As the Business Standard put it:"India Post gears up to revive courier biz."

Postal News for February 17, 2007

The Financial Times has reported that "The BRC endorsement follows BT's decision last month to award TNT Post a three-year £90m contract, the largest postal contract signed since postal services were deregulated in 2004. TNT also signed a £23m contract last month with Centrica, the energy supplier, to deliver 170m items of mail a year. The announcement will concern ministers already alarmed at the steady flow of business away from Royal Mail, which Alistair Darling, the trade and industry secretary, recently identified as "a matter of great concern". Mr Darling warned Royal Mail last month that "fundamental changes" were necessary if the group were to remain competitive and prevent further erosion of its former monopoly position."

According to the Toronto Sun, "While neither rain nor snow nor dark of night shall keep postal carriers from their appointed rounds, technology is threatening to make the postal service obsolete. In an era of BlackBerries, instant messaging, cellphones, video blogs, and electronic delivery of magazines and newspapers in various forms over the Internet (including Sun Media's Canoe website), getting a letter or a magazine in the mail these days seems almost quaint and old-fashioned. So it was strange in a way to read the report from the C.D. Howe Institute this week recommending that Canada Post be privatized. Canada Post is "anachronistic and incapable of responding to the worldwide changes that are transforming the postal sector," says the report. "Without reform, the postal service risks costly decline." Any good conservative in Canada would agree that it's well past time to end the public-sector monopoly on Canada Post. But it might also be well past time to privatize it, given the technological upheavals that are transforming modern society."

The Times Herald has reported that "Residents in a southside Port Huron neighborhood are asking the city to help them get their mail back. The Port Huron branch of the United States Post Office earlier this week stopped delivering mail to certain homes in the 1000 block of Division Street because of a Rottweiler at one of the homes. Postmaster Robert Wagenaar said the dog's owner has been notified several times to control the dog and keep it inside during mail-delivery hours. On Tuesday, Port Huron Animal Control Officer Dan Woodruff was called to the street, because the dog allegedly chased a mail carrier. Wagenaar said the dog has sat in the street and growled at postal workers several times. "This dog is a problem dog," Wagenaar said. "We have to feel satisfied that the danger has been eliminated (before mail is delivered again)." In response to the postal service's decision, several residents on the street have signed a petition and given it to Woodruff, asking the city for help controlling the dog." [How 'bout controlling the owner?]

Postal News for February 16, 2007

The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. 

• The Postal Service is venturing into new territory with the recent filing of a negotiated service agreement with Bank of America Corp. The five currently operational NSAs are based either entirely on incentives for volume growth or a combination of volume growth and cost savings through improved address hygiene. The new NSA is based purely on cost savings and features performance-based incentives.

• The Postal Service recently issued a letter informing postal customers of new Delivery Point Validation requirements for postal automation discounts.

• The U. S. Postal Service this week published on its website an updated version of its proposed implementation rules that will take effect with the R2006-1 rate case changes. These rules will become the final rules if the R2006-1 rate case is approved as proposed by the USPS, with no change. If the USPS Board of Governors make any significant changes to the USPS’ original rate case filing based on the recommendations of the Postal Regulatory Commission, however, then the implementation rules would need to be modified. Either way, mailers likely will be challenged to prepare by early May for what some are calling the most significant changes to the Postal Service’s rate structures and mail preparation rules since mail classification reform took effect ten years ago.

• In this postal perspective, PostCom Vice President Kate Muth urges mailers to practice patience and play an active role within the unique opportunity they have been presented – to help shape the nation’s new postal policy.

• The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers takes an in-depth look at the notes to the Postal Service’s latest financial report and shares its conclusions in this postal commentary.

• A new study recommends Canada Post ultimately should be privatized with an eye to improving postal performance.

• Pitney Bowes’ Michael Lintell shares some insight and information on postal volume trends in this letter to the editor.

• PostCom elects new directors. USPS, PRC to hold joint summit next month. Address Quality Symposium to be held at National Postal Forum. USPS publishes proposed rules on website prior to Federal Register. Sens. Feinstein, Hutchison lead coalition to extend sale of breast cancer stamp. UPS board blesses bigger buyback, nominates new director. Arizona residents concerned about letter carriers without USPS uniforms.

• Britain’s CWU threatens to cut funds to Labour over pension changes. Zumwinkel: Deutsche Post must cut costs, prices to survive. French public employees strike over planned cuts. Poste Italiane’s website popular with phishers, digital crooks. Danish Post quits joint venture. Morgan Stanley selling Austria Post stock. Chunghwa Post changes name, protests follow. Ten-year postal thief arrested. Shandong Post first to use new structure. DHL buys into Italian auto logistics market. Postbank looking at Asian properties. India to add women to postal workforce. Profits up for Portuguese CEP firm. Malaysian firm inks deal with Sri Lankan conglomerate. Small shop agencies attractive to big operators. Japanese, Chinese firms offer joint service.

• A list of upcoming postal-related events.

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Don't miss out at Marketing Day at the National Postal Forum Tuesday, March 27, 10:00am – 3:30pm At the Washington , DC Convention Center.

According to PostCom's Gene Del Polito writing for Catalog Success, "it's time to get yourself ready for the Postal Service's new addressing certification requirements."

The top honor in an international advertising competition is included in the half dozen awards recognizing outstanding creativity and promotional campaigns by the U.S. Postal Service.

From PR.com: "innINDIA.com has launched a "Indian Postal Code Search" Service with the help of the web service(s) offered by Department of Posts, Government of India. With this service (http://www.innindia.com/services) users may search from around 50,000 postal codes spread across India over 28 states and 7 union territories."

The Financial Times has reported that "The Bush administration is to increase pressure on Tokyo to ensure US companies do not lose out in the privatisation of Japan Post, the world's biggest financial institution, even as a senior Japanese official yesterday called US concerns "a misunderstanding".

From the Federal Register: "The Postal Service proposes new requirements for containers used for mailing adult chickens. Currently, we require all mailable adult fowl other than chickens to be mailed in containers approved by the manager of Mailing Standards. With this proposal, we intend to require adult chickens to be mailed in approved containers also. Comments on or before March 19, 2007."

WhatTheyThink has reported that "NAPL, the trade association for excellence in graphic communications management, is partnering once again with the Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA), to present The Fulfillment Conference. Scheduled for April 25-28, 2007, in Louisville, KY, this year’s Conference will show attendees “How to Win the Race with Fulfillment Services” through a comprehensive program that includes sessions on all aspects of running a successful and profitable fulfillment operation."

The Denver Post, in an editorial, wrote that "A bill to create a "no junk mail" list that was introduced Monday in the Colorado legislature by Rep. Sara Gagliardi, D-Arvada, will appeal to many of us who have been inundated with direct-mail appeals for risky mortgages. But the measure is a needless restriction on a form of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment, and it should be killed. Gagliardi cites the state's successful no-call list as a model for her effort to create a similar list that citizens could opt into to avoid commercial mailings. But unsolicited phone calls and a letter in your mailbox are worlds apart."

Tiscali Finance has reported that "TNT Post, the UK arm of Dutch mail group TNT NV , said on Friday it had formed a strategic partnership with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to offer postal services to its members." See also The Scotsman.

