October 11, 2008

PostCom has been told  that "more and more facilities are reducing their drop ship receiving hours or, as in the case of BMC Greensboro this weekend (see second email), shutting down completely due to financial considerations.  This is a troubling growing trend.  If the USPS is trying to cut costs by reducing services they will lose more volume."

October 10, 2008

 
  The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• More than 100 representatives from PostCom board member companies attended the association’s Board of Directors meeting this week where the implementation of and requirements around Intelligent Mail barcodes and Move Update compliance topics were high on the agenda. The board passed unanimous resolutions instructing PostCom to take action on behalf of its members to protect their business interests in these particularly challenging economic times.
• Postal commentator Kate Muth poses some tough questions for the mailing industry and offers a key piece of advice to the USPS.
• USPS rated one of best firms for Hispanics. Postal Service searching for strategic messaging help. Online retailers face rising shipping costs. Parcel Select markings changed. New standards for Intelligent Mail tray labels. Priority Mail commercial base pricing standards revised. New payment method for Express Mail Corporate Accounts. New firm offers service to Alaska, Hawaii.
• La Poste to save fuel by driving slowly. Spain speeds up international money order service. Royal Mail afflicted with millions of postal delivery headaches. India inaugurates electronic money orders.
• A list of upcoming postal-related events.

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Press Release: "Hispanic Business magazine has again named the U.S. Postal Service to its annual “Diversity Elite 60” list of best companies for Hispanics, the only federal agency included in the magazine’s 2008 list. The rankings are determined by more than 30 variables that measure companies’ commitment to Hispanic hiring, promotion, marketing, philanthropy and supplier diversity."

Transport Intelligence has reported that "Austrian Post has acquired 24VIP Logistics Services d.o.o., a parcel service provider in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a continuation of its expansion in Central and Eastern Europe.'

Federal Register: The Postal Regulatory Commission is noticing a recently-filed Postal Service Global Expedited Package Services 1 negotiated service agreement. This action is consistent with changes in a recent law governing postal operations. Comments are due October 14, 2008. Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing Online system at http://www.prc.gov. For further information contact: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel, 202-789-6820 and stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.

From PR Newswire: "Deutsche Post World Net has announced the appointment of Joe Phelan to the position of Chief Executive Officer of DHL Global Mail, effective October 1, 2008. Phelan was selected to lead DHL Global Mail after serving for more than two years as President & CEO of the company's Americas business division."

The Citizen has reported that "Tanzania postal services can be improved more if modern means of communication are applied, Postmaster General Deos Mndeme has said. The government needs to establish the use of mobile phones in the Post Office in order to widen those services," he further noted. The government is on the process of buying out Post Office debts so that the corporation loses weight and resumes a competitive conduct of service provision. He mentioned some of the challenges that the postal sector is facing as globalisation, liberalisation, increasing competition from new services and technologies and the Extraterritorial Offices of Exchange (ETOEs) which require solid policy and regulatory actions to address them."

The Kodiak Daily Mirror has reported that "A new and possibly cheaper shipping option is now available to Alaskans through a recently formed Colorado company called Aloha Forwarding. Aloha aims to cut down on United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx shipping costs. If an Alaskan or Hawaiian orders a product online and United States Postal Service (USPS) shipping – generally the cheapest option – is not available, the package can be sent to Aloha Forwarding in Denver, Colo. Aloha Forwarding will then forward the package to Alaska or Hawaii via the U.S. Postal Service. The company also is an option if a merchant won’t ship to Hawaii or Alaska."

According to CIO, "When it came to a major overhaul of its business operations, the company allowed leadership of the initiative to migrate from one executive to another as the project moved to different phases. In the midst of it all, Jim McDade found himself in the role of prime contractor."

The Indian Press Information Bureau has reported that the "Department of Posts has switched over to electronic transmission of Money Order from today that will make remittance much faster. Electronic Money Order would also provide more efficient and improved quality of service to customers. These will come without any extra cost to the customer. To begin with, around 2500 Post Offices all over the country have switched over to electronic transmission of money orders. Electronic Money Order would also reduce transmission of vouchers from one place to another and provide for centralized information system on the money order service. The initiative is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to make a difference in the Post Office operations and make it a window to the world for the common man."

