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March 26, 2009
Some questions and thoughts from the editor:
- In America today, mail is predominantly a commercial medium. It's
chief role in society today is to serve commerce.
- Advertising and marketing are key commercial activities that have a
long relationship with the mail.
- Where is advertising and marketing going today? How is advertising
and marketing evolving in today's economic environment?
- What is the role of mail in the development of commercial markets?
- What must be done to enhance the value and utility of mail as a
medium for commercial development?
- Are the programs and activities undertaken today by the Postal
Service designed to facilitate or frustrate economic development and
commerce?
- What does the Postal Service need to do in terms of products and
services to ensure that mail fulfills its role as an engine of commerce?
 [Editor's Note:
On March 24, we published an article by Lowrance and Del
Polito regarding the projections of postal volume and revenue, and the USPS'
ability to withstand losses. Quite obviously, that article was based on
Postal Service mail volumes and revenues as they either were known or were
projected to be at the time of writing. Given the Postal Service's revised mail
volume estimate of an FY 2009 anticipated mail volume loss
of 30 billion pieces, the conclusions expressed by the authors must
change. In a way...all bets are off. Now it's up to Congress. If Congress fails
to act on the Postal Service's retiree health benefit funding request, the USPS
will go the way of the gooney bird.]
The
Washington Times has reported that "Postmaster
General John E. Potter on Wednesday defended his receipt of $135,000 in
bonuses while asking a House subcommittee for approval to refinance employee
health care benefits to prevent having to cut mail services. The chairwoman of
the board of governors defended the compensation package as fair, particularly
compared with private-sector competitors.:
The
Financial Times has told its readers to "Look at
UPS and
FedEx.
History has dealt America’s two main delivery companies very different levels of
unionisation among staff. UPS, with an origin in logistics, is the largest
single employer of Teamsters, the union with which it collectively bargains
every six years. FedEx, on the other hand, started life as an airline and so is
covered by rules designed to limit railroad strikes. The bulk of its delivery
van drivers are contractors, not full-time employees."
From
PR Newswire: "Letter Carriers union President William H. Young told a House
hearing today that the survival of the U.S. Postal Service, endangered by the
greed and recklessness of financial firms and Wall Street, could depend on
whether Congress enacts bipartisan legislation that would save the Postal
Service billions of dollars in how it funds health benefits for retirees. "We
are not here today to ask for a taxpayer bailout, but we are here to ask the
Congress for help," Young said in testimony to the House Subcommittee on Federal
Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia. "At this moment, the
survival of the Postal Service -- a venerable institution that is literally
older than our country -- hangs in the balance," Young said. "The Great
Recession we face today threatens to destroy the most trusted and universal
connection most Americans have with their national government."
As the
Washington Post put it, "If the U.S. Postal Service delivered mail by boat,
it would be a sinking ship. A large hole in the hull, punched by a huge iceberg
named Recession, is draining mail volume while it allows financial losses to
flow in and drown the service in a financial swamp. The Postal Service is in
dreadful shape and needs quick help from Congress to continue delivering the
mail."
According to
GovExec.com, "The roster of new federal pay and benefits decision-makers is
lining up in the executive and legislative branches. The current leaders in the
administration and Congress who will craft policies affecting the federal
workforce are strong defenders of traditional employee benefits, as might be
expected from a Democratic-controlled government. They have fought to preserve
cost-of-living pay increases, opposed what they deemed to be unfair
pay-for-performance systems, and worked to keep federal workers' health care
costs low. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., , the federal workforce subcommittee's
new chairman, also has touted his federal pay and benefit credentials since
assuming a leadership role. He also has long personal experience with federal
employee policies -- 17 members of his family work for the government, mostly
for the U.S. Postal Service."
 According to the
Globe and Mail, "When it comes to their importance, there's so much more to
small cultural magazines than their circulation. The value of cultural magazines
shouldn't be calculated solely on the basis of circulation, nor should their
funding. These magazines provide an essential service to the nation as
incubators of creative innovation."
The
Memphis Business Journal has reported that "The
International Brotherhood of Teamsters said late Wednesday
FedEx Corp. intends to “blackmail Congress” by threatening to cancel a
multi-billion dollar airplane contract order if its FedEx Express workers are
allowed an easier path to unionization."
FedEx Express, a
subsidiary of FedEx Corp.has announced the expansion of its FedEx World Service
Centers® (WSCs) with the opening of four new centers in Mexico City. The new
FedEx WSCs , located at Insurgentes Sur Avenue, Polanco, Vallejo Road and
Patriotismo Avenue, respond to the demands of FedEx Express Nacional, the
Company’s new domestic express service that serves all 32 Mexican states.