Cayman News Net has reported that "The Cayman Islands Postal Service (CIPS), along with some companies, has made the process of finding postcodes much easier. ECay and the new Buzz telephone book have included postcodes in all addresses. Postcode locators can be found in the Caribbean Publishing telephone book and in all post offices."

Postal News for February 15, 2007

AllAfrica.com has reported that "stiff international competition is forcing Africa's postal service providers to reinvent themselves to remain relevant communication market players. Speaking at a nine-day cost accounting seminar that started on Tuesday at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala featuring several countries, the Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology, Mr John Alintuma Nsambu, called on the African postal industry to be dynamic to accommodate challenges of market liberalisation, globalisation and technological advancement."

Hemscott has reported that "The Royal Mail's decision to close its final salary pension scheme to new entrants has drawn a furious reponse from unions and raised the spectre of strike action to oppose the move."

Mile High News has reported that "The Postal Service is against a no-junk-mail bill introduced recently to the Colorado General Assembly by Rep. Sara Gagliardi, D-Arvada. If it passes, a no-junk-mail list would be created in the state, and many companies — including the Postal Service — would be hurt by it, opponents say."

In its communication with its members and newsletter readers, the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers wrote: "The Alliance is compelled to speak out on topics of significance to nonprofit mailers. Last Friday, February 9, the Postal Service issued a press release claiming they lost $2.7 billion in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2007 and is on track to lose $5.2 billion by the end of the fiscal year. For an organization not known to be forthcoming with bad news, this claim of financial woe got our attention at the Alliance. After a careful examination of the facts, we came to the conclusion that this Postal dog won't hunt. This Postal dog can't compete with James, the Westminster Best in Show English Springer Spaniel."

The Washington Times has an interesting piece on postal collection boxes on display at the National Postal Museum. [These days the Museum may be the only place you can see 'em.]

In its latest report, the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation has asked: "Most private-sector businesses would be delighted to be able to count on a steady, moderate increase in customers year after year. The U.S. Postal Service, in contrast, complains that its rising customer base is a crushing financial burden. Can the Postal Service’s attitude – so different from that found in the private sector – be right?"

Yokwe has reported that "The Ministry of Finance, in response to problems within the Marshall Islands' post offices, has initiated corrective measures to mitigate "critical issues facing our Postal Service." Minister of Finance Brenson Wase detailed the restructuring in the following special to the Marshall Islands Journal and Yokwe Online: One of the urgent challenges for the Republic of the Marshall Island’s Postal Service has been to strengthen the internal management and financial controls. In order for the controls to function effectively and efficiently, we realized that we needed to have a system set up by professionals. In July 2006, a Memorandum of Agreement was initiated and signed between the Marshall Islands Postal Service and the Ministry of Finance."

Dow Jones has reported that "German postal services company Deutsche Post AG (DPW.XE) plans to invest more than $110 million in its Chinese express and logistics business in the next years, Chief Executive Klaus Zumwinkel said Wednesday in Beijing. With the investment, Deutsche Post's logistics unit DHL Worldwide Express Inc. wants to defend its market-leading position in China and is expecting strong growth, Zumwinkel said. As of now, DHL already invested nearly $1 billion in China and neighboring countries, more than half of investments in the Asian-Pacific region that total $1.7 billion."

Aftenposten has reported that "Post dated back to Dec. 8, 2006 can still be found in large piles at the central sorting office in Oslo's Skøyen district. Part of the problem is incomplete destination information. But the delay is also due to substitute carriers who don't know their routes, staffing problems and poor internal communication, newspaper VG reports. To fulfill their licensing obligations Posten must deliver 85 percent of first class post the day after it was sent, and according to their own statistics just 75 percent of this type of post is arriving on time."

MSN Money is quoting the Financial Times as reporting that "The Bush administration is set to increase pressure on Tokyo to ensure US companies do not lose out in the privatisation of Japan Post, the world's biggest financial institution."

From eMediaWire: "USPS Regulation changes in the Spring of 2007 will be transforming the mail preparation method once again. In 1996, Mail Classification Reform was implemented, with new categories and mail classes introduced to meet customers' needs and simplify postal operations. These categories described the type of communication, delivery speed and the extent of sorting. The cost structure for these various services encouraged mailers to prepare proper addresses, use barcodes and presort their mailpieces for faster processing and lower costs. Mailers who were running the most efficient mailing operation possible were able to save more on postage with worksharing discounts and smart addressing."

The Hindu has reported that "Come next festive season, you could most probably pick up your favourite greeting card from a neighbourhood post office and send them to near and dear, then and there. With formalities for a tie-up between the Department and Posts (DoP) and Archies Greetings and Gifts Ltd., progressing well, from next 'Friendship Day', falling on August 7, the facility could be introduced in post offices in Tamil Nadu including those in rural areas, R Shankar, Southern Regional Manager, Archies, said. "Once found successful, this could be replicated in other states," he said."

U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and a bipartisan coalition of 24 additional Senators today introduced legislation to extend the sale of the highly successful Breast Cancer Research Stamp for two additional years beyond the current expiration date of December 31, 2007. Since the stamp first went on sale in 1998, the U.S. Postal Service has sold more than 747 million stamps, raising $53.76 million for breast cancer research.

The U.S. Postal Service has published its revised standards for the implementation of new rules following R2006 on its website at http://www.usps.com/ratecase/UpdatedProposedStandardsforDomesticMailingServices.htm. These are in response to comments we received on previous versions.

The U.S. Postal Service has published a letter regarding the next round of CASS software updates.

Postal News for February 14, 2007

At its February meeting, the Board of Directors of the Association for Postal Commerce have elected the following as directors of the association:

• Michele Argast, Discover Financial Services

• Jay Chambers, Acxiom Corporation

• Dale Hyde, Sun Trust Banks

• Richard Porras, Newgistics

CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

According to news agency APA, international investment bank Morgan Stan- ley last week threw 1.1 million Osterreichische Post AG shares on the market.
Last Wednesday Post Danmark declared its withdrawal from the joint ven- ture Morgendistribution Danmark A/S, which was only founded last year.
"I hope that Parliament will ratify the basic principles proposed by the Commission." In an interview with the CEP News, Markus Ferber of German Christian- Democratic Union CSU and also European Parliament correspondent, referred to the vo- ting in the European Parliaments Transport Committee on 8 May and on 6 and 7 June in CEP NEWS - the only weekly information service dedicated to the express and postal industry plenum.
Nobody knows whether Deutsche Posts CEO Klaus Zumwinkel has ever heard of Griesheim, Petershagen or Herdecke. But that could soon change, as 3 out of 7 iq letternet GmbH partners hail from those three villages and iq letternet GmbH is determined to become one of Deutsche Posts most notable rivals. The company wants to achieve a 500m euros turnover by 2010, a representative told »Dow Jones Newswires« (13.02). iq letternet was set up by six so-called letter shops, which receive consignments from business customers as electronic files, print them out and them have them delivered.
Reduce costs, get closer to customers and venture into new business fields - this is how Deutsche Posts CEO Klaus Zumwinkel describes his companys defense strat- egy in the face of competition from private operators pushing into the market.
In China, Shandong Post is the first province post to separate its adminis- tration from the operating business. The step is seen as highly important in terms of separating China's state-owned posts administration and its operations.
Reportedly, Poste Italiane's website is one of the most popular websites among digital fraudsters. According to media reports, 8 website clones were found within one week, one of which was on a server in Germany trying to steal account informa- tion from Bancoposta customers ("phishing").
Last month, DHL was granted permission by the Italian Cartel Office to take over part of TNT AvriL A new subsidiary was founded under the name of DHL Automotive to deal with inbound logistics services for FIAT.
CTT Expresso managed a 5% increase in turnover to 79m euros last year. The CEP subsidiary of Portugals Correios de Portugal enjoyed a strong increase in international outbound mail.
Use your corner shop to collect and drop off parcels? This option is becoming increasingly popular with European post operators and CEP service providers, offering low overheads and staffing costs, an existing infrastructure and long opening hours in the interest of customers. Both Switzerlands Schweizerische Post and La Postes subsidiary Chronopost are now using this option.

