Air Cargo Asia-Pacific has reported that "Germany's Deutsche Post DHL has tipped its DHL subsidiaries will experience an annual growth of 13 to 15 per cent through 2015."

The Providence Journal has reported that "President Obama’s proposal to freeze the pay of federal employees for the next two years doesn’t sit well with the groups that represent those workers as they criticized the president for trying to balance the budget on the backs of their members. “Of course, he’s playing politics,” said Derrick Thomas, a national vice present of the American Federation of Government Employees. Thomas oversees the federation’s 2nd District, which represents 100,000 federal workers in New England, New York and New Jersey. “He’s caving in to the Republicans, to the Cato Institute, to the Heritage Foundation, at the expense of his workers. “It’s really disappointing.”

WSOC has reported that "Postal inspectors in Charlotte will start an investigation after a whistleblower called Eyewitness News. A viewer named Chris found a pile of someone else's mail at the bottom of a stack of postal trays last week. Chris had picked up the trays for his business. He did not want his last name used, but every piece of mail he found is addressed to a Charlotte P.O. box, mostly businesses, and was postmarked in September. It all appeared damaged, and many pieces were open."

UPS has announced it is extending its popular UPS Mobile Apps and mobile Web site to customers in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada. The Web site and native smartphone applications enable customers to ship and track packages as well as find the nearest UPS location.

The Washington Post has reported that "Bowing to growing budget concerns and months of Republican political pressure on federal pay and benefits, President Obama today announced he would stop pay increases for most of the two million people who work for the federal government. The freeze applies to all Executive Branch workers -- including civilian employees of the Defense Department, but does not apply to military personnel, government contractors, postal workers, members of Congress, Congressional staffers, or federal court judges and workers. In a statement, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), presumptive chairman of the House committee overseeing federal personnel issues, called Obama's decision "long overdue." He called on the president to institute other government spending cuts proposed in the GOP's campaign "Pledge to America". In addition to cuts outlined in the Pledge, Republican lawmakers have introduced several proposals to cut federal pay and benefits and curtail the size of the federal workforce, including cuts to the government payroll through attrition or firing federal workers who fail to pay taxes."

• CIRT Data Reliability - 11RR001IT000. The U.S. Postal Service Computer Incident Response Team (USPSCIRT) responds to computer incidents quickly and effectively to minimize the consequences of unauthorized access to Postal Service assets. These consequences may take the form of lost data confidentiality, loss of data integrity, lost revenue, damage to brand, reduced productivity, service degradation, or denial of service. The USPSCIRT validates and records incidents in an incident database that serves as a repository of incident data and a tool to facilitate the monitoring and resolution of incidents. Our review seeks to determine if the incident information stored within the computer incident tracking database is sufficiently reliable.
   
• Lima Consolidation - 11XG011EN000. As of October 15, 2010, the Lima, Ohio Processing and Distribution Facility was permanently closed and the mail processing operations were transferred to the Toledo, OH Processing and Distribution Center. We would like to know if the Postal Service could a better job of addressing customer service and stakeholder concerns before and after the consolidation. For this project, we will assess the operational impacts of the consolidation.

According to the New York Times, "For the magazine business, 2011 will be a year to watch — and not just because it could hold answers to lingering questions about the financial health of the industry. Next year will be the first in a decade and a half that the four largest American magazine companies will all have new leaders, making it possible to judge whether the recent troubles in publishing can be addressed by changes in the executive suite. Or, if not, whether the problems run deeper than they now appear."

From PR-Log: "BBC Children in Need raised over £18m in this year’s broadcast event, with help from address auto-fill and validation technology supplied by Postcode Anywhere. The address software, which was supplied free of charge, allowed donors to auto-complete an entire postal address from just the postcode. It was anticipated to speed up the time taken to process donations taken via the website by at least 50%. In total, over 45,000 payments have been processed for BBC Children in Need using this technology with around 33,000 being taken on the night of the event."

Dead Tree Edition has told its readers that "High costs that outweigh any postage discounts and poorly trained Postal Service employees are keeping most business mailers from using Full Service Intelligent Mail barcodes, an extensive study concludes. Of the 290 business mailers surveyed by USPS’s Office of Inspector General, 58% said they did not use Full Service IMbs because of high start-up costs and software requirements. Only 23% of the surveyed mailers said they were using Full Service."

Romania-Insider has reported that "Romania will invest in the technological and informational development of state-owned postal company Posta Romana in the next two years, said Romanian Communications Minister Valerian Vreme. The investments will prepare the company for the liberalization of the postal services in 2013. Vreme stressed the ministry does not plan to sell its 75 percent stake in Posta Romana, adding that investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, which owns 25 percent of the company, might sell its stake to a private company." See also Publics.bg.

The Wheeling Intelligencer has reported that "A group of Flushing residents want the U.S. Postal Service to reopen their post office because they believe it was not closed via the proper channels."

Workday Minnesota has reported that "One of the nation’s three postal unions, the Rural Letter Carriers, said it would head for mandatory arbitration after talks with the U.S. Postal Service broke down Nov. 15. Meanwhile, another, the Postal Workers, extended the talks until Dec. 1 in hopes of reaching a new contract."

Federal Times has told its readers that "Myths about the U.S. Postal Service fly fast and far these days. For instance, you have may have heard that there are 36,000 post offices in the U.S., which is more retail outlets than Wal-Mart, Starbucks and McDonald's combined. In addition, many of these post offices are labeled "money losers." These statements, made more to shock than inform, are not accurate. Let's look at the facts."

Asian Investor has reported that "Korea Post’s insurance bureau is requesting proposals from fund managers with regard to active strategies for developed and emerging market equity. It is also looking for an adviser for alternative strategies, including private equity, commodities and real estate (both direct and via funds)."

November 28, 2010

AMEInfo has reported that "Representatives of all GCC postal administrations attended the 24th meeting of the Committee of Heads of GCC Postal Organisations held in Kuwait in association with the Secretariat General of Gulf Corporation Council."

According to the Columbus Dispatch, "This holiday season, keep in mind that the package left on your front porch might be on someone else’s shopping list. Police and delivery companies say that package thefts are, fortunately, infrequent."

The Memphis Commercial Appeal has noted that "The United States Postal Service is routinely castigated for losing money, but in a series of internal audits it has identified $94 million in unnecessary expenses linked to its lack of diligence under its FedEx mail-hauling contract. The Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service audited all eight Postal Service regions across the country beginning in 2007 and ending earlier this year. It found the same problems in each region: Mail that should have been shipped by surface transportation found its way onto expensive FedEx jets. First-class mail that could have been sent on cheaper commercial airlines instead went on FedEx jets. By failing to sort mail to specific locations into cargo crates, called bypass containers, it incurred FedEx sorting charges. Nothing in the audits reflects badly on the Memphis logistics giant, but the implications of the findings, once the cost-savings opportunities identified are achieved, could affect the amount of money flowing to FedEx."

The Boston Globe has reported that "The Republican, Representative Darrell Issa of California, who will take over as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has said the government needs “to go on a diet’’ to help erase the annual budget deficit of $1.4 trillion. His goal as chairman, he said in a recent speech, is to “focus on places where money can be saved, where we can literally close agencies or subagencies or programs.’’ Issa has already drawn up a list of big targets: $40 billion a year in fraud or waste in Medicare; tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to the government-controlled mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; $8.5 billion in losses by the Postal Service in the last fiscal year; tens of millions of dollars spent on redundant programs within federal agencies or squandered through corrupt contracting procedures."