On the
Postal Regulatory Commission website:
- Rule: ACR2008 Order No. 196 - Order
Concerning Motion to Make Core Cost, Volume, and Revenue Materials Public
Link:
http://www.prc.gov/docs/62/62766/Order196.pdf
-
Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Dan G. Blair underscored the need
for further cost reduction measures by the Postal Service at yesterday's
today before the House subcommittee which oversees the Postal Service. Blair
told Subcommittee Chairman Stephen F. Lynch and subcommittee members,
“Today, the Postal Service is facing dire financial difficulties that are
likely to worsen before they improve. The current economic crisis has
substantially impacted Postal Service volumes and revenues.”
The
Associated Press has published a report on yesterday's postal oversight
hearing. See also
GovExec.com.
 The
Mailers Technical Advisory Committee has formed a work group designed to
"Facilitate mail volume growth by identifying regulations or requirements that
add no postal and/or customer value hence hindering mail growth and proposing
modifications or elimination of those barriers as practical."
It hopes for outcomes such as: 1. Allow for greater flexibility in such
things as mailpiece shape, graphics, postage payment and permit formats.
2. Allow marketers more creative options for producing direct mail pieces that
stand out in the mailbox, increase response rates and can be processed
efficiently. 3. Reduce the barriers to entry and costs of preparing mailings by
simplifying or eliminating obsolete or restrictive make up and entry rules that
add no postal or customer value. 4. Consider new rate categories for mailers who
may value creative flexibility and ease of preparation over the lowest postage
rates. 5. Remove barriers that may discourage the use of mail as an advertising
channel for new business." Anyone interested in participating should contact:
Wande Senne, Workgroup Leader.
March 25, 2009
On the
Postal Regulatory Commission web site:
Rule: Daily listing
MC2005-2 Docket No. MC2005-2, Data Collection
Report for HSBC NSA, Jan. 2008 - Dec. 2008
Link:
http://www.prc.gov/docs/62/62763/HSBC.EOY.Report.08.Complete.pdf
http://www.prc.gov/docs/62/62763/HSBC.EOY.08.Appendix.xls
Testimony
of Chairman Dan G. Blair on "Restoring the Financial Stability of the U.S.
Postal Service: What Needs to be Done?" before the House Subcommittee on the
Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia
Link:
http://www.prc.gov/docs/62/62764/House%20Hearing%20March%202009%20th.pdf
 From today's
postal oversight hearing in the House: Documents and Links
The PMG got the expected questions regarding his compensation and his
Countrywide home loan, but the real meat of the congressional questions had to
do with the Postal Service's financial plight and its operational realities. The
PMG told Congress that the key is mail volume. The USPS needs to grow mail
volume, but there needs to be an understanding that not all the mail will come
back. The most critical thing the USPS faces is that it will run out of money.
The question then becomes who doesn't get paid. The structural aspects of the
business need to be explored and rectified. He said he believed the USPS could
be a self-sustaining enterprise for years to come, but not under the present
business model. See also the
USPS
Press Release on today's hearing and an accompanying "Fact
Sheet."
Hellmail has reported that:
-
The
UK postal regulator, Postcomm, today announced that it has begun an
investigation into the way Royal Mail prices access and retail packets
services for business users. The Mail Competition Forum and TNT Post Group
complained to Postcomm, in January and May 2008 that Royal Mail was creating
a margin squeeze for some 2nd class packets services. Postcomm is to examine
the margin allowed between the retail and access prices between 0-2kgs,
whether it is sufficient for other operators to be able to access Royal
Mail’s wholesale network profitably, and whether they are able to compete in
the retail market. It will also look at the allegedly unfair differential
pricing structures which exist between some Royal Mail retail and wholesale
packets services.
-
Belgian postal operator La Poste says it is committed to limiting to the
maximum the impact of its activities on the environment. The company has
announced its objectives aimed at reducing its emissions of CO2 by 35%
before 2012. Already on track to improve its carbon footprint it anticipates
a decrease in consumption of energy over the 2005-2012 period of at least
7.5%. In addition, La Poste has decided to only use recycled paper or paper
from managed forests.
- Turnover at
Swiss Post International was slightly lower in 2008 compared with 2007
as a result of exchange rates. Overall, turnover came to EUR 652 m, which
was EUR 45 m less than in 2007. By contrast, profit at Swiss Post
International went up by EUR 2 m to EUR 23 m (2007: EUR 21 m).