 

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 DM Bulletin has reported that "TNT Post, the UK postal service, has launched an advertising and mailing campaign with a text response and mobile download element."

The Daily News has reported that "Arrangements are being made to introduce new systems by the Postal Department to develop the Posts and Telecommunications sector. The Postal Department is to introduce national express mail, EMS, international express mail, post fax service, Fax money order service, retail post service, business mail and the telemail service under this programme. The national express mail system is expected to deliver mail and parcels within the country in 24 hours. The mail addressed within Colombo and suburbs will be delivered within two hours."

The Board of Directors of UPS announced the nomination of a new director to stand for election at the annual shareowners' meeting in May. The new candidate is Gary L. Crittenden, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the American Express Co. He assumed those positions in June 2000 and is a member of the American Express Global Leadership Team, the company's senior-most management group. Crittenden serves as a key advisor on strategic and financial matters worldwide as well as representing American Express to investors, lenders and rating agencies.

According to one Globe and Mail commentator, "In the case of Canada Post, privatizing the service might produce competition and improved service in high-volume urban markets. But the post office has a mandate to deliver the mail -- what there is left of it -- to everyone everywhere at the same cost. Any privatization of the service would lead to one of two results: Canada Post would be forced to service rural areas at public expense while private companies horned in on the profitable parts; or rural users would be forced to pay the full cost of delivering their mail."

According to Daily News & Analysis, "The Department of Posts will be launching its international money order service in March, which will enable money to be received at any place in the country from select countries within 48-72 hours."

Gulf Times has reported that "Q-POST has asked companies to adhere to government guidelines on sending notices to shareholders for their annual general assembly meetings. Director of operations of the postal corporation Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Mohamed al-Thani said yesterday that Law No. 5 of the Ministry of Trade and Economy, enacted in 2002, stipulated that companies must send their invitations to shareholders for annual general assembly meetings only by registered mail and not by ordinary post."

According to the Los Angeles Times, "The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is alerting financial firms of potential danger from a would-be letter bomber after companies in Kansas City, Mo., and Denver were targeted with explosive devices and threatening notes, an agency spokeswoman said Monday. Working with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the inspection service is trying to obtain contact information for thousands of financial companies to warn them of the threats, spokeswoman Wanda Shipp said. "The events may be linked, and the recipients were probably not selected at random," a postal advisory reads."

Asahi Shimbun has reported that "Japan's postal service, which has been a government enterprise for the past 136 years, will be privatized in October.

Welcome to PostCom Radio Postal Podcast Number 11 Join PostCom President Gene Del Polito, USPS Chief Marketing Officer Anita Bizzotto, and National Postal Forum Executive Director Mike Genick in a preview of what attendees can expect at the March 25-28, 2007 National Postal Forum in Washington, DC.

Left to Right: DelPolito, Genick, Bizzotto

Business World has reported that "Research released by An Post shows that households with internet access are the heaviest senders and receivers of mail in Ireland."

The Virgin Islands Daily News has reported that "U.S. Postal Service and Homeland Security's Customs and Border Patrol officials plan to meet with St. Croix residents on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss concerns over mail delivery."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that "Postal reform has stalled in many countries, but last week Singapore proved a happy exception. The city-state committed to open its market for "basic mail" service to foreign and domestic competition. If only more countries would give a similar stamp of approval to free markets in mail."

The planned implementation by USPS of data access restrictions in August 2007, impact any Canadian organization that needs to update addresses in the United States. Through various Councils and their initiatives, NAMMU is actively pursuing a positive resolution(s) for all types of members. A recommendation to have an on-site meeting with USPS representatives of a major Canadian mail entry point was agreed by members as an important step in the understanding/ resolution process. With thanks to Jim Wiseman, Transcontinental RBW, Owen Sound, a NAMMU Canadian mailers meeting will be held March 6 in Buffalo, hosted by Ms. Kimberly Peters, District Manager. Click here to review agenda.

IT Jungle has asked: "Do you deal with customers in the Canada? If you do, you probably want to know exactly where they are, to minimize costs. WorksRight Software, which develops address verification software for the U.S. and Canadian marketplaces, last week announced a new edition of its OS/400-based software for assigning and validating Canadian postal codes, called CPC. WorksRight's CPC product serves several functions, and is typically used to eliminate data entry errors and boost customer service. The software includes a searchable database that returns city names, province names and abbreviations, area codes, latitude and longitude information, time zones, and daylight savings time indicator, based on postal data. It also includes the capability to calculate the airline distance between two postal codes, or return a list of the 10 nearest company locations when a customer's address is input. These are just some of the functions of CPC that are accessible directly through the product's menu or directly from an application using APIs."

Postal News for February 13, 2007

From the Postal Regulatory Commission: On March 13, 2007 the Postal Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Postal Service will hold an all day summit on "Meeting Postal Customer Needs in a Changing Regulatory Environment."

ElectricNews.net has reported that "Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural resources, Noel Dempsey, has tabled plans to introduce some form of standard postcodes by 2008. Recommendations due soon from the National Postcode Project Board (NPPB) are expected to set out the format of the proposed codes which are being designed to improve efficiencies in sorting mail, and are also seen as facilitating the entry of new players into the Irish postal market if it is liberalised in the future. "Businesses need the Government to publish as soon as possible the details of the proposed postcode system. We cannot afford for any confusion to arise and an awareness campaign about the new postcode system for both consumers and the business community should be a priority for the Government," said Lorcan Lynch, director of marketing for information solution consultancy Experian.

Business News Americas has reported that "Brazilian bank Bradesco doubts the federal government will renegotiate its Banco Postal joint venture with national postal service Correios, Bradesco CEO Márcio Cypriano told reporters."We never doubted the government would uphold the contract," he said. Communications minister Hélio Costa backtracked last week on a previous announcement the government would cancel the Postal joint venture with Bradesco, which runs until 2009, and said the government would only review the contract. Costa said Correios has to cover all costs associated with Postal, while Bradesco keeps the profits."

From Business Wire: "Group 1 Software, Inc., a Pitney Bowes Company has announced the launch of the Address Quality Hub™, a new address cleansing software platform that improves mail deliverability and maximizes postal discounts for users of CODE-1 Plus® and Finalist® CASS™ software. The new platform is beneficial for all businesses that utilize the mailstream for customer communication, as they face increases in postage costs in August 2007 when the U.S. Postal Service® implements more stringent postage discount rules designed to reduce undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail. Under these rules, part of the R2006-1 USPS® Rate Case and new CASS requirement, CASS Certified™ software will be required to perform DPV™ processing, which is expected to reduce the number of ZIP + 4® coded addresses that are eligible for postage discounts."

