If you do business in Canada, look at the notice that's posted on this site from the National Association of Major Mail Users regarding recent statements on projections of future rate increases in Canada.

June 27, 2009

According to WalesOnline, "it remains unclear whether the Government intends to press ahead with controversial plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail, which is deeply unpopular with Labour MPs and has been opposed by some members of the Cabinet. The Postal Services Bill was due to be debated in the Commons this month, but no date has been set for its second reading, and time is now running out before Parliament breaks in July for the long summer recess."

Hellmail has reported on:

• Is the UK Postal Market Being Left in Limbo?

• Swiss Post has transformed its online portal to make it even easier for customers to find their way around some 10,000 pages. Swiss Post said the revamped portal meets the specific needs of its customers with numerous new functions added to the navigation.

RTTNews has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS: News ) has announced a new joint venture headquartered in Dubai to coordinate management and growth of UPS express package, freight forwarding and contract logistics services across the Middle East, Turkey and portions of Central Asia."

Job Vacancy Announcement Vacancy Number: PRC 3‐16 OPEN: June 26, 2009 CLOSE: July 17, 2009 Position Title: Commission Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer Grade: PRC‐8 Salary Range: $117,000‐ 153,000 Location: Postal Regulatory Commission 901 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20268‐0001

June 26, 2009

Publishing Executive magazine has noted that "Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer predicted the near-death of traditional media this week. To Steve, traditional media is defined as anything not digital."

The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.

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

• The Postal Service published its unaudited May results with the Postal Regulatory Commission. USPS lost over $677 million dollars in May 2009. This loss is in addition to the $2.2 billion loss for the first six months of 2009, plus $385 million in April 2009.
• The Postal Service has cut work hours dramatically over the past eight years, which has resulted in a remarkable reduction in expenses. From 2000-2008, the Postal Service has reduced work hours by 268 million hours for a labor compensation savings of $9.8 billion, according to data compiled by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
• According to the Washington Post, "the post office may be the next too-big thing. If it continues on its present course, the U.S. Postal Service stands to post $6 billion to $12 billion in losses by the end of the fiscal year. By the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2009, it had racked up an operating loss of more than $2 billion, almost equal to its total losses last year. So far, the Postal Service has depended on loans from the Federal Financing Bank, a federal borrowing agency, to help make up the difference, but it is fast approaching its $15 billion credit limit. Something has to give."
• The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (IG) has reported on the results of its self-initiated review of estimates of the U.S. Postal Service’s liability for retiree health care benefits. It concluded that the USPS could pay on average $3.3 billion less each and still achieve the same level of funding.
• The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) recently published its final rules for the treatment of non-public materials filed by the Postal Service and other parties with PRC. The final rules are available on the PRC’s website, www.prc.gov.
• The USPS this week met with the IDEAlliance as part of an ongoing dialogue to discuss issues around Mail.dat and Mail.XML. According to IDEAlliance president David Steinhardt, “the Postal Service is really thinking through the issues, including industry’s needs as well as its own systems and processes.”
• As mailers move toward Full Service IMb (Intelligent Mail barcode) adoption, ensuring barcode quality is more important than ever – not only to qualify for automation/IMb prices, but to ensure that services tied to the IMb are rendered.
• PRC initiates docket on an informal proceeding regarding a change in the analytical methods approved for periodic reporting. The APWU has come out in opposition of a five-day per week postal delivery network. While the USPS looks at consolidating or closing NY facilities, Sen. Charles Schumer has put the squeeze on the USPS to keep the facilities open. FedEx says it still expects more tough times ahead. UPS faces MBE franchisee suit. The latest addition to the USPS OIG blog.
• Updates on dockets currently before the Postal Regulatory Commission.
• A round-up of DMM Advisory notices issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
• A quick update on postal notices published in the Federal Register.
• A review of postal news from around the world.
• Postal previews

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As one of The Independent's commentators put it: "I'm afraid I wasn't surprised by claims this week that some Royal Mail managers have rigged research to give a false impression about the efficiency of deliveries. A small group of managers has, apparently, doubled their income in bonuses by hitting – or seeming to hit – their targets. The Managing Director of Royal Mail Letters, Mark Higson, says he is "proud" of the Royal Mail's performance. Last financial year, Adam Crozier, its chief executive, earned more than £3m."

National Business Review has reported that "New Zealand’s economy shrank by 1% over the first quarter of the year and 1`% for the year – the largest annual drop since march 1992, when the economy contracted 1.3%, according to GDP figures released by Statistics New Zealand this morning. Service industries activity showed a minor contraction of 0.1% for the quarter, mostly due to a 4.5% decrease in transport and communications activity. The main contributor to this was a cutback in demand for postal and courier services."

FullStory has noted that "Australia Post celebrates 200 years."

Forbes has reported: "Japan should consider freezing the stock market listing of units of Japan Post, which the government had planned for 2010, Kyodo news agency quoted Internal Affairs Minister Tsutomu Sato as saying on Friday."

Tribune has reported that "The Communication Workers’ Union is re-balloting a number of areas in London before announcing another round of 24-hour strikes next month in its dispute over jobs and cuts. Royal Mail challenged the ballot arrangements at depots such as Mount Pleasant and Nine Elms but such is the anger of postal workers that union leaders are confident they will get a further mandate for industrial action. Postal workers went on strike in Scotland – in Edinburgh, Alloa, Grangemouth, Irvine, Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline, Broxburn and Bathgate – as well as in London last week."

According to Culture Buzz, "Kit Kat is impressing the world of advertising with the campaign it has just launched in Japan. In order to stand out in a very competitive market, the brand (belonging to Nestlé) has launched an integrated marketing campaign using a number of methods: CRM, social media, PR... The brand has partnered itself with the Japanese postal service (which has just been privatized) and has taken advantage of this unique opportunity to create an edible postcard. Kit Kat has created a customizable chocolate postcard that can be sent as easily as a letter and that is available in 20,000 post offices throughout the country." [EdNote: Wonder what it would look like after processing on a postal sorting machine.]

From Business Wire: "MailExpress, Inc., the nation’s leading provider of performance mail solutions for corporate customers nationwide, today announced that it has successfully closed a $30 million Series D round of funding, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, a leading global venture capital firm. Managing Director for Lightspeed Eric O’Brien will be joining MailExpress’ Board of Directors. Joining Lightspeed in this round are all current members of the investor syndicate: CMEA Capital, Logispring, XAnge Capital and Adams Street Partners. MailExpress will leverage this new round of funding to support the company’s stellar revenue and customer growth by investing strategically within sales, marketing and business development. Additionally, MailExpress will expand its nationwide processing and distribution network to meet the growing daily shipment count. MailExpress currently processes over a million shipments weekly for a growing roster of blue chip customers."

The Baltic Course has reported that "As the volume of postal deliveries, press subscriptions and, consequently, the income of Latvia Post (Latvijas Pasts, LP) and publishers has reduced, LP is considering switching to a five-day work week. A number of printed media publishers support the idea of switching to a five-day work week as they also plan on reducing the frequency of publications. Postal deliveries five days a week would allow LP to significantly reduce costs. In order for these changes to become effective, a number of laws and regulations will need to be amended. In addition to the plan to switch to postal deliveries five days a week, LP also plans to carry out optimization and reorganization of the postal network as a budget saving measure."

Hellmail has reported that "itney Bowes, the mail and messaging technology specialist, has announced a major £1 million investment in its service and support operation with the development of a state-of-the-art international showroom and training centre near Redhill, Surrey. The new 20,000 square foot facility will showcase Pitney Bowes’ latest hardware and software solutions, integrated within a fully operational ADF (Automated Document Factory) setting and including the company’s unique end-to-end transpromo solutions. The showroom will function as a fully-equipped training facility for Pitney Bowes’ team of European service experts as well as a demonstration site for customers throughout Europe to view the latest solutions and to test their own specific job applications. 

The latest issue of Postal Technology International is now available online.

From the Federal Register:

Postal Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
New Postal Product ,
30646–30647 [E9–15135]	[TEXT]  [PDF]
Priority Mail Contract ,
30647–30648 [E9–14925]	[TEXT]  [PDF]

The June 25, 2009 issue of the National Association of Postal Supervisors Legislative & Regulatory Update has been posted on this site.

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) has announced its opposition to five-day delivery. "The NALC's position on this issue should be crystal clear: We oppose the elimination of six-day delivery," said NALC President Bill Young. "Downsizing the Postal Service to meet the needs of a severely depressed economy is short-sighted and self-defeating—it will cost us tens of thousands of jobs and open the way to competitors to provide service on the sixth day," he added.

Reuters has reported that "Austria has proposed shifting surplus postal and telecoms workers it cannot lay off to jobs in its understaffed police force to improve their employers' financial outlook. Up to 1,200 employees at state-controlled Austria Post and Telekom Austria could help with police administration, but would not be expected to fight crime on the streets, the country's minister for civil servants said late on Wednesday. 'Cases can be worked on at desks, on the computer, so the administrative tasks which are really weighing on police officers could be looked after by other officials instead,' Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek told state broadcaster ORF. The Post's longer-term outlook is clouded by the end of its monopoly in the cash-generating letter business, due in 2011.

Hellmail has reported that "The current revolution in the postal service can make a big difference to charities looking to reduce their overheads. One company, Docmail, which already offers significant savings over standard Royal Mail postage, has just launched a special offer for registered charities where they can send up to 250 letters for free. Docmail is a low-cost mail solution that allows customers to compile and send post direct from their desktop. One of the simplest, most user-friendly online mail facilities to use, there’s no software to install; all that’s needed is a computer with internet access and a web browser. The system allows you to upload a Word document and any PDFs you want to include in your mailing, enter an address or upload a list onto the online database, and then simply click the mouse for Docmail to print, personalise, enclose and post, with no limits on quantity or destination. The standard service starts from just 25 pence per letter."

The Indian Express has reported that "a Technical snag in software is costing the Ludhiana postal department dear as it is unable to implement the World Net Express service. The department otherwise boasts of booking maximum parcels in the state to foreign countries. To ensure speedy delivery of parcels at the global level, the Indian Postal department had launched ‘World Net Express’ service in the state from June 1, in partnership with the German postal services company - Deutsche Post."

According to The Big Money, "a rallying cry can be heard across the country, from the swanky streets of SoHo to the tiny town of Randolph, Kan.: "Save Our Post Office!" As the United States Postal Service, weighed down by a crippling multibillion-dollar deficit, shrinks down its operations, post offices across the country are on the chopping block. Each year, hundreds of postal operations shutter, but this coming fall could be the single biggest consolidation in USPS history. Over the next three months, more than 3,200 post offices and retail outlets—out of 34,000—will be reviewed for possible closure or consolidation. Downsizing is a business imperative, says Linda Welch, acting vice president of delivery and post office operations at the USPS. "Revenues have declined, and mail volume continues to decline," she says. Not only have e-mail and electronic bill paying made for a skinnier mail stream, but the recession has caused a sharp pullback in advertising mail that has hurt the Postal Service even more. And most Americans say they're OK with the cutbacks, as long as they're not paying more to send mail. A recent USA Today/Gallup Poll revealed that more Americans would rather the Postal Service curtail services than seek a bailout or raise stamp prices. At least, that's what everyone says—until it's their beloved post office at stake. For various reasons, people tend to react with great fervor when their local offices are endangered."

According to The Herald, "Gordon Brown yesterday signalled that "high-quality public services" would be at the heart of his bid to stay as Prime Minister and the centrepiece of the UK Government's draft legislative programme to be unveiled next week. He told a meeting of would-be Labour MPs in London: "Our intention is high-quality public services, personal to people's needs. That is the vision of public services people want to see that meets the high aspirations about quality, encourages and incentivises the professionals in the public services and gives people in their communities real control." However, more signals emerged yesterday that his initial plan to part-privatise the Royal Mail would not be part of his manifesto for power. lan Duncan, the shadow leader, teased her, asking about the "mysterious whereabouts" of the Postal Services Bill, suggesting it might have "got lost in the post".

WFTV has reported that "Eyewitness News learned that hundreds of local postal workers could lose their jobs so the postal service can save money. The US Postal Service wants to cut back the number of days they deliver mail from six days per week to five."

From PR Newswire: "The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (RDA) has reached agreement to sell the assets of Gareth Stevens, Inc. (a publisher in the school and library market), to Roger Rosen, owner and CEO of Rosen Publishing, and Gary Spears, a co-founder of Gareth Stevens in 1984."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:  Postal Service Active Employee Statistical Summary (HAT report), Pay Period 13, FY 2009 

The Journal of Commerce has noted that "The U.S. real gross domestic product dropped at an annual rate of 5.5 percent in the first quarter of 2009, compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a final estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis."

June 25, 2009 

The June 24, 2009 issue of the National Association of Postal Supervisors Legislative & Regulatory Update has been posted on this site.

Bernama has reported that "The Postal Services Act is to be amended to upgrade postal services in terms of the shipment, transportation and delivery systems, Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said. Besides, plans to improve the postal service system, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak, would also be discussed, with a view to facilitating people in the interior areas, he said."

Interactive Investor has reported that "Demand for cross-border air freight dropped 17.4 percent year-on-year in May, suggesting international trade is still a long way from recovery."

According to the BBC, "They may not seem as offensive as dog dirt, cigarette butts or chewing gum but red rubber bands have stretched the patience of anti-litter campaigners. The charity Keep Britain Tidy called on people to collect up bands dropped by postal workers after a survey claimed they were found on 6% of UK streets."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has noted that "The U.S. Postal Service has nixed plans by Harmony officials to try to keep the local post office open for an additional month. Harmony officials June 16 voted to request that the postal service continue delivering mail to residents' boxes in the borough building through July."

The Salt Lake Tribune has reported that "Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, wants your mail carrier to count you. Chaffetz said Wednesday he will introduce legislation to marry the U.S. Postal Service temporarily with the Census Bureau so that the postal workers can help with the once-a-decade count of how many people live in America. "They really have the workforce in place to do this," Chaffetz said. "They already go to everybody's door." Chaffetz proposes taking a "postal holiday," so that mail carriers, instead of dropping bills and magazines to your mailbox, would count the number of people in each household. The Postal Service matches up well with the Census needs, Chaffetz argues."

WMFD has reported that "the United States Postal Service states processing is going to stay in Mansfield at this time."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

• RM2009-5 Order No. 229 - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Analytic Principles Used In Periodic Reporting (Proposal One)
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63501/Order_No_229_Final.doc
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63501/Order_No_229_Final.pdf

•  USPS Preliminary Financial Information (unaudited), May, 2009
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63502/MayPRC_Report.pdf
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63502/Letter-USPS-PFI-MAY-2009.pdf

June 24, 2009 

Hellmail has reported that "The IEA & Marketforce’s 8th Annual Conference, 'THE FUTURE OF UK POSTAL SERVICES' begins next Tuesday (30th June) at Le Méridien, Piccadilly, London With Royal Mail now adapting to increased competition, the state of the UK's postal market is increasingly in the spotlight. The event promises to be a hotbed of ideas and the ideal place to learn about the challenges ahead."

At today's business meeting of the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia Subcommittee on the mark up of H.R. 22, ³United States Postal Service Financial Relief². H.R. 22, it was recommended that chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code be amended to allow the United States Postal Service to pay its share of contributions for annuitants¹ health benefits out of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund over a three year period.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that:

• Andy Azula is an advertising executive, not an actor, but his acting is what gets him recognized by strangers these days. He is the guy with the long, flowing hair who scribbles on a whiteboard in a series of popular TV commercials for United Parcel Service. Now, Mr. Azula, creative director at the Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., has reached another rung on the ladder of cultural relevance: He is the butt of a parody of those ads by UPS's fiercest rival, FedEx.

• Chrysler is working on several electric vehicles, and has started providing a small test fleet of battery-powered minivans to the U.S. Postal Service. Electric vehicles run entirely on battery power for a certain number of miles before they need to be recharged or, in the case of some designs, supplemented by a gasoline engine. Still, it is unclear whether Americans will embrace electric vehicles and when the market will be ready for them. Electric cars tend to be smaller than the roomy models U.S. buyers favor. The need for recharging and, eventually, replacement of battery packs requires an infrastructure of recharging stations, repair shops and distributors that doesn't yet exist.

From Business Wire:  "R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (NYSE:RRD) announced today that its OneSite Internet portal has been selected for the Chairman's Website Award and its co-palletization tray solution has been recognized with the Mailing Industry Ingenuity Award by the Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA)."

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

Moya Green, president and CEO of Canada Post, did not beat about the bush at last week’s presentation of the post’s annual report. "When a company of our size makes less than 60m, that’s like a rounding error."
The Spanish post Correos suffered a slump in profit on an increase in turnover during the financial year 2008.
La Poste appears to be preparing for an entry into the telecommunications market. According to French business magazine »Capital« (19.06), pre-paid cards and flat rates for mobiles are going to be offered under the post’s own brand name as part of a cooperation with Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom.
Austria’s new Postal Act will not be passed by the Council of Ministers until after the summer recess.
It would appear that Deutsche Post and the German trade union ver.di increasingly resort to the media in order to communicate with each other.
The Italian competition authority Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGGM) has instituted a further investigation against Poste Italiane. The latest investigation refers to a brochure published by the post, which allegedly contains incomplete and misleading information concerning the financial service Posteprevidenza Valore.
The Russian Post is expecting to be able to move into its first automated sorting centre in the Moscow region in September, as scheduled.
According to Brazilian TV channel »TV Canal 13« (15.06), the country’s General Accounting Office has ordered four former top managers of the post and three companies accused of corruption to pay an approx. 3.6m euros total fine.
Österreichische Post seems to have encountered problems in connection with taking over parcel deliveries in Austria on behalf of parcel service Hermes.
The Swiss post’s parcel and express division PostLogistics is entering the clothing market.
Last Friday Post Danmark’s courier subsidiary Budstikken Transport A/S announced the purchase of two Danish courier operators with effect from 1 July.
In connection with the loss of 1bn RUB from the Russian Post’s accounts at the WEFK-Ural bank, the post has been ordered to pay compensation.
Posta Slovenije d.o.o. ended the financial year 2008 on an increase in turnover and profit.
UPS is now letting customers route their own consignments. New internet supported software allows customers to check stocks held for them by UPS and to process consignments, including choosing the best route for the destination in question.
Claude Béglé, chairman of Schweizerische Post’s board of directors, is holding on to plans for a banking licence despite rejection by the parliament.
The South Korean government is obviously planning for a fundamental restructuring of Korea Post.

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.)

Hellmail has reported that "Swiss Post has reduced the number of its weight classes. The measures, which were announced in March, effectively reduce the price of many of its letters by up to 20% as of 1 July. All letter prices will include VAT. Swiss Post said it would mean price advantages of around 200 million Swiss francs per year for customers. The main measures involve a comprehensive price reduction for most business customers, with Swiss Post picking up the tab for the new VAT rate for letters weighing up to 100 g. All business customers who are able to claim back VAT will benefit from price reductions of around 7% on items weighing less than 100 g."

The Arizona Republic has reported that "Residents of unincorporated Queen Creek have voted to give their community a new name and identity: San Tan Valley. After debating what to rename the area for little more than a week, a plurality of voters chose the name over the second-place title, Bella Vista. The community, north of the Santan Mountains in Pinal County, is home to roughly 80,000 residents, most of who moved to the area within the past 10 years. It is not part of the nearby town of Queen Creek, but that became the area's affiliation after the U.S. Postal Service in Queen Creek began using it for practical purposes."

BlueMauMau has reported that "In an interview last October with United Parcel Services, spokesperson Norman Black emphatically stated that he could not confirm that UPS or Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) had engaged the services of the Boston Consulting Group to conduct a major study (pdf file, 15 pgs) on the financial health of the system. When informed that a deposition of MBE in-house counsel Rich Kolman revealed the alleged results of the feasibility report showing “77 percent of the network, meaning 77 percent of the stores, were operating at “either an at risk or worse status,” Black replied, “We don’t need an outside consultant to tell us the health of our network. I want to be very clear here. I have no idea what you are talking about.” Now as franchisees prepare for trial in the Morgate LLC v. Mail Boxes Etc. case, the 2006 Boston Consulting Group report that Black says he knew nothing about will be a focus in the litigation, highlighting areas related to franchisee profitability or the lack thereof. Fifteen pages of the report have been unsealed by Judge Highberger, who is presiding over the trial."

From the Federal Register:  Postal Regulatory Commission. Priority Mail Contract

Dead Tree Edition has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is preparing some price breaks for the money-losing Periodicals class, sources tell Dead Tree Edition. The most likely change to the Periodicals class, which is used by magazines and newspapers, seems to be a revamping of the “ride-along” pricing and regulations. Ride-alongs are items not eligible for Periodicals treatment on their own, such as product samples and catalogs, that are mailed along with a Periodicals publication. Postal officials are likely to allow more than one ride-along per publication and to lower the prices for them, especially for ones weighing less than an ounce, sources say. Although USPS is losing money on the Periodicals class, attracting more ride-alongs would be profitable for the agency because including one in a publication hardly changes the Postal Service’s handling costs."

The Greenville News has reported that "U.S. Postal Service inspectors were called last week amid concern over an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 pieces of mail in a stolen Clemson University van found in flames. The van and its contents are a total loss, said Clemson University Police Chief Johnson Link. The vehicle was so burned that it's difficult to tell whether all the mail was still inside or whether any had been removed before the van was set on fire, he said. That leaves questions regarding the fate of checks and personal information such as Social Security numbers contained in some of those envelopes, said Douglas Lofton, director of mail services at the university."

Advertising Age has reported that "Microsoft has long built enterprise software solutions for myriad industries: retail, health care, sales. But now it has its eye on advertising. Microsoft and Mediabrands are calling the software platform the Media Operations Management System -- and they're certainly not underselling what they envision the final product to be. The announcement touts it as "intended to reinvent the way media is planned, purchased, measured, reported and optimized." And Scott Howe, corporate VP of Microsoft's advertiser and publisher solutions group, likened the effect of the yet-to-be-implemented platform to that of the first investment bank to use a spreadsheet instead of calculators and slide rules. He said the visibility they're going to provide is the holy grail for marketers."

The Japan Times has reported that "internal affairs minister Tsutomu Sato suggested Tuesday he may review the four-way split of Japan Post services."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

• CP2009-37 Request of the United States Postal Service to Add Priority Mail Contract 11 to Competitive Product List
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63491/Request%20PM%20contract%2011.pdf

• CP2009-37 Response of the United States Postal Service to Commission's Request for Supplemental Information in Order No. 222
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63494/Resp%20to%20Order%20222.pdf

• CP2009-38 Response of the United States Postal Service to Commission's Request for Supplemental Information in Order No. 223
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63495/Resp%20to%20Order%20223.pdf

• CP2009-38 Request of the United States Postal Service to Add Priority Mail Contract 12 to Competitive Product List
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63492/Request%20PM%20contract%2012.pdf

• CP2009-39 Response of the United States Postal Service to Commission's Request for Supplemental Information in Order No. 224
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63496/Resp%20to%20Order%20224.pdf

• CP2009-39 Request of the United States Postal Service to Add Priority Mail Contract 13 to Competitive Product List
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63493/Request%20PM%20contract%2013.pdf

• MC2009-27 Request of the United States Postal Service to Add Priority Mail Contract 11 to Competitive Product List
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63491/Request%20PM%20contract%2011.pdf

• MC2009-28 Request of the United States Postal Service to Add Priority Mail Contract 12 to Competitive Product List
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63492/Request%20PM%20contract%2012.pdf

• MC2009-29 Request of the United States Postal Service to Add Priority Mail Contract 13 to Competitive Product List
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63493/Request%20PM%20contract%2013.pdf

• National Payroll Hours Summary Report, Pay Period 12 (2009), FY 2009
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63497/bb1209.pdf
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63497/Letter-NPHS-PP-12-FY-2009.pdf

June 23, 2009

NewsChannel34 has reported that "U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer wrote to the U.S. Postal Service Postmaster General urging him to reconsider the proposal to terminate local mail processing and distribution services in Binghamton, Utica and Watertown by consolidating the three facilities into one regional facility in Syracuse. The proposal to transfer mail processing from several local areas to one regional facility is based on preliminary findings of the Area Mail Processing (AMP) Feasibility Study. Schumer noted that closure or partial closure of these facilities would present significant challenges to the local economies, impact the timely delivery of local mail in counties across the Southern Tier, Central New York and the North Country, and put local jobs at risk."

The London Daily News has reported that "The strike called by the CWU which threatened most of the capitals mail service was a "shambles" according to senior postal workers who spoke to the London Daily News, with delivery vans able to cross picket lines in Rathbone Place, Mount Pleasant and Nine Elms delivery depots. Delivery vans crossed picket lines on Friday because the strike ballots the CWU had conducted were apparently not complete and Royal Mail managers threatened if the drivers did not cross picket lines they would face the sack."

The Wall Street Journal has a story telling how "Netflix's chief is racing to shift the DVD-rental company's business to make more movies available online. His position offers a rare look at how a CEO manages a still-hot business as its time runs out."

TMCNet has reported that "An Azerbaijani delegation is attending the 5th meeting of ECO postal authorities in Islamabad, Pakistan. The event`s agenda includes discussions over prospects of expanding mutually profitable cooperation between the member states in postal area, application of new technologies to the postal sector, provision of additional services as well as other significant issues of postal sector."

The Daily Mail has reported that "Royal Mail faces a fine of up to £40million amid claims that managers rigged research to give a false impression about the efficiency of deliveries. Staff are accused of manipulating an independent study designed to find out whether mail is delivered promptly and arrives at the correct address. As a result senior staff were able to claim big bonuses, amounting to thousands of pounds, for apparently running a successful delivery service."

The APWU has given a straightforward response to a USPS request for input regarding five-day mail delivery: “Don’t do it!” If five-day delivery is enacted, APWU President William Burrus declared, “History will record this act as the first step in the dismantling of the United States mail system.” A reduction in the number of delivery days will result in “negative changes to employee staffing and scheduling,” the union president noted. Although the changes are intended to reduce personnel costs, “Any service organization that reduces service invites its own demise,” he said."

According to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, "Direct mail marketing has advantages over other marketing techniques. It’s proactive because you don’t wait for the potential customer to find you. Your message is delivered directly to customers or prospects you identify as being likely buyers of your product or service. It builds relationships with customers because you can tell your story and build your credibility. It sends a targeted message. You can send different messages to different types of customers or prospects that appeal to their interests. Well-designed direct mail is not treated as junk mail by the recipients. A survey by direct mail giant Vertis Communications found that 85 percent of women in the coveted 25-44 age bracket actually read direct mail marketing pieces. Among total adults surveyed, 72 percent said they have replied to “buy one, get one free” direct mail offers. Of all adults surveyed, 63 percent said they have responded to direct mail discount offers."

Reuters has reported that "It looks like newspapers are having as much trouble holding their readers’ attention online as well as offline. Time spent on 17 of the 30 most-trafficked newspaper websites fell last month, while the rest of the sites had minimal, if any, gains, according to Nielsen Online data cited by E&P. On average, papers keep their readers for roughly seven minutes."

Hellmail has reported that:

• With the discovery that tens of thousands of undelivered letters were found inside a lorry trailer at the Royal Mail Edinburgh Mail Centre in Sighthill, questions are being asked about the validity of delivery target figures presented to Postcomm. With delivery offices under immence pressure to meet targets and and operational savings, there are fears that some office managers could be cutting corners in order to comply with tougher budget constraints just to keep their jobs.

• Royal Mail has abandoned it's efforts to quash a decision by Postcomm to reject Royal Mail's application to introduce “zonal pricing” for a number of its bulk retail services.

• A group of campaigners fighting against the delivery of unaddressed mail, better known as 'junk mail', are accusing Royal Mail of delivering too much and in some cases dismissing requests to stop junk mail deliveries.

The June 23, 2009 issue of the National Association of Postal Supervisors Legislative & Regulatory Update has been posted on this site. In this issue: HR 22 Markup Could Miss the Mark; Cover Your Eyes: This May Be Messy.

On Wednesday, June 24, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia Subcommittee will hold a business meeting to mark up H.R. 22, ³United States Postal Service Financial Relief². H.R. 22 amends chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code, to allow the United States Postal Service to pay its share of contributions for annuitants¹ health benefits out of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund. For further information regarding the hearing, contact the Subcommittee Clerk, Aisha Elkheshin, at ext ­ 65132.

According to Bloomberg News, "United Parcel Service Inc. must face a nationwide lawsuit by 3,500 former owners of Mail Boxes Etc. stores who claim they were misled to convert their operations to UPS Stores, attorneys for the store owners said today. Judge William Highberger in Los Angeles state court certified lawsuits against Atlanta-based UPS as a class-action, or group, case, attorneys Amy Darby and Miles Scully said in a statement distributed by PR Newswire."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

• R2009-4 Comments of the Newspaper Association of America on Notice of Market-Dominant Price Adjustment
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63470/naa-comments-r2009-4.pdf

• RM2009-5 Petition of the United States Postal Service Requesting Initiation of A Proceeding to Consider Proposed Change in Analytic Principles (Proposal One)
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63469/Pet.Prop.One.pdf

• CP2009-35 Order No. 227 Order Concerning Additional Global Expedited Package Services 1 Negotiated Service Agreement
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63475/Order_No_227_Final.docx
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63475/Order_No_227_Final.pdf

• CP2009-36 Order No. 228 Notice and Order Concerning Direct Entry Parcels Contract, International Return Service and Harmonization Service Negotiated Service Agreements
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63476/Order_No_228_Final.doc
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63476/Order_No_228_Final.pdf

• CP2009-37 Chairman's Information Request No. 1 and Notice of Filing of Question Under Seal
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63477/CHIR%20No.%201.docx
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63477/CHIR%20No.%201.pdf

• CP2009-38 Chairman's Information Request No. 1 and Notice of Filing of Question Under Seal
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63477/CHIR%20No.%201.docx
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63477/CHIR%20No.%201.pdf\

• MC2009-26 Order No. 228 Notice and Order Concerning Direct Entry Parcels Contract, International Return Service and Harmonization Service Negotiated Service Agreements
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63476/Order_No_228_Final.doc
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63476/Order_No_228_Final.pdf\

• R2009-4 Public Representative Comments in Response to Notice of Price Adjustment for Standard Mail High Density Flats
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63474/PRComments-R-2009-4final.pdf
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63474/PRComments-R-2009-4final.doc

• R2009-4 Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, Inc. and Valpak Dealers? Association, Inc. Comments Regarding Price Adjustment for Standard Mail High Density Flats
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63478/Valpak%20R2009-4%20HD%20Flats%20comments.pdf

• R2009-4 Response of the United States Postal Service to Order No. 220
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63479/Rate%20Authority%20History.xls
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63479/HighDensity_Order_Response.pdf

June 22, 2009 

As FedSmith has noted, "Electronic messaging is perfect at work, and was great for personal correspondence in the days before e-mail was used by anyone with your e-mail address. Now, once you're on a distribution list, you're on it for life. If I have an important message, I make a phone call or send a letter — I want to make sure the message is delivered. In the mail, it's pretty easy to spot a piece of mail that either doesn't interest me or is suspicious. All I have to do is recycle it, and in the case of a suspicious offer, call the Postal Inspectors — the Postal Service law enforcement agency sworn to protect consumers from mail fraud."

According to Air Cargo World, "Louisville-based UPS has earned the distinction of being the only transportation company from the Standard & Poor’s 500 list to make the 2008 Carbon Disclosure Project’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index."

The New York Times has reported that "For decades, stamps on letters mailed in New York City have generally been canceled with squiggly lines of ink and the name of the sender’s home borough. But this tradition may itself soon be canceled, at least in Brooklyn and Queens and on Staten Island. Under the Postal Service’s plan, most mail from the three boroughs would be sent to a central processing center in East New York, Brooklyn, where it would be branded with a new emblem: “TRIBORO, NY BKLYN-QNS-STATEN ISL.” The plan was spawned because of a 29 percent decline in the volume of first-class mail over the past decade. Officials say the change would save $6.7 million annually. This is where a bureaucratic transaction gets personal."

From Business Wire: "Americans overwhelmingly oppose the proposed government “brown bailout” for United Parcel Service that would give UPS an industry edge for overnight deliveries, according to a new national poll conducted June 2-3 by Public Opinion Strategies for “BrownBailout.com.” Nearly seven out of 10 Americans polled oppose the government intervention and 80 percent say the federal government should stop bailing out companies and let the market determine who succeeds."

Reuters has reported that "The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) , majority owned by the South Korean government, has reported to parliament a plan to buy the financial arm of the country's postal service agency, a newspaper said on Monday. IBK has been in talks with the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) to take over deposit-taking and insurance businesses from the Korea Post."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that "The European Commission Monday cleared Luxembourg-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to get joint control of the Belgian postal service De Post NV/La Poste SA together with the Belgian government. CVC now owns 50% minus one share of De Post/La Poste, with the Belgian state remaining the majority shareholder."

The latest report has been posted on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General website (http://www.uspsoig.gov/) today. If you have additional questions concerning the report, please contact Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286. “Estimates of Postal Service Liability for Retiree Health Care Benefits" (Report Number ESS-MA-09-001) -- http://www.uspsoig.gov [EdNote: This is an important report!!]

The Miami Herald has noted that "Small businesses already working to hold costs down during the recession have another expense to contend with: higher postal rates. Technology offers small-business owners many ways to save money on mailing and shipping costs. It is easy to send printed material by e-mail or through file transfer websites that can accommodate documents and files that are too large for many e-mail systems. These methods eliminate not only postage costs but also printing and labor expenses. Websites can also help businesses comparison shop among delivery services. Small businesses are also saving by switching to Web-based or e-mail billing rather than snail-mail invoices."

According to the Washington Post, "the post office may be the next too-big thing. If it continues on its present course, the U.S. Postal Service stands to post $6 billion to $12 billion in losses by the end of the fiscal year. By the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2009, it had racked up an operating loss of more than $2 billion, almost equal to its total losses last year. So far, the Postal Service has depended on loans from the Federal Financing Bank, a federal borrowing agency, to help make up the difference, but it is fast approaching its $15 billion credit limit. Something has to give. The Postal Service has asked Congress to omit a rider on an annual appropriations bill that mandates six-day service, opening the possibility of five-day delivery as a cost-cutting measure. It has also requested a temporary relaxation of its obligation to its pension program, enabling it to put nearly $2 billion toward breaking even. Both these short-term fixes fail to address the challenges facing the Postal Service....[There are] steps the U.S. Postal Service might take if it were a real company and not a hybrid hamstrung by a large and heavily unionized workforce, congressional management, and an antiquated business model. Instead of its short-term cost-cutting measures, it needs to reduce its giant fixed costs to continue its appointed rounds. The Postal Service must reinvent itself for the 21st century, starting with a plan that doesn't rely on the resurgence of traditional mail. To do this will require innovative leadership, freedom from congressional micromanagement and an understanding of the possibilities of new technology that goes beyond building a better Web site."

 From the Federal Register:  International Product Changes: Direct Entry Parcels Contracts, International Return Service, and Harmonization Service.

AMEInfo has reported that "Oman Postal Express, licensee of Fedex in Oman, has inaugurated its World Service Centre in Seeb. The new centre is the fifth in the Sultanate, with other branches in Sohar, Salalah, Buraimi and the head office in Wattayah. The Seeb's new office will offer the full range of Fedex services to the airline industry and other offices and residents of Seeb and neighbouring areas like Ghala, Rusayl Industrial Area."

Hellmail has reported that "Spanish postal operator Correos has reported a fall in mail volume of 5.2% this year, mainly due to the economic crisis. It also reported a 28.4% drop in profits compared to 2008."

June 21, 2009

The Washington Examiner has reported that "FedEx, the nation's second largest package shipper, lost more money in the last quarter, as consumers and businesses downsized shipments and the company took over $1 billion in one-time charges. Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx Corp. also said Wednesday that it expects a rough ride for some time."

Business24/7 has reported that "Emirates Marketing and Promotions (EMP), a marketing subsidiary of Emirates Post, has introduced an innovative mode of interaction and marketing exercise that offers a three-dimension solution to clients. Starting last year, the company has embarked on this 3D card system to provides customers a complete solution that has a DVD that can include pictures, music and even a software or data. It has been accepted as a postcard by the Union of Postal Unions (UPU) worldwide and it can be posted anywhere in the world as a regular postcard."

June 20, 2009

According to The Telegraph, "Royal Mail has warned a family they will not deliver their mail after a postman was "attacked" by their kitten."

Radio Jamaica has reported that "The United Union of Jamaica (UUJ) says it has written to State Minister in the Finance Ministry responsible for the Public Sector Arthur Williams for him to urge the Post Master General to pay tailoring allowances owed to the country's postal workers. UUJ President James Francis told RJR News that the union has been coming under pressure from postal workers upset over the non-payment of allowances. According to him, if the payments are not made in short order, the union will have no choice but to instruct workers to take industrial action."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported that "the New Castle mail processing facility, which the U.S. Postal Service was considering closing, will stay open. Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Jason Altmire joined state and local officials yesterday to announce that the postal service has decided not to combine the New Castle operation with the one in Pittsburgh. The postal service said it would transfer the processing of a small portion of its mail to Pittsburgh. The 23 employees affected by that move will be offered other positions. The other 152 employees will remain."

As the New Haven Register has noted, "The U.S. Postal Service is projecting a loss exceeding $6 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, which puts retiree health benefit contributions in jeopardy unless a bill is passed by the U.S. Congress. To close the multi-billion dollar deficit, the Postal Service has asked Congress for flexibility to go from a six-day delivery schedule to five days per week, and is evaluating early retirement packages and work-hour reductions. Officials have implemented freezes on hiring and executive salaries and have cut travel expenses."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has reported that "About 500 union employees of The Plain Dealer have agreed to take pay cuts and furloughs as the paper strives to keep the business viable while advertising revenue sags. Reporters and editors, delivery truck drivers and other union members agreed to 8.1 percent pay cuts and to 11 unpaid furlough days before June 2010." [EdNote: Makes you wonder what postal employees are prepared to do (if necessary) to keep the USPS viable.]

The New York Times has reported that "Facing major financial losses this year, the Postal Service has marked more than 3,000 post offices and retail outlets — out of more than 37,000 nationwide — for closing. Though postal officials would not provide specific locations, saying that a final decision was months away, published reports have said that about 20 post offices in New York City were on the list. The news is raising some alarm."

June 19, 2009   

At the Postal Regulatory Commission: MC2009-25 Order No. 226 - Order Concerning Priority Mail Contract 6 Through 10 

According to Business Week, "The impetus to regulate online marketing may be gathering steam. On June 18 a House of Representatives subcommittee held a hearing to take a closer look at how advertisers gather and use information on consumers' Web-surfing habits. Up to now the government has had a hands-off policy toward online marketing, giving companies relatively free rein in how they use tools that track what people do online and then use that data to deliver tailored marketing messages."

The East London Advertiser has reported that "hundreds of postal workers joined picket lines across East London today as part of a 24-hour strike throughout the capital against possible job cuts. The strike went ahead despite 11th hour appeals from Royal Mail last night (Thursday) to avert the action. More than 9,000 walked out from sorting offices and delivery centres outside central London."

RealEstate Rama has reported that "U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee (CJS), today praised Senate approval of $45 million for the federal checkbook to uncover, prosecute, and punish those responsible for mortgage fraud. These funds were approved as part of the fiscal year 2009 supplemental funding bill and will be used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorneys Office to investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud, financial fraud and market manipulation. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days. The bill provides resources for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Inspector General for the Housing and Urban Development Department to hire more than 200 additional fraud agents, analysts and investigators to combat fraud.

MyFMRadio.ca has reported that "The local Canadian Union of Postal Workers is warning that rural residents may soon lose their mail service. President of the Pembroke Local CUPW, Erin McGrath, spoke with Laurentian Valley council this week to discuss a movement she says is coming, and has already happened in Barry’s Bay. "

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:  The Postal Regulatory Commission today adopted final rules on the treatment of non-public materials provided to the Commission by the United States Postal Service and other parties. Order no. 225 is available on the Commission’s website, www.prc.gov, and has been submitted to the Federal Register.

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

• Jeff Williamson, USPS Manager of Network Development and Support, at PostCom’s recent Postal Operations Committee meeting said that the Postal Service is only three weeks into its Phase 1 Network Distribution Center (NDC) site activation and already is seeing service improvements in the geographic area where the initial 11 sites have been activated. Full NDC activation could take up 18 months to complete, he said, and could save the USPS several hundred million dollars annually, as well as making significant improvements to service performance.
• Attendees of PostCom’s recent Postal Operations Committee meeting heard the latest news on flats volumes and the USPS’ Flats Sequencing System (FSS) deployment. Mike Winn, R.R. Donnelley, shared up-to-date flats volume information provided by the USPS, which confirmed that flats volume for April 2009 continued its downward trend. But the USPS remains firm in its commitment to FSS, and perhaps in its confidence that flats volumes will rally in the future – at least to some extent.
• As the Postal Service ends its three week in the IMb full-service test environment, inquiring minds want to know how it is progressing and when will hard decisions start to be made.
• This week FedEx Corporation released its fourth quarter and full year earnings. It reported a net earning of $98 million, down 91% from last year.
• The USPS on June 18, 2009, announced in its Postal Bulletin 22261 that it is extending the enrollment period for participation in the Saturation Mail Volume Incentive Program until August 1, 2009. Also, news on the USPS' full service ACS; PostalOne release dates; USPS mail volume survey; New high density prices July 19; and other postal Quick Notes.
• Letter-Size Booklets: A reminder. Saturation Mail Incentive Program — Enrollment Extended!
• Updates on dockets currently before the Postal Regulatory Commission.
• A quick update on postal notices published in the Federal Register.
• A review of postal news from around the world.
• Postal previews

The PostCom Bulletin is distributed via NetGram

The New York Times has reported that "President Obama’s choice as chief of protocol for the State Department, a position that carries the status of an ambassadorship, did not file tax returns for 2005 and 2006, errors she corrected last November. The nominee, Capricia Penavic Marshall, has placed blame for the problem on the Postal Service and on miscommunication between her husband and their accountant. When the Internal Revenue Service notified them last fall that their 2006 return had never arrived. She wrote that an agent “advised us that there were a large number of tax returns misplaced by the D.C. post office for the 2006 tax year." [EdNote: Yeah....and the dog ate my homework.]

According to Hellmail, "One could be forgiven for thinking that the 2007 Royal Mail pay & modernisation agreement had never been signed. We seem no further forward in terms of closing the massive void between the postal union (the CWU) and Royal Mail, and I don't think we're ever likely to see any change. This weeks strike is a natural progression of an agreement that never was, and in an article around that time I raised concerns that whilst pen had been put to paper, both parties had walked away with the union not fully understanding the terms of that agreement, the figures involved or indeed the changes that were to come."

The Financial Times has reported that "Online courier and delivery companies are set to capitalise on Friday’s planned postal strike in London. Some independent delivery companies have reported a rise in inquiries from businesses in the capital ahead of the action."

Yes, they are on strike in the U.K.: The Guardian; The Telegraph; the BBC; Glasgow Evening Times; Northampton Chronicle & Echo. [EdNote: Yada, yada....And the sun will come out tomorrow. Bechyour bottom dollar....]

Computer Weekly has reported that "Parcelforce customers' names addresses and postcodes were available online after a system related to the company's mail tracker service failed. Parcelforcehas now rectified the problem and apologised to customers."

24Dash has reported that "Postal workers in London and Scotland will take strike action over the next two days in disputes over jobs and services."

RTE News has reported that "Workers at express delivery company DHL have voted overwhelmingly to accept redundancy terms for almost half the workforce. DHL currently employs 1600 people in its Irish express delivery operation spread across four separate divisions."

According to Blue Mau Mau, "As Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees prepare for their long-awaited trial set for August 3, new documents and testimony have surfaced in exhibits that may shed a brighter light on the intricacies of the dispute. As in similar lawsuits against the United Parcel Services franchisor, the MBE franchisees are claiming the shipping giant withheld crucial information and made misrepresentations in persuading them to convert to its new concept, The UPS Store, following its acquisition of Mail Boxes Etc. in 2001."

The Japan Times has reported that "Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa offered Thursday to discipline himself over scandals, including the company's aborted sale of the Kampo no Yado nationwide resort inn network, but suggested he intends to remain at the helm." See also United Press International.

From Canada NewsWire: "The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has said that the federal government should concentrate on improving postal services rather than rewarding the international remailers who have been violating the Canada Post Corporation Act. Today the Conservative government announced it would introduce an amendment to remove international letters from Canada Post's exclusive privilege to deliver letters."

June 18, 2009

According to Hellmail, "the Direct Marketing Association (UK) is warning of the damage that a postal strike will have on businesses across the capital. Mail deliveries are set to be severely disrupted on Friday 19 June as Royal Mail workers hold a 24-hour walkout in protest of the operator’s modernisation plans.

PostCom Members!! The latest issue of PostCom's PostOps Update has been posted on this site. In this issue:

• One Month Into Full Service IMb Testing Process…And No Approvals

• The USPS officially announced last week additional PostalOne! software patches that it will be deploying to resolve IMb Full Service issues and add functionality.

• What New Visibility Does IMb Bring?

• The Full Service IMb Numbers Game

• USPS Preparing For Folded Self-Mailers Testing

• Keeping An Industry Eye On FSS

• Undeliverable-As-Addressed Mail Volume Up; Costs Down

• The ‘Three C’s’ Of Address Quality

• Labeling List Redesign Effort On Hold

• Calendar For Upcoming Rule Changes

The Independent has reported that "Postal workers in London and Scotland will take strike action over the next two days in disputes over jobs and services. The Communication Workers Union said thousands of its members in London and Edinburgh will walk out tomorrow, while workers in parts of Scotland will strike on Saturday."

Press Release: UPS has been named to the 2008 Carbon Disclosure Project's "Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index" (CDLI).

The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that "United Parcel Service tentatively settled a 10-year-old lawsuit Tuesday by agreeing to allow some deaf and hard-of-hearing employees to compete for jobs driving small delivery vans after special testing and training. The settlement, which awaits approval by a federal judge in San Francisco, would apply to about 1,000 workers and 1,250 vehicles at UPS, the world's largest private package carrier, said attorney Laurence Paradis, executive director of Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley."

From PR Web: "Window Book has announced that Tom Taylor has been appointed as VP of Logistics and Distribution Systems. Tom will be responsible for helping printers and lettershops improve their transportation, drop ship, and freight planning."

The Hartford Courant has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service expects to have a list of post offices by about July 1 that will be "candidates for a full-blown study" for closing and consolidation, postal service spokeswoman Maureen Marion said Wednesday. Post offices on the list are not guaranteed to close, she said. Officials recently said up to 150 post offices could close in Connecticut by the fall as part of a nationwide effort to cut costs. After the list of candidates is narrowed, the postal service will send representatives to each site to study its operations. Public input will be part of the process."

As the Leader-Post put it: "Things are not all roses at Canada Post. Marc Courtois, chair of Canada Post, told the Crown corporation's annual public meeting in Regina Wednesday, "our continued financial self-reliance is at risk." Moya Greene, president and CEO, talked candidly about the challenges facing Canada Post as it transforms itself for the 21st century. Canada Post, like other postal services, is moving into the digital, online age. "Our customers want to be able to deliver messages in more than one channel. They want to be able to deliver the paper, but they also want to deliver the message electronically.'' Greene said Canada Post intends to expand electronic message delivery — such as Epost service — as part of its "postal transformation" plan."

The Evening News has reported that "mail deliveries across Edinburgh face disruption, with a series of strikes planned by postal workers this weekend."

Hellmail has reported that "Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, hit back today at accusations that the postal union was opposing the modernisation of the Royal Mail."

Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5), sent a letter to Ed Phelan, District Manager of the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ask for answers on how the USPS' review of all 150 Connecticut postal branches will be conducted, and to request that the current economic conditions be assessed before the USPS makes any decisions affecting jobs and community access.

According to Fox17, "Postal carriers are carrying less these days, so the Postal Service is marketing itself in new ways. Given rising postal rates and increasing deficits for the country's post office, why is it spending money on advertising? FOX 17's Mike Avery has a video report."

Information Week has reported that "MasterCard has rolled out a payment service in the United States that enables users to do person-to-person transfers with their cell phone or smartphone. The service, called MoneySend, is a technology collaboration with Obopay, and it lets customers send and receive funds through text messages, mobile browsers, dedicated mobile applications, and through a desktop PC. The company said this service is a flexible solution that has multiple real-life applications."

The Journal of Commerce has reported that "after rising by over 50 percent during the previous five years, business logistics costs dropped to 9.4 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2008, according to an authoritative industry report. The 20th Annual "State of Logistics Report," released June 17 by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, revealed the decline and pointed out that in 2007 logistics costs were 10.1 percent of the country’s GDP. Final delivered cost of consumer goods may have declined slightly, the report notes."

June 17, 2009 

According to Data Mail's Mark Mandell, "The Postal Service is killing Confirm™.  Whether on purpose or by accident, the “intelligence” in the USPS Intelligent Mail program is going away, just as the program is getting off the ground."

From Media Newswire: "The National Postal Museum honors Flag Day with the featured collection “Long May It Wave: The Story of the American Flag through Stamps” on its award-winning Web site Arago at www.postalmuseum.si.edu/ARAGOAmericanFlag.

From PR Newswire: "The White House honored the U.S. Postal Service today for environmental stewardship with a 2009 Closing the Circle Award for its national Green Purchasing Program. This award brings to 40 the number of White House Closing the Circle Awards the Postal Service has won since the program's inception in 1995."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that "FedEx Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened, as a big impairment charge stemming largely from its Kinko's business took a chunk out of results and as the poor economy continued to sap shipping demand. FedEx, considered an economic bellwether, also forecast results for its fiscal first quarter well below Wall Street expectations, even as Chief Executive Frederick W. Smith voiced some optimism that overall economic conditions are bottoming. FedEx's big Express unit saw average daily volume fall 3.4%, including a 2% drop in U.S. domestic package volume. Revenue per package fell 19% amid a competitive pricing environment, lower fuel surcharges and lower weight per package." See also the Associated Press.

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

Deutsche Post is embroiled in a data scandal: for many years, the German post stored employees’ sensitive health data at two or more mail centres, using the information for personnel policy purposes. German news magazine »Der Spiegel« (13.06) reported that even intimate health details were retained at the Berlin-North and Karlsruhe offices. The information was often accompanied by recommendations, e.g. to convince an employee to take early retirement.
Italy’s financial police force Guardia di Finanza is currently investigating 16 public institutions and companies, including Poste Italiane, in a case of embezzlement and misuse of state funds.
The scandal concerning illegal discounts for advertising mail at Japan Post’s (CEP News 44/08) is having ripple effects.
Germany’s Federal Network Agency is entitled to request Deutsche Post to disclose all partial access agreements concluded with customers or competitors. Last week, the Federal Administrative Court as the court of ultimate resort confirmed that a disclosure order issued by the regulator was lawful.
Schweizerische Post now delivers physical mail by electronic means, too. On Monday, the Swiss post announced that the new Swiss Post Box is aimed at customers who travel a lot but want to receive their letters in time online. Redirected mail is scanned and sent to the customer’s password protected electronic letterbox. In a first step, the post will scan the envelope only and send a picture of it to the customer by e-mail, who can then decide what to do about the letter.
Brazil’s post ECT must invite tenders for the operation of all independent postal agencies by November next year.
Negotiations between TNT Post and German publishing group Holtzbrinck regarding a participation in the publisher’s mail business - as previously reported by the CEP News - have been concluded successfully.
The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has confirmed the licence for French La Poste, which was granted in May 2008.
Belgian La Poste is taking over two domestic express companies with effect from 30 June.
This time last year, Air Transport Services Group was facing the end of its cooperation with DHL. Now, the airline flies for the express company not only in the USA (albeit to a lesser degree) but most recently also from Europe to Africa.
Swiss Post International (SPI) has announced the takeover of its Danish sales agent SPI Denmark ApS.
Germany’s Christian postal trade union CGPT has voiced sharp criticism of Deutsche Post’s plans for a partial closure of mail sorting centres during the summer months.
As part of its cost saving programme for the mail segment, Deutsche Post intends to scrap domestic nightly mail transports by air completely.
Schweizerische Post has now received support for its application for a banking licence from the trade union.
French La Poste says it will only axe around 300 jobs this year. A social compensation plan negotiated with the trade unions is due to be presented before the end of the year. The unions, however, fear that job losses will be much more significant.
The Finnish post’s subsidiary Itella Payment Services Oy (IPS) has been granted permission by the Finnish financial services supervisory authority to operate as a payment transaction company in future.
The global financial crisis is impacting on Lithuania’s express and postal market.
In Kenya, private postal and courier services achieved strong growth in 2008.
Parcel service provider DPD has extended its international express business.
DHL is axing 450 jobs in total at two Belgian locations.

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 Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that "Australia Post has rejected claims it is not giving the East Arnhem Shire in the Northern Territory enough money to deliver postal services to remote Indigenous communities."

As The Guardian has noted, "As we move towards the summer parliamentary recess, one unresolved issue is still causing concern: the future of the Royal Mail. It is this proposal for a public-private "partnership" that has sparked controversy. But despite the heated debate there is a great deal of common ground. We all agree that the pension issue, which is costing Royal Mail around £800m every year, must urgently be resolved. We agree that there is a need for fairer regulation. Most importantly, we agree that Royal Mail must accelerate its modernisation if it is to secure a future for the business. The disagreement, then, is over the question of how we finance this modernisation. The Royal Mail is the only company able to provide the universal service on which so many depend. A decision must be made, and quickly, that puts the customers first and secures the organisation's future. Otherwise we will all be guilty of presiding over the Royal Mail's slow demise." [EdNote: In the U.S., we're asking Congress a similar question: "If you don't want to do what's needed to save the U.S. Postal Service, how do we intend to finance a universal mail delivery system?"]

Hellmail has reported that "Private courier and parcel firms are hoping for a boost in business after the announcement that Royal Mail employees are return to strike action this Friday. During industrial action In 2007, rival parcel services and private mail company DX, saw a rise in new customers, some of whom defected completely after being offered substantial savings on their mailing requirements. Earlier this week, Royal Mail urged postal workers to honour the 2007 pay & modernisation agreement and not to further weaken the company's commercial activities, potentially destabilise the Universal Service, and force further job cuts. Postal workers in several mail delivery centres in London and Scotland will be stopping work for 24 hours in protest at what the Communication Workers Union describe as'arbitary' cuts to services."

According to The Champion, "Local postmen are being disciplined and are at risk of losing their jobs for “fairly trivial things,” according to Southport MP John Pugh. The Liberal Democrat has questioned Royal Mail’s actions against postmen who travel from house to house by bicycle without wearing a helmet and said: “I have been shown a frighteningly long list of scores of local postmen who have been disciplined by the Royal Mail for what look like fairly trivial things. “However when I have asked for the numbers of people disciplined from Royal Mail management I have been told that I cannot have it due to the Data Protection Act.”

The Mainichi Daily News has reported that "Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Tsutomu Sato has reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with an interim report on Japan Post Holdings Co.'s controversial attempt to sell its Kampo no Yado inns, saying it fails to address responsibility issues."

The Yomiuri Shimbun has reported that "Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa said Tuesday it was his duty to accelerate necessary reforms of the company after he met Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Tsutomu Sato to report on a draft of the company's plan to improve its business operations. Japan Post Holdings has outlined the plan in the wake of problems over its proposed sale of the company's Kampo no Yado inns. According to the plan, Japan Post Holdings will establish a special organization to examine the process by which real estate sales take place. The company also will report all plans to sell off assets at management board meetings and it will be the board that has the final decision on any such plans involving sums of more than 200 million yen, according to the draft. Japan Post Holdings will map out an official version of the report based on the draft that also will detail company policy on management responsibilities and in-house disciplinary measures, and submit it to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry in the first half of next week."

From Canada NewsWire: "The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is hosting an international modern post conference for the next three days in Ottawa. The first of its kind, the conference will bring together front line postal workers from Great Britain, Korea, the United States, Australia, Norway, France and Belgium to talk about the effects of larger scale technological change."

The Detroit Free Press has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service's Detroit District -- which includes the area from Detroit west to Ann Arbor and Jackson -- is creating a list of post offices for consolidation and elimination and plans to release the list publicly in mid-July. A similar review is underway in the Postal Service's Southeast Michigan District, which includes Oakland, Macomb, Genesee and St. Clair counties."

Media Daily News has reported that "In a sign of the times, The Wall Street Journal is cutting back on its advertising column, one of the most influential places for breaking news about Madison Avenue. The venerable paper will no longer run its "Advertising" column each weekday in its "Marketplace" section."

Hellmail has reported that "The public service union Unison, has ceased funding 64 constituency Labour parties. It said the withdrawal of funding, around £2m a year, is in response to MPs' expenses and the semi-privatisation of Royal Mail. The Communication Workers Union, which supports postal workers at Royal Mail, has also threatened to withdraw funding, estimated to be £1m a year."

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin has reported that "Alpine Air, which was subcontracted to deliver U.S. mail to several of the neighbor islands, said it will lose 18 percent of the company's gross revenue after its contract was not renewed. Mail delivery to Kamuela on the Big Island; Lanai; Lihue, Kauai; and Molokai will now be done by Billings, Mont.-based Corporate Air, which has the contract with the U.S. Postal Service and had been subcontracting the work to Alpine Air. Corporate Air currently flies for FedEx between the islands."

Advertising Age has reported that "Forrester Research projects that the average consumer will receive more than 9,000 e-mail marketing messages a year by 2014."

The Korea Times has reported that "A growing number of Korean consumers are buying shoes, clothes, books and other household items from offshore cyber shopping malls due to lower prices when compared to Korean online shops, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS) Tuesday. The customs agency said about 16.4 percent of the total incoming parcels, or 253,000 parcels, carried a broad range of household articles worth $50.3 million last year. This is up from 197,000 parcels in 2007 and 125,000 parcels in 2006. It has increased by five-fold from 2004 when only 51,000 packages were shipped from online shops operating in other countries. Clothes accounted for 31.7 percent of the total incoming parcels sent by foreign cyber malls, followed by shoes at 7.1 percent and books at 3.6 percent. By country, domestic consumers bought 79.1 percent of the total from online shops set up in the United States, followed by Japan at 7.2 percent and Europe at 6.7 percent."

Dow Jones has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) Chief Executive Scott Davis voiced optimism Tuesday that the recession will end this year, although he also warned protectionism could derail a recovery." See also Reuters.

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

FY 2010 Budget, Congressional Submission; (2) FY 2010 Congressional Budget Workpapers; and (3) FY 2010 Congressional Budget, Summary Table SE-1, 2, and 6
Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63452/USPS%20FY2010%20Budget%20Congressional%20Submission.pdf
http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63452/USPS%20FY2010%20Congressional%20Budget%20Submission%20Summary%20Tables%20SE-1,%20SE-2,%20SE-6.pdf
http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63452/USPS_Congressional_Budget_Workpapers_FY2010.pdf
http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63452/Letter-FY-2010-BCS-CBW-CBS.pdf

The Street has reported that "At the Detroit Economic Club's National Summit on Tuesday, UPS CEO Scott Davis said global trade offers the best path to ending the global recession, and he blasted protectionism."

According to one of the Barron's blogs, "Regardless of what specific number FedEx records with its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, it’s going to come as a surprise to someone in the analyst community. Right now, input costs and pension issues might have more sway over the stock’s short-term future than the overall economy. FedEx’s exposure to energy costs is something of a moving target: lower than had been the case in the year-ago quarter, but higher than at the end of its fiscal third quarter three months ago. Pension expenses are considered something of a wild card by some analysts."

June 16, 2009

From Dead Tree Edition: "Why General Motors Is Like the Postal Service"

Here's the latest from American Express: "**Attention all U.S. Corporate Card holders** American Express is changing your method of statement delivery from paper to online. Starting Aug. 4, 2009, you will no longer receive paper statements for the American Express® Corporate Card." 

"The world will not emerge from the current recession without a reliance on global trade, the chairman and CEO of UPS said today. Addressing an audience of government and business leaders at the Detroit Economic Club's National Summit, UPS CEO Scott Davis described global trade as a "positive force" at a time when "we are operating without a map and without precedent." "As many as 57 million Americans are working for companies engaged in global trade," Davis added. "One in every five manufacturing jobs is linked to exports of goods and services." But if global trade is to help vanquish the global recession and become an even bigger force for the economic growth of smaller nations, the world must address three imperatives, the CEO continued. They include the creation of a system of trade that not only is fair and rational but compassionate; deploying technology to reduce the friction that today slows down the flow of commerce, and moving immediately to rebuild transportation infrastructures."

From PR Newswire: "Avery Dennison Office Products announced the Avery(R) Mailing Center, a one-stop shop for addressing and shipping products, tools and services. The new Avery Mailing Center provides small businesses and home office professionals with quick access to the tools and resources needed for day-to-day shipping and mailing needs. Additionally, Avery Dennison has aligned with Stamps.com(R) and PhotoStamps.com(R) to offer complete Internet mailing and shipping solutions along with personalized postage through the Avery Mailing Center."

MediaBizNet has reported that "Heavyweight B2B and B2C publishers have followed Publishers Australia in their call for revision of the Australia Post shock announcement of price increases for those who utilise Parcels and Print Post services."

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that "The East Arnhem Shire says Australia Post has left it carrying much of the cost of delivering postal services to remote Indigenous communities."

Today.az has reported that "Specialists of the state enterprise Azerpochta and consultants of FACP company are developing the strategy and the business plan of the state enterprise for 2009-2011, reports Novosti-Azerbaijan with reference to sources in the state enterprise. Tactical plans on the postal area - correspondence to international standards of sorting quality and improvement of supply provisions, formation and improvement of the work system, improvement of postal production security, strengthening and enhancement of participation on the hybrid letters market, enhancement of the market of express post services, creation of logistics services, are currently being prepared."

ABC.az has reported that "a delegation consisting of employees of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies (MCIT) will visit Seoul, Korea on 22-27 June. The MCIT reports that the basic objective of the visit is discussion of underlying tasks arising from the Memorandum of Understanding linked with Korea side, development of cooperation in the field of electronic mail system between the two countries in particular, to study the advanced experience applied in rendering of postal and financial services."

From PR Web: "Window Book is pleased to announce Monica Lundquist as the Postal Affairs Manager. Monica is responsible for managing postal affairs and leading Window Book's new Postal Concierge Service. The Postal Concierge Service is designed to help mailing and shipping companies by providing them with postal expertise, up-to-date information on new regulations, and help implement changes cost effectively." [EdNote: Monica Lundquist formerly served on the Board of Directors at PostCom.]

United States Postal Service Board Of Governors will meet at 6 p.m., Monday, June 22, 2009; 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 23, 2009; and 8 a.m., Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Place: Washington, DC., at U.S. Postal Service Headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW. The meetings will be closed. Matters to be Considered: Monday, June 22 at 6 p.m. (Closed) 1. Financial Matters. 2. Strategic Issues. 3. Pricing. 4. Personnel Matters and Compensation Issues. Contact Person for More Information: Julie S. Moore, Secretary of the Board, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20260-1000. Telephone (202) 268-4800.

Postal Technology International has reported that "Swiss Post is combining forces and expanding its presence in Scandinavia. The group’s division Swiss Post International (SPI) is taking over a sales agency, the Danish letter post processor SPI Denmark SpS. It is also merging the newly acquired company with SPI Sweden to become Swiss Post International Scandinavia in a bid to continue its international growth strategy."

The Arizona Daily Star has reported that "U.S. postal inspectors put their stamp on two major drug busts last week, highlighting the unheralded efforts of the federal agency in the drug war. With Tucson considered a major distribution hub of drugs through the mail, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service sifts through packages, looking for telltale signs — and smells — of drugs. Perfume, coffee, mustard — even dryer sheets — are used to mask the odor. Mailing appeals to dealers because it's cheap, reliable and relatively anonymous, inspectors said."

Hellmail has reported that:

DHL Global Mail, Deutsche Post DHL's one-stop shop for international mail services, delivers standard and priority mail on major international trade lanes faster than its main global competitors on most of the links tested and has significantly improved its own transit times. These are the key findings of a recently evaluated survey on transit times performance conducted by Ipsos, one of the leading market research companies worldwide.
Slovenian Post has reported that despite the economic crisis, it continues to operate successfully.

The Star Ledger has reported that "Amid a dramatic loss of business to email and a severe economic downturn, the U.S. Postal Service is reviewing 3,100 outlets nationwide to identify candidates for closure, postal officials said. The postal service will likely zero in on small, underutilized offices in big cities - including Jersey City, Elizabeth, Paterson and Newark, which has 16 locations alone - when it finally crafts a list of offices to close, said George Flood, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in New Jersey. State Senate President Richard Codey said he understood the need for consolidation. He said the postal service already has considered suspending delivering to non-business customers on Mondays or Tuesdays. The plan, however, drew strong reaction from other elected representatives, including U.S. Rep. Albio Sires. "This is unacceptable," the congressman said in an e-mail. "The United States Postal Service continues to blindside the public with decisions that intimately affect our communities and that have harmful effects on their ability to access necessary services. Due to USPS' continued disregard for transparency, I have introduced H.R. 658, the Access to Postal Services Act, which gives communities more of a say in the post office closing process. It's time we give communities the ability to fight back against these closings."

Hellmail has reported that "Three postal centres in London will not now be taking part in this Friday's postal strike at Royal Mail due to an administrative error which would have made strike action illegal."

The latest postal blog 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/. To Cut or Not to Cut: That’s the Negotiating Question. The Postal Service has asked suppliers to cooperate in efforts to reduce contract costs in light of the current financial crisis. Many suppliers may be equally suffering financially. Will this work for or against the Postal Service’s contract renegotiation initiative? Some suppliers may be unwilling to renegotiate contracts because they cannot afford the reductions. Others may be motivated to renegotiate, reasoning that some business is better than no business. What do you think? 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.  

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:   CP2009-39 Notice of Establishment of Rates and Class Not of General Applicability (Priority Mail Contract 13) http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63446/Notice PM contract 13.pdf

The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.

June 15, 2009

AuctionBytes has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said its Click-N-Ship online application will integrate with eBay's Bill Me Later online billing service. If you print postage for non-eBay sales using this Web-based system, you normally have the postage deducted immediately from a debit or credit card. The new option makes use of the online payment service Bill Me Later."

Air Cargo World has noted that "Deutsche Post/DHL (DPHL) has published its thoughts on what the world will look like in 2020."

Pensions & Investments has reported that "Two European nations are considering taking over public pension plans, converting their assets of approximately $34 billion into cash for general government use and turning the plans into pay-as-you-go systems. The latest example is the United Kingdom’s attempt to take over the £20.1 billion ($31.3 billion) Royal Mail Pension Plan, London as part of a plan to partially privatize the postal company. For European governments, taking over pension assets means one-time cash infusions that can be used for operating expenses or to pay down government deficits without recognizing the liabilities until the year they’re paid."

The BBC has reported that "Pushing ahead with plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail is "the test" of Gordon Brown's reshuffled cabinet, says Tory frontbencher Ken Clarke. He said the next steps on the plans would show whether the government was capable of "big decisions".

According to TheTyee.ca, "In a climate of surging fuel prices and environmental concern, it's cost, more than technology, which still presents a major barrier to the adoption of electric cars. But the mailman could play a role delivering a battery-powered, zero emission future on the roads."

The Jakarta Post has reported that "A former employee of PT Pos Indonesia has sued the state postal company for allegedly cutting employee salaries to help finance the Golkar party from 1988 to 1994 and is asking the firm to pay him Rp 1 trillion (US$100 million) in compensation."

Cargonews Asia has reported that "Dutch Postal and Express group TNT said it's Express unit has started international road connections to Belarus, Moldova, Macedonia, and Albania."

According to 24/7Wall Street, "The US Postal System, which has been dying for years due to the advent of the fax, e-mail, and overnight delivery, may finally be close to its last act."

The Nordic Business Report has noted that "Postal and distribution services company Deutsche Post (Frankfurt: DPW) has secured a five-year distribution contract with British low-cost supermarket chain Iceland Foods Group worth EUR580m."

From Business Wire: "Direct Group, a fully integrated direct marketing services provider, has been awarded a Certificate of Registration for operating a quality management system that complies with ISO 9001:2008 requirements. The certification applies to the company’s fulfillment operation, which handles direct mail, continuity programs, membership services, web-based marketing platforms, pick/pack services and a variety of digital print technologies."

Hellmail has reported that "According to Reuters, Deutsche Post is to cut back on it's mail sorting operations in Germany in response to a decline in mail volume. Measures include closing 16 of it's 82 letter sorting centres on Sundays and reducing the amount of postmen delivering letters on Mondays. Deutsche Post DHL, which recently renamed itself alongside a plan to concentrate on sustainability, has been downsizing since it pulled out of the U.S. internal mail market and the UK has seen a gradual shutdown of logistics centres in response to chain store closures and retailers sourcing cheaper ways to move goods around."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that:

Americans aren't using the Postal Service as much as they used to. But that doesn't mean it will be allowed to scale back easily. Faced with wide losses and a long slide in mail volume, the agency is considering eliminating Saturday deliveries and closing more post offices. The challenge will be getting consumers, unions and lawmakers, who have fought even small changes in mail delivery, to go along with the plan.
The government's effort to break up and privatize Japan Post, the postal monopoly that includes huge financial-services operations, is quickly losing steam, hit by the recession and political instability. In the latest development, a fight over who should head the company led to the forced resignation of Internal Affairs Minister Kunio Hatoyama, after he lost a battle to force out Yoshifumi Nishikawa, Japan Post's chief executive. The political maneuvering comes as financial turmoil has rekindled interest in safe postal deposits and fueled doubts about private banks. Also, with national elections on tap, Japanese politicians are closely attuned to rural voters, who fear the privatization will result in losses of services and jobs.
The Supervisory Board of Austrian Post named Georg Poelzl, 52, as the new Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of Austrian Post, effective October 1, 2009. Rudolf Jettmar will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chairman of the Management Board. The contract with Georg Poelzl expires on September 30, 2014.

The Japan Times has reported that "Prosecutors arrested a senior Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry official on Sunday over a case of postal system abuse involving a fabricated ministry document."

June 13, 2009

DM News has noted that "Beginning in late November 2009, mailers will be required to switch to full-service Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB) to qualify for greater U.S. Postal Service discounts. IMB offers a dynamic alternative to the extremely limited POSTNET barcode. As you prepare to make the switch to IMB, here are five tips to make sure you take advantage of IMB's benefits."

The Star has reported that "AS Malaysia enters a new chapter of relationship with China, following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s landmark visit to the country, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the countries’ national postal companies had been sealed early this month. Pos Malaysia Bhd in a recent announcement to Bursa Malaysia said its MoU with China Post, which would be effective for two years, involved a feasibility study for collaboration in five areas – express mail service, bulkmail/parcels and small packets, development of cross-border e-commerce, funds remittance services, and regional integrated logistics network."

The Connecticut Post has reported that "Branches and satellite postal facilities in Bridgeport, Stamford, New Haven, Hartford and Waterbury could be among those targeted for consolidation by the U.S. Postal Service. However, branches in Monroe, Milford and Shelton won't be affected by the cost-saving moves that could take place by the Christmas/New Year holidays. No site has yet been identified for closing."

The Arizona Republic has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is re-evaluating its decision to cut funding to a Phoenix post office that serves homeless clientele, just days before the scheduled start of closure proceedings. The post office at Lodestar Day Resource Center, a 12-acre human-services campus that assists homeless adults, had been slated to gradually lose postal services beginning next Friday if the campus' executive director couldn't supplement the thousands in funding the Postal Service had decided to cut. The office, which serves about 3,000 homeless clients, offers afternoon mail pickup Tuesdays through Saturdays for everything from personal letters to Social Security checks, disability checks, W2 forms, food stamps and birth-certificate copies."

Hellmail has reported that "As postal workers in London prepare for a 24 hour strike on the 19th June over 'arbitrary cuts', Royal Mail called on the Communication Workers Union to honour existing agreements established in the wake of the 2007 Pay & Modernisation agreement. It said the CWU’s threat to customers through strike action in London would be completely at odds with the Union's claim that it suppored modernisation and the introduction of new ways of working throughout the business. Royal Mail reminded the CWU that it had earlier this year agreed that "investment in, and the pace of, modernisation needs to be stepped up" and urged the CWU to act accordingly and not to instigate strike action which would hurt customers and damage Royal Mail's drive to build a strong and sustainable future. Royal Mail said the agreement made in 2007 already covered the changes it needed to make in London in the context of a business experiencing a fall in mail volume of 10% per annum, and that it had already made exactly the same changes in almost every delivery office outside London."

Business First of Louisville has reported that "GSI Commerce Inc. and the United Parcel Service Inc. have created ShipQuick, a proprietary package-delivery program in which GSI presorts and loads packages at fulfillment centers, which helps optimize UPS ground service for GSI clients."

DMM Advisory: Intelligent Mail® Services Weekly Update

American Postal Workers Union (APWU) has told his members that "postal management’s response to the dismal situation has been in keeping with its historic knee-jerk reaction: Excessive discounts for major mailers, a reduction in the number of employees and postal facilities, and other drastic cost-saving measures. If this is the entirety of the plan for saving postal services, it is doomed from the outset." [EdNote: Bill's answer? Raise postal prices. The result? More mail leaves the postal system to alternative communication channels; Bill's members lose jobs, and the APWU harvests the poverty of the seeds it's sown.]

June 12, 2009

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

• Over 100 PostCom member company representatives and guests gathered in Washington, DC, last week for the association’s Postal Operations Committee meeting, “Study Day,” and Board meeting. Agenda topics ranged from policy discussions on the USPS’ financial condition, legislative issues around the USPS’ retiree health benefit funding requirements, Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) implementation, move update compliance, service performance, USPS network changes, and the USPS’ summer sale pricing initiative; to technical issues such as folded self-mailer testing, barcode quality thresholds, flats preparation and entry, Mail.dat versus Mail.XML, and upcoming USPS proposed rule changes.
• The U. S. Postal Service on June 5, 2009, issued a revised policy for barcode quality threshold for Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMb) verification. The latest policy change ramps up the IMb barcode quality threshold from 70 percent to 80 percent between now and September 7, 2009.
• The Association of Postal Commerce (PostCom) is assessing the readiness of its members to comply with the IMb piece barcode error tolerances established by the U.S. Postal Service in a recent letter from Tom Day, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality.
• The Association of Postal Commerce (PostCom) is assessing the readiness of its members to comply with the IMb piece barcode error tolerances established by the U.S. Postal Service in a recent letter from Tom Day, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality.
• APWU President William Burrus has reminded management that a Memorandum of Understanding included in the 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement requires that “all existing retail operations will remain within the installation of which they are a part.” U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Dan Blair spoke at a symposium at the Tokyo American Center, in Tokyo Japan, entitled, "New Regulatory and Business Models for Postal Delivery and Express Services." Commissioner Ruth Goldway wrote to the Committee on House Administration Chairman Robert Brady to support the Universal Right to Vote by Mail Act of 2009 (H.R. 1604). A hot war has broken out between UPS and FedEx over UPS' recent success in getting the House to pass a provision in the FAA reauthorization act that would change FedEx's status as an employer covered by the Railway Labor Act by making it subject to the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. UPS Inc. won't furlough any of its pilots for at least 10 months, after the union reached a deal with the world's largest shipping carrier that includes more than two-thirds of the cost cuts the company wanted. Zumbox has partnered with ALC, a data marketing service provider, to help launch its system, which lets companies send you bills or friends send you correspondence to a digital mailbox, eliminating the need to send paper letters or bills through the U.S. Postal Service. The Spring 2009 Semiannual Report on the Audit, Investigative, and Security Activities of the U.S. Postal Service (SAR) is now on posted on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General website
• Notices regarding latest Mail Pro; intelligent mail barcode readability; and new standards for letter-size booklets.
• Information on dockets currently before the Postal Regulatory Commission.
• Federal Register notices regarding: Global Expedited Package Services 1 Contract; Postal Service Price Changes; and Special Summer Postal Rate Program
• Investors appear to be growing restless with the performance of Dutch postal and logistics giant TNT NV, saying management didn't disclose interest in the company from potential buyers and has failed to properly evaluate strategic options. Donald Brydon, Royal Mail's chairman, reportedly said that if the Government did not succeed in selling a stake in the group's letters business, it would have to consider closing the scheme to existing members. It's getting tough to determine whether Britain's Labour government intends to put its plans to offer a private sector stake in Royal Mail or to put it off in the face of significant in-party political opposition. Q-Post and FedEx have signed a memorandum of understanding for the launch of Qpex, the new courier service to be offered by Q-post.
• Postal previews

The PostCom Bulletin is distributed via NetGram

Press Release: "BCC Software, a BÖWE BELL + HOWELL company and the leading developer of high-performance solutions for professional mailers, will host a series of free Web Events in June, all spotlighting ways for postal professionals to streamline their workflows and increase productivity and economy using BCC’s unrivaled mailing technology products."

According to Khaleej Times, "A former postman who left school aged 15 with no qualifications, Alan Johnson, named Friday as Britain’s new Home Secretary, is seen as a possible successor to Prime Minister Gordon Brown."

Transport News Network has reported that "Fiat Group Automobiles and Posten, the Swedish Post Office, have just signed an agreement for the supply of 3,000 Fiat Fiorino 1.3 MultiJet vans with 6-speed Comfort-matic semi-automatic transmissions."

According to NECN, "Every business is looking for ways to save money these days and the U.S. Postal Service is no different. A review is underway that could lead to the closing of thousands of small post offices across the nation." See also the New Haven Register.

From PR Web: "Earth Class Mail (ECM), the world's leading provider of Internet-powered postal-mail services, announces the official release of its updated postal-mail web application to customers worldwide. The new user interface, which has been used by thousands of ECM customers in a Beta phase for the past several weeks, allows customers to receive, read and manage their postal mail on the web with features similar to those found in popular email client applications. Earth Class Mail's redesigned user interface lets people receive, read and manage postal mail the way they use email. The feedback we received from customers who used the Beta version was extremely positive The release represents the first major upgrade of the product's user interface since the launch of Earth Class Mail in April, 2006. The application is also being licensed to Swiss Post for the online postal-mail service that it will soon officially launch in Europe under the brand name Swiss Post Box."

TMCNet has reported that "Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/1934f4/vendor_profile_p) has announced the addition of the "Vendor Profile - Pitney Bowes Software" report to their offering."

From Live-PR: "Express Logistics in Germany - a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com. This Express Logistics in Germany industry profile is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the express logistics industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, plus textual and graphical analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, leading companies and demographic information.

The June 12, 2009 issue of the National Association of Postal Supervisors NAPS Legislative & Regulatory Update has been posted on this site.

The BBC has reported that "Up to 10,000 Communication Workers Union (CWU) members will walk out for 24 hours on 19 June causing disruption to mail deliveries across the city. They claim "arbitrary" job cuts will affect about 1,600 workers and that staff may be downgraded into part-time positions, threatening services. The Royal Mail dispute the job cut figure and said a fall in mail volumes meant fewer jobs were needed." See also The Daily Mail and the Wall Street Journal.

Environmental Protection has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) awarded MACTEC a $9.5 million task order contract to provide environmental and engineering services in Pennsylvania."

Reuters has reported that "Japan's internal affairs minister resigned on Friday in a row with Prime Minister Taro Aso over the management of Japan Post, in a blow to Aso ahead of a looming election."

Hellmail has reported that "Postcomm has announced that it yesterday modified Condition 21 of Royal Mail’s licence for the purpose of facilitating the introduction of a Sustainable Mail Product. Postcomm said that the change was made to ensure that a minimum level of headroom is maintained between equivalent Sustainable Mail Access and Sustainable Mail Retail products."

"The APWU has filed a Step 4 grievance protesting management’s interpretation of the contractual protection against layoffs for APWU-represented employees who were on the rolls as of Nov. 20, 2006, but had not achieved six continuous years of service. A Memorandum of Understanding in the 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement provides protection to such employees."

News10Now has reported that "Pretty dull. That's life at the Binghamton post office most days. Except on May 21st. That's when postal workers gathered to protest the proposed consolidation of some Binghamton postal operations with Syracuse. And now the county legislature is taking up the cause."

June 11, 2009

Welcome to PostCom Radio PostCom Postal Podcast Join PostCom President Gene Del Polito, PostCom Vice President Jessica Lowrance, and PostCom Postal Consultant Kathleen Siviter in a review of the many discussions that took place at last week's meeting of the PostCom Board of Directors. This podcast consists of five parts dealing with the following topics. (The numbers noted in the parentheses represents the minutes run-time for each segment of the podcast.) Discussion concerning tabbed booklets and folded self-mailers (13:26) Discussion concerning the Intelligent Mail Barcode and USPS barcode tolerances (21:37) Discussion concerning the experiences of those participating in IMb program tests and MAIL.dat vs. MAIL.xml (13:35) Discussion concerning move update and USPS imposition of revenue deficiencies (11:05) Discussion concerning NDCs and network redesign (10:00)

June 9, 2009

Media Daily News has reported that "Ad spending in the U.S. media tracked by the Nielsen Co. declined 12% during the first quarter of 2009, as compared with the same quarter in 2008. Preliminary figures show that the decline amounts to a drop of $3.8 billion in total U.S. ad spending, Nielsen said."

The latest issue of the National Association of Major Mail Users eView has been posted on this site.

The Associated Press has reported that "FedEx Corp. is set to launch a multimillion dollar marketing campaign on Tuesday against chief rival UPS Inc., arguing the world's largest shipping carrier is the driving force behind a bill that would make it easier for FedEx workers to unionize. The bill currently before Congress would switch FedEx to the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act from the National Railway Labor Act. The Railway Labor Act allows workers to organize, if all workers vote on a union at the same time. That has been a roadblock to unions that could not afford nationwide organizing campaigns. If FedEx Express workers were to be reclassified under the National Labor Relations Act, they could organize one terminal at a time."

As the Washington Times has noted, "FedEx Express is learning what could be the Democrats' economic motto -- "Never Let Success Go Unpunished." Led by Rep. James L. Oberstar, Minnesota Democrat, the House on May 21 passed legislation that contains an almost hidden provision -- a mere 230 words -- that would hobble FedEx Express. It would do so by completely changing the labor laws under which the company operates. Unless the Senate removes the language from the underlying bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, a mere dozen or so workers in just one city could hamstring much of the nation's overnight delivery service."

The Mirror has reported that "Labour rebels claimed victory yesterday after Lord Mandelson scrapped plans to sell off part of Royal Mail. In a major U-turn, the Business Secretary accepted the economic climate was not right for part-privatisation." See also The Herald and the Financial Times.

The Telegraph has reported that "Over the weekend, ministers hinted that the highly controversial plan to sell off a third of the Royal Mail to a private company, could be shelved in an attempt to win support from rebel MPs."

Read the latest Industry Opinions here - www.postaltechnologyinternational.com/industry-blogs.php

Hellmail has reported that "With the government taking a severe beating in the elections, the controversial partial sale of Royal Mail is to be delayed. With the lack of a satisfactory bid and the potential for a massive backbench rebellion, the government has opted to allow the dust to settle and see what other offers are put forward. The delay will further frustrate Royal Mail bosses who were hopeful of a speedy resolution to put the company on a sound economic footing."

According to Dead Tree Edition, "Printing giant R.R. Donnelley sweetened the pot today in making another offer for rival Quebecor World. Donnelley will kick in another $100 million in cash and help pay for QW’s financing costs until the deal is closed, it said in a letter to QW that it also filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter revealed that the two companies have been in discussions since RRD made its first offer for QW on May 12. It said that RRD had already agreed last week to assume some of QW’s pension liabilities and to structure the deal to avoid tax liabilities for QW."

The Hannibal Courier-Post has noted that "A study on the best place to process mail from the Hannibal region is sparking debate. As part of a national cost-cutting effort, the Postal Service is looking at whether it could save money, improve efficiency and boost productivity by moving some mail processing from Quincy to Springfield, Ill."

According to the Associated Press, "UPS Inc. won't furlough any of its pilots for at least 10 months, after the union reached a deal with the world's largest shipping carrier that includes more than two-thirds of the cost cuts the company wanted. The Atlanta-based company said Monday the Independent Pilots Association has identified savings totaling roughly $90 million over three years through pilots taking short- and long-term leaves of absence, military leaves, job sharing, reductions in flight pay guarantees, early retirement, and sick bank contributions. UPS wanted $131 million in pilot savings over the next three years to avoid furloughing, or idling, roughly 300 pilots. That's 10 percent of the 3,000 pilots represented by the union. Generally, pilots who are furloughed can be recalled to duty under certain circumstances. UPS had been seeking $40 million in pilot cost savings for 2009, $38 million for 2010 and $53 million in 2011."

The Financial Times has reported that "FedEx is taking aim at United Parcel Service for its role in pushing US legislation that would make it easier for express-delivery workers to organise, with a new multimedia campaign that links its arch rival to banks, automakers and other recent recipients of government largesse. In advertisements and a new website, FedEx argues the measure would leave its air and ground delivery networks - and in turn the US economy - susceptible to costly disruptions and is tantamount to a “legislative bailout” for UPS, which is subject to a different set of bargaining rules and remains the largest single employer to members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. EDITOR’S CHOICE Analysis: A deal to organise - Apr-23 “This is a bailout, plain and simple, and the American people won’t stand for it,” FedEx asks on its new site, whose address, brownbailout.com, takes a swipe at UPS’s ubiquitous tagline, “What can Brown do for you?”

The Memphis Business Journal has reported that "FedEx Corp. ranked first in customer satisfaction in its industry for the 12th year in a row, according to new results from the quarterly American Customer Satisfaction Index."

Here, according to one of our regular correspondents, is an item with a familiar "ring." According to Gigaom, "Three years ago, the wireline revenues of U.S. phone companies were forecast to decline about 3.3 percent annually through 2009. Talk about underestimating those numbers — take a look at the following graph and you see that AT&T’s consumer line business is evaporating faster than raindrops in the Sahara. That is indeed a problem that continues to haunt the incumbent carriers — across the board. Cable companies have done a good job of snatching voice customers. Many, like me, have switched entirely to wireless. The down economy has only exacerbated these issues."

June 8, 2009

UPS and its pilots' union, the Independent Pilots Association, today announced an innovative agreement that averts the immediate furlough of 300 UPS pilots.

The latest postal 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/. Automation and the Life of the Letter Carrier. Do you think the days of manually sorting mail in the office are coming to an end? Most letters today are automatically sorted into a letter carrier’s route (Delivery Point Sequence — DPS). Now, the Postal Service wants to replicate for flats — large envelopes, magazines, and catalogs — what is done for letters with a Flat Sequencing System (FSS). It took 15 years to realize the impact of DPS; will it take longer for FSS? Will increased delivery points and decreased mail volume have an impact? Can you think of other challenges and benefits because of DPS and FSS? 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.

The BBC has reported that "Royal Mail has confirmed it may close its pension scheme to current staff if the government fails to take over responsibility for the fund. Taking on the scheme was part of the government's wider plan to sell off a stake in the Royal Mail to bring in private management. That idea is now in danger because no bidder has been prepared to offer enough to buy a minority holding."

According to the New Statesman, "Ministers are set to postpone plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail after Gordon Brown’s weakened position and the low level of the bids attracted raised new question marks over the policy. The government has been looking to sell a 30 per cent stake to the private sector but has so far not received a bid higher than £2bn. Ministers had previously insisted that they would push ahead with the second reading of the reform bill this month, but this is now likely to be delayed until at least the autumn, according to a report in today's Guardian." See also Politics.co.uk.

Dow Jones has reported that "the U.K. government intends to continue pushing its bill to modernize Royal Mail through parliament but it remains unclear when it will sell a stake in the state-owned postal service, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said Monday. However, the spokesman said Business Secretary Peter Mandelson had made clear a sale of a stake in Royal Mail could only go ahead in the correct "economic conditions."

From Business Wire: "Persystent Technologies, developers of the world’s fastest automated PC recovery product on the market, today announced that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has awarded a contract to Persystent Technologies to deploy Persystent Suite. Persystent Suite, which restores corrupted, changed, or missing operating system and application files in less than 30 seconds, will be used to image, protect and enforce desktop policies on approximately 150,000 PC workstations for the USPS nationwide. Persystent Suite ensures that PCs are always work-ready by identifying and resolving system problems every time the computer is started. Unlike any other recovery products, Persystent Suite is the only solution that resolves problems whether the PC is on or off the network, even if the operating system is corrupted or cannot start."

The Daily News has reported that "Egypt’s postal workers aired their grievances at a press conference on Saturday, calling for the formation of an independent union."

The Financial Times has reported that "Lord Mandelson is vowing to press ahead with legislation to part-privatise Royal Mail, but will stress to Labour rebels that a sale would be delayed if bids fell short of expectations."

According to The Scotsman, "Gordon Brown will face anger from postal workers tomorrow when one of the biggest affiliates to Labour will decide whether to split from the party in protest at controversial plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail. The annual conference of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will debate its links with Labour and its MPs in the wake of moves for a partial sell off of the postal group. The union gives around £1 million to Labour every year in affiliation fees and constituency development funds, but the financial support is now in doubt."

The Guardian has reported that "The government's plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail are to be put on hold pending an increase in the price bidders are willing are to pay, ministerial sources said last night, in what is likely to be seen as a significant concession to Labour rebels. Ministers indicated they intend to go ahead with the legislation to privatise in some form, but believe that the price for the sale is currently too low."

June 7, 2009

The Daily Mail has reported that "Royal Mail bosses facing the possibility of defeat by MPs over controversial plans to sell a stake in the company might consider taking some advice from Murray Martin, chief executive of America's Pitney Bowes, one of the grand old names of the global postal industry. As Royal Mail struggles back to profitability, Pitney Bowes has invested in new technology and increased its share in onlinegenerated business. Every year it helps to move 500billion pieces of mail around the world. It has more than two million customers, 35,000 employees and revenue of $6.1billion (£3.8billion) for last year. Pitney Bowes also has an astonishing 3,500 patents worldwide in areas such as ticketing, mobile phone payment, shipping, laser printing, encryption and mail production and processing. Now with EU postal services starting to open up, Martin, 61, hopes to emulate Pitney Bowes's success in the U.S. and continue its growth into Britain and elsewhere, though the company is keeping quiet about any possibility of buying a stake in Royal Mail."

The Telegraph has reported that "Donald Brydon, Royal Mail's chairman, reportedly said that if the Government did not succeed in selling a stake in the group's letters business, it would have to consider closing the scheme to existing members." See also The Times.

The latest copy of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.

According to Major League Baseball, "Dodger Stadium and the associated property now have a new ZIP code to go along with the new "Dodgertown, CA" name it was designated in October 2008. The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Saturday that the United States Postal Service will designate Dodger Stadium and its property with the new 90090 ZIP." [EdNote: Oh, I get it. Dodgertown gets its own zip code, but towns and villages elsewhere are being told we're running out of five-digit zip codes. No wonder people in Congress are ripped with the Postal Service.]

According to the New York Daily News, "There's no reason the United States Postal Service should be going broke - but it could end up that way if its managers, including politically motivated members of Congress, don't wise up. The growing gap between revenues and expenses is cited to explain 25,000 recent layoffs and a shrinking of the mail network that could include 20 shuttered branches in New York City alone. Even with the recent 2-cent increase in the price of a first-class stamp, postal officials still talk about the need for more layoffs, and keep floating the idea of reducing delivery to five days a week. The doomsday talk is premature. Even though more people use e-mail, the postal service delivered a record high 213 billion pieces in 2006, well into the digital revolution. Even online shoppers have to get physical goods delivered to them, and that usually means a visit from the postman. In reality, the $6 billion deficit is a burden dumped on the postal service by Congress. Congress has been horribly slow at correcting problems like the benefits snafu - yet adamant about imposing tough, expensive mandates on the postal service."

The New York Daily News also has reported that "Dozens of protesters continued the fight Saturday to save a Washington Heights post office named in honor of a fallen soldier." See also WPIX.

June 6, 2009 

U.S. News & World Report has reported that "Federal Express is preparing to launch a multimillion dollar public-affairs campaign to derail House-passed legislation that would put the airline-based freight company under labor rules governing United Parcel Service, FedEx's trucking-based competitor. Worried that its costs could surge and overnight deliveries could be stalled by wildcat strikes if the changes are put into place, FedEx on Tuesday is expected to lay out a multimedia campaign using the Internet, TV, and paid advertising. At issue is a provision in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that would make it easier for FedEx drivers to be organized by the Teamsters. The House OK'd the bill largely on party lines. Its fate in the Senate is in doubt."

From PR Newswire: From the Teamsters. "FedEx CEO Fred Smith's arrogant campaign of threats and intimidation continued this week when his top spokesman threatened to take down members of Congress who oppose FedEx's position on a key piece of legislation."

The Street has reported that "A new survey shows that pilots at overnight cargo carriers FedEx and UPS command the highest salaries among the 11 largest U.S. airlines."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

• MC2009-25 Public Representative Comments in Response to Order No. 217
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63349/PR%20Comments%20Order%20217.doc
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63349/PR%20Comments%20Order%20217.pdf

• CP2009-35 Errata to Notice of United States Postal Service Filing of Functionally Equivalent Global Expedited Package Services 1 Negotiated Service Agreement
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63351/CP2009-35%20Errata%20Notice.pdf

News10Now has reported that "Congressman Maurice Hinchey is urging the U.S. Postal Service to keep its processing and distribution facility in Binghamton open."

The Christian Science Monitor has noted that "More than a century after it unveiled an all-electric van that halved mail delivery times – then dumped the idea for gas-powered vehicles – the Postal Service is again looking seriously at electric-powered delivery. Besides saving hundreds of millions of dollars in gasoline costs, switching the nation’s 142,000 postal vehicles over to battery power could boost electric-truck development nationwide and provide clean mail delivery for the next century."

UPS has announced it had acquired a unit of Intereuropa Globalni Logisticni Servis that has been acting as its agent for small package delivery in Slovenia since 1991.

From PR-Inside: "GlobalEnglish Corporation (www.GlobalEnglish.com), the leading provider of on-demand learning and support for business English communication, today announced that it has won Deutsche Post DHL, the world's leading mail and logistics services group, as a customer for its GlobalEnglish Corporate Learning Service(TM). GlobalEnglish enables global teams who collaborate across countries, cultures and time zones to overcome everyday communication challenges by providing targeted resources that increase overall English proficiency as well as performance support tools that improve productivity by helping employees when they need to use English on the job."

As Marketingprofs has noted, "Everyone's looking to do more with less these days. After comparing the cost of postal mail (about a dollar apiece) with the cost of email (about a penny apiece) any B2B marketer is going to prefer using email as the medium for staying in touch with current customers and inquirers. No-brainer, right? But here's the rub: Most B2B companies have email addresses for only a fraction of their customers. And, even worse, if their privacy policies call for opt-in, only a fraction of that fraction are emailable."

Rep. John McHugh, the "father" of modern postal reform, has been nominated by the President to become Secretary of the Army.

The Guardian has reported that "The government is considering abandoning controversial plans to sell a minority stake in Royal Mail after first-round offers fell well short of expectations. A decision on whether to continue with the auction could be taken as early as this week. Whatever the outcome, the government will press on with the postal services bill, leaving the door open to part- privatisation at a later date and allowing a crucial reorganisation to take place."

According to Citywire.co.uk, "The Royal Mail (RM) pension scheme is just an example of the malaise affecting the public and journalists. In a sneaky byline to Lord Mandelson`s rescue plan for the RM, the government will take the assets of the funded RM pension scheme (£24 billion, yes that`s £24,000,000,000)) and replace it with an unfunded pay-as-you-go public sector scheme. Of course, using the 'them and us' accounting protocol employed by the government, they have successfully 'transitioned' the assets onto the government's balance sheet without declaring the total estimated cost of meeting nearly half a million postal workers now unfunded pension liabilities."

Dutch News has reported that "Dutch postal company TNT on Monday denied it had brought out a bid for parts of Britain's Royal Mail. A TNT spokesman told Reuters news agency the company had not made a formal offer. 'We are required to inform our shareholders before bringing out an offer,' he said. Talks with the British authorities are ongoing, he was reported as saying.

Lower Hudson Journal has reported that "Sen. Charles Schumer was in the area yesterday, renewing his call for the U.S. Postal Service to expedite an agreement with Cappelli Enterprises over the sale and relocation of a downtown post office. This is Schumer's second public attempt in a year to jump-start the talks. Cappelli wants to complete LeCount Square's site plan by the end of the summer."

Reuters has reported that:

• Taiwanese display maker Prime View International will buy E Ink, a company whose pioneering "electronic paper" is used to make digital book readers from Amazon.com and Sony.
• In what appears to have been one of the worst advertising quarters for newspapers since the Depression, the Newspaper Association of America quietly said the total revs were down 28.3 percent in Q1, with Alan D. Mutter noticing that sales dropped by more than $2.6 billion from the year before. Meanwhile, as print ad sales slid by 29.7 percent to $5.9 billion, even online sales had their worst quarter yet, falling 13.4 percent to $696.3 million.

The Financial Times has reported that "Postal workers in London have voted 9-1 in favour of striking over jobs and cost savings, threatening disruption to mail deliveries at a time when the political dispute over the part-privatisation of Royal Mail is coming to a head. The Communication Workers Union said its members in the capital had overwhelmingly backed strikes over “arbitrary” cuts, although it held back from naming any strike dates and said it hoped for progress in talks with Royal Mail."

June 1, 2009 

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

• CP2009-35 Notice of United States Postal Service Filing of Functionally Equivalent Global Expedited Package Services 1 Negotiated Service Agreement
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63310/CP2009-35%20GEPS%20Notice.pdf

• R2009-4 United States Postal Service Notice of Market-Dominant Price Adjustment
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63313/Notice%20of%20Price%20Adj.HD%20Flats.pdf
  http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63313/Appendix%20B.xls

• Quarterly Statistics Report II, FY 2009
  Link: http://www.prc.gov/docs/63/63315/QSR_FY09QT2%5B1%5D.pdf

FedEx Corp. began operations Monday at a new $300 million hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport, but the company said it has no immediate plans to expand the work force there because of concerns about the economy. About 160 workers were to move from FedEx's current PTI terminal to the new hub, where company officials have long planned to increase volume to sort packages for the region.

From the USPS MTAC co-chair: "The Postal Service is committed to providing excellent service at reasonable prices. It has worked to achieve these objectives through standardized automated distribution processes; the cornerstone of this effort is quality barcodes. Quality barcodes require complete, current and correct address information and compliance with readability specifications. The majority of the industry has demonstrated the ability to produce quality barcodes. The vast majority of the industry already is more than achieving” a “90 percent threshold” for barcode readability verification on MERLIN (mail evaluation readability lookup instrument). Indeed, MERLIN barcode readability data from April 29, 2008 - May 27, 2009 show that 96.90 percent of letters and flats mailings had a 90 percent or higher readability rate. The data is based on 759,322 Letter and 29,627 Flat POSTNET mailings and 71,219 Letter and 1,328 Flat IMb mailings. The data also show that the readability rates of the POSTNET barcode and the Intelligent Mail barcode are generally within a few percentage points of each other for both letters and flats. The data also show that 2.46 percent of letter mailings and 6.54 percent of flats mailings had read rates under 80 percent for IMb barcodes. But both the Postal Service and the industry can do better. By improving its barcode readability rates, the industry will help us meet these mutually beneficial goals.

Press Release: "BÖWE BELL + HOWELL (BBH), a leading provider of document processing and postal solutions, today announced the immediate availability of the Combo 14 inserting system. The Combo 14 inserter is the latest evolution of the BBH’s Combo platform – one of the industry’s newest inserting technologies."

The San Diego News Network has noted that "Latest economic indicator for the media: The La Jolla Light newspaper has gone postal. The publisher has abandoned home delivery and begun mailing the papers-along with a request for a “voluntary delivery payment of $5″ to “help defray just a small part of the cost....The week the local newspaper laid off 192 of its employees, the paper’s Smart Living section carried a banner headline for this timely story: “WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO DO A RESUME?””

Advertising Age has reported that "A research project commissioned late last year with dire-sounding rhetoric about a crisis in advertising has produced decidedly calming conclusions. The Future of Advertising project, undertaken by the Wharton School in cooperation with the Advertising Research Foundation in December, bears its first fruits with 21 papers to be published in the ARF's Journal of Advertising later this month. ARF Chief Research Officer Joel Rubinson's study on TV effectiveness also cites data from Marketing Evolution that shows print is more effective than TV or online at creating purchase intent. A separate study suggests that print advertising produces a higher sales lift per dollar spent than TV."

From Realwire.com: "Latest research from ONEPOST shows consumers want companies to use recycle logos."

According to The Mirror, "The Government may postpone a Commons showdown over the Royal Mail sell-off, Lord Mandelson hinted yesterday. The controversial legislation was due to be debated on June 9 but the Business Secretary let slip the second reading could be delayed."

IBTimes has reported that "Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has confirmed that the government is planning on going ahead with the part privatisation of Royal Mail." See also Mad.co.uk.

AllAfrica.com has reported that "The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is upbeat that Liberia is making a big shift from an out-of-order postal system to an expedited and upgraded system where it is getting on par with international acceptable standards, thanks to the good leadership of the current team of experts led by Jeremiah Solunteh who has been making uptight efforts in consultation with his able lieutenants to make things work."

Hellmail has reported that "The Finnish postal operator (Itella Group) has reported a decline in mail volume of 10% on first class mail."

The BBC has reported that "Postal workers in London have voted overwhelmingly in favour of going on strike in a row over jobs. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said its members in the capital had backed industrial action by 9-1. The union is in dispute with the Royal Mail over jobs and conditions, claiming services are being hit by "arbitrary" cuts. The union said decisions on strike dates will be taken shortly, but it said it hoped to avoid strike action."

DM News has reported that "Problems with mail delivery was one factor identified as a threat to the direct mail industry in a new forecast from Borrell Associates. Advertising revenue from direct mail is expected to plunge 39%, from $49.7 billion in annual spending in 2008 to $29.8 billion, by the end of 2013, the report added. If the forecast turns out to be right, direct mail would fall from the No. 1 position for ad revenue to No. 4, behind the Internet, broadcast TV and newspapers, it continued. Cutting the frequency of postal mail delivery and increasing postage rates would spell more trouble for direct mail, according to Borrell's report."