The
Future of Freedom
Foundation wants to know: "The U.S. Postal Service has announced that
another in its endless series of rate increases will take effect in May. The
announcement raises a question that unfortunately too few Americans ever ask
themselves: Why not simply abolish the Postal Service or at least repeal its
monopoly on first-class mail delivery? The Postal Service says that its monopoly
is necessary because without it, it claims, people in the mountains would be
unable to get their mail. The rationale is spurious, however. After all, people
in the mountains get their milk, bread, and other essential items without
monopoly privileges being granted in those enterprises. Similarly, people in the
mountains would figure out how to get their mail delivered as well. The U.S.
Postal Service’s monopoly is an anachronism, one that not only provides a
shoddy, expensive product but also one that violates America’s heritage of
economic liberty. America’s postal monopoly deserves immediate repeal."
According to
The Nation, "Communities across America are suffering through a crisis that
could leave a dramatically diminished version of democracy in its wake. It is
not the economic meltdown, although the crisis is related to the broader day of
reckoning that appears to have arrived. The crisis of which we speak involves
more than mere economics. Journalism is collapsing, and with it comes the most
serious threat in our lifetimes to self-government and the rule of law as it has
been understood here in the United States. After years of neglecting signs of
trouble, elite opinion-makers have begun in recent months to recognize that
things have gone horribly awry. Journals ranging from Time, The New Yorker, The
Atlantic and The New Republic to the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times
concur on the diagnosis: newspapers, as we have known them, are disintegrating
and are possibly on the verge of extinction. In a nutshell, media corporations,
after running journalism into the ground, have determined that news gathering
and reporting are not profit-making propositions. So they're jumping ship."
PostCom has
learned that postal staff at headquarters have been told it would be a good idea
if they "spiffed up" their resumes. An ax could fall on more than a few heads.
"The United States
Postal Service is planning to cut thousands of management jobs in the face of a
$6 billion budget deficit. The agency will also offer early retirement to
150,000 workers and close six district offices. William Young, president of The
National Association of Letter Carriers, tells
FederalNewsRadio that USPS employees are just the latest victims of the
economic crisis. "Nothing we did, nothing the postal service did and nothing the
postal industry did caused this crisis," he says. "We're a victim just like
everybody else in the country right now, and we're just doing the best we can to
see this thing through."
 CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Johnny Thijs, CEO
of Belgium’s La Poste, presented some good business results for his company at a
press conference last Thursday. 2008 saw a 2.2% increase in turnover (2.26bn
euros) as well as a net profit growth of 53% to 179m euros for La Poste. "We
were able to reestablish the financial equilibrium again after heavy losses in
2002 and 2003. Although this situation remains fragile, the positive
profitability trend enhances the position and prospect of La Poste", Mr Thijs
optimistically declared.
 The Russian post
intends to increase its turnover by almost 5% this year and - more importantly -
remain in the black. In an interview with Russian businessoriented newspaper
»Kommersant« (19.03) the post’s new general director Alexander Kiselyov stated
this aim as well as the ambition to "turn the post into one of Russia’s most
profitable state-owned companies". When it comes to modernising the post,
emphasis must be on developing the postal infrastructure, setting up an aircraft
fleet, developing express services and using "aggressive marketing", said Mr
Kiselyov.
The U.S.
Postal Service has announced another round of cost cutting measures in a bid to
get out of the red.
 France’s La Poste
confirmed the takeover of the Romanian Hit Mail this Monday. The purchase was
made through the subsidiary company MediaPost. Hit Mail consists of 5 companies
with 550 employees, and generated a turnover of 7.8m euros last year. The
company specialises in advertising mail in Romania.
 Posten på Åland
enjoyed a successful financial year in 2008.
 Still in dire
financial straits, Latvijas Pasts now demands that business customers make a
monthly advance payment for mail deliveries.
 Last year
Liechtensteinische Post AG crossed the 50m CHF - 32.7m euros - turnover
threshold for the first time.
 Australia Post wants
to make its international "Click and send" mail service popular among smaller
enterprises. The service allows customers to prepare the documentation required
for their international consignments online and then click to choose the
dispatch mode (collection by the post or drop-off at the post office) and
payment method.
 Representatives of
the Finnish and Norwegian post companies have voiced criticism over the planned
merger between Post Danmark and Sweden’s Posten AB.
Posten Norge could
be ordered to pay a fine of several million euros as well as making compensation
payments for breaching competition laws.
