the distribution arena."
The
Columbus Dispatch has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service faces fines of
up to $210,000 for allegedly failing to provide adequate safety training for
employees working on electrical equipment at the Postal Service's Columbus
processing center. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today
announced the Postal Service faces five "willful" violations following an
inspection that began in April in response to employee complaints. A willful
violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for
the law's requirements or indifference to employee safety and health. The
complaint asks that the Postal Service be ordered to correct electrical
violations at all of its facilities nationwide."
AllAfrica.com has
reported that "The Kano territory of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) has
introduced a new value-added service called Home delivery and VSAT services in
major post offices in the state, with a view to adding value to the services
rendered to their subscribers. Speaking to newsmen in Kano, the Area Postal
Manager of Kano Territory, Malam Mohammed Yakubu Mahuta, said the service
affords public the opportunity to receive mail items at their convenient
locations."
International Finance Centre has reported that "Mail delivery firm Citipost
has welcomed the news that it has been granted a licence to provide postal
services to Jersey’s fulfilment industry."
Supply Chain Digital has reported that "Capgemini has announced the findings
of a study into innovation in the postal industry, which reveals a perceived
lack of real innovation by operators."
Transport Intelligence has
reported that:
Hellmail has reported that "Mail to and from France is likely to see further
delays as strike action in Paris, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux and Marseilles
continues. Over one million people, including postal workers, took to the
streets yesterday in protest against planned pension reforms."
October 19, 2010
Advertising Age
has reported that "Mobile is red hot this year, but it still won't be a
billion-dollar ad business in the U.S. until 2011, according to new eMarketer
estimates. According to a new report, U.S. mobile advertising spending will
reach $743 million this year, up a whopping 79% from $416 million the year
prior. Mobile spending will cross the $1 billion mark in 2011 with sustained
growth, though at slower rates."
The Telegraph has told its readers that "despite all the talk of cuts to
come in the Government Strategic Defence and Security Review today, then the
Government Spending Review tomorrow, we are still stealthily adding billions to
the tax bills our children – and, very probably, their children – will have to
pay. Take, for example, Business Secretary Vince Cable’s plans for the Royal
Mail. All eyes have focussed on his hopes to privatise the business next year
and, stock market conditions allowing, raise a billion or so in ready cash. But
very little has been said about Mr Cable’s plans to nationalise the Royal Mail’s
pension fund where liabilities – or promises to pay 450,000 posties index-linked
retirement incomes – currently exceed assets by a cool £8bn."
Supply Management has reported that "Royal Mail wants to raise its prices
for bulk business post to cope with a rapid slump in the mail market. The
company has asked the postal services watchdog Postcomm to allow it to increase
the price of its business mail products above the levels permitted in the
existing price control. The price rise has been requested for one year only but
would not apply to first and second-class stamps or non-bulk mail. The
Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said firms would be forced to swallow Royal
Mail’s price hike and suffer the consequences."
Helsinki Times has reported that "Postal services may be delayed from
Wednesday with the Post and Logistics Union (Pau) enforcing an overtime ban
spanning about 22,000 workers. The union added that a 24-hour walkout had been
scheduled to begin at the Turku sorting centre on 2 November. Esa Vilkuna, the
Pau chairman, said decisions on further industrial action would be taken should
the need arise. Read more: Postal workers' overtime ban may lead to delays."
Hellmail has reported that "atvian Post has submitted for approval by the
Public Utilities Commission, a rise in domestic parcel rates. It said that the
price had not been reviewed for five years and now no longer covered the real
cost of parcel post. The new tariffs, if approved will come into effect on 1
January 2011."
Computer Weekly has reported that "Postal services regulator Postcomm is to
be merged into Ofcom. Postcomm's regulatory responsibility and its staff will be
moved to the communications watchdog. The announcement was made in the Postal
Services Bill, which is to be debated by the House of Commons before being
considered by the House of Lords. Business secretary Vince Cable said the move
was necessary to combat Royal Mail's falling mail volumes and multibillion-pound
pension deficit."
The U.S. Postal Service has filed for a review before the
U.S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia regarding the Postal Regulatory
Commission
decision
in Docket No. RM2009-3 concerning Consideration of Workshare Discount
Rate Design
October 18, 2010
Press Release: "Fairrington Transporation announced today that Gregory S.
Rocque, 51, has been named the new President of Fairrington Transportation Corp
and its related companies. Victor G. Warren, founder, president and CEO will
continue as CEO."
Newspaper & Technology News has reported that "Quad/Graphics will install
two new Goss Sunday web presses with DigiRail digital inking designed for the
production of retail inserts, Goss International said today. The presses are
slated to go into production next year."
According
to
Mobile Commerce Daily, "With the increasing ownership of smartphones, a
survey from Lightspeed Research has shown the potential for a new boom in mobile
shopping. The Lightspeed study found that 48% of mobile device owners surveyed
made a purchase via their mobile phone. Although mobile shopping was most
popular with consumers ages 18-34, more than one-third of those ages 55-plus
have also made a purchase via mobile."
According
to
Kiplinger, "What to do with the U.S. Postal Service? It’s drowning in red
ink, with a deficit that ballooned to nearly $8 billion for the fiscal year just
ended last month. Operating costs are up and mail volume is in free fall in the
face of electronic and other delivery options. Soon it may not be able to make
payroll."
From
Post & Parcel:
From
Canada NewsWire: "Canada Post
announced today that it will continue to provide free delivery of letters and
parcels from family and friends to Canadian troops deployed in Afghanistan and
elsewhere overseas during the upcoming holiday season. This will be the 5th
consecutive year that Canada Post has offered this service. Last year more than
25,000 parcels were forwarded to our Canadian troops an increase of 23 per cent
over the previous year."
The Telegraph has reported that "The postal service wants to raise an extra
£100 million a year from so-called bulk mailers. They include banks and utility
companies, who send out tens of thousands of letters and bills every day, to
smaller businesses such as catalogue retailers, who rely heavily on the Royal
Mail. The Federation of Small Businesses said such a request was unfair on
thousands small firms, many of whom would struggle with higher prices, which
could be passed on to consumers." See also the
BBC.
The Examiner has reported that "Two female postal workers were shot at the
U.S Postal Service office where they worked in Henning, Tennessee, a small town
about 45 miles away from Memphis. The shooting took place around 8:30 AM. The
women were apparently victims of an attempted robbery. A third postal worker,
also a woman was able to escape." See also the
Associated Press.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: The
Association for Postal Commerce
has filed comments with the PRC regarding Docket No. MC2010-36 concerning
"Transferring Commercial Standard Mail Parcels to the Competitive Product List."
Barron's has reported that "The credit outlook for the U.S. newspaper sector
is getting worse, Moody’s asserted today, as it revised its outlook for the
industry to negative from stable. The bearish stance reflects “a waning of
recent moderation in advertising revenue declines,” the rating agency said in a
statement. According to Moody’s, newspaper revenues are likely to drop 5%-6%
this year, with a mid-single-digit drop next year, following a 22% decline in
2009."
Transport
Intelligence has reported that "DHL has invested over S$6 million to develop
two dedicated healthcare facilities in Singapore in order to meet the growing
demand for regional distribution centre, local distribution to pharmacies and
hospitals and secondary packaging services."
Road Transport has reported that "Parcelforce has launched a palletised
overseas delivery service to offer customers a cheaper rate where speed of
delivery is not a priority. The parcel delivery arm of Royal Mail Group is
offering customers a new product called Global Bulk Direct, which allows firms
to package multiple overseas shipments into a single pallet, rather than sending
each parcel individually. The pallet is broken down on arrival in its
destination country, with individual parcels then dispatched to their final
delivery point."
The
Kokomo Tribune has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is beginning to
hear from the public about the possibility of consolidating some Lafayette and
Muncie operations into Kokomo."
LogisticsWeek has reported that "TNT Post provided the trade unions with a
comprehensive response to the letter sent by the unions on 7 September 2010. TNT
Post submitted proposals that met the request made by the unions for reducing
the number of compulsory redundancies of 4500."
Post & Parcel has reported that "Australia Post has declared a pre-tax
profit of AUS$103m for the 2009/10 financial period, despite difficult economic
conditions. The postal corporation’s underlying pre-tax profit was AUS$253m, but
this figure includes a AUS$150m provision for business restructuring and
voluntary redundancy costs. A net profit of AUS$89.5m was reported, whilst the
company delivered a total of 5.14bn pieces of mail for the period."
According
to
Capitol News Connection, "To date during the 111th Congress, House members
have expended enormous amounts of manpower and resources to craft, debate and
pass 420 bills that the Senate has essentially ignored, according to a list
released by Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Other languishing bills include the
Postal Service Financial Relief Act, the Elder Abuse Victims Act and the
National Bombing Prevention Act.
October 17, 2010
Intelisent has
quoted from one of the USPS' electronic documentation rules: "Contingency: In
the event of a USPS system or telecommunications network failure preventing
Participant from transmitting (as communicated by USPS unscheduled outage
notifications) or the Postal Service from receiving and verifying receipt of
documentation under these terms and conditions, Participant shall submit
hardcopy documentation of the mailings pursuant to the applicable requirements
of the DMM and other USPS regulations or such other local process that may have
been defined and approved by the USPS for the Participant’s use.” This is the
same “contingency plan” that was used when PostalOne! was out for several days,
wreaking havoc for mailers and the USPS alike. This plan did not work well,
there is no reason to expect it to in the future. But, anyone signing the BSA
Agreement will be signing off that this is A-OK. It isn’t."
Pakistan Times
has reported that "Pakistan Post is providing a universal postal service network
in line with Universal Postal Union (UPU) strategy. An official of Pakistan Post
said that the aim of the network is to ensure secure and timely delivery of
mail, money and material at affordable cost through utilization of people,
process and technology and innovative product offerings. He said that Pakistan
Post is providing postal services in every nook and corner of the country
through a network of around 13,000 post offices. “Post is also providing
delivery services to about 20 million households and businesses as community
service without any cost considerations”, he said. He said that in addition to
its traditional role, the Pakistan Post also performs agency functions on behalf
of Federal and Provincial governments, which inter-alias include Saving Bank,
Postal Life Insurance, Collection of Taxes, Collection of Electricity, Water,
Sui Gas and Telephone bills."
Sify Finance has reported that "The Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority (IRDA) has allowed India Post to distribute insurance products as a
corporate agent for domestic life, non-life, farm and health insurers. The new
regulations bars India Post to act as a referral partner (sharing of database to
insurers) of any insurance company. The new regulation will throw open the vast
network of post offices numbering around 155,015 (urban 15,871 and rural
139,144) for distribution of insurance products. The insurance regulator has
relaxed many of the conditions governing the corporate agents for India Post."
From
Dead Tree Edition: "Congressman Issa: Where Are All Those Postal
Supervisors? The response to an article two weeks ago that quoted Rep. Darrell
Issa as saying one in seven U.S. Postal Service employees has stirred up an
unprecedented amount of reaction."
October 16, 2010
TSRinfo.ch has reported that "Full liberalization of the postal market will
be postponed. By 9 votes to 1 against, the commission's telecommunications State
Council endorses the proposal of the National delete this part of the current
revision of the law."
Internet Retailer has reported that "AFMS Logistics Management Group, a
shipping consultant to retailers and other shippers, has filed a complaint in
federal court charging United Parcel Service of America Inc. and FedEx Corp. of
antitrust violations by refusing to work with AFMS and similar firms to revise
rate contracts on behalf of shipping clients."
From
Government Computer News: Organization: U.S. Postal Service's
Information Technology Solutions division. Project: Full Service.
Challenge: Capture Intelligent Mail bar code events and transform that data
into useful information for Postal Service customers and USPS to create new
services and provide insight into operations. Solution: Use new
infrastructure and back-end processes to maximize the use of Intelligent Mail
bar codes and scanners with six new systems and 11 enhanced systems to provide
detailed mail information for customers and USPS. Impact: More than 30
billion pieces of mail scanned so far. Duration: Seven months for initial
development. Cost: $83 million.