Press Release: "Come learn more at National Postal Forum - Visit Window Book in booth #623 Mark your calendar for a special session: PostalOne!® & FAST: Cut Paperwork & Automate Drop Ship Appointments. Jeffery Peoples, CEO, Window Book, Inc. and Robert Galaher, Manager Mailer Enterprise Integration, USPS® will be speaking at this informative event. Don't miss it!"

Il Sole 24 Ore has reported that "With Omnia Network preparing to list on the Milan stock exchange at the end of the month, the Italian corporate services and customer relations outsourcing specialist has unveiled plans to become the leading competitor of post office Poste Italiane. Once the flotation has been completed, the company will underwrite a 4m-euro capital increase to create UniPosta."

The Evening Echo has reported that "Experian, the global information solutions company today urged Irish companies to prepare for the introduction of postcodes in 2008. The company advised that when postcodes are introduced in Ireland, it could lead to confusion and problems for businesses when communicating with their customers via the postal service." See also Ireland Online.

Newsmax has reported that "The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is alerting financial firms of potential danger from a would-be letter bomber after companies in Kansas City and Denver were targeted with explosive devices and threatening notes."

The National Association of Major Mail Users has reported that "The National Executive Board (NEB) of the Canadian Union of Postal workers (CUPW) and Canada Post Corporation have reportedly reached an agreement in principle for a new collective agreement to cover the 48,000 members of the urban operations unit. The four year collective agreement would remain in effect until January 31, 2011, provided the terms are ratified by the CUPW membership. Voting will take place locally over the coming weeks."

The American Postal Workers Union has reported that "The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against DHL on Jan. 30, accusing the company of “interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights” to a union-representation election at DHL Express in Wilmington, OH. The charges are based on allegations made by the APWU in an Unfair Labor Practice filing in November. APWU representatives and activist workers have been trying to organize approximately 3,000 ground workers at the global delivery company’s plant for two years."

Postal News for February 12, 2007

The U.S. Postal Service’s San Francisco and Los Angeles International Service Centers (ISC) are being recognized for achieving the highest international standards of excellence in mail processing. Each center will receive a Certificate of Excellence from the International Post Corporation (IPC), a cooperative association of 23 national postal administrations and operators from North America, Europe and the Pacific. The Certificate of Excellence is awarded only to international mail facilities that demonstrate top levels of quality, efficiency and teamwork while meeting customer needs.

The Express & Echo has reported that "There are renewed fears of further postal strikes in Exeter after it emerged a worker had been sacked following last year's wildcat dispute. Royal Mail has admitted that one person has been dismissed and another two given final warnings and transferred to other sorting offices. Now the Communication Workers Union says it will hold a ballot on industrial action if its sacked representative is not reinstated."

The Wilmington News Journal has reported that "Union Network International (UNI) wants to help grow labor unions at DHL's three principal air hubs. The three hubs are in Leipzig (Germany), Hong Kong and Wilmington. The UNI is an international trade union founded in January 2000, created in response to changes going on in the global economy. There are about 15 million members in UNI's approximately 900 unions."

The Canada NewsWire has reported that "As change sweeps the postal sector, major reforms are due at Canada Post, according to a C.D. Howe Institute study released today. In Rerouting the Mail: Why Canada Post is Due for Reform, authors Edward M. Iacobucci and Michael J. Trebilcock, Professors in the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, and Tracey D. Epps, Lecturer in Law, University of Otago, recommend that Canada Post, the government-owned monopoly, should ultimately be privatized, with an eye to improving postal performance. The authors say Canada's current postal system is anachronistic and incapable of responding to new challenges, such as the ubiquity of Internet communication, advances in retail services and logistics, and increasing competition from domestic and foreign competitors in numerous market segments. The authors recommend a measured transition for Canada Post, with the federal government introducing competitive deregulation on a gradual basis to allow Canada Post and its workforce to make the required transition. Ottawa should also establish a regulator to oversee the system, a complaints bureau for citizens and consider subsidies, if required, to maintain universal postal service. Without reform, the postal service risks costly decline."

Graphic Arts Monthly has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service launched a new, proprietary service that will allow businesses to track mail and speed service to customers. Called "Intelligent Mail," it's like having a global positioning system (GPS) for mail, says Postmaster General John Potter, noting that the technology's centerpiece is a standardized barcode for use on letters and large envelopes as well as each mail container."

From PR Newswire: "SteelCloud Inc., a leading engineering and manufacturing integrator of network centric and embedded computing solutions today announced that the U.S. Postal Service has informed the Company that the option portion of a previously awarded contract to provide specialized servers will be rebid due to an internal Postal Service procedural problem. It is SteelCloud's understanding that a new RFP will be issued at the beginning of March with a final decision on the matter anticipated by the end of that month."

From Business Wire:

• As part of its proposed May 2007 rate change, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will introduce Shape-Based Pricing, one of the most dramatic postage structure changes in years. The initiative is being implemented as a way for the USPS to better align postage rates with its mail processing costs, and its implications for mailers are expected to be two-fold. First, there will be a significant increase in postage costs for various types of mail pieces - in some cases 30% to 90%; and secondly, it could significantly change how a company processes its mail. In addition to the Shape-based Pricing initiative, traditional first class postage is expected to increase nearly 8½% - to $.42 up from $.39. When Shape-Based Pricing goes into effect, there is the potential for organizations unprepared for the new processing requirements to experience frustration and increased costs as they become accustomed to the numerous changes being introduced.

• Pitney Bowes Inc. and the National Basketball Association have joined forces to promote literacy for elementary school children in the city that is hosting this year's NBA All-Star Game on February 18.

Insurance Business Review has reported that "UK postal provider Royal Mail has reported an 86% drop in first half profits following a massive increase in its pension deficit. The troubled group has said it is now hoping to close its final salary pension scheme to new employees in a bid to stem any further growth of the current GBP6.6 billion deficit."

The BBC Monitoring Service has reported that "On the eve of the 28th anniversary of victory of the Islamic Revolution, President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad put his signature on a stamp printed by Iran Post Office on national nuclear programme. In a ceremony attended by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Soleymani, President Ahmadinezhad put a seal of Iran Post Office on the special stamp printed to commemorate Iranian nuclear programme. The stamp was designed by Iran Post Office to convey the theme of Iranian nuclear programme and application of nuclear energy in medicine and agriculture."

According to Taiwan Headlines:

• The Berne-based Universal Postal Union (UPU) said Friday it is not in a position to comment on Taiwan's decision to rename its state-owned postal company to make it more recognizable in the international community.

• The chairman of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) criticized Saturday a campaign initiated by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to change the names of state-run enterprises calling the move "childish."

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise has reported that "Re-establishing postal service in Gabriels received some support Friday from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who, in a letter to the federal postmaster general, requested that temporary service be provided in Gabriels until permanent service can be offered."

The Glenwood Springs Post Independent has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has decided against further investigating a proposal to move some regional mail distribution from Glenwood Springs to Grand Junction."