The global economic
situation has affected FedEx much more deeply than expected.
 UPS is currently
negotiating with Slovenian Intereuropa regarding the purchase of the logistics
operator’s international parcel division.
GeoPost, the parcel
express subsidiary company of the French La Poste, managed to increase its
turnover - primarily through acquisitions - by 7.1 per cent to almost 3.3bn
euros in 2008.
ABX Air and DHL
have reached a settlement in their dispute concerning an alleged breach of
contract.
 As part
of a global campaign by governments against price fixing in the air cargo
industry, Japanese carriers have now been asked to pay up. Japan’s competition
authority has found 12 leading carriers guilty of forming a cartel with the aim
of raising air cargo prices.
 TNT has
announced an intensive cooperation with the Mexican CEP service Redpack.
Online shopping is
popular in Finland, too.
 DHL Supply Chain in
Spain is offering buildings worth 15m euros for sale in order to absorb the
decline in logistics activities.
The Eerste
Kamer of the Dutch Parliament approved the new Postal Act this Tuesday. This
means that the postal market in the Netherlands can be opened up completely on 1
April 2009.
Poste Italiane turned over more and earned more money in 2008.
 Despite a
decline in business triggered by the financial crisis, the South African post
will still show a profit for last year.
 The Greek post ELTA
has put the third of its new, more modern mail centres into operation in Patras.
During the
presentation of the annual results, Johnny Thijs, CEO of the Belgian La Poste,
confirmed his interest in a stake in Tachimetafores ELTA, the express subsidiary
company of the Greek post ELTA.
 The introduction of
a new air connection by China Post has accelerated postal communication.
Lufthansa Cargo is
expecting business to weaken considerably during 2009 due to the economic
crisis.
TNT Post is set to open at least 150 post shops in the Albert Heijn chain of
supermarkets in the Netherlands in the next few years.
In Sverdlovsk an
investigation is underway into an incident involving the Russian post and the
WEFK-Ural bank. At the beginning of the year, the sum of 1bn RUB (21m euros)
vanished from an account at the post’s Sverdlovsk branch. The money had been
earmarked for pensions. Investigating a case of serious fraud, the public
prosecution stated that the pension fund had sent the amount via the WEFK-Ural
bank to the Russian post, where it vanished without a trace. The prosecutors
further stated that the bank had experienced financial difficulties for some
time and had filed for bankruptcy in February this year.
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.)
 Welcome
to PostCom Radio
PostCom Postal Podcast
Join PostCom President Gene Del Polito, PostCom Vice President
Jessica Lowrance, and USPS Senior Vice President of Operations
William Galligan in a discussion of the
Postal Service's plans to reorganize its mail processing and
distribution network. |
Politics.co.uk has
reported that "in a question to Pat McFadden, Minister of State for Employment Relations and
Postal Affairs, James expressed concern about Clause 20 of the Postal Services
Bill, which would allow the Government to take both Royal Mail’s assets and
deficits onto the same balance sheet.The most recent estimates put the Royal Mail pension deficit at £5.9 billion.
By assuming liability for the pension scheme the Government is pledging to
remove the deficit, through an injection of public money. The scheme also has
£23.5 billion in assets, James is therefore concerned, that should these two
funds be merged and spent in the same year, the public will have to bail out the
full pension scheme of nearly £30 billion.
From
USPS LiteBlue: "The Postal Service recently received approval from the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to offer voluntary early retirement to
eligible employees nationwide. Automation and technological advances coupled
with mail volume reductions has the Postal Service continuing to look for ways
to voluntarily reduce its workforce while maintaining excellent customer
service. This offer is open to employees in those positions who meet the OPM
conditions, and who are at least 50 years of age with 20 years of creditable
federal service or any age with 25 years of creditable federal service."
The
Tallahassee Democrat has reported that "A caldron of frustration is brewing
in the Oak Ridge community. After nearly six months' worth of phone calls and
complaints to the U.S. Postal Service, residents are still having trouble
securing their mail. "It's ridiculous," Sheila Clayton said. "Mail is
misdirected regularly, and it's getting out of hand." Clayton, 54, is one of
several residents in the area who say that their mail has not been delivered or
has gone missing."
Tax-exempt status for newspapers? Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code, the provision that confers tax-exempt status to educational and religious
groups, would be expanded to newspapers under legislation introduced by Maryland
Sen. Ben Cardin
to stem the newspaper publishing industry's march to financial failure.
[EdNote: Great....Now let's see what Congress will do for its postal system.]