The Standard has reported that "A study by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) projects a Sh1.4 billion growth by 2012 in the postal sector. The sector, says the report, attracted Sh806 million investments by close of last year due to increased investor confidence. The size of the postal/courier market had grown to Sh6.6 billion last year up from Sh4.1 billion in 2002 with over 130 operators licensed by the regulator. The study says stiff competition has forced players to improve delivery of services."

October 9, 2008

Today, posts around the world join with the Universal Postal Union in observing "World Postal Day."

A power struggle has erupted at boardroom level within Schweizerische Post. Quoting company sources, weekly »Sonntagszeitung« (05.10.) reported that Claude Béglé, the designated president of the administrative board, wants to assume the role of CEO, too. He has thus managed to alienate the existing management, despite officially having been in his position since 1 October only. According to the paper, Mr Béglé has entered into an open struggle for power.
Apparently, a lot more than the so far announced number of 2,500 post offices at Royal Mail are threatened with closure. This is caused by plans by the Department for Education and Employment not to extend the contract for the so-called Post Office Card Account (POCA) beyond 2010. According to media reports, the POCA is "vital" to many branches, as card holders - of which there are 4 million in Britain - can only use their card at post offices and not with other banks or retailers.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has ruled out privatisation of La Poste.
Swiss publishing houses NZZ and Tamedia announced that they would turn to Schweizerische Post for early morning delivery of their publications in future.
China’s State Council discussed and approved the 10th draft for a new postal act, which had been presented in the summer (CEP News 26/08). Chaired by Prime Minister Jiabao Wen, the State Council was also said to have decided to put the draft before the Standing Committee of China’s legislative body, the National People’s Congress. Details of the new draft have not yet been revealed.
The banking crisis in Europe is now clearly affecting the postal market.
Market observers are convinced that FedEx is suffering losses from its Chinese domestic operations.
In the Chinese express market persistent rumour claims that DHL Sinotrans is preparing to take over STO Express.
The economic depression could slow down 2009 growth rates in the Austrian parcel market considerably.
TNT, which became market leader in Brazil following the takeover of Mercurio last year (CEP News 02/07), intends to introduce a new express product linking the biggest South American market with its neighbours Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
The Finnish post Itella will be using the automated parcel terminals installed by SmartPost in Estonia in future.
The ailing US economy is now hitting FedEx workers, too. The integrator has laid off 200 employees - 100 of them in Texas alone - prematurely. All the lost jobs are within the FedEx Office division, which intends to close 20 of its 2,000 branches in the USA. In addition, 17 international branches will be closing, thus wiping out nearly all FedEx Office locations in the Netherlands, Australia and Mexico.
The Postal Corporation of Kenya intends to automate almost half of its branches in a bid to increase efficiency and communication between post offices.
March next year will show a reshuffle at Deutsche Post´s head of corporate communications.

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.)

Union Network International has reported that "US postal workers are being encouraged to give the US Postal Services marketing department, new leads to business in a cooperative effort to try and boost postal revenues. Workers who know their jobs depend on high volumes of mail are being encouraged to "submit a lead" to the USPS marketing department when they encounter potential customers in their daily lives. If for example they are ordering some goods on the Internet and they don't have an option to choose that the goods are delivered by the USPS, they are encouraged to pass on that "lead" to the marketing department to follow up and see if it will generate more postal business. One of UNI's US affiliates, the NPMHU, has joined with the USPS in rolling out a programme to their members to be part of the "Submit A Lead" campaign to help the USPS boost revenues in the very difficult economic environment."

The Jamaica Gleaner has reported that "Brian Goldson, chairman of the Postal Corporation of Jamaica, says despite the introduction of the BlackBerry and email, the postman remains a relevant and essential link in the communications chain. Speaking yesterday during the Postman's Award presentation, in recognition of World Post Week at the Central Sorting Office on South Camp Road in Kingston, Goldson said the postman and the Jamaica Postal service can never be replaced."

The Western Mail has reported that "the number of badly addressed letters and packets handled by the Royal Mail is set to reach 25 million since the start of the year. Around 600,000 items of mail are so badly addressed or packaged every week that they cannot be delivered, with thousands just having a name with no address. Undeliverable mail is sent to a special centre in Belfast, where “letter detectives” try to identify the correct recipient and forward the items on. John McAleer, head of the National Return Letter Centre, said: “In the majority of cases the item will have been incompletely addressed or not at all."

Reuters has reported that "High fuel costs and uncertainty over the U.S. economy's outlook are among the top concerns of logistics and U.S. trucking companies, according to two surveys."

October 7, 2008

According to Media Buyer Planner, "Magazine publishers face a disheartening array of challenges in the coming year - that has been the consensus so far of executives at the American Magazine Conference taking place this week in San Francisco. The current financial crisis is certain to have an impact on ad budgets, magazines are facing postal and paper cost increases, and newsstand sales are uncertain as stores limit checkout and mainline display space and consumers reduce spending, writes Mediaweek."

Press Release: "As part of its continued commitment to sustainable business practices, UPS has announced its participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leaders program. UPS is the first shipping company to join the program."

Tlačová agentúra Slovenskej republiky has reported that "The decision of the European Commission (EC) on Tuesday that Slovakia must re-open its market in the field of hybrid post services is a great disappointment for the Slovak Post Office, Slovak Post said later that day in its reaction. The whole case is, according to the Slovak Post spokesman Juraj Danielis, the result of a series of unfortunate developments."

Press Release: "FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. and the world’s largest express transportation company, announced today the start of operations for FedEx Express Nacional, a domestic overnight service in Mexico, and the opening of the Toluca Hub Multiplex, its new center of operations for domestic shipments. The service covers all 32 Mexican states with the support of two new centers of operations in Toluca (Multiplex) and San Luis Potosi, the latter to open in early 2009.

Press Release: "For leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from its freight operations, commercial printer Quad/Graphics has received its third consecutive Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWaySM Transport Partnership."

Professional Pensions has reported that "A review into the structure of the postal industry will determine the future of the Royal Mail Pension Scheme, the Communication Workers Union says."

The Liverpool Echo has reported that "Union representatives stepped in to stop a strike by engineers at Liverpool’s Copperas Hill sorting office."

Federal Register: The Postal Regulatory Commission is noticing a recently-filed Postal Service request to add Priority Mail Contract 1 to the Competitive Product List. The Postal Service has also filed a related contract. The notice addresses procedural steps associated with these filings. Comments are due October 9, 2008. Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing Online system at http://www.prc.gov. For further information contact: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel, 202-789-6820 and stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.

The Armenian News Network has reported that "New advanced postal services are to be introduced in Armenia, the country's Premier Tigran Sargsyan said at the opening of the second Armenian Technology Congress (ArmTech). These services will be accessible in every village of the country, he said."

According to Baltic Business News, the "Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs has shortlisted five state enterprises for partial privatization. The five are port landlord Port of Tallinn, power company Eesti Energia, postal company Eesti Post, Tallinn Airport and Estonian Railways’ freight business.

The Guardian has reported that "European Union antitrust regulators ordered Slovakia on Tuesday to reopen competition in its postal sector, ruling that recent legal changes violated EU rules on dominant market positions, the EU executive said."

Direct magazine has reported that "Direct marketers are making deep cuts in their hiring plans for the remainder of 2008, according to a survey by Bernhart Associates. According to the survey, 31% of companies responding said they plan to add to headcount during the fourth quarter, down sharply from 47% last quarter. Hiring freezes spiked to 34%, compared with 20% during the summer. The percentage of companies planning layoffs rose to 17%, also a new high for the survey and up from 12% last quarter. “Every one of our major employment indicators showed significant declines compared with summer and now stand at their lowest levels since the survey began eight years ago.” said Jerry Bernhart, owner of the Owatonna, WI search firm."

Moneynews.com has reported that "FedEx CEO Fred Smith says the economy is stronger than most people realize, and that mountains of cash is "on the sidelines" in emerging markets, waiting to be invested. Asked in an interview what it would take to turn around the U.S. economy as the credit crisis unfolds, Smith, who founded the global freight carrier, said things in the real economy are not that bad."

Wisconsin Radio has reported that "Milwaukee is now the first city in the nation to have safe havens for postal carriers. A series of violent incidents has prompted officials to launch a three-month pilot program starting Monday on the city's south side. Carriers who get hurt or threatened can flee to specially marked home or a business. Since April, five mail carriers have almost been caught in gunfire. Other workers have gotten pelted with sticks and rocks and one was even punched in the face."