November 27, 2010

The Business Standard has reported that "With increasing competition across sectors for its different kinds of services, the over 150-year-old Indian postal system is set for a major technological advancement to improve its customer service, deliver new services and improve operational efficiencies. The Department of Posts (DoP) is understood to have given a go-ahead to its Information Technology (IT) modernisation project under the India Post 2012 plan, which has thrown opportunities of over Rs 1,000 crore for Indian and global IT vendors."

Novinite has reported that "Bulgaria's Parliament amended Friday the Postal Services Act to remove the monopoly of the state-owned company "Bulgarian Posts EAD". Thus, as of January 1, 2011, the monopoly of Bulgarian Posts on small parcels – less than 50grams – is eliminated. At the same time, the law assigns to the state company the universal postal services in the country for a period of 15 years based on the fact that Bulgarian Posts is the only entity in Bulgaria which has the infrastructure to provide these kinds of services. Their performance will be inspected and evaluated every 5 years."

According to the Globe and Mail, "Purolator Courier Ltd., Canada’s largest courier company, has let go of eight top executives in a housecleaning it says will simplify its management ranks, but one that rivals suspect may herald much closer ties with U.S. package delivery giant FedEx. The moves come as Canada Post struggles to leverage Purolator’s leading market share in the intensely competitive courier business. In addition to competing with Canada Post, Purolator also competes in various services with FedEx, United Parcel Service, DHL and Canpar. The post office’s mixed success with Purolator has triggered speculation that it might eventually put the subsidiary on the block as part of the Harper government’s push for more privatization. At least three different companies have expressed interest in acquiring Purolator in recent years, according to sources."

According to Bloomberg, "Companies facing the biggest pension deficit since at least 1994 are selling bonds at the fastest pace in more than seven years to plug the hole, betting that future returns will exceed their borrowing costs. United Parcel Service Inc., the world’s largest package- delivery business, Dow Chemical Co., Northrop Grumman Corp. and PPG Industries Inc. sold at least $5.25 billion of investment- grade U.S. corporate bonds in November to fund their pensions, making it the busiest month since June 2003."

The Connecticut Post has noted that "In a shrinking economy and in an industry that has had plant closings and layoffs, Neopost USA Inc. in Milford is growing and hiring. That is largely because of the company's "core values," said President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis LeStrange, which empower employees and emphasize customer service."

November 26, 2010

Fox News has noted that "A new postmaster general is preparing to take the reins next week at an organization beset by staggering financial losses, union disagreements and an ongoing battle over how to fix itself with regulators and lawmakers."

Reuters has reported that "Italy's postal service will make an offer for Unicredit's MedioCredito Centrale unit next week to create a new "Bank of the South" aimed at spurring development in the poor Mezzogiorno region, the government said on Friday. Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti told reporters that the offer, to be made by Poste Italiane on behalf of a group of co-operative banks, would be presented on Tuesday."

The Azerbaijan Business Center has reported that "A range of meetings with international experts has been held in Azerpoct Ltd (national postal operator) under the Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies of Azerbaijan within the frames of "ICT Week". The MCIT reports that Azerpoct’s general director Gambar Beybalayev met with experts from the postal administration of Germany within which the sides exchanged views on the development of international mail and made interesting ideas and recommendations. During the meeting it was stressed that 30% of international parcels is received by Azerbaijan from Germany that testifies of high level of cooperation established between the countries."

According to the York Dispatch, the postmaster general "has asked Congress to lift a 2006 mandate that it pre-fund retirement benefits to the tune of $5 billion a year, something he says no other large business or federal agency is required to do. Lawmakers so far have refused to budge. There are other changes the postal service would like to make, ones it says will put the 235-year-old agency on the path to solvency. Unfortunately, most require Congress and bureaucrats to get out of the way."

Informa has reported that "Mobile advertising revenue will rise tenfold to about $24.1 billion by 2015, with much of that growth coming from China and India, according to Informa Telecoms & Media."

Scoop.nz has reported that "New Zealand Post Group has secured the services of Airways Corporation of New Zealand Ltd CEO Ashley Smout to head up its new Operations division."

The Columbus Dispatch has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has persevered through more than 200 years of rain, snow, sleet and hail, but whether it will survive until this time next year is questionable - unless Congress allows it to adjust its business model. Worst of all, though, the agency's legacy costs - its pensions and its retiree health care - are choking the life out of it, and Congress is allowing it to happen."

The latest from National Public Radio: "Post Office Cuts Cause Economic, Emotional Blow."

Realdeal.hu has reported that "A joint venture linking mobile provider Vodafone and Hungarian postal service Magyar Posta to sell mobile phones and subscriptions at Hungarian post offices is a total failure, hwsw.hu writes. Vodafone and Magyar Posta signed a contract for the "Postafon" service one year ago, and over the period number of subscribers has apparently not gone above 10,000, far below the expected 70,000."

Hellmail has reported that "Croatian Post is one of many European postal operators that is gradually switching from petrol-fueled mopeds and vans to zero-emission electric vehicles. Croatian Post is currently testing the Ducati energia FreeDuck in Zargreb. The vehicle is capable, when fully charged, of a top speed of 45Km/h, the two electric motors powered by a 12v battery which can be charged in 8 hours. The company also manufactures a 100cc 4-stroke version."

Newsday Editorial: "Congress needs to address Postal Service problems."

In a letter to the current Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Postal Service, National Association of Postal Supervisors President Louis Atkins wrote: "We continue to receive negative feedback from the field concerning the continuation of reductions to the number of EAS field positions during the heart of the 2010 Holiday Season While we are cognizant of the current financial and structural challenges facing the USPS, however, staffing disruptions within the management ranks at the most important time of the calendar year is disconcerting to our members and could only serve to add additional challenges on top of the ones we are already facing. Our concern is that simply that our folks in the field will be asked to do more with less. Considering the strained nature of our workforce and infrastructure, it would be unwise in my opinion and the opinion of our membership to potentially jeopardize our ability to meet our Universal Service Obligation."

Metro Edmonton has reported that "Postal workers went door to door in a west end neighbourhood Wednesday evening, raising awareness about what they say are problems affecting both workers and Canada Post customers. Forced overtime because of a lack of relief carriers is an issue, said Bev Ray, Edmonton president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. “Now customers don’t expect to get (their) mail in a timely manner,” she said, adding that mail is sometimes not delivered until 9 p.m., or not at all."

Vietnam News has reported that "The postal industry had undergone drastic changes and regional postmasters needed to work together more closely and share experiences in dealing with them, said the managing director of Pos Malaysia Berhad, Dato' Syed Faisal Albar. Albar made the remark at the opening of the 17th ASEAN Postal Business Meeting and the 4th ASEAN Post++ Meeting, which he is chairing, in the central central city of Da Nang. The meetings are gathering sectoral representatives from ASEAN member countries as well as dialogue partners from mailand China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and South Korea. Participants discussed issues such as regional e-commerce development, postal savings projects and marketing strategies for express shipping services."

The Star has reported that "A former Pos Malaysia Bhd chairman is suing the postal services company and two others for alleged breach of contract and his purportedly wrongful dismissal."