The
March 25, 2009 issue of the
National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) Legislative & Regulatory
Update has been posted on this site. Topics: (1) USPS to Face Tough
Questions from Congress; (2) NAPS Leaders Prepare to Take the Hill.
According to
Hellmail:
- The
Poste Italiane Group, led by Massimo Sarmi, announced a positive
operating performance for the seventh consecutive FY, recording Net Profit
of € 882.6 million, up 4.6% (€ 843.6 million in 2007), and Operating Profit
of € 1.5 billion (1.78 in 2007). Total Revenue of € 17.9 billion, up 3.9%:
in particular, results for the FY showed financial and insurance services
holding up well (+ 2% and +7.7% respectively), with a small drop of 0.8% in
correspondence.
-
Swiss Post will be lowering some of its letter prices and simplifying
its range as of 1 July 2009. This was the agreement reached between Swiss
Post and the price supervisor. The agreement includes price advantages of
around 200 million Swiss francs per year. Consumers and the economy will
benefit as a result. The main measures involve making all letters subject to
VAT and thus introducing a comprehensive price reduction for most business
customers.
From
PR
Newswire: "Thanks to ChildFund Sweden (Barnfonden) and Posten (the Swedish
postal service) children are able to connect with one another through the
program, Post Pals. Post Pals is a classroom-based pen pal program that matches
classrooms in Sweden with children in Christian Children's Fund-supported
classes in The Gambia, Ethiopia, India, Philippines, Uganda and Zambia. But
going beyond mere letter writing, the program also encourages the cultural
exchange and enhancement of classrooms for children ages 8-12 through
curriculum-based assignments. From an academic program perspective, Post Pals
improves reading, writing, analytical and self-expression skills. Because it's
integrated into the classroom, it infuses excitement and creativity with
learning. But for these children, Post Pals allows the chance for expression;
the chance to share their own voice and perspective in exciting new ways. The
joy they find in art, writing, photography and song now holds even more meaning.
Not only are they learning, they are becoming increasingly confident."
[EdNote: OMG U hv 2 rt? BumR]
According to the
PostalNews Blog, "Figures released by the US Postal Service show that the
organization spent $78.4 million on relocating employees in the fiscal year that
ended September 30, 2008. Of that, almost half, or $37.9 million went to
“Residence Purchase and/or Sale/Lease”. The USPS home purchase program for
relocated employees has been a subject of controversy since it was revealed that
the
USPS had spent $1.2 million to purchase the home of a South Carolina
postmaster who had taken a voluntary lateral transfer to a position in Texas.
Just under $15 million of the home purchase funds money went to Headquarters and
Area staff, which account for less than four thousand of the postal service’s
632,000 career employees. A similar amount went to postmasters and supervisors,
who make up a much larger share, about 54,000 employees, of the workforce.
Employees of the Inspection Service and the Office of the Inspector General,
about 3,900 total staff. got $3.4 million in home purchase benefits, down from
almost $7 million the prior year. Home purchase benefits for clerks, carriers
and mail handlers came to just over three hundred thousand dollars."
U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member of the Senate
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today sent a letter to John E.
Potter, the Postmaster General of the United States, urging him to consider the
impact on small businesses of reducing the United States Postal Service’s (USPS)
delivery week from six days to five. Snowe cited the potential negative
consequences such an action could have on America’s roughly 27.2 million small
businesses.
Federal News Radio
has posted on its site an interview with USPS Deputy Postmaster General Patrick
Donahoe.
The
Daily Mail has reported that "The Government will not support any further
post office closures programme, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said today. He
told peers: 'The closures of the past year were difficult but they were
necessary. 'And I can say this afternoon to noble Lords that the Government have
no intention of supporting any further programme of post office closures.'"
The
Journal of Commerce has reported
that "FedEx is holding billions of dollars worth of business – and jobs – over
the heads of Congress and the Obama administration by conditioning future
aircraft purchases on keeping its parcel drivers away from the National Labor
Relations Act. The express carrier notes in its March 22 quarterly earnings
report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that an option
exercised in January to purchase 30 Boeing 777 aircraft is contingent on “there
being no event that causes FedEx Express or its employees not to be covered by
the Railway Labor Act.” FedEx also holds an option to purchase another fifteen
777s from Boeing. The condition puts pressure on lawmakers to withdraw language
currently in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill requiring
FedEx Express workers to be covered under the more union-friendly National Labor
Relations Act."