October 6, 2008

The Allentown Morning Call is warning of yet another online scam that mimics emails coming from one of the express carriers.

Traffic World has reported that "DHL Express is cutting back its U.S. operations more deeply than earlier announced as it copes with a troubled American economy. DHL also says it is speeding up the cutbacks it had been planning, putting its cost-saving efforts on a more urgent track and prompting suggestions from some industry observers that even greater cuts in DHL's presence in the United States are on the way." See also Journal of Commerce.

According to The Telegraph, "MPs are expected to join engineering workers who maintain Royal Mail sites across the country in a protest outside Parliament today."

The Guardian has reported that "Royal Mail is spending £9m on its first brand campaign in three years in a bid to get UK businesses to use its services despite the economic downturn. The ad campaign, which breaks tonight, will tell businesses that they can achieve growth by linking up with Royal Mail. Royal Mail's ad, "Grow", features a mixture of stop-frame animation, live action and CGI techniques to tell the stories of five different businesses growing."

The Press has reported that "Royal Mail intends to stop processing second class post in York – sparking fears for the long-term future of the city’s sorting office and more than 350 jobs."

The Liverpool Echo has reported that "Liverpool’s Copperas Hill sorting centre was at near standstill today after Royal Mail engineers mounted a picket line. They said the day-long walk-out was a protest against changes to their working contracts. Postal sorting workers belonging to the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which includes the engineers, refused to cross the picket line." See also Channel 4 News, the BBC, and The Press Association.

Zawya has reported that "Motorola, Inc technology was evaluated by Qatar Post as part of a wider initiative to measure the quality of postal services throughout the Middle East. Motorola radio frequency identification (RFID) readers and other technology suppliers, were part of the trial in a joint project with Emirates Post and Saudi Post."

The Jamaica Observer has reported that "Jamaica's Postal Service is being affected by the financial meltdown in the United States as Jamaicans there cut back on sending parcels to the island, according to Postmaster General Michael Gentles."

Nation News has reported that "Barbadians have been told not to undervalue the Postal Service which has given substantial and valuable contributions to our society over the past 156 years." See also the Barbados Advocate.

According to Hellmail, "There are growing fears that the contract for the card account, currently held by the Post Office and used by many in the UK to recieve benefit, state pensions and tax credit payments, could be awarded to Paypoint, and force a bigger wave of post office closures than the existing 2,500 already being shut down across the UK." See also The Telegraph.

According to one writer for the New York Times, "America’s financial landscape is changing before our eyes. The absorption of major Wall Street investment banks by commercial banks threatens to create colossal universal banks that are too big to fail and might need to be bailed out in the future. Meanwhile, the structure of public and private finance in the United States chronically fails to address four problems: the almost 10 percent of Americans without a bank account; the concerns of all Americans about the security of their savings; the growing indebtedness of the country to foreign governments and financial institutions; and underinvestment in public assets like sewer systems and bridges. These four problems may seem unrelated. But they can be addressed in the United States, as they have been in similar countries, by a single institution that is at once new and old: the postal savings bank."

October 5, 2008

Bangladesh News 24 has reported that "The cabinet Sunday gave the go-ahead to plans for private postal operators to be regulated by law, a government spokesman said. "Certain sections of the 1889 Post Office Act are being amended to bring the private postal operators under the law," press secretary Syed Fahim Munaim said. "Immediately after vetting by the law ministry the proposed ordinance will be presented before the cabinet again for final approval."

From Europa: "A Speech by European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Charles McGreevy on the new Postal Directive. The Postcomm Forum – What next for the postal market?

Air Cargo World has reported that:

Addressing the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, DHL CEO John Mullen cited constraints on foreign investment in U.S. airlines as a reason for the express operator's $3 billion losses since 2003. Currently, U.S. law limits foreign ownership of American air carriers to a 49% equity interest and a 25% voting interest and with DHL losing $5 million a day Mullen said the situation had become "unsustainable." In an attempt to integrate the unusual structure of DHL - U.S. ownership of the domestic lift and foreign control of the international operations - Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) acquired DHL International in 2002 and Airborne Express in 2003. In order to comply with U.S. law, DHL was then required to divest itself of Airborne's air operations (ABX), leaving DHL Express to operate ground operations only in the U.S.