The
Sydney Morning Herald has reported that "Australia Post has set aside $150.2
million for redundancies over the next five years as it is restructured to reap
more revenue from retail products, providing services for the government and
logistics. The government-owned business returned record low dividends last
financial year as profits were wiped out by an expensive restructuring program
and the continuing decline in the number of letters posted."
The
Elmira Star Gazette has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is notifying
union officials about plans to eliminate nine clerk and five mail handler
positions in Elmira by Jan. 15, officials said Friday. Karen Mazurkiewicz,
postal service spokesperson for the Western New York District that includes
Elmira, said the unions have been notified that some positions will be removed
from the Elmira facility. "No individual employees have been notified. This is
just the first step," she said. "In the coming weeks, we will have a discussion
with the unions to talk about what the intent is of removing those positions."
The
Postalnewsblog has made available the latest Congressional Research Service
report on USPS finances.
In
balloting that ended Oct. 14,
Cliff Guffey was elected the new president of the American Postal Workers Union,
receiving 69 percent of the votes in a three-way race. Greg Bell garnered 75
percent of votes cast, to win the Vice Presidency.
DMM Advisory: IMb™ Services Update.
PostalOne!® Scheduled Outage: The PostalOne! web server environment will have hardware maintenance performed during the scheduled 4 a.m. – 8 a.m. (CDT) maintenance window on Sunday, October 17. The PostalOne! system (including FAST OPS web services) will be unavailable for internal and external users for both production and TEM environments.
Full-Service eDoc Verification and Assessment: The November 2010 PostalOne! release will introduce a process for evaluation of electronic documentation (eDoc) for Full-Service mailings. The process will evaluate Full-Service electronic documentation (eDoc) for invalid Mailer ID, invalid Service Type ID, incorrect By/For information, incorrect Customer Supplier Agreement information and non-unique barcodes. On January 2, 2011, these errors will result in the loss of Full-Service discounts. Mailers should use the feedback to correct errors found during Full-Service verification prior to implementation of the Full-Service Discount Removal on January 2, 2011. Additional information can be found on RIBBS in the PostalOne! Release 25.0 release notes.
Full-Service Feedback Webinars: The next Full-Service Feedback webinar will be broadcast on Thursday, October 28 at 3 p.m. (EDT). This webinar explains the eDoc Verification process and Mail Data Quality reports. Log in information on the Webinars is posted on RIBBS® under Intelligent Mail Latest News.
The
Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) elected Industry Leadership
provides the Postal Service Leadership each calendar quarter with input referred
to as the "Pulse of the Industry." Postal Service Senior Management views this
as valuable information to help the Postal Service to be aware of latest issues,
trends and concerns from the Industry's perspective - encompassing both the
classes of mail (note: one is referred to as "At Large" which allows for
flexibility) as well as the areas referred to as MTAC Focus Areas. This is to
request that you provide this input directly to your elected MTAC Industry
Leadership by November 12 - in time for the next MTAC Leadership Committee
meeting on November 16.
Last March, when the PMG announced the Postal Service’s plan for what he termed a “leaner, more market responsive Postal Service that can thrive far into the future,” he challenged anyone with a vested interest in a viable postal system to put forth ideas to help the organization move forward. He has met regularly with customers and other stakeholders to bring them into the planning process. In August, you had your own “Innovation Symposium” and your ideas were added to those of CEOs from many of your organizations. The search for ideas continued on Sept. 15 — National Postal Customer Council Day — when the 200 local PCCs were asked for feedback on ideas. This past Wednesday, 140 stakeholders representing Congress, regulators, customers and USPS heard presentations from experts on the future of the mail and shared their thoughts in a format similar to the one you followed in August. Paul Vogel will be at the November MTAC meeting to provide an update on the process for evaluating the ideas.
Who's on first? Check out the latest chart showing the organizational plan for those reporting to the Deputy Postmaster General.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: The Postal
Regulatory Commission has posted on its site the calculation of the Consumer
Price Index as it would apply to annual postal rate increases. The current
cumulative CPI is: 1.685%.
October 15, 2010
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
Now hear this: "This Week In Postal".........the latest podcast posted now!
ReadWriteWeb has reported that "Web-based invoices that give the recipient
the option to pay online result in payments being made twice as fast as those
that do not, according to data from Harvest, an online time-tracking and
invoicing product. Based on a sample of data containing over 250,000 paid
invoices from their system, Harvest found that the invoices that included the
option to pay using PayPal were paid 16 days faster than those that did not,
which took an average of 32 days."
According
to
Akihabaranews, "Netflix has partnered with Dolby Digital Plus to deliver
5.1-channel surround sound for TV shows and movies streamed instantly over the
Internet on the Sony Playstation3, making the PS3 the first consumer electronics
device to support 5.1-channel surround sound on movies streamed from Netflix.
More devices will support it in the future. Starting this month, PS3 owning
Netflix users will no longer be required to use a disk as movie and TV content
is starting to be streamed."
International Business Times has reported that "The Australia Post plans to
take advantage of the digital mailing craze and in 2011 targets to open an
online retail store. In a statement, the Australia Post said this would
compliment their existing parcel service business, which delivered modest
pre-tax profits at $103 million, said executive Mr. Ahmed Fahour said today."
See also the
Sydney Morning Herald.
The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that "Australia Post has
more than halved its annual net profit in 2009-10 as a downturn in letter
volumes threatened the company's bottom line." See also the
Herald Sun.
Fresh Business Thinking has reported that "Royal Mail have welcomed the
Government's plans for rapid deregulation of the competitive postal services
market and its intention to resolve the £10.3bn historic pension deficit. The
company also welcomed the proposals in the Postal Services Bill to allow Royal
Mail flexible and timely access to capital in future as it continues to invest
in modernisation to provide customers with the services they want while at the
same time protecting the one-price-goes anywhere Universal Service to the UK's
28 million homes and businesses. Moya Greene, Royal Mail Group Chief Executive,
said: "Deregulation of the UK postal services market is long overdue and I'm
delighted that the Government has made it clear that where there is competition,
the shackles of regulation should be rapidly removed."
The
Daily Mail has reported that "Postal staff in shock after three colleagues
commit suicide in as many months."
The Spectator has a piece on "Privatization revisited."
Geneva Lunch has reported that "The upper house of the Swiss parliament’s
transport and telecommunications commission has agreed to back motions by the
lower house that will slow down the deregulation of the Swiss postal system. The
two houses have agreed that the ruling Federal Council should provide an interim
report showing the impact of the first two years of deregulation before further
measures to open the market are adopted."
Advertising Age
has reported that "Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman left
marketers feeling a bit down when he suggested that the economy won't be turning
around anytime soon."
The
Associated Press has noted that "Small businesses got a reprieve when the
U.S. Postal Service was told "no" in response to its request for a rate hike
last month. But other shipping costs are going up, and that means owners need to
find ways to save money on their mailings. FedEx has announced price increases
that will take effect Jan. 1. And United Parcel Service is raising freight
rates. That doesn't cover overnight letters and packages, but companies that
need to ship by freight will be affected. And the Postal Service is in such
financial trouble that it may still get its rate hike approved. It can appeal
the Postal Regulatory Commission's denial of its request, or it can submit a new
proposal. So small business owners need to think about how they can save when
they send."
October 14, 2010
WDBO has reported that "Eight Central Florida workers were arrested Thursday
and charged with felony mail theft after opening mail and stealing various items
while working for the United States Postal Service, according to the Department
of Justice. According to the indictments, these individuals opened mail and
stole gift cards, debit cards, cell phones, vases and other valuable items." See
also the
Orlando Sentinel.
The
Charleston Gazette has reported that "OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service
for exposing workers to potential electrical hazards at its mail processing
facility in Huntington, W.Va. Proposed penalties? $212,500. " See also
WSAZ.
Editor & Publisher has told its readers to "Count the weekly Marion County
(Kansas) Record as one of the first victims of the U.S. Postal Service’s new
“droop test” for periodicals. In a note to readers, Managing Editor Susan Berg
said delivery of the paper to “will call” subscribers and of out-of-county
mailed copies was delayed because of the new regulation."
|
|
PostCom welcomes its newest member: ALG Worldwide Logistics 254 International Parkway Bolingbrook, IL 60440 represented by Michelle Billmann Vice President, Postal Affairs |
In
a recent article published on AmericaPost, postal commentator Gene Del Polito
noted that "if postal change really is needed, then someone has got to start the
ball rolling. As Isaac Newton once described the material world: "A body at rest
tends to stay at rest. A body in motion tends to stay in motion." If you want
the world to move its postal thinking, then someone's got to have the presence
of mind to exert the necessary force."
Newsday has published an "OPINION: Save the Postal Service by selling it."
APWU
President William Burrus has ridiculed assertions about the Postal Service
that appeared in a recent column in the E-Commerce Times.
The
Postalnewsblog has reported that "The USPS has posted the following
solicitation at FedBizOpps.gov: The United States Postal Service (USPS) utilizes
a large array of material handling equipment (rolling stock including carts and
dollies) during mail processing that we refer to as Mail Transport Equipment
(MTE). This equipment is used for the staging and transportation of mail for
downstream mail processing operations (intra/inter facility). The accurate and
efficient labeling, identification, and tracking of this MTE is of the utmost
importance."
The
Lowell Sun has
told its readers that "When was the last time the Postal Service increased the
price of a first class stamp?The question is topical since the Postal Regulatory
Commission recently rejected a Postal Service proposal to boost the price by 2
cents and since Sunday's editorial characterized it as "another interminable
increase." The Sun was also critical of Postal Service efforts to control costs
and pointed out that in the first quarter of this year, the agency posted a loss
of $3.5 billion."
The
Belfast Telegraph has reported that "Postal unions warned of job losses
after the Government unveiled its controversial plans to privatise the Royal
Mail, revealing there would be no upper limit on how much of the business will
be sold to a company."
According
to
Third Sector, the UK "Government asks voluntary sector to develop plans to
mutualise the Post Office."
According
to the
Londonderry Sentinel, "government proposals to privatise Royal Mail will
prove "deeply unpopular" with people in Londonderry."
Post & Parcel has reported that "Austrian Post and BAWAG P.S.K. have
launched a collective strategy to create a sustainable network of postal and
banking branches throughout Austria."
Professional Pensions has noted that "The government has announced it will
set up a new public Royal Mail pension scheme – the liabilities of which are to
be met by the taxpayer." See also
Employee Benefits.
The Guardian has reported that "Fifteen business-linked quangos are to be
scrapped, including those covering aircraft and shipbuilding and a trade union
modernisation fund, although most have already been announced. The Business
Department said a further six bodies will be merged, 21 will be retained and
nine are being given further consideration. The merger of postal regulator
Postcomm into Ofcom was also confirmed, to form a single communications
regulatory body." See also the
Wall Street
Journal.
From the Federal Register:
Postal Service
NOTICES
International Product Change:
Inbound Expedited Services 4 , 63215 [2010–25911]
[TEXT] [PDF]
According
to
Dead Tree Edition, "In an attempt to hold down next year’s increase in
postage rates, an alliance of mailers today challenged as “nonsensical” an
informal ruling issued by a Postal Regulatory Commission lawyer."
The
National Association of Major Mail Users has
reported that:
October 13, 2010
The
Market Financial has asked: "What if We Replaced the US Postal Service Two
Years from Now?"
Vadvert.co.uk has reported that "Royal Mail has launched an updated Home
Movers Mailing Service, which has been enhanced with additional insight and is
directly available to resellers for the first time, enabling advertisers to tap
directly into the spending power of home movers. The service is being made
available to resellers and clients directly for the first time, allowing
companies to screen their customer database against those who have relocated to
prevent duplication of database records, as well as identifying valuable new
prospects who have moved to a new area."