Dominican Today has reported that "the Dominican Postal Agency (INPOSDOM) and Aruba’s Postal Administration signed an agreement to allow sending and receiving postal money orders, as well as packages between the two."

The Herald & Review has reported that "The mayor of Mount Zion is still looking forward to getting a new post office built, despite recent political roadblocks Mayor Don Robinson said officials in Washington, D.C., have pulled the plug on a new post office in the village. "Federal postal officials are saying, based on today's standards, we have all the space we need," Robinson said. But he disagrees and says a larger facility is needed because the village is bursting at the seams with an increasing population and more housing developments popping up. He projects the village's population to be at least 5,400 in 2007. The population was 4,845 in the 2000 Census. Robinson has had some success after contacting the office of U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana. He also is seeking help from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., before possibly kicking off a grassroots writing campaign to federal officials."

FinFacts has reported that "The Irish Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has today, following a public consultation, concurred with An Post’s application for an interim increase in the price of the basic stamp from 1st March next. ComReg is the National Regulatory Authority for the postal sector in Ireland and its prior approval is required for postal rate changes in the reserved area."

Delhi Newsline has reported that "the delivery of mails — both domestic and foreign — will soon speed up, with Delhi’s first Automatic Mail Processing Machine all set to be installed by the year-end at the airport’s Business Processing Centre. Two metros — Chennai and Mumbai — already have this facility. The machine will automatically read the pin codes with the help of an Optical Character Reader."

Postal News for February 9, 2007

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

• The Postal Service released its first-quarter results for fiscal year 2007 this week and revised its projected FY 2007 year-end net loss to take into account requirements of the new postal law, P.L. 109-435. Read on for an explanation of how the USPS ends up with a $600 million shortfall in FY 2007.

• The Postal Service released its first quarter FY 2007 results this week, posting revenue of $19.7 billion, a 6.4 percent increase over the same period last year. Standard Mail grew almost five percent and there was strong productivity growth.

• Bank of America is seeking a three-year negotiated service agreement with the Postal Service that would be the first pure cost-savings NSA between the USPS and an individual mailer. The NSA would give Bank of America needed incentives to reduce the amount of First-Class Mail and Standard Mail that is returned, forwarded or destroyed as UAA mail.

• Rural letter carriers vote no on USPS contract. Potter selects Kingsley as VP for strategy and transition. New Postal Service IG reports posted. Americans name USPS most trusted government agency – again. New personal planning tool available to NPF attendees. New contract plan could help USPS save money, energy. New women’s leadership council to host luncheon event.

• Shipping & delivery carriers see seasonal increase in web bookings.

• Britain’s Brown boosts liberalization. India selects women to deliver mail. Belgian La Poste sees revenues gain. Sweden hopes to profit from later deliveries. Indian Airlines mulls links to India Post, GATI for cargo.

• Quadriga Art is newest PostCom member.

• A list of upcoming postal-related events.

Hey! You've not been getting the weekly PostCom Bulletin--the best postal newsletter anywhere...bar none?  Send us by email your name, company, company title, postal and email address. Get a chance to see what you've been missing.
 

Who handles the distribution of the PostCom Bulletin?
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From the U.S. Postal Service: "Hold the Date for a Joint U.S. Postal Service – Postal Regulatory Commission Summit The topic will be “Meeting Postal Customer Needs in a Changing Regulatory Environment.” Tuesday, March 13, 2007 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. William F. Bolger Center 9600 Newbridge Drive Potomac, MD 20854-4436 We will announce a registration process soon. Space will be limited."

China Post has reported that "The Chunghwa Post Co. yesterday was renamed the Taiwan Post Co. although about 100 postal workers disrupted a meeting of its board in an attempt to block it from changing the state-run company's name. The state-owned Chinese Petroleum Corp., and the China Shipbuilding Company also adopted new names -- CPC Corp. Taiwan and CSBC Corp. Taiwan respectively -- in line with the government's push to underscore the island's identity. The postal workers, wearing protest headbands and displaying placards, burst into the meeting at the postal company's headquarters where the board was supposed to swiftly adopt a name change for the firm."

According to Forbes, "Real time is a goal and not a reality. Real communication cannot be instantaneous as it must travel from point to point, which does take a bit of time, even at the speed of light. Moreover, in the business world, delivery requires physical handling, and that takes more than a bit of time. Velocity Express appears to have a way of giving shippers an edge."

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reported a Fiscal Year 2007 first quarter loss of $2.7 billion due to the accelerated funding of retiree health benefits mandated by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act signed into law on Dec. 20, 2006. The law requires the Postal Service to substantially fund its share of these benefits by 2017. Operationally, the Postal Service would have otherwise achieved a net income of $1.2 billion, in line with its first quarter financial plan.

Join us at the 2nd Annual Address Quality Symposium in Washington DC for a chance to hear firsthand from leading mailing industry authorities and key U.S. Postal Service executives on the key strategic opportunities for improving your Address Quality. Symposium Pre-registration is required for Forum Attendees. Please visit www.npf.org and click on the Personal Planner. You must create an attendee login. After this is completed search under category for Symposiums. A list of Symposiums will appear, please click the register button on the appropriate symposium. You must be registered for the National Postal Forum in order to attend the Address Quality Symposium. To register please go to www.npf.org.

Dow Jones has reported that "Brazil's government has ruled out a plan to cancel the rights of local private-sector bank Bradesco SA (BBD) to provide financial services through governmental post offices, Brazilian Communications Minister Helio Costa said late Thursday according to local press reports."

The Guardian has reported that "It was a truly neat confluence: that Allan Leighton should unveil the finishing touches to his refinancing package for the Royal Mail and thus be able to claim that his work there is largely done on the same day as it became clear he is keen to get back to what he knows best, running shops."

The BBC Monitoring Service has reported that "Chunghwa Post Co., the state-owned postal service, will change its name Friday to show its Taiwan identity in a wave of name changes among state enterprises. The word "Chunghwa" means China. A new Chinese name translated as "Taiwan Post Co." will be applied after a board meeting Friday passes the proposal, although an official English name has yet to be decided, company officials said Thursday."

The Financial Times has reported that "Royal Mail announced its intention to close its final salary pension to new members yesterday. The plan, outlined as it unveiled an 86 per cent fall in half-year profits caused by a ballooning pensions deficit, could set a precedent for the public sector. Ministers backed the state-owned postal operator's plan to curb its pensions liabilities, with Alistair Darling, trade and industry secretary, stressing his "full support". His endorsement of tough action on pensions contrasts with the government's stance over public sector pensions, where it caved in to union pressure and ditched plans to make existing staff work until 65."

According to Seeking Alpha, "While United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) both have attractive characteristics that should translate into above-average gains for shareholders, we think UPS has more to offer at this point. Not only is "brown" bigger, but in many cases it is also simply better. UPS is far more profitable, and its margins have consistently remained well above those at FedEx. In fact, the firm's margins and free cash flow generation are both at the top of the entire industry."

SmartMoney has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc.'s board late Thursday boosted its quarterly dividend to 42 cents from 38 cents, citing confidence in its financial prospects. The Atlanta company said that the board also voted to increase to $2 billion its authorization for the repurchase of class A and B shares."