Is theRussian market destined to become one of the bright spots in air cargo over the coming year or two? Certainly at a time when even such growth engines as China and India are showing signs of faltering, the 31.6 percent rise in air cargo traffic (measured in freight tonne kilometres) recorded by Russian official statistics in the five months to May looks enticing. Fuelled by the high oil price, Russia's GDP also grew at 8.5 percent over the period.

The Akron Beacon Journal has reported that "Powerful political leaders are trying to block United Parcel Service from providing air cargo services for its rival DHL. These opponents, who fear the loss of jobs and competition, have spurred two congressional hearings and secured the support of both presidential candidates. Still, the UPS-DHL agreement, announced in May, remains on track to close this year. Atlanta-based UPS' giant's deftness at deflecting criticism highlights its clout on Capitol Hill, where it has long-standing relationships."

Stars and Stripes has reported that "Predictions that the Internet would spell the end of the U.S. Postal Service are being proved wrong every day in American military communities abroad. It might be true that e-mail has cut down on personal letters, military postal officials say, but online purchases have more than made up for that. Especially when it comes to volume. The U.S. military delivered 225 million pounds of mail overseas in fiscal year 2006 — setting a record."

October 4, 2008

The Morning Sun has reported that "According to Richard Watkins, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service's Mid-America district, the change in mail processing is a way of utilizing the "state-of-the-art mail process" system in Kansas City."

 
The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

• A new Congressional Research Service report gives members of Congress a taste of the potential effects of state Do Not Mail initiatives and the possible issues these initiatives raise for the federal government. The study says the national impact of state Do Not Mail legislation would concern lawmakers at all levels.
• A new study provides valuable new data on mail, its impact on the environment, and source material about groups promoting Do Not Mail initiatives. The SLS Consulting report entitled “Informing the Dialogue: Facts About Mail and the Environment,” includes a treasure trove of supporting documents and provides a wide range of information about disposal, waste centers and recycling. It also provides links to websites for more information.
• In a letter to the Postal Service Board of Governors and the Postal Regulatory Commission, members of the Mailing Industry CEO Council encouraged broad-based adoption of the full-service Intelligent Mail barcode by providing a meaningful price incentive. The CEOs say the action will enable the USPS to better manage its costs, improve network efficiency, and enhance the value of mail through improved service performance and new value-added services.
• The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 gives the USPS strong pricing flexibility and other tools that can help insure its survival through tough economic times. The Postal Service now must choose how to use these tools to initiate broad pricing initiatives and niche or market test filings to satisfy its customers.
• A requirement to fund postal retiree health-related obligations contained in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 is causing the lion’s share of the Postal Service’s current financial woes. Congress, in the PAEA, required the Postal Service to make an amortized annual payment of $5 billion to fund these obligations. Now postal leaders and postal users)are discovering the challenge of determining how to pay this enormous bill without bankrupting the USPS. Postal commentator Gene Del Polito believes the USPS Board of Governors, who are vested with the responsibility for guiding the nation’s postal system, should ask Congress for some relief from this enormous burden.
• In a recent message to members, American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus lays out some details of the USPS current financial crisis and the very-real prospect of layoffs of Postal Service employees. He says “the 2008 deficit is not the largest the USPS has ever suffered, but for the first time in postal history, the losses cannot be recovered by postage rate increases.” The APWU chief also tells his members, “This election is about your future as a postal employee. It’s about your job,” as he urges postal employees to choose wisely when they cast their ballots for U.S. president next month.
• Postal commentator Alan Robinson adds his views to APWU President William Burrus message about the Postal Service’s bleak financial situation.
• Postal Service CFO Glen Walker gave the Board of Governors an incomplete picture of the USPS’ current and near-term financial status last week. But postal commentator Alan Robinson says the postal community needs more information, a need he will try to satisfy by examining the revenue figures in more detail.
• USPS releases Vision 2013; strategic plan highlights customer needs. PMG Potter kicks off year-long USPS energy conservation campaign. McGowan nominated to be USPS Governor; will replace Chairman Kessler. Senate approves Goldway reappointment. Carper air transportation bill passes Senate. GAO: Postal Service must increase efficiency, reduce expenses in mail processing network.
• Canada Post workers protest labor offer, begin strike vote. Germany revokes Deutsche Post tax exemption.
• A list of upcoming postal-related events.

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