The Yuma Sun has reported that "the Postal Service is losing a battle with technology, and Congress will find itself having to deal with this iconic part of American society next year. The reason is that Congress continues to control mail delivery, even though the Postal Service is quasi-private. Congress sets requirements for delivery, including universal service at the same prices to all areas. The reality is that our current postal system is becoming an anachronism in our high-technology world and without the ability to full adapt itself to that new world, it will continue to have difficult balancing its costs with its revenue."

November 25, 2010

The Manchester Evening News has reported that "Union bosses are stepping in to sort out problems which postal workers fear will bring Christmas deliveries to a grinding halt. Workers at the Wardley sorting office, which serves Walkden, Swinton, Boothstown and Little Hulton, claim they are struggling to deliver mail under a new regime and have called in their union leaders to mediate. New working practices are being rolled out across the country, which staff at Wardley sorting office, on Shield Drive, on the Wardley Industrial Estate, say is stretching the system to breaking point."

DutchNews has reported that "Ministers have asked the competition authority NMa to look into possible anti-competitive practices by budget mail delivery firms such as SelektMail and Sandd, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday. The investigation follows concerns that the new players are working below cost price in order to boost their market share."

The Jersey Evening Post has reported that "postal deliveries could be scaled back from six days a week to five, the Economic Development Minister has said."

Post & Parcel has reported that "Russian Post has increased staff wages by 7% during the first nine months of 2010. For the entire year, Russian postal employees will enjoy a rise of up to 12%, it has been reported."

Havana Times has reported that "The Cuban Postal Company decided to temporarily suspend the sending of postal packages to the United States, where only regular and certified correspondence that does not contain any type of object will be able to be sent. The measure comes after the announcement of exceptional security measures taken by the US Postal Service in the face of recent terrorist threats in that country, limiting the reception of packages that weigh over 16 ounces, reported IPS."

Japan Today has reported that "The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has decided to carry forward bills to roll back postal privatization measures."

The Courier Post has noted that "The satellite facility, located at 788 Emerson St., will close at the end of business Jan. 28, the Postal Service said. Local mail delivery will not be affected."

The Wheeling Intelligencer has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service plans to use a Flushing business as a ''contract community post office'' site."

From PR-Inside: "Australian Postal Corporation - Australia Company Premium Report - a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com."

According to the Daily Mail, "Around three Post Offices are closing down every week and 900 could disappear by next year, shocking research revealed yesterday. The massive number of closures is a major embarrassment for a government which has repeatedly promised to protect the network."

The Dumfries & Galloway Standard has reported that "Dumfries and Galloway Council is set to ask the UK Government to halt plans to privatise Royal Mail over fears it will lead to more rural post office closures. A majority of councillors backed a motion by the authority’s Labour group to “keep the Post Office public” at a meeting on Thursday."

Voice of Vietnam News has reported that "The 17th ASEAN Post and ASEAN Post +4 summits is being held in the Furama Resort in the central city Da Nang from November 25-27. The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Office of PosMalaysia, Dato Syed Faisal Albar is presiding over both summits. Attending the 17th ASEAN Post summit are representatives from the postal departments of 9 ASEAN countries. They are discussing ways to enhance electronic transactions in the region and around the globe, the projects hopes to develop electronic commerce within ASEAN and international electronic money transfers. Attendants to the summit are also focusing on proposals from the private sector and developing new projects in the field of postal finance and marketing strategy for the express mail service and electronic commerce."

Hellmail has reported that:

Croatian Post and Israeli Mail have signed a technical cooperation agreement in Tel Aviv. It marks the beginning of a partnership aimed at combining technical expertise ahead of a second phase of restructuring of business processes.
Royal Mail this week announced it will be discounting new or additional direct marketing campaigns throughout March and April next year by as much as 20%, to encourage advertisers to try new direct mail tactics. Mark Thomson, Media Director at Royal Mail, said: "Direct mail is back, pure and simple. It has regained its position as the consumer’s favourite direct marketing channel because people love to receive well targeted, well crafted advertising mail. "And for the advertiser, direct mail’s ROI is performing better and better and the discounts in this sale will help them to benefit from its increasing power even further."

The BBC has reported that "The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) has outlined plans for Jersey Post to face more competition. It has set out goals of developing a more competitive telecoms market, liberalising postal services and working more closely with Guernsey. The JCRA has decided to grant another postal license to TNT Post UK, to ship items for the mail-order industry."

According to The Courier, "Residents frustrated by a breakdown in Dundee East delivery office's new system have hit out at Royal Mail drafting in postmen unfamiliar with the patch. The postal authority also appears to be turning away locals who know the territory and have offered to help clear the backlog of undelivered mail. [Some] believe that postal workers who do not know the area may simply be getting lost."

Radio Netherlands has reported that "Workers at Dutch postal company TNT are staging a national strike for two days starting Thursday morning. This comes after approximately 8000 postal workers rallied in The Hague last week to protest TNT plans to retrench 3100 staff. Although there is no plan for a rally this time, some 500 postmen are meeting to follow the current debate in the Lower House about the effects of last year’s liberalisation of the Dutch postal market. A petition urging the cabinet to intervene and protect TNT employees will be handed to Social Affairs Minister, Henk Camp, just before the debate." See also Dutch News.

Also from NPR: ""I don't think the Postal Service has caught on to this," photographer Martha Cooper says over the phone. That is: Officials haven't caught on to the fact that street artists are stealing postage stickers by the dozens for graffiti and street art. In fact, it's not really even stealing because you can go to the USPS site right now and order up to 500 stickers for free. Cooper's book, Going Postal, shows the many ways in which street artists have re-purposed those government materials, i.e., mailing stickers, for vandalism. In a sense, she says, "the government is supporting their art."

From the Federal Register: 

• Postal Regulatory Commission   NOTICES New Postal Products , 72845–72846 [2010–29734] [TEXT]  [PDF] 72846–72847 [2010–29770] [TEXT]  [PDF]  
• Postal Service   RULES Express Mail Open and Distribute and Priority Mail Open and Distribute , 72686–72688 [2010–29801] [TEXT]  [PDF]

According to the New York Times, "In a matter of months, the movie delivery company Netflix has gone from being the fastest-growing first-class mail customer of the United States Postal Service to the biggest source of streaming Web traffic in North America during peak evening hours."

The Chicago Daily Herald has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is denying claims by a local postal workers union that a recent consolidation has resulted in massive delivery delays. In fact, officials say, service has improved."

The National Association of Major Mail Users has reported that "Canada Post has introduced Canada Post Comparison Shopper, a one-stop shopping website that helps Canadians instantly find, compare and purchase products online. The site uses a ranking system that filters through over 4 million products from 500 well-known and respected retailers that actually sell to Canadians. The patent-pending system evaluates criteria like price, return policies and customer service to determine which retailer offers the best match for the consumer’s search."

November 24, 2010

From Canada NewsWire: "Postal Workers in Edmonton will take to the streets tomorrow (Thursday, November 25th) to launch a door-to-door campaign called Porchlights for Posties to raise awareness of delivery problems affecting both workers and Canada Post customers."

• City Delivery Operations Workforce Planning (Report Number DR-AR-11-001). The Postal Service’s workforce planning process for city letter carriers did not always optimize available resources. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, the Postal Service could have avoided paying almost 7 million of the 28 million overtime hours for full-time city letter carriers by maximizing available, lower cost carrier resources to deliver the mail.

• Full Service Intelligent Mail Program Customer Satisfaction (Report Number DA-MA-11-001). Surveys of Full Service Intelligent Mail participants disclosed mixed results for program usefulness. For five of the six program benefit categories, one-third of the respondents described the program features as very useful and the majority considered them at least useful. However, in three of the six benefit categories, one-third of the respondents described the program features as not useful at all. In addition, non-participants expressed several concerns with the Full Service Program, such as high start-up costs and limited program benefits. Not addressing these concerns could limit program participation and customer satisfaction.

• Trying to Guarantee Global Express Guaranteed^®. Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) is the Postal Service’s premium international shipping option for documents and merchandise. FedEx provides international transportation and delivery of GXG packages. What do you think of GXG? If you have been a customer, please provide comments. LINK here to let us know!

FleetOwner has reported that "Increasing U.S. export volumes is being viewed in many quarters as critical to reviving the nation's economy in the long run, and truckers should stand to benefit handsomely from such a trend. "In my view, global trade is the quickest and surest way to accelerate global growth, create new jobs and improve living standards," noted Scott Davis, chairman and CEO of United Parcel Service, in a recent before the American Competitiveness Forum in Atlanta, a city that is also home to UPS' global headquarters."

Hawaii News Now has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service has a special offer just in time for the holiday season. A limited-edition flat-rate box will be available at no charge. The flat-rate fee is $14.50, and customers can mail anything that fits inside and weighs up to 70 pounds. The boxes will be available at the post office starting Nov. 22, and supplies are limited."

November 19, 2010

At the Postal Regulatory Commission: MT2011-1 Collaborative Logistics Market Test - Fifth Quarterly Report
http://www.prc.gov/docs/70/70947/Fifth%20Quarterly%20Report%20(Q4.2010).pdf

According to Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE) writing for Politico, "the Postal Service projects it could run out of cash and borrowing authority in the next year — jeopardizing mail service. We can still avert this crisis if Congress takes a few steps to shore up the Postal Service's finances and liberates management to make changes. To preserve key postal services — without resorting to massive price increases — we need to do three things: Fix the broken retiree benefits system, streamline operations and allow the Postal Service to offer additional products and services that can make money. The comprehensive postal reform legislation I introduced last month could do just that. First, we must address the Postal Service's two biggest financial liabilities: excessive pension payments and the cost of retiree health care. Because of a complicated, outdated formula, the Postal Service has overpaid its obligations to the old Civil Service Retirement System by tens of billions of dollars. It should be allowed to use savings from fixing this problem to fund future retiree health benefits."

The presentations that were given by the Postal Service's Paul Vogel and Linda Kingsley at this week's MTAC meeting are available on this site.

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

• Despite cost cutting of $11 billion over the past three years, the U.S. Postal Service has reported a $8.5 billion loss for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. The Postal Service experienced a 3.5 percent volume decline from FY2009, losing 6.2 billions pieces. At the same time, it cut 75 million workhours or 6.0 percent, on top of the 115 million it cut last year.
• The U.S. Postal Service has released its 2009 Annual Report. It highlights the difficult year the Postal Service has faced amid increasing electronic diversion. The Postal Service continues to focus on cost reductions and increased efficiencies.
• Both outgoing Postmaster General Jack Potter and incoming Postmaster General Pat Donahoe, who currently serves as Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Operating Officer, spent time at this week's Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meeting, talking about the need to focus on growing revenue and volume with a continued eye toward service improvement and cost cutting.
• Steve Forte, USPS senior vice president of operations, this week at the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meeting shared the USPS' first service performance reports for market dominant products based on live Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) data. Forte told the MTAC group that the Q4 FY 2010 results show "dramatic changes," from previous quarters.
• Paul Vogel, USPS President, Mailing & Shipping Services and Linda Kingsley, USPS SVP Strategy and Transition, spoke during this month's MTAC Strategy Day. Vogel's message focused on how the USPS is looking to turn around its current financial challenge through growing revenue. Kingsley focused on the Postal Accountability Enhancement Act and how the industry needs to consider what needs to be changed.
• The USPS this week at the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meeting presented plans to improve its customer postage refund process, which fell short of what mailers had been hoping to hear from the agency. Issues with obtaining postage refunds have plagued the mailing industry for years and heated up earlier this year when the USPS began tightening up its mail acceptance and verification processes as part of its work toward SOX compliance. Mailers routinely wait months or even years for the USPS to process legitimate postage refund requests. Shortly following a presentation from newly appointed president of mailing and shipping services Paul Vogel – who told the MTAC audience that one focus area the USPS plans to pursue is improving its customers' "experience" – meeting attendees got a reminder of just how much improvement that experience needs.
• According to Rep. Edolphus "Ed" Towns, D-N.Y., "the obstruction by key Republican senators who refused in late September to grant the U.S. Postal Service partial deferment of trust fund payments has driven the agency close to a breaking point."
• According to Lyle Ryter, a long-time veteran of Capitol Hill, "despite the news headlines that last year the Postal Service lost $8.5 billion, you might think about stepping back to learn the realities behind the headlines. Separating sensational headlines from reality will be the first and most difficult challenges that you face in your new jobs and for those returning for another term."
• October CPI figure published. 2011 MTAC dates (revised). Issa to push for Postal Service changes. Millionaire postal execs are underpaid, consultant says. Guffey: ‘real efforts' to reach agreement begin. Outgoing PMG's golden parachute. USPS grants EVP 25% retention bonus. Postal Service CHRO named among best of best in HR field. More USPS red ink to lead to bloodletting. Excessing: A delicate balancing act. PRC extends comment period in temp waiver docket. USPS revamps ‘how-to' direct mail website.
• An update on DMM Advisories issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
• An update on postal rules and notices published in the Federal Register.
• An update from the USPS Office of Inspector General.
• A review of postal news from around the world.
• Postal previews.

The PostCom Bulletin is distributed via NetGram

Now hear this: "This Week In Postal".........the latest podcast posted now!

From PRLog: "For the overall holiday season, FedEx is expecting a total volume increase of approximately 11 percent compared to 2009. FedEx forecasts more than 223.3 million shipments will move through its global networks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. More than half of the holiday season volume increase will be from FedEx SmartPost shipments. FedEx SmartPost volume is largely driven by online retailers and cataloguers who ship high volumes of lighter shipments to residential customers. FedEx SmartPost has a completely integrated national network that picks up, sorts and delivers packages directly to U.S. Postal Service facilities for final delivery to residences. The affordable rate structure allows retailers to offer discounted shipping to customers during the holidays and beyond."

Yup. It's "get ready for the mail conferences time" again. Check out what you can expect to see at Mailcom 2011 in Washington, DC.

Hellmail has reported that "HubEurope has teamed up with Hermes to offer the first alternative home delivery service for Jersey-based fulfilment houses and retailers looking to ship products to the UK. The company will use Hermes' position as the leading UK courier network to compete with postal operator Jersey Post for 60 million parcels and packets delivered to the UK each year."

Transport Intelligence has a new report that examines the challenges facing European Mail markets."

From the Federal Register: Postal Regulatory Commission, Post Office Closing, 70956–70957 [2010–29204] [TEXT].

November 18, 2010

From PRWeb: "The Isle of Man Post Office emerging as a global player in the document scanning and data capture market."

The Stratford-upon-Avon Herald has reported that "Stratford-upon-Avon sorting office is in chaos after a local revision of the service implemented last week has led to a backlog believed to be in excess of 40,000 items, while residents and businesses are suffering as they receive little or no service. As Christmas edges closer the Royal Mail sorting office is being inundated with calls and complaints from residents and businesses, to be been told by staff "it's absolute chaos" and they have no idea when the backlog will be cleared. Royal Mail have remained tight-lipped about the situation but it is understood managers from across the county have been drafted in to help clear the backlog."

The Syracuse Post-Standard has reported that "Letter carriers in Central New York and other parts of Upstate had collected food from customers' mailboxes to help restock community food pantries for 22 years. The Postal Service decided to halt the drive after Empire Vision backed out as a corporate sponsor following the 2008 collection, according to Maureen Marion, a Postal Service spokeswoman. The company had paid for 1.5 million postcards letter carriers delivered to customers alerting them to the collection."

According to Marketing Daily, "A new forecast from accounting giant BDO predicts that Black Friday sales will gain 3.8%, Cyber Monday sales will increase 2.5%, and that -- surprisingly -- the humble email will become marketers' weapon of choice on the busiest shopping weekend of the year."

From the Federal Register: Postal Regulatory Commission Market Test Involving Greeting Cards, 70753–70754 [2010–29086] [TEXT] [PDF] Postal Classification Changes, 70754–70755 [2010–29083] [TEXT] [PDF]

The Asahi Shimbun has reported that "Japan Post Service Co. plans to do more than just deliver in coming months. It will soon start switching to electric motorbikes made in Italy to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. Several hundred vehicles will be purchased this fiscal year as a first step toward replacing the 90,000 or so motorbikes in use nationwide to deliver the mail. Japan Post Service is also considering joint procurement of electric motorbikes with La Poste of France."

ConnectTriStates.com has reported that "A Quincy man is behind bars after apparently trafficking meth through the mail. The Adams County Sheriff's Department and Illinois State police arrested 41 year-old Kelcey Clark yesterday at his home here on Broadway after a postal delivery. Police intercepted a package of meth mailed from out of state."

The Charleston Gazette Mail has reported that "Federal inspectors have fined the U.S. Postal Service $287,000 for what they said were willful violations of electrical safety standards at a mail processing facility in Bluefield. It was the second time in as many months that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied significant penalties for safety problems at a postal facility in West Virginia. OSHA inspectors launched a probe at the Bluefield facility in May, in response to a complaint about hazards. They ended up citing the Postal Service with four willful violations carrying a penalty of $280,000 and one serious violation with a penalty of $7,000."

Hellmail has reported that "Johnny Thijs, CEO for Belgian Post (bpost) said this week that he was confident the company was ready for liberalisation of the Belgian postal market on 1st January 2011 although he anticipated changes over the next few years - especially with respect to the effects of declining mail volume and increasing competition."

The Financial Times Advisor has reported that "Employee share ownership makes businesses more profitable and efficient so it should be retained within Royal Mail, an industry professional has told a parliamentary committee."

The Victoria Advocate has reported that "The processing of mail might move to Corpus Christi under a proposed plan by the United States Postal Service. The approval of the plan would mean a loss of personnel at the Victoria mailing location."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that "Deutsche Post AG, Europe's largest postal service, is moving a part of its core letter business online. The publicly traded German logistics giant, which also owns package-delivery service DHL, is hoping that security-conscious consumers in its home market will trade their regular e-mail for a new, secure e-mail service that costs the same per message as sending a standard letter. Outside Germany, trying to make money from email in a world dominated by free services like Microsoft Corp.'s Hotmail and Google Inc.'s Gmail might seem like a doubtful strategy. But many Germans are willing to pay to ensure the security of their private communications, so Deutsche Post's new E-Post letter has been winning customers. The company says it has registered one million users for the service since it began in July, but won't say how many E-Post letters have been sent"

The American Postal Workers Union has told its members that "APWU President Cliff Guffey briefed the union's Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee on Wednesday morning, saying, "Our goal in these negotiations is to make our members feel as though they can stick around and feel secure in their jobs. That is our obligation." Guffey and other members of the union's negotiating team discussed their efforts to protect work performed by APWU members and to defend jobs. "Every proposal we have made to secure work for our members will also save the Postal Service money," he said. "If we are forced to go to arbitration, that will be a powerful argument," said Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris. Management has expressed interest in the union's proposals to return subcontracted work to the APWU and to assign additional duties to the bargaining unit, Guffey said, but has not made any firm commitments."

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service, which is losing money as society transitions to digital communications, will eliminate 35 positions in metro Milwaukee branches and move the employees elsewhere, a Postal Service spokesman said Wednesday. It's the second round of cuts in recent months after the agency cut 82 clerks in late summer at the Main Distribution Center in downtown Milwaukee, which continues to employ 1,150, and cut an additional 23 positions in suburban branches, spokesman Jim Mruk said. "No one will be laid off," Mruk said. The federal agency will try to find other jobs within the postal service and will pay to relocate displaced workers to other parts of the country, if necessary, Mruk said."

Expatica has reported that "About 8,000 striking postal workers protested in The Hague Tuesday against plans by Dutch-based international postal and courier company TNT to retrench 3,100 staff."

November 17, 2010

According to the Cato Institute, "The retiree health care benefit pre-funding requirement has become a rallying cry for the postal unions, as any threat to USPS solvency is a threat to the excessive compensation and benefits they've been able to extract from the postal service for their membership over the years. Policymakers should properly view the retiree health care benefit as a symbol of postal labor excess, which continues to weigh the USPS down like an anchor. Therefore, they should avoid allowing the USPS to further postpone these payments into the future, which could lead to a taxpayer bailout. Instead, policymakers should recognize that the USPS's financial woes require bolder action: privatization."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:  The PRC has posted the latest rolling CPI figure as of October 31...... 1.799%.

Bloomberg has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. Chief Executive Officer Scott Davis is seeking cooperation partners in Europe in a bid to expand the U.S.company's private clients business there, Capital magazine reported, citing an interview. The world's largest package-delivery firm has established contact with Deutsche Post AG among others, Davis is cited as saying. UPS is not interested in acquiring the package unit of Dutch postal company TNT NV, which may be put up for sale next year, according to the German magazine."

The Courier, Express, and Postal Observer has noted that "Last week the Postal Regulatory Commission announced on its website that it has funded six studies examining the social value of mail. The Commission's studies provide a couple of snapshots as to the impact of the Postal Service on the markets and communities that it serves. The studies that the Postal Regulatory Commission funded are examples of studies that are necessary in order to fully develop a postal market policy and the business model that the Postal Service should follow and the regulatory structure under which the Postal Service should operate. Many of these studies could help clarify questions about whether the Postal Service could continue to provide the benefits that it provides the nation if it operated as a private sector corporation, a government corporation operating under standard business law, the current model, or as government department. Similar questions need to be asked about the impact of regulatory policy on the social benefits and economic impact of the Postal Service and private sector participants in the postal market."

Press Release: "The head of human resources activities for the nation's second largest employer with well over half a million employees has been selected as the first public sector executive to receive the nation's top honor in the field of human resources. Anthony Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president was named Fellow at the prestigious National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) Nov. 4. Founded in 1992, the NAHR recognizes individuals for professional achievement by election as "Fellows of the NAHR" — the highest honor achievable. Fellows are widely known as leaders in the profession, have meritorious national reputations for shaping human resource thinking and policy and have demonstrated an unfailing commitment to success. "Tony is an outstanding HR professional who has made major contributions to the Postal Service and its employees while adhering to the highest ethical and governance standards," said NAHR President Richard Antoine. "There have been only 136 HR professionals who have been deemed worthy of admittance into the National Academy, and we are honored that Tony is able to join this elite group."

Mad.co.uk has reported that "Royal Mail is continuing with its drive to boost commercial revenue through increased use of direct mail with an online tool that it claims will help marketers develop flexible Christmas campaigns. The postal operator says that Door Drops Online allows small and medium-sized businesses to create and book unaddressed mail campaigns online and arrange printing and direct delivery."

According to the New York Post, "United Parcel Service (UPS.N) expects a 7.5 percent rise in U.S. holiday shopping season deliveries and plans to hire about 50,000 seasonal workers to handle the increased volume."

According to the Washington Times, "Outgoing U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter earned nearly $800,000 last year - an increase of more than $60,000 over the previous year - as the U.S. Postal Service faces the worst financial crisis in its history. The Postal Service said in filings that the postmaster's compensation still lags behind the pay of other chief executives in the private sector. But watchdog groups question the payouts after the Postal Service announced more than $8 billion in losses for fiscal 2010 and is seeking permission to cut a day of mail delivery to save money. "How can they do this at a time like this?" said Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for the nonpartisan Citizens Against Government Waste. "There's some sort of major disconnect there." Pete Sepp, vice president of the National Taxpayers Union, said postal customers will look at two bottom lines: compensation and annual losses. "For the sake of good PR alone, it may might make sense to revise the compensation system for manager so the performance and reward at least look like they're more directly related to each other."

FoxBusiness has reported that "Austrian postal service provider Oesterreichische Post AG (POST.VI), or Austrian Post, Wednesday reported a 25% rise in third quarter net profit, as cost cuts and lay-offs helped compensate a continued decline in letter volmes, and reiterated its full-year guidance for slightly lower sales and stable earnings."

The ARKA News Agency has reported that "Armenian transport and communications minister Manuk Vardanyan and director general of "Haypost Trust Management" company Juan Pablo Gechedjian signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the transport and communication minister Susanna Tonoyan told ARKA that the memorandum calls for setting up a bilateral commission that will be tasked with studying and presenting corresponding suggestions on the new role of the HayPost Trust Management, as well as a draft plan of major actions, including its investment projects."

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

Given the decreasing level of competition on Germany's letter market the Association of Courier, Express and Postal service providers (BdKEP e.V.) called on politicians to step in.
Swiss Post performed significantly better in the first nine months of this year than in the same period last year.
During the first nine months of this year, growth in the Chinese postal and express market remained at a consistent high level.
TNT Post's mail carriers protested with a 24 hour strike against the planned job cuts in the Netherlands. The strike began on Monday at midnight and ended Tuesday night.
On Monday this week the Dutch government appointed Ruud Vreeman as mediator in the dispute between postal companies and the unions. The former mayor of Tilburg is supposed to examine new possibilities to solve the ongoing dispute about salaries in the postal sector.
French union Sud made public an extreme case of consecutive temporary employment contracts at La Poste.
The European Commission has imposed several fines in the air cargo sector for illegal price fixing last week. Air France-KLM, British Airways, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Cargolux, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, Martinair, SAS, Singapore Airlines and Qantas have to pay a total fine of 799.5m euros for illegal price fixing. Lufthansa provided the competition watchdog authority with information about the price cartel and will therefore not be charged, the EU-Commisssion announced.
Korea Express suffered a dramatic slump in profits on declining revenues in the first half year 2010.
The number of companies which offer their products or services online doubled in Germany last year. According to the Federal Statistical Office the number increased from 11% in 2008 to 23% in 2009. Especially small companies (less than ten employees) set up this additional distribution channel according to the authority.
Kuwait plans to open its postal market to competition.
Deutsche Post has entered a new era. CFO Larry Rosen told business journal »Börsen-Zeitung« (16.11), 'we left behind
the burdens of the past and are now in a good position as we had planned'. He further said that the concern had no intentions for any larger acquisitions.
The employees of Panama's state owned postal company protested against the planned privatisation of the company. The 800 employees of COTEL will decide next Saturday if further action e.g. strikes will be taken.
The union representing postal workers in Sri Lanka urged the government to sack Post Master General M.K.B. Dissanayake.
New Zealand Post established an independent body to oversee arrangements for accessing the mail network. The Postal Network Access Committee will have four independent members and one NZ Post representative.
Austrian Post has launched the Premium Light Parcel service for its business clients. These parcels which are limited in size and weight (to a maximum of two kilograms), will be delivered by letter carriers 'for a price, well below two euros'.
Minister of Industry Paolo Romani and Massimo Sarmi, Poste Italiane's CEO, signed a new contract which regulates the relation between the state and the post. The agreement basically includes all legal and operational aspects of the universal service's provision.
Austrian Post appointed a successor for Carl-Gerold Mende, member of the management board and responsible for the Parcel & Logistics division. On Tuesday the company announced that Peter Umundum will succeed Mende on April 1 2011.

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 Crewe Chronicle has reported that "a soldier who has signed up to serve his country missed his last weekend out with his mates because of the postal chaos in Crewe. His complaint comes in the week South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce attacked the "appalling level of service" from Royal Mail. Jamie Hockenhull, 20, begins his training with the Royal Military Police on Monday and should have spent his last Sunday in Civvy Street with pals at the Classic Car Show at Birmingham's NEC. But his ticket was posted in Leeds on Tuesday last week still hadn't arrived yesterday. Jamie said: "It was my last day out with my mates. Of course I'm disappointed." His mum Mary phoned Royal Mail to try to trace the post – but no-one answered."

From PRLog: "BBC Children in Need will give their website a boost this week thanks to rapid address look-up software from Postcode Anywhere. The software, which is to be supplied free of charge, speeds up the time taken to process donations by allowing donors to auto-complete an entire postal address from just the postcode. This cuts data entry time by at least 50% and should allow the charity to take a considerably higher volume of transactions on the night."

Postal news from Hellmail:

Austrian Post today posted its three quarter results for 2010, noting that whilst a negative sales trend had been observed, the first nine months of 2010 were "very satisfactory". The growth in parcel logistics almost offset declines in other areas. Efficiency measures, reductions in equipment operational staff costs also helped.
Russian Post and the "Who else but me?" charitable foundation have announced a continuation of joint action to provide support for children in difficult circumstances including educational opportunities through distance learning and supplementary educational materials. Operating as "Postal Aid" via post offices throughout Russia, leaflets and a donation facilities will be available to promote the distance learning project which aims to target orphans, disabled children and children from large families. In addition, extra help will be on offer in the form of a eam of volunteers to collect information about children with difficult living conditions or in need of assistance in education.

Press Release: "FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., and the world's largest express transportation company, today won the coveted Ruban d'Honneur award for outstanding customer focus, at the prestigious European Business Awards ceremony in Paris. This award makes FedEx Express one of the top ten companies for customer satisfaction in Europe. The company was awarded the prize in recognition of the high level of importance it places on ensuring that customer satisfaction is held at the forefront of all FedEx Express business processes."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:  

• Postal Regulatory Commission   RULES Product List Update , 70124–70126 [2010–28884] [TEXT]  [PDF]
• Postal Service   RULES 2011 Changes for Domestic Mailing Services , 70128–70132 [2010–28590] [TEXT]  [PDF] New Incentive Programs and Other Changes for Domestic Mailing Services , 70132–70140 [2010–28412] [TEXT]  [PDF]

From PR Urgent: "Companies are discovering that Newgistics offers shipping programs for distributors. Distributors rely on Newgistics as their primary source for reliable shipping programs. The company is the top, supplier for Transparent Returns Management Options, shippers find to offer an extreme value. Consumers look for retailers that understand their product return concerns. Newgistic shipping programs mean distributors get a modern shipping programs that meets expectations. For additional information retailers are invited to visit the company web site at http://www.newgistics.com."

From Business Wire: "Worldata Research, the analytic division of the leading direct/interactive marketing organization Worldata, is hosting the Direct Marketing Summit on November 17, 2010. This Premier Online Event for Direct Marketers will be the second virtual online conference, offered only to qualified leaders in the direct marketing industry."

According to NZBusiness, "It's direct mail – but not as we knew it. Steve Hart reports on the latest direct mail marketing initiatives, and the integration of mail with the digital world. We all understand the value of building that all-important one-to-one relationship with customers. But making that connection can be time consuming and a bit hit and miss – unless you have professional help. This is where direct mail organisations come in. Not only do they have access to reams of data about your potential customers, they can offer a range of creative ways to connect with them. These can include personalised colour brochures that promote web-based marketing campaigns as the worlds of print and digital combine."

Westlaw's News and Insights has reported that "Three mail sorting companies will pay the United States $4.2 million to end allegations that they defrauded the Postal Service by claiming entitlement to discount postage rates. The Justice Department announced the settlement by California-based companies Quicksort Inc., Quicksort LA Inc. and Quicksort Sacramento Inc. Oct. 20. The settlement puts an end to the government's allegations that the firms violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, by obtaining discounted postage rates to which they were not entitled. The FCA is the government's primary tool for fighting fraud against federal agencies."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. said its global shipments from Thanksgiving to Christmas should be up about 7.5% from last year at 430 million packages, although it also forecast a flat peak day. The package-delivery giant forecast 24 million shipments on what it projects will be its busiest day, Dec. 22, about even with last year's busiest day."

November 16, 2010

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:  

• Docket No. R2011-1: Responses Of The United States Postal Service To Questions 1-3 Of Chairman'S Information Request No. 1
• Technical Conference Docket RM2011-1 Temporary Waivers from Periodic Reporting of Service Performance Measurement Commission Hearing Room, 901 New York Ave., NW, Suite 200 (will be webcast) 11/17/2010 10:00 AM

DMM Advisory: IMb Services Update. Migrating to the IMb™ Webinars: In May 2011, eligibility for automation discounts in letter and flat mailings will require mailers to use an Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb) on each mailpiece in Full-Service and Basic IM barcoded mailings. At that time, the POSTNET™ barcode will no longer qualify for automation prices. To help mailers transition to using the IMb, the Postal Service is conducting webinars entitled "Migrating to the IMb." These webinars will be held between November 22, 2010, and May 3, 2011.

Full-Service eDoc Verification Using MicroStrategy Webinars: will be held on Thursdays beginning November 18 through December 16 (excluding November 25) from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST. These webinars are tailored to provide mailers details on the eDoc Verification process and enhancements to the MicroStrategy Mail Data Quality reports to support the new eDoc evaluation process. The webinar schedule and log on information will be posted on the RIBBS® website under Intelligent Mail Latest News on Wednesday, November 17.

SupplyChainDigest has reported that "Over the last few weeks, first FedEx and then UPS in near tandem announced a series of published rate hikes for 2011. The headline news was that the average increase at FedEx will be 3.9% and for UPS 4.9%, in both cases net rate changes based on a combination of even high rate hikes combined with a reduction in fuel surcharges. But many shippers can actually expect to see their costs rise even more than those numbers."

From Business Wire: "UPS employees are as busy as Santa's elves as they prepare to deliver logistics and packages to and from businesses and consumers this holiday season. "With movements to and from warehouses to boats, planes, trains and delivery vehicles and then to customers' doorsteps around the world, UPS's global logistics capabilities really deliver the holidays." From Thanksgiving to Christmas, UPS expects to deliver approximately 430 million packages around the world. And on the busiest day of the year for UPS – Wednesday, Dec. 22 – the company anticipates delivering 24 million packages worldwide, a nearly 60 percent increase over UPS's normal daily delivery volume of 15.1 million packages and documents. To handle this surge in volume, the company plans to hire roughly 50,000 seasonal workers."

Procurement Leaders has reported that "Senior supply chain and procurement executives in the US are becoming increasingly concerned that rising cost of raw materials and labour will dampen market growth as they try to climb out of the recent economic downturn."

Postalreporter.com has a link to some of the most senior USPS execs' pay.

In a contribution to AmericaPost, Lyle Ryter, a long-time veteran of Capitol Hill and student of things postal, offered the following: "At the inception of every new Congress, public and private interest groups scurry around to assemble their agenda for the incoming freshmen and returning members. This is my briefing book for you and it will be very brief. I am not employed by the Postal Service but I do have the following message. The Postal Service is not bankrupt. Despite the news headlines that last year the Postal Service lost $8.5 billion, you might think about stepping back to learn the realities behind the headlines. Separating sensational headlines from reality will be the first and most difficult challenges that you face in your new jobs and for those returning for another term."

CNBC has said: "Need a quick three billion dollars, Uncle Sam? How about looking in your own pockets?Deficit cutters struggling to make ends meet in Washington are eyeballing an unusual pot of potential revenue: back taxes owed to the government by federal employees themselves. According to an IRS study last year, those employees and federal retirees owed a staggering $3.3 billion dollars in delinquent tax payments to the government. The federal agency with the largest back-tax bill? The US Postal Service, where hundreds of thousands of employees owed a total of more than $283 million, said the report."

Dead Tree Edition has told its readers that "By government standards, the U.S. Postal Service's top executives, with their multimillion-dollar pension packages, are doing quite well. But their compensation is lagging further behind their counterparts in private industry, according to a USPS consultant."

The American Postal Workers Union has told its members that "Real efforts" to reach an agreement with the Postal Service on the terms of a new contract began Monday afternoon when the union's top negotiators held a closed-door meeting with high-ranking postal officials, APWU President Cliff Guffey said. Meeting with management's representatives along with Guffey were: Executive Vice President Greg Bell, Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris, Clerk Craft Director Rob Strunk, Maintenance Craft Director Steve Raymer, and Motor Vehicle Services Craft Director Bob Pritchard. The union's top negotiators met with management on Nov. 15. "We had a good meeting," Guffey told the union's Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee Tuesday morning. "We discussed returning jobs to our bargaining unit."

The Washington Post has noted that "Postmaster General John E. Potter could earn about $5.5 million in deferred compensation, retirement benefits and accrued annual leave for the rest of his life when he leaves the U.S. Postal Service next month, according to financial statements. Potter also is eligible for up to two years of outplacement assistance and may continue receiving health-care insurance from USPS for up to one year after his departure. The details of Potter's compensation and separation package were publicly reported this week as part of the Postal Service's financial disclosure obligations under the Sarbanes Oxley Act."

The USPS is granting Tony Vegliante a 25% retention bonus to remain in his position of Exec. Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. From the USPS' filing of its Form 8-K:

"On November 10,2010, the Postal Service entered into an Agreement for Retention Incentive (the "Agreement") with Anthony J. Vegliante, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, providing for the payment ofcertain annual retention incentives to induce Mr. Vegliante to remain in his position as Executive Vice President and ChiefHuman Resources Officer. The Agreement is effective as ofNovember 1, 2010 and provides for payments to Mr. Vegliante of twenty-five percent (25%) of Mr. Vegliante's basic salary in effect as of November 1,2010 and as ofNovember 1,2011. Mr. Vegliante will be entitled to receive such payment(s) within thirty (30) calendar days after November 1 of each twelve month period as long as he remains employed by the Postal Service as of that date, to the extent allowable by law. The Agreement provides that the parties may mutually agree in writing to extend the Agreement on an annual basis for each twelve month period commencing on November 1 of each year after November 1, 2011, so that the amount ofthe retention incentive for any such future period shall be twenty-five percent (25%) of Mr. Vegliante's basic salary in effect as of November 1 of the relevant year."

From PR Newswire: "Embracing electronic technology to promote the use of direct mail, the U.S. Postal Service recently revamped the companion website to Deliver, its magazine for marketers. The new "how-to" website, delivermagazine.com, offers all the direct mail and multichannel marketing strategy of Deliver — and much more — including for the first time, a smart phone interface. delivermagazine.com provides direct marketers and agency professionals from businesses of all sizes with scores of articles, case studies, white papers and online marketing tools to help them grow their businesses through acquisition, retention and brand-building."

According to The Courier, "Royal Mail has said it is working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of mail still piled up at the beleaguered Dundee East delivery depot."

Hellmail has reported that:

• Royal Mail today launched a new time-saving tool enabling customers to create and book their unaddressed mail campaigns online and arrange printing and direct delivery. Door Drops Online - www.doordropsonline.com - is designed specifically for small and medium sized businesses that may not have a relationship with a printer or logistic partner, enabling them to quickly arrange all aspects of their unaddressed mail campaigns with the printing and delivery managed by Royal Mail.

• Gordon Banks, Labour MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, opened today's Committee stage of the Postal Services Bill by supporting an amendment in the form of a sunset clause that would place a time limit on the proposed sale of the Royal Mail, and if unsuccessful, for the plans to be discussed again in Parliament. Mr. Banks said a perpetual sale, if Royal Mail remained on the market, would drive the price down. He also said there was nothing in the Bill that prevents a piecemeal sale and that even Ed Davey must accept that this could not be deemed an acceptable solution.

WSYR has reported that "Shortly after the New Year, the North Syracuse Post Office will process its final piece of mail. The post office will remain open through the holiday season. Its final day of operations will be Friday, Jan. 14. According to the postal service, local delivery for people living with addresses listed under the zip code 13212, will not be affected."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:  Docket No. RM2011-1: The Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) requests that the deadline for filing comments be extended until Wednesday, November 24, 2010.1 The Commission has scheduled a technical conference for Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in the Commission hearing room.2 PostCom seeks additional time to incorporate information presented at the technical conference into their comments. The Commission finds the request to extend the deadline for comments reasonable. The deadline for filing comments shall be extended until November 24, 2010. The deadline for filing reply comments shall be extended until December 6, 2010."

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, It's even worse than they thought. The U.S. Postal Service announced Friday it lost $8.5 billion last year. That's billions more than expected and twice the red ink of the previous year. Ouch! It's time for Congress to get serious about stabilizing the service — without jacking up the price of stamps yet again. Congress should: • Let the Postal Service reduce payments of retirees' health insurance premiums. • Grant the Postal Service authority to reduce delivery from six days a week to five. • Let the Postal Service close more of its offices and outlets. • Lift the Postal Service monopoly on letters and mailbox deliveries to allow competition. • Allow the service to develop more competitive products."

Royal Mail's plans to raise the price of business post by 19 per cent could have a "devastating effect" on the future of mail, the U.K. Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has warned. The DMA's executive director, Chris Combemale, said such increases would deliver another blow to the UK's businesses, which are still feeling the impact of the recession.

ANGOP has reported that "the country's postal network will be spread all over the country, announced over the weekend, in Cacuso District, northern Malanje Province, the administrator for postal area of the Angola Mail Services, Fernando Silva. The programme comprises the rehabilitation and re-opening of 160 post offices until 2012."

Postal Technology International has reported that "Royal Mail Group has announced that its operating profit fell to £52 million ($84 million) in the six months to the end of September as mail volumes continued to decline and competition from rival operators and electronic media increased."

The Reuters has reported that "Postal deliverers at Dutch mail and express group TNT went on strike on Tuesday, the first nationwide postal strike since 1983, escalating a dispute over the company's planned restructuring and job cuts."

10TV News has reported that "Federal authorities are conducting an investigation after 10 Investigates captured video of a postal carrier throwing away mail in a Dumpster. The video showed the postal worker looking around, before he slid the Dumpster door shut, returned to his postal van and drove off."

One writer for the Washington Post has noted: " I can't help but note that the U.S. Postal Service lost $8.5 billion in the past year and may well go bankrupt next year. Why, in this age of multiple courier services, cheap phone calls and e-mail, is the U.S. Postal Service still a government-owned company? Germany privatized its postal service in 1995."

Dead Tree Edition has reported that "By government standards, the U.S. Postal Service's top executives, with their multimillion-dollar pension packages, are doing quite well. But their compensation is lagging further behind their counterparts in private industry, according to a USPS consultant."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that "Calling free trade key to robust U.S. and global recoveries, United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) Chief Executive Scott Davis said Monday that more must be done to "defeat the tyranny of protectionism" and eliminate trade barriers. Davis, speaking at the Americas Competitiveness Forum taking place in Atlanta, offered a number of prescriptions for the U.S. in particular."

Home Media Magazine has wondered: "Should Netflix be concerned following last week's disclosure by the U.S. Postal Service that it lost $8.5 billion in its most recent fiscal year (ended Sept. 30) — a financial predicament some members of Congress believe leaves the USPS is in jeopardy of maintaining operations a year from now without a bailout? Analysts don't think so."

The business leaders of the Electrification Coalition gathered in Washington, DC, today to discuss the state of legislation designed to deploy electric vehicles and infrastructure and to release the Fleet Electrification Roadmap, a comprehensive analysis of the business case for electric-drive technology adoption among the more than 16 million commercial, corporate, and government fleet vehicles in the United States. The Fleet Roadmap also identifies the most significant technological challenges facing fleet operators, and recommends targeted public policies to help overcome those challenges, including: Federal fleet electrification, including the Postal Service."

Welcome to PostCom Radio Join PostCom President Gene Del Polito, Quad-Graphics Postal Affairs Director Joe Schick, and Harte-Hanks' Vice President of Postology Charles Howard in a discussion of Standard Mail service. How it's measured? How it performs? And what you need to know to make the best of what the Postal Service offers. (A Service of the PostCom Education Committee)