According to Dow Jones, "European retailsers remain cautious about products on the Internet outside their home countries, a new European Commission survey has found. Fewer than one third of Internet retailers offer their products cross-border. Those that do often restrict sales to one or two European countries. Language difficulties are less of a concern for most Europeans, with only 43% or retailers saying this was an issue. The main obstacle is the insecurity of transactions, which 61% of retailers were concerned about, retailers said. More than 50% said they were concerned about other potential problems such as different tax regulations (58%), resolving complaints (57%), difficulties in ensuring after-sales service (55%) and delivery costs (51%)."

The Wilmington News Journal has reported that "The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has determined there is reasonable cause to believe DHL Express Inc. has engaged in unfair labor practices as claimed by the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO. The NLRB Region 9 in Cincinnati issued a written complaint on Jan. 30, accusing DHL of "interfering with, restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights" to a fair and free union election. The complaint stems from an NLRB investigation into unfair labor practice allegations filed in November 2006 by the union against DHL."

As DM News has reported:

• Magazine publishers are trying to pull out all of the tricks to get new subscribers. But high postal costs and production difficulties led to some campaigns being discontinued. In response, Rodale sent out pre- and post-e-mail blasts, which enabled the publisher to boost gross response by 20 percent with no mailing costs.

• The current rate case may mark a revolution in how the U.S. Postal Service determines rates. For the first time, the proposed rate structure would consider both shape and weight. The planned increase averages 8.5 percent, but items that require hand processing would see increases of up to 90 percent. Today’s machines can read an address, print a barcode and sort more than nine letters per second. And technology has largely automated the processing of handwritten letters as well as flats and parcels. But the USPS realizes these efficiencies only when mail works with these tools. [Hey, here's a thought. What about making flat sorting machines that can accommodate the kind of flats mailers need to send to satisfy the needs of their businesses and the marketplace?]

ThisIsLondon has reported that "Postal workers threatened to strike yesterday over plans to shake up their gold-plated pension scheme. Union leaders said yesterday's announcement was "a complete shock" and described the changes as "irresponsible". They said delivery services would collapse if their 190,000 members went on strike. "We will fight as hard as possible to protect postal workers' rights," said Billy Hayes, of the Communication Workers Union."

The Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation (DMANF) is asking the United States Postal Service (USPS) to delay the implementation of regulations that would more than double the postage for many nonprofit mail pieces. In its formal comments, the DMANF expressed serious concerns that the proposed regulations will dramatically increase postage costs for nonprofit mailers by pushing pieces that currently qualify as automation rate flats (as well as some letter mail that exceeds 3.5 ounces) into the significantly higher priced Not Flat-Machinable (“NFM”) and parcel rate categories. Among the mail packages that will be affected are flat-size pieces that contain a “front-end” premium such as a pen, magnet, greeting card, lapel pin or similar item. Compared to other fund-raising techniques, these types of front-end premiums perform particularly well in prospecting for new donors and drive large volumes of Nonprofit Standard Mail. Even with the discount afforded to nonprofit mailers, the cost of such mailings is likely to more than double under the proposed new rules. The DMANF believes that up to 40 percent of total nonprofit mail volume could be impacted. [Given the level of postal narcissm these days, DMANF might be better off starting a prayer group....And that's not meant to be snarky to the Federation. It's simply symptomatic of the utter frustration customers are feeling toward the Postal Service's rate making policies these days.]

Postal News for February 8, 2007

According to the Peterborough Evening Telegraph, The Royal Mail has announced plans to close its final salary pension scheme to new entrants after revealing that its pensions deficit had grown to £6.6 billion. The figure, believed to be the biggest of any UK organisation, has grown by £1 billion in the past year, with huge servicing costs helping to cut the postal group's interim profits by 86% in the first six months of the financial year. Union leaders expressed anger at the plan to close the final salary scheme to new workers, which they said had come as a "complete shock".

The Times has reported that "Post Office owner Royal Mail is heading for a possible run-in with unions today after unveiling controversial plans to shut its final salary pension scheme to new members."

From the PR Newswire: "The national president of the National Association of Letter Carriers union told key Washington state legislators today that passage of bills to create a "Do Not Mail" registry would be detrimental to the Postal Service, its workforce, and the general public. NALC President William H. Young, whose union represents 221,000 active city letter carriers in the nation, expressed his "fierce opposition" to the legislation in letters to Washington House Commerce and Labor Chairman Steve Conway and Senate Consumer Protection and Housing Chairman Brian Weinstein as Conway's committee held a hearing today on the legislative proposal. About 5,500 letter carriers reside in Washington state. Young said the proposal "could jeopardize the very future of America's postal system," adding that while it may be well-intentioned, it is being erroneously promoted as similar to "Do Not Call" limits on telemarketers." [Hurray for the letter carriers, because up to this point, the Postal Service has given neither a hoot nor a hollar on this one.]

According to the Financial Express, "The Department of Post is planning to ramp up its ambitious plan of setting up postal financial marts. By the end of this fiscal it wants to raise its postal fin marts count to 300, said IMG Khan, secretary to the government of India, Department of Post, ministry of communications & IT. When asked if India Post will adopt the life insurance companies’ business model based on agents, he said, “We have lot of agents and field officers. Shortly we plan to hire retired officers for expanding our rural postal life insurance business."

KETV7 has reported that "A U.S. Postal Service airplane has crashed just outside Alliance in western Nebraska. The single-engine plane appeared to be approaching Alliance from the northwest early Thursday morning when it apparently clipped a machine shed, landed in an open field and then crashed into a utility pole, authorities said. The 2:25 a.m. crash happened a mile northwest of Alliance and about five miles northwest of the airport."

Here are two items from the Wall Street Journal hell bent on driving the direct mail industry to extinction:

• Stopping the Barrage Of Catalogs in the Mail

• Block That Catalog

The agenda for the February 22-22, 2007 meeting of the Postmaster General's Mailers Technical Advisory Committe has been posted on this site.

EuActiv has reported that "The EU is entering the final stages of a 15-year process to make European postal services more efficient by opening them up to competition. But member states will first have to overcome differences of opinion regarding the speed of liberalisation and how to achieve a universal service for consumers."

A request of the United States Postal Service for a recommended decision on classifications, rates and fees to implement a baseline negotiated service agreement with Bank of America Corporation has been presented to the Postal Regulatory Commission.

According to the Irish Times, "The Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) is to run candidates in up to 10 constituencies in the general election to highlight what it described as a crisis facing the post office network."

CBS2 has reported that "NEW YORK In 2006 alone more than 670,000 people had their identity stolen in America. The financial toll: $1.2 billion. CBS 2 cameras recently went undercover to tell you about a scam many people don't know about. It starts in your local post office, and right now there is nothing you can do to stop it. An identity thief hijacked Steve Zuckerman's name by stealing his mail, not from his mailbox in Great Neck, but by using a loophole in the U.S. postal system. We went undercover, inside several area post offices, and found it couldn't be easier. "People lose their homes over stupidity like this," Zuckerman said. The hidden cameras then showed something shocking. CBS 2: "I want to put a change of address form in today. Do you need an ID for this?" Postal worker: "No, you just fill this out and put in mailbox or give it to us." CBS 2: "No ID?" Postal workers: "No." You heard right. You don't need ID when you turn in a change of address card."