March 24, 2009
On
the Postal Regulatory Commission web site:
DMM
Advisory:
May
11 Pricing Change — New Postage Statements.
The USPS has
posted new postage statements on its forms page
on the USPS web site (usps.com/forms)
to support the May 11 pricing change.
Deutsche Post DHL has said that it "welcomes the announcement by the Dutch
government to fully open up the Dutch mail market on 1 April 2009. Deutsche Post
DHL has been operating in the Dutch mail market for a number of years through
its subsidiaries DHL Global Mail and Selekt Mail and is one of the leading mail
service providers operating there today."
As
Hellmail has noted, "With the government about to take on the Royal Mail
pension deficit as part of its Postal Reforms bill, the reality that public
sector pension schemes are becoming too costly, is starting to hit home. Just
how long can the country cover the cost of public-sector pension schemes?"
Yahoo! has noted that
"On March 19, 2009, United Parcel Service, Inc. entered into an agreement with
Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. to sell and the
Underwriters agreed to purchase from UPS, subject to and upon the terms and
conditions set forth in the Underwriting Agreement, $1,000,000,000 aggregate
principal amount of 3.875% Senior Notes due April 1, 2014, and $1,000,000,000
aggregate principal amount of 5.125% Senior Notes due April 1, 2019 (the
"Transaction"). The Company is filing this Current Report on Form 8-K so as to
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission certain items related to the
Transaction."
According to
Dow Jones,
"Banque Postale said Tuesday its net profit for the full year of 2008 dropped
44% to EUR302.6 million from EUR539.6 million a year earlier." [EdNote: So
much for banking being the savior of posts and universal service.]
The Financial has reported that "The Siemens Mobility Division is to supply
as many as 97 OMS-type flats sorting machines to Deutsche Post AG (DPAG). What
makes this Open Mail System (OMS) machine unique throughout the world is its
extreme speed. The new generation of sorting machines is the first that is
capable of handling up to 50,000 flats per hour. The order calls for delivery to
begin in 2010 and to end by 2012."
Hellmail has reported that "In more recent years, the gradual decline in
mail volume in the UK has seen Royal Mail postal delivery walks extended as
others are absorbed. With that has come a wave of post office closures making
mail storage for these walks often difficult. Lockable mail containers generally
require planning permission and as a consequence, both press and TV have picked
up on what seems to be a rise in unsecure mail sacks left behind bushes or bins.
To combat the problem and also enable postal workers to stay out longer on
deliveries, the Royal Mail is rolling out a scheme whereby two postal workers
share a vam. It means that the mail is far more secure and presumably gets
delivery workers to their walks quicker."
 The
latest blog entry has been posted on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector
General’s Internet site “Pushing the Envelope.”
The public, mailers, postal employees, and other stakeholders are invited to
weigh in on the online discussions taking place. To view the site, visit
http://blog.uspsoig.gov/. City
Delivery Route Consolidation. Due to mail volume drops, the Postal Service
plans to consolidate more than 87,000 city delivery routes — which could affect
as many as 50 million addresses nationwide. Consolidating routes means some
customers will receive their mail at different times — earlier or later in the
day. It also means customers could have a different letter carrier who will
have to become familiar with a new delivery route. Do you think consolidating
city delivery routes will have a positive effect on the Postal Service’s bottom
line? Why or why not? Will it be difficult for carriers — particularly those
who walk their routes — to spend more time on the street? You can visit Office
of Inspector General’s public website at:
www.uspsoig.gov. If you have additional questions, please contact
Communication and Work Life Director Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2322.
In a postal perspective prepared for the PostCom Bulletin, PostCom Vice
President
Jessica
Lowrance and PostCom President Gene Del Polito note that "The Postal Service
is not without hope, and there are some initiatives underway that would make
Congress' forebearance a reasonable policy and investment risk. Granting the Postal Service--and it's customers--the
breathing room that's needed to actualize these key changes is essential. In
fact, it not only would make good policy, it would make good business."
[Ed Note: The
Postal Service does not like the CPI cap on its annual price changes. For
December 2008, the CPI figured out to be 3.8%. For February,
it figured out to be 3.2%.
It should be grateful for small favors. Of course, a 0.5% difference to
postage-paying mailers is anything but small.]
From the
Postal Regulatory Commission:
- Docket No. RM2009–3:
Notice of proposed rulemaking. SUMMARY: The Commission
announces a new proceeding to address workshare discount methodologies in
First-Class Mail and Standard Mail. The proceeding will allow certain issues
raised in Docket No. R2009–2 to be fully addressed. DATES: Comments due May
26, 2009. ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission’s
Filing Online system at http://www.prc.gov.
- Docket Nos. MC2009–21 and CP2009–26:
The Commission
is noticing a recently-filed Postal Service request to add Priority
Mail Contract Mail 5 to the Competitive Product List. The Postal Service has
also filed a related contract. This notice addresses procedural steps
associated with these filings. DATES: Comments are due March 25, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission’s Filing Online
system at http://www.prc.gov.
The
Press &
Journal has reported that "Solidarity leader Tommy Sheridan stopped just
short of calling for a general strike yesterday in a rallying call for action to
fend off the privatisation of Royal Mail. Speaking on a walkabout in Inverness,
the politician called for a “summit of action” to unite all public service
unions in support of the Communication Workers Union (CWU)."
According to one
SFWeekly Blog, "San Francisco's City Operations & Neighborhood Services
Committee yesterday approved of a proposed "Do Not Mail" registry. Jim Wigdell
is the regional spokesman for the United States Postal Service. Naturally, they
oppose this measure -- but, Wigdell claims, not just because it would cause the
USPS to shift from losing money profusely to whatever is more than profusely.
It's about all the folks who depend on this industry. The full Board of Supes
will vote on this possible measure on March 31."
The
Washington Post has noted that "The news is that the U.S. Postal Service
wants to cut its huge losses by letting 150,000 employees -- that's more than
the population of Hampton, Va. -- take early retirement. The sideshow is the the
postmaster general's compensation package. Both will be on the agenda tomorrow
as Congress looks at the declining fortunes of the post office and the
increasing compensation of its boss. The Postal Service says it is trying to
save $100 million annually through a series of measures that include closing
offices and eliminating positions. The cuts are needed because the nation's
financial health is in the dumps and mail volume has sunk along with it. A big
factor is the money the Postal Service must pay for future retiree health
benefits. Without that, the service would have had a net income of $1.6 billion
in fiscal 2007 instead of a $5.1 billion loss "
Hellmail has reported that "Slovenian Post has launched a new service called
"your email", which allows subscribers to choose those areas which interest them
most in terms of services and offers and, as far as we can ascertain, aims to
streamline direct marketing so that both providers and customers are more evenly
matched. The new service can deliver material to subscribers in the format they
choose including email, SMS and MMS but it hopes that more concise data will
ensure more targetted distribution for marketeers and more useful and relevant
services for customers."
From the
Federal Register:
March 23, 2009
Logistics
Management has reported that "Kewill, a
provider of logistics and global trade software, and returns management services
and technology provider Newgistics,
recently announced they have formed a partnership that will allow Newgistics’
customers to leverage Kewill’s technology to drive down costs and augment
shipping processes."
RTE Business has
reported that "A new report shows that 79% of post was delivered within one
working day throughout the state in 2008. The Commission for Communications
Regulation's sixth annual report on the quality of service performance of An
Post says this is a modest 2% improvement on the service quality performance the
previous year. However, ComReg adds that it still remains significantly below
the 94% target set for An Post."
Forbes
has reported that "Riot police have forced dozens of postal workers out of the
French Finance Ministry where they were demanding more pay and no job cuts."
On Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2154 of the Rayburn House
Office Building, the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the
District of Columbia will hold a hearing entitled, “Restoring the Financial
Stability of the U.S. Postal Service: What Needs to be Done?” The Subcommittee
will examine how the nationwide economic downturn, coupled with technological
trends, has produced declining volumes and revenues for the United States Postal
Service. The Postal Service’s recent decision to close six of its 80
district offices, eliminate positions across the country and offer another early
retirement opportunity makes the Subcommittee’s hearing very timely. The hearing
aims to generate effective short and long term strategies to reduce costs and
improve efficiency at the Postal Service. In addition, the Subcommittee will
question the Board of Governors on Postal executives’ compensation packages.
Witnesses’ testimonies, the Chairman’s
opening statement and a 10 a.m. live broadcast of
the hearing can be found on the Subcommittee’s website,
federalworkforce.oversight.house.gov
The
Journal of Commerce has reported
that "The economies of thirty nations are expected to shrink in 2009, according
the head of an international group focused on sustainable economic growth. The
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development expects growth in the
30-nation OECD area to be 'very negative' in 2009, its secretary-general, Angel
Gurria, said March 20."
As
Time
has reported, "A recent Pew study found that fewer than half of Americans say
that losing their local paper would hurt their civic life "a lot" and even fewer
say they would miss reading it, partly, it seems, because they get their local
news from other media, mostly TV. But since papers are the primary source for
most other news outlets, a major link will be missing from the news ecosystem.
If a paper does not cover a story, it is unlikely to be covered in the broadcast
media, whose reporting staffs tend to be even smaller." [EdNote:
Incidentally, that applies equally to the news reported on this site.]
Butler Mailing
Service President Todd Butler
wants to know: "Mail Piece Redesign: Is the goal to reduce processing costs or
mandate the use of envelopes?"
Sindh Today has reported
that "A postal service cargo, worth tens of thousands of rupees was hijacked by
suspected militants of the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) recently. The RPF
is believed to be an armed wing of the proscribed Peoples’ Liberation Army
(PLA)."
First Post has a briefing on what's going on with Royal Mail.
Fuel Cell Today has reported that "Royal Mail, the postal operating
authority for the United Kingdom is working with CENEX, PostEurop, the
association of European public postal operators, and FuelCellEurope, the
European association of fuel cell developers to develop a universal design
specification for hydrogen fuel cell postal vans."
The
Financial Times has reported that "Pressure is mounting on Brussels to open
a full probe into a proposed
€3bn merger of the Swedish and Danish postal services in the next few days
because of implications for postal market liberalisation across the 27-country
European Union bloc. The deal is the first big postal merger to be announced
since EU lawmakers passed legislation requiring countries to open their postal
markets, and get rid of remaining state monopolies, by 2011."
According to
Wales Online, "the postbus is about to reach the end of the road in the
county where it was pioneered. For more than 40 years, postbuses, which carry
passengers alongside mail, have provided a travel lifeline for remote British
communities. But many routes have been abandoned in Royal Mail efficiency
drives, and Wales’ last three postbuses are due to end over the next few weeks."
Postalnews Blog has reported that "Figures released by the US Postal Service
show that the organization spent $78.4 million on relocating employees in the
fiscal year that ended September 30, 2008. Of that, almost half, or $37.9
million went to “Residence Purchase and/or Sale/Lease”. The USPS home purchase
program for relocated employees has been a subject of controversy since it was
revealed that the
USPS had spent $1.2 million to purchase the home of a South Carolina
postmaster who had taken a voluntary lateral transfer to a position in Texas.
Just under $15 million of the home purchase funds money went to Headquarters and
Area staff, which account for less than four thousand of the postal service’s
632,000 career employees. A similar amount went to postmasters and supervisors,
who make up a much larger share, about 54,000 employees, of the workforce.
Employees of the Inspection Service and the Office of the Inspector General,
about 3,900 total staff. got $3.4 million in home purchase benefits, down from
almost $7 million the prior year. Home purchase benefits for clerks, carriers
and mail handlers came to just over three hundred thousand dollars."
Hellmail has reported that "Johnny Thijs, CEO of the Belgian Post office
said that modernization of its structure and working methods was essential if it
was to be prepared for future competition when full liberalization of market
begins in 2011. His comments followed protests by Belgian postal workers earlier
this month, unhappy about post office closures and what they say has been a
systematic downgrading of jobs and large profits made by stakeholders in the
service."
The
New York
Times has reported that "Responding to the financial crisis, American
companies sharply reduced their spending on direct-mail marketing last year,
according to the Winterberry Group, a marketing consultancy. Winterberry said
this was the first such decline in more than 60 years of record-keeping. The
company arrived at the figures by surveying 305 companies in the direct-mail
industry. The cuts represented at least nine billion pieces of mail, according
to Winterberry’s analysis of Postal Service reports. Not surprisingly, credit
card and mortgage service solicitations dropped the most sharply, falling 21.8
percent and 38.8 percent in volume respectively, according to Mintel
Comperemedia, a direct-mail tracking firm. Winterberry said the cuts were caused
primarily by the financial crisis, but also by rising postal, paper and labor
costs, which have pushed marketers toward online solicitations. Winterberry said
45 percent of the marketers in its survey were switching to cheaper paper and
raw materials to cut costs."
Radio
New Zealand has reported that "Snail mail is set to become even slower with
New Zealand Post deciding it will no longer collect mail from street boxes on a
weekend. The company will cut its collection days from six days a week to five
days a week from mid April. New Zealand Post says there has been a significant
drop in the amount of mail posted in street boxes on a weekend, and 95% of mail
is sent on weekdays."
Wanna know who's
making what over at the Postal Service? All you need to do is enter the
pertinent information at the following URL:
http://php.courierpostonline.com/data_public/datauniverse/usps/
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