According
to
Multichannel Marketing, "since the Postal Regulatory Commission rejected the
U.S. Postal Service’s request for an exigent rate case, can small parcel
companies breathe a sigh of relief? Well, not for too long, according to an
industry expert."
FedEx
welcomes the Commerce Secretary and U.S. Trade Representative to visit FedEx
Express Memphis super hub and discuss how trade can strengthen the
economic recovery.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: "Response Of
The Affordable Mail Alliance To October 6 Letter-Petition Of The United States
Postal Service And October 12 Letter-Ruling Of The Office Of General Counsel"
Federal
News Radio has noted that "the Postal Service Inspector General's office has
some specific details about how the Postal Service can get back-to-black. Lorie
Nelson told Federal News Radio, the Office of Inspector General has thoughtfully
combined details from four reports into one to try to help. [Lorie Nelson,
Director of Financial Reporting, Office of Audit, Office of Inspector General,
USPS
Listen to the interview]
Investments & Pensions Europe has reported that "The UK government has
confirmed it would split the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP), reducing it to
around one-tenth of its current size, in an effort to tackle the scheme's £8.4bn
deficit. The proposals, which come as part of the new Postal Services bill,
would see the Royal Mail partially or fully privatised, while the Post Office
would be turned into an employee-owned mutual."
As the
Wall Street
Journal has noted, "The U.K. Government Wednesday took the first step
towards privatizing the national postal service. . . . The decision is likely to
prove controversial. Several previous governments have backed away from
privatizing the postal service fearing a public backlash, and labor unions are
likely to threaten strikes in protest at a time when the current government is
facing wider labor union unrest due to public spending cuts. The government
maintains that only privatization will provide new funds to complete the
modernization of the service and reduce the burden on the taxpayer." See
also the
Financial Times.
The
UK Press Association has reported that "Postal unions have warned of job
losses after the Government unveiled its controversial plans to privatise the
Royal Mail, revealing there would be no upper limit on how much of the business
will be sold to a company."
Politics.co.uk has reported that:
According
to the
Morning Call, "The U.S. Department of Education warns states not use regular
mail to send grant applicants because its unreliable. The education department's
January 2010 school improvement grant application says: "Due to potential delays
in processing mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service [state education
agencies] are encouraged to use alternate carriers for paper submissions."
Press
Release: "BCC Software, a BÖWE BELL + HOWELL company and a leading developer
of high-performance postal and data quality technology solutions that optimize
client communications, will hold an
Open House
this month at its national headquarters in Rochester, NY. The free event
– scheduled from 3 until 6pm ET on Thursday, October 28 – is open to all
print-to-mail professionals interested in sharing their thoughts on the latest
mailing news and issues, and who would like to learn more about BCC’s
operations, solutions, and perspectives on the "future of postal." Advance
registration is required. Visit
www.bccsoftware.com/whybcc/openhouse.aspx to reserve a seat, and for
directions to the BCC facility.
According
to the Charleston Gazette,
"The U.S. Postal Service is studying the feasibility of consolidating mail
processing operations in Martinsburg with a processing center in Maryland."
The
BBC has
reported that "A lack of demand for postal services in Jersey could result in a
change to the post office's role. Jersey Post's chief executive Ian Carr has
said the company is handling ten million fewer items than last year. It has
carried out a public consultation into the future role of the post office,
claiming it cannot afford to keep the service it has now."
From
PRNewswire: "Authentidate Holding Corp., a worldwide provider of secure
health information exchange, workflow management services and telehealth
solutions, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements for
the purchase of $5.0 million of units of its securities in a private placement
financing with a select group of institutional and accredited investors. In the
aggregate, the company will sell 1,250,000 units consisting of a total of
7,500,000 shares of common stock, 1,250,000 shares of Series C 15% Convertible
Redeemable Preferred Stock, and warrants to purchase an additional 6,250,000
shares of common stock at a price of $4.00 per unit. Each unit consists of six
shares of common stock, one share of Preferred Stock and five warrants. The
company has offices in the United States and Germany. In the United States,
Authentidate offers its patent pending content authentication technology in the
form of the United States Postal Service® Electronic Postmark® (USPS EPM®)."
The
Vancouver Sun has reported that "The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is
holding a "day of action" Wednesday as it gives formal notice to Canada Post to
begin contract negotiations on behalf workers at its urban operations. The
contract for these workers expires Jan. 31, 2011. The union is currently
negotiating on behalf of its suburban and rural carriers, whose contact expired
Dec. 31 last year." See also
Digital Journal.
From
Marketwire: "The time has come for Stewart Bacon, President and CEO of
Canada Post to take a clear and unequivocal stand against antisemitic hatred and
lies. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) says the
planned appearance of Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) President Denis
Lemelin at an upcoming anti-Israel rally in Montreal makes it appear as if
Canada Post supports his participation in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
conference."
According
to
Management Today, "today's Times quotes a new report suggesting that the
bits of the Royal Mail likely to be sold off could be worth as little as £700m.
At that price, it isn't exactly going to solve the Treasury's financial worries
at a stroke... The valuation quoted by the Times comes from Trova Consulting, a
corporate advisory firm, and it's significant because it's the first independent
assessment of the Royal Mail's worth. Trova reckons that if the Royal Mail has
to cut jobs, and this leads to strike action which accelerates the decline of
letter volumes (by no means implausible), the letters business could be worth as
little as £360m. Even if you throw in £2bn for its European courier business
GLS, and another £350m or so for Parcelforce, that's a total value of about
£2.7bn. Strip out the £2bn of Government-backed debt, and that leaves you with a
figure of about £700m." And so it asks, "Is the Royal Mail worth privatising? "
According
to
Mortgage Solutions, "The Government has today put forward a proposal that
could see Post Office Ltd turned into a mutual, giving power to staff, sub
postmasters and communities. The Postal Services Bill, which will be debated by
Parliament in the coming months, proposes powers to transfer ownership to a
mutual." See also
SkyNews,
Reuters, and the
Wall Street Journal.
Advertising Age
has reported that "The Interactive Advertising Bureau confirmed on Tuesday what
many, at least anecdotally, thought to be true: The online ad recovery is in
full-swing, with first-half revenues up 11.9% over the same period of 2009."
[EdNote: In the postal arena we're hoping soon to exhale.]
The
Wall Street Journal has reported that:
The
Jerusalem Post
has reported that "Israeli Postal Company CEO Avi Hochman met with
Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon to offer his resignation on Wednesday."
According
to QCK,
"Many banks are dividing customers and offering the best deals to those with
access to online banking, new figures have suggested. According to recent
research conducted by Which?, a customer using online banking could be around 37
per cent better off each year than those with branch-only arrangements. However,
there are currently around ten million people in the UK who do not have internet
access or cannot afford to be online, raising concerns that they are being
treated unfairly by banks. Furthermore, others actively choose not to conduct
their finances via the internet, with concerns about online security being one
of the main reasons cited for this."
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Norway’s Government has commissioned a study to assess the likely impacts of an implementation of the Third Postal Directive in Norway. The study (covering Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK) concludes that changes in postal sector wages and employment conditions are driven by a combination of factors. More automation and lower mail volumes, liberalisation and increased competition would put pressure on postal sector wages and employment conditions.
The sale of the 32% stake in Pos Malaysia, currently held by state owned investment trust Khazanah Nasional, will be delayed.
The reorganisation of Japan Post which has been announced at the beginning of the year will be delayed until 2012. Last week the government approved a bill to restructure the current five-company system to three again - postal services, postal savings bank and insurances.
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 "DHL has announced that it is to
use several local companies to upgrade sorting technologies at its Express US
hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The $12.5
million project will upgrade many existing hardware and software applications
running its auto sort system, improving the speed and reliability of shipment
scanning and sorting as volumes grow at DHL's US Express hub at CVG."
The Mirror has reported that "THE Post Office has revealed plans to axe
300 head office managers."
The Sun has reported that "ROYAL Mail will crash into bankruptcy unless it
is privatised, Vince Cable warns today."
The
BBC has reported that
"The exact way in which the government intends to privatise the Royal Mail will
be announced later when it publishes its Postal Services Bill. It comes after
Business Secretary Vince Cable confirmed last month that a new private firm
would be formed to run sorting and delivery operations. Royal Mail staff will be
offered at least 10% of the shares in the company, but unions oppose the
privatisation. Continue reading the main story Related stories Post workers to
get 10% of shares Royal Mail sell-off is confirmed The Post Office network will
not be included in the sell-off."
The Telegraph has noted that "George Thomson, the general secretary of the
National Federation of Subpostmasters, is telling his 12,000 members in a letter
this week that the privatisation plans jeopardised the future of the Post
Office." See also
The Guardian.
AllAfrica.com has
reported that "The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) in Plateau State has
indicated its readiness to partner with secondary schools to check failure in
English Language. The Area Postal Manager in the state, Mr. Alex J. Bature, who
disclosed this at an event to mark this year's World Postal Day in Jos, said
NIPOST is willing to partner with schools to enhance students' performance in
English language."
From the Federal Register:
Postal Service
NOTICES
Product Changes:
Express Mail Negotiated Service Agreement , 62896 [2010–25605]
[TEXT] [PDF]
Priority Mail Negotiated Service Agreement , 62896 [2010–25607]
[TEXT] [PDF]
62896 [2010–25610]
[TEXT] [PDF]
According
to
Dead Tree Edition, "Postage rates are likely to increase about 1.7% in
January as a result of a letter that the Postal Regulatory Commission's chief
lawyer issued today."
Recent
patents filed by the U.S. Postal Service:
According
to Lyle Ryter, a long-time veteran of Capitol
Hill and current chief staff executive of the Association of Priority Mail
Users, "The Postal Service and mailers share a permanent interest. Only by
taking action to restore a close working relationship based on a common vision
of what must be done, operationally and legislatively can an effective action
plan to overcome the problems currently faced by the Postal Service and the
mailer industry be successful."
October 12, 2010
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: The
Postal Regulatory
Commission has responded to an inquiry from the U.S. Postal Service
regarding the rule that governs the application of the CPI cap to market
dominant products. The PRC said, "Commission Rule 3010.2(a) establishes Type 1-A
rate filings to allow the Postal Service to adjust rates within the annual price
cap limitation established in 39 U.S.C. 3622(d)(1)(A). That limitation is
the change in CPI "over the most recent avallable 12-
month period preceding the date the Postal Service files notice of its intention
to increase rates". The annual limitation that applies in Type 1-A
rate filings is computed in accordance with Rule 301 0.21 . The current
limitation is updated monthly and published on the Commission website,
www.prc.gov, al CPI(PDF)."
B2B has told its readers that "Brand experts are giving mixed reviews to
United Parcel Service of America's new global brand campaign, “We Love
Logistics,” saying the concept of logistics is a tough one to sell. “We Love
Logistics” replaces UPS' “What can Brown do for you?” tagline and its more
recent “Whiteboard” campaign in the U.S., as well as its “Deliver More” campaign
outside the country. The integrated campaign, including TV, print, radio, online
and out-of-home ads, was developed by Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, New York, which
was named agency of record for UPS' global advertising business last year. Its
previous shop was the Martin Agency, Richmond, Va. The campaign budget was
undisclosed."
According
to DC Velocity,
"For the past year, a quiet war has been waged between the two giant parcel
carriers, FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc., and a cluster of self-styled parcel
consultants whose mission for nearly a quarter of a century has been to help
their clients save money when shipping with one or both of the behemoths. The
stakes are high, but they are completely lopsided. It is no secret that FedEx
and UPS would rather work directly with shippers than through third-party
specialists who have a deep knowledge of how the carriers price their services,
and who use that know-how to help their customers save money. Yet if consultants
remain in the game, it won't cause the two companies—with more than a combined
$80 billion in annual revenue—to wonder where their next meals are coming from."
The
Jersey Post has reported that "a petition containing more than 2,000
signatures urging ministers not to cut postal deliveries to three days a week
was due to be handed to the States today."
According to one commentator for the
National Post, "CUPW’s radical politics and anti-Israel bigotry are a
disgrace to letter carriers." [EdNote: You gotta wonder sometimes what
exactly does CUPW's Jewish-focused vituperation have to do with providing a
cost-efficient mail service?]
According
to the San Gabriel Valley
Tribune, "The U.S. Postal Service is launching another study to determine if
it can move outgoing mail operations at its Valley processing center to Santa
Ana or Los Angeles."
A
new MTAC Work Group (WG) # 141. Issue Title: Spoilage and Shortage Reporting
and Postage Reconciliation. The workgroup will identify the business needs for
reporting piece spoilages or shortages occurring within business mailings using
either hard copy or electronic postage payment processes. The work group will
develop consistent standard operating procedures for the handling of spoilage
and shortages during the verification and acceptance, postage payment and mail
induction processes. The workgroup will identify the business processes for
reporting and reconciling spoilage/shortages using hard copy procedures. The
workgroup will identify the business processes, at a level sufficient to develop
information system requirements, for reporting and reconciling
spoilage/shortages using electronic mailing information supported by the USPS.
According
to the
Daily Caller, "If you believe in a higher power, then I’ve got evidence for
you that God has a sense of humor. Last week, the American Postal Workers Union,
which represents more than 200,000 workers, had to extend its elections for
national officers because…wait for it…thousands of ballots got lost in the mail.
The irony is amusing, but what isn’t funny is the financial condition of the
U.S. Postal Service. A big drag on the USPS’s bottom line is the pesky postal
unions."
The
Postalnewsblog has told its readers that the "Economist” who predicted Dow
36,000 tries his hand at postal finances."
Euronews has reported that "The government and unions are disputing turnout
in today’s general strike, the fourth in five weeks, called to protest against
President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pension reforms. The government says 16.5 percent of
postal workers have stayed at home, the unions claimed 30 percent."
According
to
Main Line Media News, "A letter sent out from the United States Postal
Service (USPS) explaining a feasibility study now under way at the Southeastern
Pennsylvania Processing and Distribution Center, 1000 W. Valley Road, Wayne, has
led to some confusion and unanswered questions. The letter says the USPS is
facing a historically difficult challenge due to the economic downturn and the
decrease in certain mail volumes. Due to this challenge, the Postal Service has
decided to “realign its processing and delivery network to match its resources
with mail volume,” and that “consolidating some postal operations only makes
logical business sense.” Upon receipt of this letter, buzz around town has some
residents concerned that the feasibility study being conducted at the center
will close that post office even though it’s constantly busy with long lines of
customers. According to Cathy Yarosky, the USPS media contact for the
Philadelphia area, there are no plans to close the post office and the possible
changes being considered would not affect residents."
Bloomberg has reported that "Bank Pocztowy SA wants to delay its initial
public offering by about six months after publishing 2011 first-half results,
rp.pl reported, citing Deputy Chief Executive Officer Szymon Midera. Poczta
Polska SA, the Polish state-owned postal company, owns 75 percent of Pocztowy,
and PKO Bank Polski SA, Poland’s biggest bank, owns 25 percent."
Post & Parcel has reported that "Parcelforce Worldwide has launched a new
tracked exports service for UK businesses. Global Bulk Direct allows businesses
to package multiple overseas deliveries into a single pallet, rather than
sending each one separately. Parcelforce Worldwide said the new service will
help customers achieve “significant cost-savings, without compromising on
security or losing tracking capability”. The service allows exporters to send
multiple parcels with different addresses in the same country on a single
pallet. Each pallet is broken down on arrival, with individual parcels then
despatched to their respective addresses. Parcelforce Worldwide said delivery
takes between two and eight days, whilst businesses receive the benefits of
priority services such as product tracking and signature on delivery."
Hellmail has reported that "Ed Davey, Minister for Employment Relations,
Consumer and Postal Affairs, said today that not only was the Royal Mail in a
mess, the Exchequer had no money and privatisation was the only option."
Media Daily News has reported that "Total consumer magazine ad pages
increased 3.6% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year,
rising from 38,985 to 40,388, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.
This was the second quarter in a row where the industry saw ad pages increase.
However, year-to-date ad pages are still down 1.6% to 118,717 in the first nine
months of the year. Total rate-card revenue increased 5.3% from $4.54 billion in
the third quarter of 2009 to $4.78 billion this year, contributing to the
year-to-date total increase of 2.6% to just over $14 billion."
From
Transport
Intelligence: "The road freight sector has been amongst the hardest hit in
the transport industry in Europe. The industry has had to cope with the global
downturn which resulted in lower consumer demand and reduced production
especially in sectors such as automotive. However, even though the economy has
picked up, it faces challenges ahead including additional regulations and cost
fluctuations, especially from the volatile price of fuel. Ti's brand new report
– European
Road Freight 2010 - is packed full of qualitative analysis and quantitative
data which will give you an all-round understanding of the European freight
market."
Marketforce’s 9th annual
The Future of UK
Postal Services conference is taking place during a period of
significant change within the UK postal sector. With Royal Mail’s privatisation
on the horizon, a new draft of the Postal Bill expected shortly, continuing
e-substitution and increasing competition, there is plenty to talk about.
View the
conference programme
Postal Technology International has reported that "At Post-Expo 2010 Escher
Group announced that Botswana Post has chosen the company to help deliver a more
efficient postal service for postal users in Botswana."
October 11, 2010
PIWorld has reported that "IWCO Direct, a leading national provider of
direct marketing solutions, demonstrated its commitment to creating value for
direct mail customers in the area of postage optimization and distribution with
the installation of three Siemens Paramount delivery barcode sorters at its
Hamburg, PA, facility. The installation brings a total of five delivery barcode
sorters to the facility, which help customers reduce postage costs by
commingling mail into common mail trays and are designed to sort the most
difficult mail pieces required by today’s leading direct marketers."
From
Business Wire:
People's
Daily has reported that "With the theme "With a Dream to Build Our New Great
Wall," the launching ceremony of a large cultural activity, "A Century of Expos,
A Decade of Imagination," was held in Beijing on Sunday. The activity was
jointly organized by the Red Cross Society of China, China Post and the China
Red Cross EXPO Love Foundation. It is designed to allow each person with dreams
to write a letter to themselves or their relatives and friends, recording their
dreams, desires, wishes or agreements."
Romania Business Insider has noted that "Mark Mobius, the head of emerging
markets for Franklin Templeton, who is perceived worldwide as an investment
guru, believes the greatest potential in Romania can come from privatizing
companies in the energy sector. The transportation sector also appears to have
important potential in the long term, as do postal services, he writes in a
recent post on his blog, where he usually covers the markets where he sees
potential or comments the latest developments on some other markets."
UK MP Ed
Davey has told the readers of the
Hounslow Chronicle, "I was a management consultant before you elected me in
1997. Back then, I specialised in postal services: I worked for the equivalent
of Royal Mail in various countries – including Sweden, Taiwan, Belgium and South
Africa. So for me it’s exciting now to be the Minister responsible for reforming
two great British institutions – Royal Mail and the Post Office. This week the
Government will publish plans to privatise Royal Mail and later on our plans to
reform the Post Office – which will not involve a sale. We have different
strategies for Royal Mail and Post Office because they are different businesses:
Royal Mail collects, sorts and delivers billions of physical items to 28 million
addresses UK-wide. The Post Office is a franchised network of 11,500 retail
offices (97% of which are privately run now!) where the public benefits from
services like obtaining pensions and weighing parcels. So what are our plans?"
"Electronic Postage Statements – Boon
or Bust?'
TheStreet has reported that "Consumers want more than a movie or videogame
disc in their mailboxes. According to a recently released research study
produced in cooperation with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), DVDs and
Compact Discs are a preferred form of direct marketing that yields significantly
higher results than print media and email. The study, sponsored by DiscMail
Direct, an industry coalition of manufacturers, packagers and creative services
companies involved in the use of optical media."
The
New Statesman has reported that "Some of the UK's major consumer protection
agencies are reportedly being axed as part of the Coalition government's quango
rationalisation plan including the Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Direct and
Consumer Focus - which was established by the last government. The activities of
the quangos, will be handed over to Citizens Advice, a network of independent
British charities and local Trading Standards offices, which will advice
consumers and monitor energy and postal suppliers, according to the
mandate received by Cable's team from cabinet minister Francis Maude.
The
Mainichi Daily News has reported that "Japan's highest prosecutors office
indicted on Monday a former Osaka prosecutor, who led a bungled criminal
investigation into a postal discount system abuse case, for tampering with data
on a floppy disk seized during the probe. The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office
indicted Tsunehiko Maeda, 43, on charges he fiddled with data on the disk -- a
piece of evidence -- on July 13, 2009, so that its content would work to the
advantage of the prosecution team in pursuing the case. Maeda is charged with
rewriting the data-update date of a file on the disk to June 8, 2004, from the
original June 1, 2004, by using a personal computer and a sophisticated
file-editing software, according to the indictment."
Federal
News Radio has noted that "Saving the U.S. Postal Service from bankruptcy
could be as simple as an act of Congress. The Inspector General for the Postal
Service recently issued a series of reports on how the agency can beef up its
bottom line. A big part of that is recovering the billions of dollars in
overfunding to the Civil Service Retirement System. But for that to happen,
lawmakers must take action, and soon." Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia
(D) Listen to the
interview [mp3]
In his
latest
Chronicle and Informer column, Business Secretary and Twickenham MP, Vince
Cable, spells out the financial crisis facing the Royal Mail.
The Star has reported that "The planned divestment of Khazanah Nasional
Bhd’s 32% stake in Pos Malaysia Bhd is taking longer than expected due to
negotiations surrounding the Government’s “golden share” in the company, banking
sources said. “They (the Government) are grappling with how to deal with
watering down the golden share, which is what potential bidders want,” one
banker familiar with the situation said. Golden shares are typically held by the
government, giving it veto power in major decisions of the company."
According
to one writer for
Bloomberg, "To understand where the advocates of big government will take
this country, look at the U.S. Postal Service."
Road Transport has reported that "Women in Logistics (WIL) UK, the
not-for-profit network group for women and men working across all areas of
logistics, has just celebrated its 2nd birthday and says it now has more than
1,200 members. Chairwoman Clare Bottle also points out that 16% of the
membership is male."
Federal Times has reported that "One reason the U.S. Postal Service is
teetering on financial ruin: four in five post offices lose money. And shutting
any of the 32,662 outlets down is nearly impossible. As mail volume plummeted 12
percent from 1999 to 2009, the number of post offices, stations, branches and
carrier annexes shrank only 3 percent."
Yahoo! Finance has reported that "Residents of the Isle of Man are enjoying
quicker, easier visits to the post office now that new technology has been
installed to help them pay bills and choose the right postal rates for their
mail. Self-service kiosks have been introduced to the British Crown dependency
to give customers even speedier service and provide all the help they need to
make fast and accurate transactions and select the right postal service."
France24 has reported that "France faces major disruption Tuesday for the
fourth time in a month as workers take to the streets -- this time threatening
open-ended strikes -- to fight plans to raise the retirement age to 62.
Intercity trains and the Paris metro were also to be badly hit, and teachers,
truckers and postal workers planned to join the protests against a plan
that is central to President Nicolas Sarkozy's reform programme."
NEXT has reported that "The director general of Universal Postal Union
(UPU), Edward Dayan, said that post offices worldwide process more than 483
billion letters annually. Mr. Dayan said in a message on the World Post Day
celebration on Saturday that while posts processed 483 billion letters, mail
volumes had continued to decline as a result of electronic substitution and the
recent financial crisis. "And though physical mail will not be disappearing
overnight any time soon, despite this down trend, posts are looking to the
future by diversifying products and services. Thanks to e-commerce, parcel
volumes are taking off. Posts in many countries are seeing annual growth rates
of 20 percent in parcel volumes due to online sales,'' he said."
The
Dominion Post has noted that "In the past, letters were invariably tangible
things and the biggest challenge for archivists and historians was deciphering
the handwriting. But today few people pick up a pen and paper. Mail volumes have
been steadily declining. New Zealand Post's chief executive of postal services
Peter Fenton says volumes peaked in the late 1990s before starting their gradual
decline. But email wasn't the first killer of the letter - he links the initial
decline to Telecom cutting the cost of toll calls. "It was really the affordable
toll calls, and then the proliferation of the different communication channels
through the internet."
The
Flathead Beacon wants to know: "Voting by Mail: Could it Work in Montana?"
According
to
E4S, "As usual, the Royal Mail is anticipating a huge surge in seasonal mail
and so will be looking to fill around 15,000 Christmas jobs in 2010. Each year
the postal service employs thousands of extra people in temporary jobs and they
don’t expect Christmas 2010 to be any exception. In a normal week the Royal Mail
sifts through approximately 70 million letters, packages and parcels but that
figure doubles to around 130 million in the run up to Christmas. That is why the
Royal Mail needs to take on so many extra staff every December."
AllAfrica.com has
reported that "The Edo State branch of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has
advised its customers in the state and its environs who are yet to settle their
bills on private letter boxes and private mail bags to pay up to avoid
re-allocating them to other customers."
The
Azerbaijan Business Center has reported that:
Azerbaijan and Iran are to sign a protocol on co-operation in the area of postal services following the recent Tehran visit of the delegation of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies. MCIT Postal Office’s head Novruz Mammadov informs that in the course of the meeting the sides discussed prospects of collaboration between both countries in the area of postal communication.
Azerbaijan and Cuba have signed an agreement on exchange of scientific achievements within the framework of the bilateral business forum on information technologies in Havana. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan informs that during the visit of the Azerbaijani delegation held meeting with the deputy prime minister and minister of communications and information technologies of Cuba, during which the sides discussed prospects for ICT co-operation between the two countries and signed a relevant agreement. Under the agreement, both parties set up working groups, and their first meeting took place in Havana. Besides, the Azerbaijani delegates had meetings with the Cuban postal administration, within which an exchange of views was held and information on Azerbaijan’s achievements in this sphere provided.
KTRK
has reported that "Some HISD parents are concerned about sending their kids back
to school this week after 14 campuses received letters filled with a suspicious
white powder Friday."
October 10, 2010
The
News Star has reported that "incumbent U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander,
R-Quitman, and Ouachita Parish independent Tom Gibbs will face off on Nov. 2 for
the right to represent Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. The candidates
this week agreed to answer several policy questions posed by The News-Star of
Monroe. Both candidates were given the same questions and asked to keep their
answers relatively short. Their responses were not edited. Here are the
questions and the candidates’ responses:
Question: Would you support privatizing the U.S. Postal Service?
Alexander: Since the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service operates as a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be revenue-neutral. The USPS receives no taxpayer funding, but is forced to operate under federally mandated laws prohibiting it from being revenue-neutral. It is evident that the current "semi-private" system that the Post Office is currently operating under is not working. Together, taxpayers and Congress must decide if the USPS should become entirely private, allowing the Post Office to make its own operating decisions or be prepared to have the USPS move back to being a full government agency, where it would receive taxpayer funding to maintain a revenue-neutral budget.
Gibbs: Yes. FedEx and UPS have been successful and profitable businesses. There is no reason why the US Postal Service should not be as well.
[EdNote: My heavens! A question posed to candidates for Congress on the Postal Service? Great!]
Zawya has reported that "Acxiom, the world's leading provider of integrated
marketing services and technology solutions has recently announced Dr. Ahmèdê
Kassàsê as MENA Chief Operating Officer (COO). This appointment reiterates
Acxiom's commitment to the region, by providing the leadership to enhance
customer insight and multichannel marketing to regional and multinational
clients in MENA."
October 9, 2010
The
Associated Press of Pakistan has reported that "President Asif Ali Zardari
emphasizing the importance of postal system in connecting the people worldwide
has stated the government is fully cognizant of modernizing Pakistan’s postal
networks to meet its social and economic development objectives including the
Millennium Development Goals.“Connectivity among peoples of different
geographical locations, cultural backgrounds and level of development is a key
to fostering understanding among them and thereby contribute to peace to
development”.“Over the decades the postman has been silently working to connect
people across distances and cultures. Even today, in the age of electronic
communications, the post has been making laudable contributions towards this
end.”
Trend has reported that
"Today Azerbaijan's postal sector ranks second for the highest quality of
service throughout the CIS, which makes it attractive for foreign investors,
said on Saturday, Azerpoct state postal operator director Gambar Beybalaev said.
He said in particular by late 2010 it is expected to complete full modernization
of Azerpoct, which will increase a number of the rendered services, along with
increased quality."
Dead Tree Edition is revisiting its earlier comments about the USPS and its
plans to assist employee retirement. "USPS Getting Its Retirement Act Together?
Nope I was too quick yesterday to praise the U.S. Postal Service’s new eRetire
system, which seems to be just a faster and more convenient way for potential
retirees to get inaccurate information."
October 8, 2010
Media Daily News has reported that "Amid interest in a new generation of
mobile devices, including e-readers and tablet computers, a number of research
outfits are rushing to the market with new surveys describing the
characteristics of device owners, as well as their habits in media consumption.
No surprise -- these studies all indicate that people who buy these devices are
an attractive target audience, combining heavy media consumption with affluence
and "early adopter" habits."
The
Deccan Herald has reported that "Encouraged by good revenue collection
through booking of railway tickets at the head post office at Aska in Orissa's
Ganjam district, the postal authorities have proposed to the Railways to provide
such facilities in 10 more post offices in southern Orissa."
Atarde has reported that "The Ministry of Communications announced today the
extension of contracts franchise post for seven months to ensure continuity of
service delivery to the population."
The
Grand Haven
Tribune has reported that "An employee of the U.S. Post Office in Spring
Lake has resigned amid accusations of mail theft. The Spring Lake postmaster
wouldn't comment on the case. Instead, the U.S. Postal Service Office of the
Inspector General."
The
New York Post has reported that "A suburban postal carrier who stole gifts,
credit cards and DVDs from the mail won’t have to return to jail. But she’ll
have to pay back her customers. The Westchester County district attorney’s
office says 52-year-old Tensy May Smith was sentenced Thursday to six months
behind bars."
Supply Chain Standard has reported that "DHL Global Forwarding and Delta
Cargo have agreed on a strategic air cargo security partnership. The partnership
is a DHL initiative aimed at stepping up supply chain security. It is based on a
common understanding of standard operating procedures for high-value and
high-risk cargo and an exchange of best practices on security issues and
information on crime trends."
The
President of
the American Postal Workers Union has told his people that "The media
dutifully repeats the claim that the Postal Service is teetering on the edge of
bankruptcy, but neglects to point out that these questionable obligations have
nothing to do with USPS “operating expenses,” which include employee wages and
benefits. The liabilities are a colossal sham, seized upon by postal management
and by anti-worker congressmen who wish to erode the gains made by postal
employees over 40 years of collective bargaining. In fact, the USPS should be
cited as “Business of the Year.” The Postal Service has survived the worst
recession in 70 years, along with societal shifts in communication, and
congressionally-imposed funding mandates that are not applied to any other
commercial or governmental entity in the country. The USPS has endured, while
providing the best mail service in the world at the lowest cost. The Inspector
General reports that despite all these obstacles, if accounting rules were
applied uniformly, USPS deficits would disappear and the Postal Service would
experience unprecedented surpluses."
The latest copy of the
National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.
PRC Chair Goldway Discusses Exigent Rate Decision and Universal Service. Here's
the link
to the audio file.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Check out
NPR. "We've Lost 8 Million Jobs. Here's A Closer Look."
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
As
Air Cargo World has noted, "Effective Jan. 3, 2011, FedEx Express rates for
U.S. domestic and international shipments will be increased by an average of 3.9
percent. The company actually raised rates by 5.9 percent, on average, but will
offset this increase by adjusting the threshold at which the fuel surcharge
takes effect, thus reducing the surcharge by two percentage points."
Advanced Topics in U.S. Postal Service Contracting: A special one-day
seminar on identifying and resolving the most difficult, yet important, issues
confronting postal contractors in bidding and contract performance. Friday,
sponsored by Hursch Blackwell.
Politico has reported that
"The unemployment rate in September stayed at 9.6 percent as 95,000 jobs were
lost, according to Friday's jobs report from the government."
Also from
the
Wall Street Journal: "The Social Security Administration sent about 89,000
stimulus payments of $250 each to dead and incarcerated people—but almost half
of them were returned, a new inspector-general's report found. The agency was
charged with distributing the one-time payments, worth about $13 billion in
total, as part of the economic-stimulus package passed in February 2009. Most of
the payments were made in May 2009. The inspector general found that about
72,000 payments were sent by electronic-transfer and as checks to people who
would have qualified to receive them—had they still been alive." [EdNote:
Maybe it's time to encourage the Postal Service to develop and make available an
address database of people who are dead. Business could use such a database too.
And while you're at it, let's require courts, law enforcement, and prison
authorities to file change of address forms for all those sent to or are
discharged from prison.]
The
Wall Street Journal has reported that "The dollar hit fresh lows against
several currencies, raising pressure on global leaders to address worsening
tensions among countries vying to keep their currencies weak and exports
competitive." [EdNote: A low dollar is good for international trade. Make hay
while the sun shines.]
Also from
the
Postalnewsblog: "Issa: More whoppers from Mr. Transparency"
The
Postalnewsblog has reported the following: "Management Instruction (MI)
EL-500-2010-4, Contracting With Individuals or Rehiring Into Career
Nonbargaining Positions, is now available on PolicyNet and is effective
immediately. This MI provides guidance on the reviews and approvals required
prior to contracting with or reemploying specified individuals, including former
and/or retired postal or federal civilian employees, into career nonbargaining
positions."
The
African Manager has reported that "Telecommunication authorities in Zimbabwe
said tele-de nsity in the country had increased sharply since the beginning of
the year, standing at 54 percent now from just 37 percent in January. The Postal
and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said a stabilising economy and huge
investments by mobile phone operators accounted for the increase in
tele-density." [EdNote: All the more for the need for a way to rationalize
"addressing" across the print-digital boundary. It's essential to communication
and commerce.]
The 24.kg News Agency
has reported that "“Modernization of mail service in Kyrgyzstan requires $8.5
million,” Kyrgyz Minister of Transport and Communications Erkin Isakov said
Friday at a press conference. According to him, over 8 months in 2010
Kyrgyzpochtasy State Enterprise has received 286 million soms of income, and the
rate of growth of the enterprise has made up 141 percent."
The Northwestern has reported that "Members of the American Postal Workers
Union Local 178 want area businesses and nonprofits to help show how the
potential loss of mail processing in Oshkosh will financially impact their
organizations."
As the
Manila Bulletin
has noted in observance of World Post Day, "The first known postal document,
found in Egypt, dates back to 255 B.C. Even before that time, however, postal
services existed as messengers traveled long distances to serve monarchs."
Advertising Age
has reported that "Consumers are turning to mobile handsets to purchase
everything from gift vouchers to flat-screen TVs, and retailers around the world
are struggling to keep up with the pace of change."
The
latest issue of
Postal Technology International is now available online.
The
American Postal Workers Union is sending out new ballots to replace those
lost in the mail.
From the Federal Register:
The U.S. Postal
Service Board of Governors will hold a closed meeting on September 30. Items
Considered: 1. Strategic Issues. 2. Financial Matters. 3. Pricing. 4. Personnel
Matters and Compensation Issues. 5. Governors' Executive Session--discussion of
prior agenda items and Board Governance.
As the
Wall Street Journal has noted, "From one camp, the cry is clear and certain:
The only thing missing from the U.S. economy today is demand, and the answer is
for the government to supply it. From another, the cry is just as certain: We
tried stimulus, and it didn't deliver....And from a third camp comes yet another
cry: It's the debt, stupid....Which is it?"
NZNewsUK has reported that "The Government is consulting on a proposal from
New Zealand Post to make two minor changes to the Deed of Understanding between
the Government and the company The Deed of Understanding is an agreement between
New Zealand Post and the Crown which sets out certain price, service and social
responsibilities New Zealand Post must provide. Communications and Information
Technology Minister Steven Joyce says the proposed changes are minor in nature
and will not impact significantly on the postal services provided to New
Zealanders."
The
New Zealand Herald has reported that "Views are being sought on having no
postal delivery for four days over Christmas and New Year when those holidays
fall on a Saturday. Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven
Joyce yesterday said the Government was consulting on NZ Post's proposal."
Folio has reported that "The USPS is still allowed to raise rates up to the
CPI cap without approval from the PRC," wrote Making Magazines president Terry
Coate Jr. in a blog. "The CPI is expected to be in the area of 2.5 percent. .
.Expect a rate increase of 2.5 percent and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't
happen." Not so fast, says Jim Cregan, executive vice president for government
affairs at MPA. "Our economists tell us it could be in the neighborhood of 1.5
percent if the postal service were to move quickly and do it in first few
calendar months of 2011. If they decide to wait until May, the increase could be
a little higher. The economists seem to agree that range would be 1.5 percent to
1.8 percent with a maximum increase of 2 percent, with the way inflation is
running."
Seeking Alpha has told its readers that "United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS)
told its investors last week that it’s ready to make an aggressive expansion
into China. Technically, it already has a presence there after establishing its
first joint venture in 1988. And in 2005, it bought the international operations
of its local partner, Sinotrans, as well. Yet UPS – or “The Big Brown Machine”
as some call it – has spent an entire year studying its application for a
domestic parcel license in China. It only took it to the State Post Bureau last
week. In some respects, UPS has gotten a slow start out of the gate in the
Chinese market. It already does big business delivering packages to and from
there, but has no domestic market set-up, leaving it lagging behind in a very
fast-growing segment."
According
to
Motley Fool, "With 14.6% of operating cash flow coming from questionable
sources, UPS investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers."
The
Wall Street Journal has reported that "Greek Finance Minister George
Papaconstantinou said the government has received broad interest from companies
within and outside Europe in taking partial or complete ownership of state-run
operations up for privatization as Athens tries to right a struggling economy.
That builds on interest from other countries, such as China and the United Arab
Emirates, that are already investing in Greece. Greek Finance Minister George
Papaconstantinou discusses his country's efforts to deal with mounting fiscal
problems and return to private capital markets. In an interview Thursday with
The Wall Street Journal, the finance minister said at least one big postal
company in Europe has expressed "explicit" interest in Greece's postal service."
The
Sioux City Journal has noted that "U.S. Postal employees have been alerted
to reports of customers receiving bogus e-mail about package delivery. The
e-mails contain a link that, when opened, installs a malicious virus capable of
stealing personal information from computers."
The
Press Democrat has reported that "The Postal Service is considering cuts at
its Petaluma mail processing and distribution center, a prospect that has
workers and local business leaders alarmed. Some Petaluma operations could be
shifted to a postal center in Oakland as part of a money-saving consolidation."
Nikkei has
reported that "the [Japanese] cabinet approved a bill Friday morning to
reorganize Japan Post, tampering little with the one scrapped during the
ordinary Diet session."
Dead Tree Edition has told its readers that it has "repeatedly criticized
the U.S. Postal Service for providing slow and inaccurate estimates of retiree
benefits (see below), so it’s only fair to point out the “eRetire” program it
announced today. [It] allows employees to plan for and initiate retirement
activities online via LiteBlue....This certainly sounds like a step in the right
direction for an organization that needs to downsize."
As the
Washington Post has noted, "Letter carriers saving lives -- six days a
week."
As the
Washington Post has noted, "Letter carriers saving lives -- six days a
week."
Also announced at the Board of Directors meeting of the Association for Postal
Commerce -- elected as directors of the association (new and re-elected):
Debbie Cooper, Brown Printing; Michael Indresano, FedEx Smart Post; Ben Lamm, Capital One; Braden McCollum, SAP Business Objects Postalsoft; Rich McConville, Acxiom Corporation; Robert Curry, (Siemens Industry); Richard Eaton, (Highlights for Children); Dan Emens, (JPMorgan Chase); Charles Fattore, (RR Donnelley Logistics); Charles Howard, (Harte-Hanks); Scott Lorenz, (Hearst Corporation); Joe Lubenow, (Lubenow & Associates); Richard Porras, (Newgistics); David Robinson, (Pitney Bowes Software Solutions); Joe Schick, (Quad/Graphics); Phil Thompson, (Quad Transportation); Tom Underkoffler, (Medco Health Solutions).
October 7, 2010
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
According
to
E-Commerce Times, "The volume of mail handled by the United States Postal
Service is sinking like a stone each quarter, and its revenues are following
suit. Most of us have probably heard that the tradition of delivering mail six
days a week will likely be a thing of the past. This will be one step to bring
the Postal Service back to profitability. But it seems that the USPS must take a
look at its business model and update it."
ZDNet
blogger DocuMentor has told his readers that "The only thing Doc likes better
than a sale is a sale that works both ways – not only does it save me money, but
it works out for the merchant as well. That’s why I was so interested in a
recent report on the success (or failure) of last summer’s postage sale for big
mailers put on by the United States Postal Service. The sale (which is running
again this summer) gave large mailers a 30% credit for additional volume mailed
over a specific threshold. I was really rooting for the USPS and hoping the
results would show that lowering postage costs is a better idea than raising
them. So how did the program work? Well, it appears no one is exactly sure.
Seems the accounting and measuring systems in place at the Post Office were
unable to accurately collect the data needed to reach any firm conclusions, but
it doesn’t appear to be a rousing success. These problems, Doc is quick to point
out, are issues with the USPS, not with the marketplace."
Federal
News Radio has reported that "Voting by mail is becoming more popular in
more places. The growing popularity of ballot-by-mail is one of the arguments
against the proposal to drop one day of mail delivery to save the U.S. Postal
Service money. Voting by mail has many pluses. Also, sometimes, some minuses.
Members of the American Postal Workers Union, for obvious reason, elect their
national officers via mail ballot. Most postal clerks, who sort the mail, belong
to the union. Normally the APWU election committee would be counting ballots
this week, at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel downtown. But there has been a
problem. So far only 39,071 ballots have been received which is only a small
percentage of the union's membership and a much lower total than in past
elections. So what happened to all those mail ballots? You got it! They seem to
be lost in the mail."
Hellmail has reported that:
News from the October meeting of the Board of
Directors of the Association for Postal Commerce:
Resolutions passed:
• That the Association of Postal Commerce requests the U.S. Postal Service to indicate which methods are used to validate address data quality prior to applying them to USPS databases to share with mailers. Further, that PostCom request a meeting with USPS officials to share address quality concerns as the data relate to Move Update penalties and PBV when various move update methods are used.
• That PostCom opposes disproportionate increases on the Carrier Route rate for flat-shaped mail. Further, that: (1) Rates for FSS flats should be no higher than rates applied today to comparable carrier route mail. (2) PostCom coordinate with others who hold a similar position. (3) PostCom, in conjunction with those parties, meet with appropriate postal officials on this matter.
• That the Association for Postal Commerce commence work, if possible, in conjunction with others, to develop what is commonly referred to as a "bottom-up" postal costing model.
| The Stan Woodruff Award for extraordinary and meritorious service to the Association was granted to Cameron Bellamy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Grayhair Software. (Cameron Bellamy - left; Joe Schick, PostCom Chairman - right.) |
 |
| Director Emeritus status was awarded to Coleman Hoyt (formerly representing Readers Digest Association and presently the Continuity Shippers Association. (Coleman Hoyt - right; Joe Schick - left.) |
 |
Press
Release: "As it continues to make progress to achieve aggressive energy
reduction goals, the Postal Service today marked National Energy Awareness
Month, with postal officials highlighting savings and encouraging employees,
suppliers and mail industry partners to conserve even more energy."
The
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer has told its readers that "In a letter
to the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Postal Service asked for clarification
regarding the total increase in rates under the cap. The Postal Service stated
that it wanted the clarification so that it could better to do its financial
planning for Fiscal Year 2011. However, mailers should clearly understand that
rates will be rising in calendar year 2011. Rate increases will be relatively
modest. Rate increases will be rising on average around 2% and most likely
slightly below that figure."
UPS employees throughout the world will participate in UPS's eighth annual
Global Volunteer Month in October, a month encouraging UPS's more than 400,000
employees to give back through service and organizations that are most
meaningful to them.
According
to one writer for the
Wall Street Journal, "innovation has meant a painful transition for the
Postal Service, which will still be needed for parcels, special documents and
those occasional handwritten letters that I continue to treasure. But in
recounting the good old days of traditional mail, we shouldn't forget that they
weren't always as precious as we like to imagine."
According
to
Government Executive, "Several proposals could bring the Postal Service's
obligations to employee benefits back in line, however, and give the agency some
additional flexibility with its cash flow."
From
PR.com: "Missed deliveries
will cost online UK businesses £132.5m this Christmas, according to the latest
ecommerce research. The cost is attributed to the price of replacing and
redirecting poorly addressed parcels, “not at home” delivery, and late packages
which result in the loss of repeat business from disgruntled customers. The
findings have been drawn from studies carried out by Worcester-based address
specialists Postcode Anywhere and Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG)
earlier this year."
Post & Parcel has noted that:
According
to
CTV, "Netflix , with a series of deals to stream movies and television shows
over the Internet, seems poised to make a technological transition that its
floundering competitor Blockbuster Inc. failed to do."
Advertising Age has
reported that "The Federal Trade Commission is issuing a long-awaited update to
its green-marketing guidance today that takes aim at broad, non-specific
environmental claims and environmental seals of approval and will make it
tougher to claim products or packaging are biodegradable or compostable."
Multichannel Merchant has published a "Q&A: PRC Chairman Goldway on Exigent
Rate Case Ruling."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Postal Technology International Awards 2010:
Service Provider of the Year: Deutsche Post DHL
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Korea Post plans to cooperate more closely with postal companies in Central Asia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia).
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.)
October 6, 2010
The
Wall Street Journal has reported that "The U.S. service sector expanded last
month, allaying fears that the economy could slip back into recession as
manufacturing cools."
The
Belfast Telegraph has reported that "One of Royal Mail's biggest challengers
has opened up a new depot in Co Antrim, creating 20 new jobs. TNT chief
executive Nick Wells said embracing internet technology and offering keen
pricing structures to clients was key to the company's trend-bucking expansion
during a bleak economic climate. The company now has seven mail centres in the
UK."
Reuters has reported that "French mail operator La Poste is mulling a
possible cooperation with Franco-Belgian financial group Dexia, the company's
chairman said. "We have started a preliminary review of the dossier," said
Chairman Jean-Paul Bailly, adding it would take "weeks or months" to assess if a
review leads to anything concrete. Bailly made the comments at a presentation of
the French postal group's strategic goals through 2015." See also the
Financial Times.
According
to the Daily Globe,
"The U.S. Postal Service’s latest request to increase the cost of mailing a
letter by 2 cents – to 46 cents – and other postal rates was rejected Thursday.
It is the right decision by the Postal Regulatory Commission at this time. The
need for the postal increase proposal is not due to the recession or a change in
mailing practices. The true cause lies in the Postal Service’s lack of change.
The Postal Service needs to address its long-term structural problems, including
staffing, pay and benefits. Simply the times have been changing, but the Postal
Service has not changed as fast."
The
Lehigh Acres Citizen has reported that "Most of the U.S. Postal Service's
142,000 Long Life Delivery Vehicles have been in service 20-24 years. But
replacing the fleet is a significant investment. Until the Postal Service
decides what kind of vehicles will best serve its growing base of customers - at
the lowest cost - USPS is taking a series of steps to extend the lives of its
current vehicles."
From
Business Wire:
From the Federal Register:
Postal
Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
New Postal Product , 61785–61786 [2010–25061]
[TEXT] [PDF]
The
Postalnewsblog has told its readers that "Apparently Rep. Issa has had
second thoughts about his charge that the CSRS overpayment is a “myth”- as of
6:15 PM EDT the entire thread has been removed from his Facebook page.
You can still read it here.
According
to the
PostalEmployeeNetwork, "Potter warned employees not to reach any conclusions
about recent reports recommending closures and layoffs. “We’re going to meet
payroll,” he said. “We’re going to live up to our contracts and pay our people.”
However, he added it will be important for the Postal Service to negotiate
provisions in new labor contracts that “provide us the tools that we need to
successfully manage the business.”
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
October 5, 2010
Uni Global Union has noted that "Postal employees will pay dearly if the
postal market is liberalised. According to a report the Norwegian Government has
commissioned by Copenhagen Economics. In some countries, wages have fallen by
almost 50%. In all six countries studied, the number of temporary employees and
the proportion of part-time employees."
According
to the
Financial Times, "The cheque is in the post, but paying the next set of
bills will be a challenge. After losing its case for a two cent increase to the
44 cent standard postage last week, the US Postal Service went through with a
required $5.5bn payment to a retiree healthcare fund, which it had considered
postponing. That leaves it forced once again to tap a federal credit line – with
scant hope of repayment. In the past, such crises have revived the idea of full
or partial American postal privatisation, following the examples of Germany,
Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and elsewhere. Private ownership, though,
is far from a panacea. If it wants to maintain a national postal monopoly,
Congress must either accept direct subsidies or give the USPS more flexibility
to modify services and prices. The latter seems distinctly cheaper and wiser."
From
PRNewswire: "WorldAddresses.com, who recently launched World Addresses Web,
the online international address lookup service, will be represented at Post
Expo 2010 by its Commercial Manager Barley Laing. WorldAddresses.com has been
working with The Universal Postal Union, an international organisation which
coordinates the terms for governing international postal duties, to develop the
S42 Standard. This Standard defines the correct format for entering individual
countries' addresses, as approved by its postal operator. From this
collaboration, WorldAddresses.com has been able to rapidly develop its new
product, World Addresses Web, an online international address lookup service.
The software currently provides address information for the UK, USA, France,
Chile and Germany, with additional countries being added on an ongoing basis."
Luxury Daily has reported that "Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus is letting
shoppers jump from the pages of its catalogs directly into its online shopping
platform in one tap via a new iPad application. NM Editions creates a unified
platform for viewing all of Neiman Marcus’ publications such as its annual
Christmas Book that was released today. Consumers can select and purchase items
from the catalogs within the application, which is available for free in Apple’s
App Store."
DayPress
has reported that "The 1st National Symposium on business intelligence
applications kicked off on Monday with the participation of a number of Arab and
foreign companies. The 2-day symposium is organized by the Syrian Computer
Society (SCS) in cooperation with Ministry of Communication and Technology. It
discusses the concept of business intelligence, its tools and local applications
and strategic planning, in addition to reviewing experiences of some companies
and institutions in the field of business intelligence. Deputy Prime Minister
for Economic Affairs Abdullah al-Dardari said employing technology in business
in an effective way helps achieve the institution's goals. Al-Dardari pointed
out that the government has carried out a large portion of the strategies and
policies laid out as part of the 10th 5-year plan to provide communication and
postal services, develop programming and digital content and facilitate
governmental procedures."
On
Federal News
Radio: "The Postal Service Office of Inspector General asked the George
Mason University School of Public Policy to examine the financial sustainability
of the Postal Service under various volume scenarios.
Joining us to talk
about what they found is Renee Sheehy, an economist with the Office of the
Inspector General at the Postal Service."
According
to the
Herald-Dispatch, "The Postal Service is studying a plan to move a large
portion of the maintenance, processing and delivery functions from its
distribution center in Huntington to Charleston. Under that plan, postal
officials now project that 38 positions in Huntington would be lost. They say
that employees in those positions would have the opportunity to work elsewhere
for the Postal Service, but just where is unknown. The potential loss of jobs
here understandably is a worry. But also is the prospect that the quality of
postal service offered to the Huntington area will suffer, too."
Today Az has reported
that "A working group consisting of representatives of Azerbaijani Postal
Administration will pay a working visit to Tehran on October 5-7. The visit,
which will be realized at the invitation of Iranian Postal Administration, aims
to hold meetings with the working group of Iran's Post and discuss cooperation
between the two countries in postal sphere."
The
Charleston Daily
Mail has reported that "West Virginia's forwarding mail service is moving to
Pittsburgh."
UPS Freight, the nation's fourth-largest Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) carrier,
today announced a general rate increase averaging 5.9 percent covering
non-contractual shipments in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The rate
adjustment takes effect on Oct. 18, 2010, and applies to minimum charge, LTL
rates and accessorial charges.
The
Star-Telegram has reported that "The Fort Worth postmaster is on paid
administrative leave while the watchdog arm of the U.S. Postal Service
investigates the office, several sources said. The inspector general is
investigating possible problems with the recording of mail volume, which can be
a key driver of budgeting and efficiency measures, officials said."
The
Economic Times has reported that "Premium postal services, such as business
mails, logistic post and speed post , will get expensive as the government looks
for ways to bring down the deficit of the postal department, which is running
into thousands of crores. The department of posts (DoP) is considering a
marketbased pricing for many of its products that do not have a social dimension
to them to reduce the government subsidy."
TMCNet has
reported that "Finnish Basware, a provider of software for financial processes,
said on Tuesday it had struck a deal to buy the Dutch connectivity business of
posting services company TNT Post, for an undisclosed sum."
In a
letter to the editor of the
Wall Street Journal, Postmaster General John Potter said that "Gaining
greater business model flexibility is the ultimate key to ensuring that the
Postal Service meets the long-term expectations of the American people and
remains a vital channel of commerce for the American economy."
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
October 4, 2010
DMM Advisory: October DMM® Update. Postal Explorer® (pe.usps.com) is your source for up-to-date mailing standards. The Domestic Mail Manual is fully searchable on Postal Explorer and features fly-out menus, cross-reference links, and an extensive subject index. Today we updated our mailing standards to capture the following changes:
New Option for Obtaining Pickup on Demand
Service
We revised
507.6.0 to provide a no-fee option for customers that
meet minimum volume threshold requirements of seven pieces for reoccurring
Pickup on Demand service for Express Mail®, Priority Mail®, Global Express
Guaranteed®, Express Mail International® and Priority Mail International® mail
items.
Mailing of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco
Products to APO/FPO/DPO Destination Addresses
We revised
503.9.0 and
601.11.0
to permit the mailing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to APO/FPO/DPO
destination addresses via Express Mail Military Service or Priority Mail service
with Delivery Confirmation™.
Labeling Lists
We revised labeling lists
L001,
L002,
L003,
L004,
L005,
L007,
L008,
L009,
L011,
L201,
L601,
L605,
L606,
L607,
and
L801
to reflect changes in mail processing operations.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: Senator
Daniel K. Akaka Prepared Remarks The Impact of Eliminating Saturday Delivery
Service on the People of Hawai‘i
Advertising Age
has reported that "In a broad attempt by the online advertising industry to ward
off federal privacy legislation, a coalition of industry groups today announced
a wide-reaching program that allows internet users to opt out of being tracked
for the purposes of online marketing. The program has also enlisted with the
Better Business Bureau to police marketers that are not in compliance."
Jack
Griffin, Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc., was named Chairman of the
Board of Directors of MPA – The Association of Magazine Media. The announcement
was made by Nina Link, President and Chief Executive Officer, MPA, at the 2010
American Magazine Conference (AMC) in Chicago, Illinois. Hosted by MPA and the
American Society of Magazine Editors,
Federal News Radio
has told its listeners that the "USPS seeks innovative, legislative relief for
financial woes."
The
Wisconsin State Journal has noted that "The Postal Regulatory Commission
last week denied a request by the Postal Service to increase the cost of mailing
a letter by 2 cents, from 44 to 46 cents, along with rate increases for
postcards, periodicals, packages and other services. The denial seems like good
news for consumers and businesses. And the PRC did the right thing in saying no
to the request, mostly because the Postal Service didn’t make a good case for
the significant increase. It’s the recession, they said, that’s why we need the
extra money. No, it’s your bungled-up bureaucracy, fading business model and
oppressive legislative mandates, that’s why you need the money, the PRC said.
We’ll back the PRC on this one. Sure, the recession hasn’t helped the Post
Office, nor any other business. But until and unless the Postal Service makes
fundamental changes in structure and operations, bumping up the price of stamps
on a regular basis isn’t going to save the day."
The
Gadsden Times has told its readers that "Presentation, it’s said, is
everything. The United States Postal Service got a lesson in that last week when
its request for a rate hike was denied. The cash-strapped postal service asked
for a rate hike outside the normal rate of inflation which requires approval by
the Postal Regulatory Commission. The regulators were unanimous in rejecting the
increase, saying the rate request was not because of the recession but because
of the Postal Service’s ongoing financial crisis. The presentation focused on
the effects of the recession but the Postal Service has been in financial
trouble since long before the recession began."
Media Daily News has reported that "A number of major newspaper publishers
have made big investments in Ongo Inc., a start-up with plans to launch a new
social media service that allows users to share news and other information
online by year's end. Ongo said it raised a total $12 million in an initial
round of investments from Gannett, The New York Times Co., and the Washington
Post Co. While few details are available about the forthcoming service, Alex
Kazim, Ongo Inc.'s founder and chief executive officer, stated: "We are building
Ongo to reflect the many ways consumers prefer to read, organize and share
digital news." [EdNote: And will social media become the ready substitute for
the Postal Service as far as "binding the nation together" is concerned?]
Now hear this: "This Week In Postal"......the latest podcast posted now!
With a few words by the
little piggie.
Hellmail has reported that "The CEO of Norway Post, Dag Mejdell, recently
held an oral intervention at the UPU Strategy Conference in Nairobi. He spoke
about the importance of acting together as a united postal industry, making a
difference for the environment."
October 3, 2010
The
Business Standard has reported that "Moving beyond selling application
forms, the Department of Posts (DoP) has started offering a complete package to
agencies and companies for their recruitment process. In a first of its kind,
the postal department will sell, collect and send application forms for
recruitment of people in the central paramilitary forces, including the Central
Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF). The service has
been started across 1,000 locations in all major cities. DoP is expected to earn
about Rs 10 crore annually as revenue from this. It started selling about 3.1
million application forms over a month earlier, the official added. It is to
extend this ‘total solution offering’ to other companies. The post offices
across 1,000 locations in all major cities have been mandated for this new
task."
According
to David E. Daniel, a local APWU president, writing in the
Herald-Dispatch, "The U.S. Postal Service's proposal to consolidate mail
from Huntington, Ashland and Beckley into Charleston is as impractical as it is
inefficient. There is, however, an alternative plan which would not only save
money but actually result in improved service, better working conditions and
increased efficiency. The Huntington regional mail sorting center is uniquely
located to be a gateway hub for the Tri-State. It was designed to serve this
role when it was opened in 1978. The Charleston District prevented that from
happening and has fought the existence of the Huntington facility ever since.
With minor redirections and some new transportation routes replacing old ones,
the Huntington facility is fully capable of sorting, distributing, transporting
and returning the 456 zip Ohio mail in an overnight manner."
The
Telegram & Gazette told its readers that "In something of a miracle, postal
regulators this past week denied a request from the U.S. Postal Service to hike
its rates yet again come January 1. The regulators decided that the USPS hadn’t
made its case for pushing rates still higher — and well above the rate of
inflation. And here’s the miraculous part: The regulators blamed the post
office’s woes on neither the economy nor regulations, but a failed business
model. If the post office wants to compete in the modern economy, it must do so
without special perks and privileges. Anything else simply leaves American
taxpayers — businesses and individuals — subsidizing a business model that is
less efficient than it can and must be."
The
Atlanta Business Chronicle has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc.
bought 130 next generation hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) for an undisclosed
price. The Atlanta-based package shipper said 30 will be used in New York and
100 will be put to work in California. It estimated the HEVs will save 66,085
gallons of fuel and 671 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, representing a
35 percent improvement in fuel economy. That’s the equivalent of 128 passenger
cars being taken off the road, UPS said."
UPS Press Room: "For the eighth year in a row, UPS (NYSE:UPS) has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for North America, based on the company's economic, environmental and social practices. UPS ranked in the top 20% of corporations in the Industrial Goods and Services sector in North America and scored above the industry group's average in the three areas."
The
Columbo
Page has reported that "Sri Lanka Postal Department is incurring a massive
loss due to unavailability of stamp envelops in post offices, Department sources
say. The trade unions of Postal Department say that the loss is around Rs. 97
million per annum. Post offices sold 1.8 million stamp envelops per month
bringing in an income of Rs. 8.1 million to the department in the past. The
sources say the sale of envelops stopped when the Postal Department contracted a
private printer to supply stamp envelops. The contracted printer supplied low
quality envelops that had to be discarded. Nevertheless, the printer had
received his payment."
Deadtree Edition has told its readers that "The U.S. Postal Service could
cut its workforce by one-third and its supervisory ranks even more, a leading
Republican Congressman indicated this week. "The Post Office has 200,000 people
who should be retiring," Rep. Darrell Issa said in a speech Wednesday to The
Heritage Foundation. USPS had 568,301 employees at the end of August. "When I
say retiring I mean we don’t need them. As ranking Republican on the House
Oversight & Government Reform Committee, the California Republican would
probably chair the key Congressional panel overseeing the USPS if the GOP wins a
majority in the November elections. "I’m going to take on postal reform if I’m
lucky enough to be the chairman next year," Issa said."
KSPR
has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service says residents in Johnson County will
get an explanation and an apology when mail found in the home of a deceased
postmaster is finally
delivered. Postal Service spokeswoman Leisa Tolliver-Gay told the Southwest Times Record Friday that a "customer" found 500 letters at the home of Merlin Walters and turned them in this week. The 89-year-old Walters was the Hartman postmaster until his death in March. Tolliver-Gay says she doesn't know how the customer found the mail, how the letters got to the home or how long they were there."
Representative Darrell
Issa (R-CA) spoke about the administration and operations for the House
Committee on Oversight and Reform. In his remarks he talked about investigations
the committee could undergo if Republicans prevail in the 2010 midterm elections
and take control of the House. He responded to questions from the audience. He
speaks on the Postal Service some 29 minutes into the recording.
Southern
California Radio has a piece on "Hey Mr. Postman, look & see—is it the
economy or is your business model fundamentally flawed?" Guests: Ruth Goldway,
Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission Robert Cohen, former head of the
Office of Technical Analysis and Planning at the Postal Rate Commission (now the
Postal Regulatory Commission); he recently completed a study commissioned by the
Office of the Inspector General for the Postal Service, Implications of
declining volume on the financial sustainability of the postal service.
October 2, 2010
Road Transport has reported that "John Pearson has been appointed as CEO of
DHL Express Europe and has been given a remit to sharpen its cross border
operations - including those on the UK. The 47-year-old, who has been with DHL
Express since 1986, is taking on the role from Ken Allen who was acting European
CEO. Allen will now focus on his role as global CEO of DHL Express."
WVNS
has reported that "Beckley post office workers took to street corners on Friday
to get the word out. They held an informational picket along Industrial Drive to
let locals know they could soon have a new post office in charge of their area.
The U.S. Postal Office has conducted a study to determine whether it’s feasible
to continue processing operations at the Beckley Post Office. The alternative
option would be to process mail at the Charleston Processing and Distribution
Center."
The
Federal Times has reported that "Postmaster General John Potter is standing
by his agency’s policy of paying the full cost of health insurance premiums for
senior executives." [EdNote: On this matter, he's right. He should.]
The
American Postal Workers Union has told its members that a "Rough Week for
USPS Highlights Importance of Bill to Fix Finances." [EdNote: If the
"importance" focuses soley on the correction of the CSRS overfunding to allow
transfers to pay USPS pre-funding needs, we agree.]
Internet Retailer has reported that "Retail shippers got a break this week
with the federal Postal Regulatory Commission’s rejection of a proposed rate
hike by the U.S. Postal Service. But other rate hikes are on the way. On the
same day the postal rate hike got nixed, FedEx Corp. announced its own average
hike of 5.9% slated to go into effect in January for its FedEx Express division,
which handles packages of up 150 pounds. FedEx has also announced some changes
to rates in its FedEx Ground unit, which includes residential deliveries of
smaller packages. UPS also typically announces in the fourth quarter its rate
hike for the following year." [EdNote: There's no break. USPS competitive
rates undoubtedly WILL rise in January.]
The
Washington Post has told its readers: "Check your mailbox. If the U.S.
Postal Service has its way, this could be one of the last Saturdays you receive
mail. The mail agency is determined to end six-day mail deliveries and close
unprofitable post offices despite an expected $6 billion in losses for the
fiscal year that ended Thursday." See also the
Federal Times,
Multichannel Marketing,
DM News,
Government Executive.
WTOP has reported that "Even
if a newspaper is filled with hard news, the U.S. Postal Service is checking to
see whether it's droopy. Under a rule that takes effect Sunday, if a flat piece
of mail that's longer than 10 inches droops too much, it will cost more to mail
in bulk. The change is because such mail can't be put through an automated flat
sorter, and sorting by hand costs more. That could affect many community
newspapers, which drop off their editions _ addressed to subscribers _ for the
post office to deliver. Magazines, envelopes and shopping circulars also come
under the new rule. The postal service is subjecting newspapers to a "droop
test," to determine if they're fit for the machine sorter. The post office
places the paper on a counter with a flat edge, with half of the item hanging
from the edge. If it droops more than 3 inches, it fails. No bulk discount."
DMM Advisory: IMb™ Services Update. PostalOne!® Scheduled Outage: The PostalOne! Production and Test Environment for Mailers (TEM) database servers will have hardware maintenance performed during the scheduled 4 a.m. – 8 a.m. (CDT) maintenance window on Sunday, October 3, 2010. The PostalOne! system (including FAST OPS web services) will be unavailable for internal and external users during this period for both Production and TEM environments. This work is being tracked under Remedy Change Record CHG000000225508.
Notice from the Postal Service on Revised Provisions for Start-the-Clock: "We have worked with various stakeholders within the Postal Service and Charles Thompson and Phil Thompson to complete the attached document that describes the additional option for calculating start-the-clock in the event that mailers are not able to associate Full Service containers to FAST appointment. We do not believe there is a need to form an MTAC workgroup as the attached describes the changes the Postal Service will make in support of the additional option. At this time we do not have a date on when the change will be implemented but will get back to you once this is determined. Please keep in mind that we will not remove Full Service discounts in if mailers are not able to associate Full Service containers to appointments. The release notes for the November release posted on RIBBS reflects this approach. We are making the necessary changes to our Guides to reflect this as well. These should be posted shortly."
Advertisng Age has reported:
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: The
Office of Personnel Management's response to the study done for the Postal
Regulatory Commission by Segal regarding the overfunding of the Postal Service's
Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) obligation has been posted on the
PRC web site.
The Consumer Postal Council has
posted a new update on the move toward British postal privatization.
October 1, 2010
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
KAIT has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service plans to conduct a study at
the Batesville Customer Service Mail Processing Center for possible
consolidation of some operations into the Jonesboro Processing & Distribution
Facility (P&DF). The study, known as an Area Mail Processing (AMP) study,
involves a review of the mail processing and transportation operations to
determine capacity needs at a facility in order to increase efficiency and
improve productivity."
Catalog Biz has reported that "Direct sellers are bracing themselves for
possible postal strikes this winter as the Communications Workers Union (CWU)
vows to fight the government’s plans to privatise Royal Mail."
As
Post & Parcel put it, "The decline in mail volumes – particularly
single-piece First Class mail – could see the USPS turn into a one-way
communications system. The decline in mail volumes - particularly single-piece
First Class mail - could see the USPS turn into a one-way communications system.
That is the claim within new research published by the USPS Office of the
Inspector General yesterday, which suggests that the decline in mail volumes
from the peak in 2006 now looks likely to continue for the next 10 years."
Media Daily News has reported that "Total ad pages at the 39 weeklies and
biweeklies tracked by Media Industry Newsletter increased just over 2% to about
30,781, according to MIN Online, which posted some of the top-line data from the
newsletter. Roughly half the titles (20) have seen total ad pages increase in
the first nine months of 2010 compared to the same period last year."
According to
DM News, "The PRC decision leaves the Postal Service with tough choices on
how to proceed. It can appeal the PRC's decision to a federal appeals court or
it could file another exigent case and attempt to argue more convincingly that
the recession has caused its financial crisis. Or, it could file for
inflation-based price increases as allowed under the law. PRC staffers said the
current inflation rate would allow the USPS to ask for price increases of about
1.6%."
WBRC has reported that "A federal grand jury has charged five postal
employees and others with stealing or interfering with the U.S. mail.
As the
Washington Post noted, "The Postal Service didn't make the case, didn't make
the connection between the problems they suffered during the recession and the
revenue they were requesting," the commission's chairman, Ruth Y. Goldway, said
in an interview. The request seemed more part of the mail agency's 10-year
business plan than one prompted by an emergency, she said."
According to
Dead Tree Edition, "Postal executives today must feel as if they just lost a
round of the old children’s game called "Mother May I?". Putting it in
simplistic terms, The U.S. Postal Service said to the Postal Regulatory
Commission, “May we impose exigent (emergency) price increases to make up for
the money we lost because of the recession?” The PRC gave its unanimous answer
today: “Well, the recession does qualify as an emergency that justifies special
rate increases, but you can’t have the money because you didn’t ask properly.”
The latest
legislative update from the
National
Association of Postal Supervisors has been posted on the web.
For its part, the
Postmaster General said the following in behalf of the Postal Service, "We
are disappointed to learn that the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has denied
our price filing. But we are encouraged by their acknowledgment and
understanding of the larger financial risk we face through the mandated
prefunding of Retiree Health Benefits."
In response to the Postal Regulatory Commission's decision in the exigency case,
Sen. Thomas Carper
(D-DE) said that "The rate increase that was denied today would not have fixed
the Postal Service's problems. A number of observers argued that it could
actually have made them worse. Regardless, I hope that today's events will focus
the Postal Service, its employees, its customers, and my colleagues in Congress
on the need to take dramatic action to arrest the slide the Postal Service is
on. Even when our economy has fully recovered from this recession, the Postal
Service will still need to deal with the fact that more and more people are
turning to electronic communication to keep in touch with friends and family and
to conduct their daily business. "If we do nothing, we face a future without the
valuable services the Postal Service provides. However, if we act quickly, we
can turn things around."