AllAfrica.com has reported that "former workers of the Nigeria Postal Service ( NIPOST), yesterday called on President Olusegun Obasanjo to prevail on the NICON Insurance Company to offset their outstanding pension and gratuity worth N450million."

From PR Newswire: "The Government has agreed the final terms of a financing framework for Royal Mail, designed to give the company the freedom to use its resources and borrowing facilities to modernise and succeed in a competitive market, Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling announced today."

Online Media Daily has noted that "as its digital strategy continues to evolve, Hearst Magazines Wednesday said it is making a big push in mobile, adding several new phone-friendly sites accessible through Verizon Wireless and other carriers. New mobile sites for Seventeen, Cosmo Girl, and Cosmopolitan are now available in the magazines section of Verizon Wireless' Mobile Web 2.0 service. Sites for Esquire, Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful, Popular Mechanics, and Redbook are on the way, along with additional carrier deals. As early as 2003, Hearst was exploring mobile sites accessible only to subscribers paying between $1.99 and $2.49 monthly for tidbits from Seventeen and Cosmopolitan, among other titles. But as consumers and advertisers migrate away from print, Hearst is making a bigger push to beef up mobile. "The new mobile sites for all of our magazines will have richer, more interactive content and will be tied more closely to the magazine's editorial content, in addition to being free to any consumer," said one company spokeswoman."

BBC News has reported that "Royal Mail has said it is consulting on closing its final salary pension scheme to new entrants, to help tackle its pensions deficit which had hit £6.6bn." See also the Financial Times.

The Daily Star has reported that "A huge increase in the Royal Mail's pensions deficit helped cut the postal group's interim profits by 86% in the first six months of the financial year, it has been announced. The profit figure fell to £22 million between April and September compared with £159 million in the same period a year earlier. The pensions deficit rose by £1 billion to £6.6 billion, with servicing costs increasing from £280 million to £730 million in the past year."

The Associated Press has reported that "At least six people have been injured by seven letter bombs in Britain over the past three weeks, in what police said could be a campaign by animal rights extremists or a disgruntled motorist fed up with this country's automobile laws -- or both."

As Haaretz has noted, "Despite his personal fortune and impressive lineage, Arthur Sulzberger, owner, chairman and publisher of the most respected newspaper in the world, is a stressed man. Why would the man behind the New York Times be stressed? Well, profits from the paper have been declining for four years, and the Times company's market cap has been shrinking, too. Given the constant erosion of the printed press, do you see the New York Times still being printed in five years? "I really don't know whether we'll be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don't care either," he says. Sulzberger is focusing on how to best manage the transition from print to Internet."

The National Association of Major Mail User (NAMMU) has told its members that "With thanks to Jim Wiseman, Transcontinental – RBW, Owen Sound, a NAMMU Canadian Mailers meeting will be held March 6 in Buffalo, to address the implications with USPS of planned data access restrictions. The session will be hosted by Ms. Kimberly Peters, District Manager, United States Postal Service. A recommendation to have an on-site meeting with USPS representatives of a major Canadian mail entry point was agreed by members as an important step in the understanding/resolution process. The planned implementation by USPS of data access restrictions in August 2007, impact any Canadian organization that needs to update addresses in the United States. Registration is required by February 15. Information and registration: click here.:

From the U.S. Postal Service: "The U.S. Postal Service has been notified that the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) membership rejected the tentative contract agreement that the Postal Service and NRLCA leadership reached on December 8, 2006. The parties will now meet to decide how to proceed."

Postal News for February 7, 2007

Postal Regulatory Commissioner Ruth Goldway will be speaking on Saturday morning, February 10th before the Elections Committee Session of the National Association of Secretaries of State Winter Conference. Her topic will be Postage Rates under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Details are available at: http://www.nass.org/conference/2007%20Winter%20Conference/Agenda%20-%20F ull%20Conference.pdf

According to KLTV, "A Dallas-area lawmaker, Rep. Bill Zedler of Arlington, is trying to do for junk mail what the Legislature did for phone solicitations a few years ago. His bill would direct the attorney general's office to compile a list of names and addresses of consumers who object to receiving certain types of unsolicited mail, more commonly referred to as junk mail. "We want to treat it the same way as unwanted phone solicitations," Mr. Zedler said, noting that he filed the measure in response to complaints about junk mail from some of his constituents. "This would apply to anyone offering credit cards or sending out mail where there is the possibility of identify theft," the Arlington Republican said, adding, "I personally shred all that stuff because I'm afraid to put it in the trash." As written, the bill would apply to credit card and loan applications, sweepstakes promotions that contain information about the consumer, and mailouts - with personal information - that encourage the purchase of property, goods or services. If the bill were to become law, consumers could get their address on the list for three years for $3 per household. Companies that mail to consumers on the list would be subject to fines of $1,000 to $3,000 per violation."

AMEInfo has reported that "The 'World Mail and Express Logistics Middle East, Africa & South Asia,' a major conference on the international transportation industry's calendar, will be held in Dubai from February 27 to 28, 2007, with Emirates Post as the host sponsor."

Pacific Business News has reported that "Thousands of white collar federal employees in Hawaii may decide that they would like to lose their cost-of-living adjustments, because what they get in return could be better. The office of Sen. Daniel Akaka, which said Monday it would look into an administration plan to eliminate federal employee COLAs, said Tuesday that the plan is to replace the COLAs with locality pay, now given to federal employees on the Mainland. The proposed plan affects about 15,000 white collar federal employees in Hawaii who get non-foreign COLAs as well as 2,611 additional postal employees."

CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

Britain's Chancellor Gordon Brown has urged the EU member states to follow the example of Britain in opening their postal markets.
Despite a 1% drop in consignment volumes, Belgiums La Poste managed to increase its turnover by 6% to 2.25bn euros last year.
In Switzerland opposition is growing against continued subsidies for newspaper distribution.
The Association of Mayors in France AMF (Association des maires de France) has publicly voiced fears that La Poste could shrink its service range further.
Many private mail service providers in Germany are sceptical toward Franz Müntefering, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and his demand for a minimum wage, which is also supported by trade union ver.di.
The Dutch trade union CNV has launched an attack on the country's private mail service providers.
TNT Post Italy ended the last financial year on a turnover of 147m euros. Unaddressed direct advertising mail was the strongest profit source.
Sweden;s Posten AB intends to save millions by introducing later mail delivery times.
Austria's Österreichische Post AG has bought 51% of Scanpoint Europe, a company specialising in the digitalisation of documents.
Last weekend, Algérie Poste announced a series of technological innovations. In densely populated areas, so-called "points postaux de proximité" will be set up, offering customers information on postal services, access to Algérie Postes web pages, cash withdrawal facilities and stamp sales.
Last year, La Poste received well over 22,000 complaints over missing items.
Postcomm, Britain's regulator for postal services, has requested responses by `next Tuesday to its consultation on Royal Mail’s current compensation schemes for loss, damage and delay.
Norway's Posten Norge is facing growing competition in the domestic express and logistics market.
German trade union ver.di has demanded 5.5% higher wages for around 5,500 employees working for Deutsche Post subsidiaries.
British CEP operator Business Post (BP) and FedEx have agreed on the consensual termination of their co-operation contract.
German Logistik-Initiative Hamburg is evidence that logistics really is a growth industry.
In Poland, e-commerce seems to be growing faster (2006 turnover: over 1.16bn euros) than the capacity of courier services.
Currently an anonymous small town in Hungary, Záhony could soon become a household name in the European logistics market. At a meeting in Kiev last weekend, representatives from Russia, Ukraine and Hungary agreed to set up a new central hub for their three countries in Záhony.
Increasing numbers of undeliverable letters marked "Deceased" have been found in Spain by Correos customers lately, it is claimed.

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 queRecommendations by a public committee to raise postal rates "too high" are threatening to cause the "collapse" of the Israel Postal Company, workers' union head, Reuven Karazi, charged on Tuesday. Communications Minister Ariel Attias is due to decide soon whether to accept the recommendations, which the union head said would bring about "rigidity" in rates and make it "impossible for the Postal Company to compete" with private entrepreneurs. ions 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 Jerusalem Post has reported that "Recommendations by a public committee to raise postal rates "too high" are threatening to cause the "collapse" of the Israel Postal Company, workers' union head, Reuven Karazi, charged on Tuesday. Communications Minister Ariel Attias is due to decide soon whether to accept the recommendations, which the union head said would bring about "rigidity" in rates and make it "impossible for the Postal Company to compete" with private entrepreneurs."

The DM Bulletin has reported that "Royal Mail has lost another major piece of business to its rivals, with Business Post taking the contract for TV Licensing, worth up to £8.1m a year."

The National Postal Forum Personal Planner is now up and running! Whether you already are a registrant or just thinking about attending the National Postal Forum, the industry's most compelling and complete internet planning tool is now available for your use. The NPF Personal Planner allows you to view up to the minute session information as well as the time and location for every event at this year's Forum. The Personal Planner also lists all participating vendors, their products and services. This unique tool helps you schedule your time to maximize the value of your attendance at the Forum. Don't miss this opportunity to attend the premier mailing industry event. Click on “My Personal Planner” to see what's happening at the National Postal Forum in Washington, D.C. March 25-28, 2007, or visit www.npf.org to register.
 

Postal News for February 6, 2007

The International Herald Tribune has reported that "hundreds of state bureaucrats and postal workers marched Tuesday in Romania's capital and other cities to demand higher wages."

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General has posted the following on its website today. If you have additional questions concerning the report, please contact Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286.

• IS-AR-07-005 - Audit Report - Data Integrity Review of Address Management System Facility Data dated December 22, 2006 http://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/IS-AR-07-005.pdf

• FT-AR-07-007 - Audit Report - Fiscal Year 2006 Postal Service Financial Statements Audit - Eagan Information and Technology and Accounting Service Center dated December 29, 2006 http://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/FT-AR-07-007.pdf

The Associated Press has reported that "Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has launched its long-awaited online movie download store, entering a market that has yet to catch on with consumers but is expected to grow rapidly."

As WDBJ7 has noted, "Each year the U.S. Postal Service joins in the National Consumer Protection Week effort. This year's theme is "Read Up and Reach Out to be an Informed Consumer".

The Economic Times has reported that "State-owned carrier Indian on Tuesday said it is considering partnership with India Post and GATI for its proposed cargo service expected to be launched by the middle of this year."

The report of the U.S. delegation to the October 2006 Council of Administration is on the State Department website. Please also note that Section 405 of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act on "International Postal Arrangements" now appears on the State website

IT Backbones has reported that "As per a Research Analyst’s view at RNCOS, who has recently researched a report on “RFID - Outlook China”, China is aware of the role RFID tags can play in improving the competence of manufacturing and supply chain management and data collection. Considering the vast variety of potential applications and the power it has to cut the supply chain costs significantly, the RFID market is anticipated to record an exponential growth in China in the coming years."

According to Belfast Today, "Despite a total trade Ireland-wide of 35 billion to North America in 2005, the North Atlantic Trade and Transport Study described the lack of a direct shipping route as very surprising. "Being on Europe's outer periphery and closer to North America, we should have the edge over the rest of Europe," said Bombardier Chairman Sir George Quigley. "But we are not able to capitalise on our geographical advantage because there are no direct lift-on lift-off or roll-on, roll off shipping services from the island to North America. Everything has to be transhipped through a port in Great Britain or on the continent."

Postalnews.com has noted that "the NRLCA membership has rejected the proposed 2006 contract. As a result, the national mail count that was scheduled to begin on February 17th, 2007 will not occur."

Forbes has reported that "Deutsche Post World Net AG has invited trade union Ver.di and 'other interested parties' to talk about the foundation of an employers' federation to implement national wage agreements in the postal delivery sector, a company spokesperson said. Ver.di said it welcomes the initiative and added that it has started talks with other mail delivery companies to secure comprehensive wage agreements."

DM News has reported that:

• With the introduction of automatic document printing that integrates with its tabletop inserters, Pitney Bowes Inc. claims it can now offer mid-volume mailers a secure, end-to-end system for printing and mailing sensitive documents.

• FedEx Corp. has officially launched FedEx National LTL, a new long-haul less-than-truckload service that will also debut in Canada under the FedEx Freight Canada name. FedEx National LTL and FedEx Freight Canada were created through the acquisition of the business assets of the former Watkins Motor Lines and Watkins Canada Express, a deal that was finalized on Sept. 3. The new services respond to customer demand for greater flexibility in the LTL sector. [Well....At least Fedex knows how to be business friendly with Canada.]

ThisIsMoney has reported that "Royal Mail lost another huge Government contract today as Business Post won the mailing contract for BBC TV Licensing, worth up to £8.1m a year."

The National Association of Major Mail Users (NAMMU) has told its members that "The planned implementation by USPS of data access restrictions in August 2007, impact any Canadian organization that needs to update addresses in the United States. Through various Councils and their initiatives, NAMMU is actively pursuing a positive resolution(s) for all types of members. A recommendation to have an on-site meeting with USPS representatives of a major Canadian mail entry point was agreed by members as an important step in the understanding/ resolution process." [Just great....Now we have an international postal incident over some ruling that comes from Memphis. Here we go again. Another contest to take over Fort Ticonderoga.]

Please find attached the Issue Statement for the new MTAC Work Group (WG) # 114 "Establish Service Standards and Measurements for Market-Dominant Products". If you have an interest in participating in this Work Group please contact Industry WG Leader Kathy Siviter at kathys@postalconsulting.com (tel. # 703-237-1740) or USPS WG Leader Jeff Lewis at jeffery.w.lewis@usps.gov (tel. # 202-268-4757). FYI this WG will have its first meeting on Wed Feb 21 in USPS HQ Room 1P410 from 8:30 am - 11:30 am. Please note that the WG will be divided into four subgroups as follows: First-Class Mail Periodicals Mail Standard Mail Single-Piece Package Services Please make an effort to respond by February 14th and indicate the particular subgroup on which you are most interested in participating. Your timely response will facilitate planning for this first meeting.

UPS has ordered 27 new Boeing 767-300ER freighters to support its growing package business while providing broad options for the management of its jet fleet. The 27 aircraft will be delivered between 2009 and 2012. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

PostCom welcomes its newest member: