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Postal News from March 2011:
March 31, 2011
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
Materials from a press briefing on the Postal Service's proposed rule on
the closure of post offices, stations, and branches.
Background
| Overview |
FAQs
Washington Post: The financially strapped Postal Service wants to
streamline the process for closing local offices.
American Postal Workers Union: APWU President Cliff Guffey has been
asked to testify about the union’s tentative Collective Bargaining
Agreement before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
whose powerful chairman has publicly condemned the new agreement and
said it is too generous to postal employees. Chairman Darrell Issa
(R-CA) said the April 5 hearing will “examine the sustainability and
affordability of the postal workforce, in light of the USPS’s looming
insolvency and poor financial outlook.” Contract renewals present the
best chance for the USPS to find savings, Issa said, but the Tentative
Agreement “looks like a missed opportunity.” Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL),
chairman of the Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal
Service and Labor Policy, also expressed “serious concerns” about postal
employees’ pay. The union president was undaunted. “Postal workers are
part of the great American middle class. Political leaders should find
ways to create new and better jobs – they should not try to knock ours
down,” Guffey said. “The Tentative Agreement is an example of the
benefits of collective bargaining – even in difficult economic
circumstances,” he added. “The proposed contract is good for postal
workers and good for the USPS. “The union’s main goals were to preserve
jobs and to lessen the hardships associated with excessing. The
Tentative Agreement will help accomplish those objectives. The USPS is
seeking to reduce costs and increase workforce flexibility. The
agreement will help management meet its objectives as well,” he said.
From the Federal Register:
Postal
Service
Dead Tree Edition: The controversial proposed labor contract between
the U.S. Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union includes
an unusual bonus for the world’s largest postal union: a USPS-funded
incentive of up to $7,000 annually for thousands of “non-career”
employees to join APWU. The incentive would come in the form of a
health-insurance benefit for “postal support employees” – the new name
for casual and temporary workers. After one year on the job, they could
sign up for employer-sponsored health insurance, with USPS paying 75% of
the premium if they choose the "APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan".
Management Advisory – Benchmarking Mail Distribution to Carriers (EN-MA-11-001). The Postal Service may have opportunities to improve operations by adopting some industry best practices for distributing mail to carriers. Having part-time employees case and prepare mail within delivery units could result in annual reduced workhour costs between $621 million and $2.3 billion and greater flexibility for the Postal Service.
Posted on this site are the slides used during the Postal Service's
webinar on
Every Door Direct Mail.
Yahoo! News: Europe and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)
are the most connected with about 12.5 mobile phones for every 10
people, followed by The Americas with about 9 phones for every 10
people. Worst is Africa with only 4 phones for every 10 people.
[EdNote: And, no, everyone everywhere does not have his or her own
postal mailbox.]
Gizmodo: When QR Codes were first introduced to the masses, they
were a novel concept: You saw a weird looking digital pattern confined
by a square box. You took a photo of it with your phone. It then
launched whatever app/website it told your phone to and you were then
informed. In theory that sounds fine. In actuality, it was an unrefined
technology with an unsatisfying end reward more often than not. First
you had to spend time firing up your camera, or whatever QR-compatible
app made use of your camera. Then you had to line up a shot of the QR
Code. Then it processed the photo and shuffled you into another app (web
browser, perhaps?), where you were privvied to what ever facts of life
you needed (most likely some fluffy marketing BS). A first world
problem, to be sure. But within the realm of usable technology, QR Codes
weren't exactly convenient.
Asia Times:
Japan Post Bank is now the largest holder of personal savings in the
world, making it the world's largest credit engine. Most money today
originates as bank loans, and deposits are the magic pool from which
this credit-money is generated. Japan Post is not only the world's
largest depository bank but its largest publicly owned bank. By 2007, it
was also the largest employer in Japan, and the holder of one-fifth of
the national debt in the form of government bonds.
GenevaLunch: More packages are being sent in Switzerland, the letter
business remains strong and more people are switching their banking to
Post Finance, says Swiss Post. The result is higher profits for 2010, up
from CHF728 million in 2009 to CHF910 in 2010, a 25 percent increase.
Revenues (operating income) were CHF8.36 million. The national postal
system argues that it needs strong profits “to further increase its
equity, help finance the pension fund, fund its investments and
distribute an appropriate share of profit to the Confederation.”
Washington Post: Postal officials — eager to stave off an estimated
$7 billion in losses this year — think they can save about $3 billion
annually by stopping weekend mail deliveries while still keeping post
offices open on Saturdays. A new GAO report agrees USPS could save $3.3
billion by cutting the work hours of letter carriers and reducing
operational costs to better match declining mail volume. Auditors said
total savings would depend on how quickly the Postal Service implements
any changes and whether they’d have any impact on overall service.
Post & Parcel: US regulators have demanded that the US Postal
Service correct its pricing imbalance, which currently sees 10 market
dominant products failing to pay for themselves. Issuing its fourth
annual review of USPS activities, the Postal Regulatory Commission said
yesterday that the USPS should stop subsidising loss-making monopoly
products with revenues from elsewhere. For the first time ever, the
Commission said one of the USPS products – Standard Mail Flats – was not
in compliance with US law. It has ordered the USPS to rectify the
situation “as soon as practicable”. The report said the losses from the
10 market dominant products added up to a $1.7bn hit to USPS finances
during 2010. This included a $577m loss from flats deliveries and a
$611m loss from periodicals, as well as losses from non-profit mail.
The Street: 3i Infotech, a global information technology and
business process outsourcing (BPO) company, and Zumbox, the leader in
digital postal mail services, announced today a partnership to enable 3i
Infotech clients to send electronic bills and other customer
communications via Zumbox. Among other valuable benefits, the
partnership will assist 3i Infotech clients in driving electronic bill
adoption, promoting print suppression and cutting costs.
March 30, 2011
Federal News
Radio: We are learning more about some innovative proposals to
reform the U.S. Postal Service. One idea: to offer sensor network
services using the postal delivery vehicle fleet. Michael Ravnitzky
wrote an op-ed on this in the New York Times recently. He is Chief
Counsel to the Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, but he's
speaking to us today as a private citizen, as well as an attorney and
engineer. He explains how the plan might work.
mp3
Direct Marketing News: The US Postal Service began a product
sampling initiative this week, targeting more than 250,000 consumers in
Chicago, Denver and Austin, Texas, as well as about 75,000 opted-in
consumers across the country. Brands including Wisk, Starbucks and
Nestle are distributing products through the “Sample Showcase” program
at launch. The first round of samples will be placed into the mailstream
this week and should reach consumers within the next three weeks, said
Dave Lewin, PR representative at the USPS. The organization worked with
sales and distribution firm StartSampling on the initiative.
Manchester Evening News: Facilities management firm Romec has agreed
a 10-year extension to its contract to maintain the Royal Mail’s
property portfolio. The deal could be worth up to £1.8bn.
Stockport-based Romec, which is a joint venture between international
infrastructure group Balfour Beatty and Royal Mail Group, will provide
services including electrical, plumbing, security and cleaning.
Business Wire: Howard University, one of the nation’s leading
research institutions, has selected Swiss Post Solutions as its partner
to facilitate the day-to-day operations of the University postal
services as well as graphics and print services at its Washington, DC
campus. The partnership is a key component of “Campus Connect,” which is
part of a larger administrative renewal initiative to improve services
to the University’s 11,000 students and more than 5,000 faculty/staff
members.
Wealth Daily: Of all of Cliff Clavin's goofy predictions, the one
about the future of e-mail may just take the cake. After a lifetime
spent delivering the physical mail, Cliff dismissed the electronic
version entirely, predicting: ". . . . The computer's going to be dead
in about 5 years, anyway. The Post Office will rise again, my friend,
will rise again. . . . " That was almost ten years ago. Since then,
things have gone downhill for the Cliff Clavins of the world — along
with their venerated United States Postal Service (USPS).
Postalnews Blog: It has been a while since we last heard from the
so-called “Consumer Postal Council”, the self-styled postal “watchdog”
which is in reality a front for the radical libertarian lobbying group,
the Lexington Institute. Lexington VP Don Soifer, who refers to himself
as the “executive director” of the “Council” when he pontificates on
postal matters, has written a rather odd opinion piece that was
published in today’s Tennessean. In it Soifer comes up with a new
talking point: the USPS is “ignoring the little guy”. This is an
interesting position for an organization funded not by “postal
consumers”, but by big corporate sponsors; and which has been called
“basically a front for defense contractors” by Forbes magazine. Soifer
contends that the USPS is harming the “little guy” by offering its
Parcel Select service only to “big mailers”. Parcel Select allows
shippers to drop packages close to their destinations, paying the USPS
only for “last mile” delivery service.
The
Envelope
Manufacturers Association Foundation has published an update of its
previous study of jobs and the mailing industry. A copy has been
posted on this site. We thank the Foundation for
its permission to make a copy of that key mailing industry available to you here.
DMM Advisory: New Postage Statements Available Online. New postage statements associated with the April 17, 2011, price change are available on usps.com/prices. The ‘Postage Statements’ link can be found under the ‘Related Links’ section at the bottom of the page. As of April 17, all postage statement facsimiles dated prior to January 2011 are obsolete. Postage statement facsimiles dated January 2011 and April 2011 may be used to pay the postage prices effective on April 17, 2011. If the January 2011 statement is used, it must reflect the April 17 prices. For new products implemented April 17 — or products subject to any new postage statement fields effective April 17 — only the April 2011 postage statement can be used. Once the date has been determined to make the use of April 2011 postage statements mandatory for all mailings, the mailing community will be advised.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer:
In offering Amendment 251 ot S. 493, the bill reauthorizing a number of Small Business Administration programs, Senator McCain proposes to reduce the Postal Service's share of the the health insurance premium from 81% to 72% and reduce the Postal Service's share of the life insurance premium from 100% to 33%. According to the Government Accountability Office this would have saved the Postal Service $619 million in FY 2009. Given increases in health insurance premiums, this is likely significantly higher today. This amemdment has different effects for the Postal Service's unionized and non-union employees. The Postal Service could implement this provision nearly immediately for its non-union employees. For unionized employees, it takes benefits off of the negotiating table. It would likely require the Postal Service to amend the language in the recently negotiated APWU contract to comply with the provisions in this amendment. For the Postal Service's other three unions, the amendment changes the dynamics of contract negotiations as it would force a reduction in total compensation before negotiations begin.
In offering Amendment 252 to S. 493, Senator McCain proposes lower limits on compensation of postal employees. The amendment removes a section from current law and appears to add a new section but does not identify a section number for the new language. Senator McCain's amendment changes the limit on the salary paid to the Postmaster General from $276,840 to $230.700. It may affect compensation packages of other senior officers. It ties the change to the Postal Service's payment of its obligations to the United States Treasury. The restrictions do not exist if the obligations are to private sector lenders. This would assume that the Postal Service can issue debt instruments to private sector lenders and private sector lenders would be willing to hold such debt.
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
French postal unions called for a nationwide strike on Tuesday this week. With their protest the unions CFDT, CGT, SUD and CFTC decry the deteriorating working conditions at La Poste.
Dutch TNT Post does not support the setting up of a fund to finance improved working conditions for postal delivery staff in the Netherlands.
The decline in letter mail volume at Finnish Itella dramatically accelerated.
Belgian bpost will focus on automatic parcel terminals in the future.
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.)
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: Senator John McCain wants to
make to the section of the Tile 39 U.S.C. that describe public policy
regarding rural post offices.
Postalnews Blog: Here is [part of] the GAO’s summary of its
findings: USPS’s proposal involves several factors that need to be
considered. It would improve USPS’s financial condition by reducing
costs, increasing efficiency, and better aligning its delivery
operations with reduced mail volumes. However, it would also reduce
service; put mail volumes and revenues at risk; eliminate jobs; and, by
itself, be insufficient to solve USPS’s financial challenges. USPS’s
role in providing universal postal services can affect all American
households and businesses, so fundamental changes involve key public
policy decisions for Congress. If Congress decides 5-day delivery is
necessary, then Congress and USPS could factor the savings into
deliberations about what package of actions should be taken to restore
USPS’s financial viability. Conversely, if Congress maintains the
mandate for 6-day delivery, Congress and USPS would need to find other
ways to achieve equivalent financial savings, so that the package is
sufficient to restore USPS’s financial viability. This would likely
entail difficult decisions with broad implications for USPS’s
infrastructure, workforce, and service. As GAO has reported, a package
of actions by Congress and USPS is urgently needed to modernize USPS’s
operations, networks, and workforce.
Malaysia Star:: Khazanah Nasional Bhd and its advisers yesterday
shortlisted three companies for the sale of its 32.21% stake in Pos
Malaysia Bhd. According to sources, the three companies are DRB-HICOM
(M) Bhd, Nationwide Express Courier Services Bhd and Scomi Group Bhd.
The shortlisted parties were invited yesterday to present their
proposals to an independent panel evaluating the deal.
Beaumont Enterprise: U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said he met Tuesday with
the postmaster general to discuss the possible consolidation of U.S.
postal services in Rockford with those in Carol Stream. Durbin said he
thinks Postmaster General Pat Donahoe understand the importance of
keeping jobs in Rockford and elsewhere in Illinois. "The Rockford area
simply cannot afford to lose stable, good-paying jobs," Durbin said. The
proposal would move operations from Rockford to Carol Stream.
Washington Post: The Postal service could save a substantial amount
of money by reducing mail delivery to five days, the Government
Accountability Office said Tuesday. In its analysis, GAO looked back at
postal operations in 2009 and calculated that if there had been no
Saturday delivery that year the post office would have saved $3.3
billion. The GAO report comes just days after the independent Postal
Regulatory Commission issued its own report, calculating that the post
office had overstated its projected savings from ending Saturday
delivery by $1.4 billion. The final decision on Saturday delivery will
be made by Congress.
The Tennessean: Despite holding monopolies on both first-class mail
and the use of customers' mailboxes, the Postal Service's future
viability does seem to depend on identifying new revenue. But as the
government agency seeks to reach new business customers, it must not
take advantage of its monopoly consumers.
Business Wire:
Expanding its line of postal services, Accenture has announced it will
enable postal agencies worldwide to offer digital mail – a digital
version of printed mail securely delivered to an online mailbox – to
their customers to recapture lost revenue from a steady decline in mail
volumes and to compete against a growing number of independent operators
currently offering digital mail direct to consumers. Accenture works
with more than 20 postal clients around the globe, including some of the
world’s largest posts, and its systems help deliver more than 50 percent
of the world’s mail.
From the Federal Register:
Postal Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
Post Office Closings , 17717–17718 [2011–7396]
[TEXT] [PDF]
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
March 29, 2011
Bloomberg: The U.S. Postal Service, which projects it will reach its
$15 billion borrowing cap by the end of September, wants to make it
easier to close some of its 31,871 post offices for economic reasons. A
change proposed by the agency, which has lost money for five consecutive
quarters, would allow post offices to be considered for closing for
reasons including “insufficient customer demand” demonstrated by
declining mail volume, revenue or local population trends, according to
a notice published today in the Federal Register.
Senator John McCain has introduced three postal amendments:
National
League of Postmasters: The
National League of Postmasters has provided
additional
information on post office redesign.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
ACR2010: FY2010 Annual Compliance Determination Report
Government
Accountability Office: The
Government Accountability Office has issued its
report, U.S.
Postal Service: Ending Saturday Delivery Would Reduce Costs, but
Comprehensive Restructuring is Also Needed, GAO-11-270.
BBC: Staff who
work in Crown post offices have been offered a pay rise and a cash lump
sum after they voted earlier this month to go on strike. Staff were
offered a 3.68% pay rise over the next two years in addition to a cash
payment of £1,000, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said. The deal
also guarantees no branch closures over the next 12 months.
Times of Zambia:
Government has called on Zambia Postal Services Corporation (Zampost)
workers to change their attitude towards work for the organisation to be
able to compete with other emerging postal service providers
effectively.
Seeking Alpha: Private industry already has the modernized and
streamlined infrastructure that the USPS requires. The USPS could either
partner with these organizations during its modernization effort to
ensure no disruption of service occurs, or further reorganize as a
private entity (for which the legal precedent already exists by virtue
of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1971) under these private delivery
services in order to effectively modernize its distribution network.
PRNewswire: Philip F. Rubio, assistant professor of History, North
Carolina A&T State University has been awarded the Rita Lloyd Moroney
Senior Prize from the U.S. Postal Service for his book, There's Always
Work at the Post Office: African American Postal Workers and the Fight
for Jobs, Justice, and Equality (Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina
Press, 2010).
Post & Parcel: Software and pattern recognition specialist Prime
Vision has been working with TNT to extend postal retail outlets in the
Netherlands through kiosks located in partner premises. The partnership
has allowed TNT Post Retail to offer a range of web-based services
through the kiosks, which are available for use by customers in high
street stores.
Postalnews Blog: An amendment introduced by Senator John McCain
would change that, requiring the USPS not to exceed the percentage
contribution paid for other federal workers. The amendment would be
enforced by depriving the USPS of its borrowing authority in any fiscal
year that it fails to comply.
From the Federal Register:
U.S.
Postal Service. Proposed rule. This proposed rule would amend
postal regulations to improve the administration of the Post Office
closing and consolidation process. In addition, certain procedures
employed for the discontinuance of Post Offices would be applied to the
discontinuance of other types of retail facilities operated by Postal
Service employees.
Deccan Herald: All India Postal Employees Union - postmen, MSE and
group '' D''staff- has threatened to go on an indefinite nationwide
strike in support of their demands.
eSecurity Planet: E-mails claiming to come from the United States
Postal Service (USPS) are currently being used to deliver a Trojan
downloader. "The spam emails pose as failed delivery notifications and
bear a subject of 'Post Express Information. Your package is available
for pick up,'" writes Softpedia's Lucian Constantin.
Postal Technology International: The Industrial Court has granted
the Botswana Postal Services Workers Union (BPSWU) a reprieve to
temporarily stop the rationalising exercise where employees of Botswana
Post stand to lose their jobs. The union had lodged an urgent
application on the grounds that the haste with which management of
Botswana Post has handled the rationalisation has precipitated an unfair
situation that leaves the livelihood of dozens of employees hanging in
the balance.
Bloomberg: United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is adding four flights a
week from Hong Kong to Europe and FedEx Corp. (FDX) will start a new
nonstop route to South Korea as growth in Asian shipping demand outpaces
expansion in the U.S.
Wired: "Postage Stamps Delivered Anthrax Suspect to FBI."
Post & Parcel: Canada Post has signed a contract for partner company
Aditya Birla Minacs (Minacs) to operate its call centre operations.
Post & Parcel: French postal workers look set to strike opposing
changes being made in working conditions at La Poste. The unions CFDT,
CGT, SUD and CFTC have called for their postal colleagues to refuse work
as part of a national day of action on the streets of France. The unions
are complaining at what they claimed to be a “worrying” deterioration of
working conditions at La Poste, “destructive” restructuring and a
shortage of delivery personnel, as well as safety issues for staff.
Washington Times: Almost two centuries later, our government’s monopoly
on mail delivery carries on in the form of the United States Postal Service
(USPS), an institution whose origins actually predate America’s founding,
and whose business model is similarly antiquated. But in the 21stcentury,
faced with private competition for parcel delivery from the likes of UPS and
Federal Express, and profoundly transformed electronic commerce and
communications landscapes, this inefficient quasi-government institution is
hopelessly anachronistic.
ThinkProgress.org: The defining political story three months into 2011
is the spread of anti-union legislation in the states. Now, a leading
senator on the right wants to eliminate collective bargaining rights at a
federal level. During an interview with ThinkProgress in Des Moines this
weekend, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), a leader of the Tea Party movement and
veritable kingmaker for conservative candidates, made no bones about his
desire to diminish the power of public employees. DeMint told ThinkProgress
that he “doesn’t believe collective bargaining has any place in
government…including at the federal level.” The South Carolina senator then
went on to call public employees’ unions an “unelected third party” that
enjoyed “monopoly power” in negotiations.
March 28, 2011
|
Pre NPF - Executive Overview Join PostCom for a FREE webinar on April 12, 1:00 pm Eastern. Register now, as space is limited: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/913201913Please join the Association for Postal
Commerce this free webinar . With over 130 workshops and special
events scheduled for the National Postal Forum in San Diego,
CA May 1 - 4, 2011 attendees may feel overwhelmed and confused
when attempting to plan their days. Ms. Flanagan will highlight
areas of interest and "hot topic" sessions that should be part
of your agenda. Spend an hour gaining a better understanding of
sessions so you can plan your days to get the most from your NPF
experience. This presentation for you is based on her years of
experience in the industry and prior attendance at the forums.
This web event will be presented by Rose Flanagan, Manager
Postal Strategies and Logistics, DataMail, Newington, CT. |
Now hear this: "This Week In Postal".........the latest podcast posted now!
Press
Release: Free Web Event Discusses Value of Address Quality Learn about the
3Cs of address quality and how BCC can help. “The 3Cs of Address Quality,”
scheduled for 2pm ET Thursday, March 31. In this
free one-hour session, BCC President
Chris Lien and
Product Manager Mitch
Carpenter will discuss these topics, show you how to ensure your
mailpieces get to their intended recipients, and field your questions at the
end of the session. (Register
now for the event.)
It's official.
Ron Stroman will be the next
Deputy PMG. Stroman, who most recently served as staff director,
Committee on Oversight and Government Relations at the U.S.
House of Representatives, will lead all outreach and communications with
congressional and mailing industry leaders as well as help ensure that every
customer experience is a positive one. The Deputy Postmaster General (DPMG)
position, like the Postmaster General position, is hired by the Postal
Service Governors. As Deputy Postmaster General, Stroman will serve on the
Board of Governors and on Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe’s Executive
Leadership Team. The vice presidents of Government Relations, Corporate
Communications and Consumer and Industry Affairs will report to Stroman.
“The Board of Governors are pleased that Ron has accepted this appointment,”
said Louis J. Giuliano, chairman, Postal Service Board of Governors. “His
depth of understanding of the legislative process as well as his
demonstrated ability to work with members on both sides of the aisle makes
him an important addition to the USPS team as we work through the many
issues facing us today.” As DPMG, Stroman will play the lead role in
continuing to work with Congress to restructure the prefunding of retiree
health benefits, adjust delivery frequency, and gain greater flexibility in
aligning the Postal Service processing, distribution and retail networks. He
will work closely to help strengthen relationships with the mailing industry
and identify opportunities to improve interactions with postal customers.
Stroman has held senior positions at the U.S. House of Representatives, the
General Accounting Office and the U.S. Department of Transportation, among
other positions. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University Law
Center.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Is Five-Day Delivery In The Future? Last week the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issued its advisory opinion on the U.S. Postal Service’s proposal for five-day delivery. The PRC was unable to reach a consensus and the Postal Service released a statement saying they will continue to press its case before Congress. What would your recommendation be on five-day delivery? LINK here to share your thoughts.
Wall Street Journal: Consumer spending rose by 0.7% in February, more
than in January, the Commerce Department said Monday. The increase was the
largest since October and the eighth straight. Spending is a crucial part of
the economy, making up 70% of demand in gross domestic product. The pickup
in spending came as personal income rose by 0.3%. The saving rate,
meanwhile, slid to 5.8%.
♪♫"Oh I heard it -- Heard It -- Yes, I heard it through
the grapevine. . . ."
♫♪
Trend: The
Azerbaijani Communications and Information Technologies Ministry stated on
Monday that it plans to take part in discussing issues of postal service
reliability and safety
Word
has it that
Ron Stroman will be the next Deputy PMG.
Mid-Day: "Is your PC the new PO?"
MarketWatch: Japan Post has resumed service throughout Tohoku region,
parts of which were devastated by the magnitude-9 earthquake earlier this
month, according to national Broadcaster NHK. Service to four prefectures
resumed on Saturday, while Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures saw their postal
services resumed Monday. Deliveries to the areas had been disrupted since
the earthquake struck on March 11.
GenevaLunch: Three Swiss groups are coming together to offer the first
national bike sharing system, which will be put into operation this summer.
Rent-a-Bike, Switzerland’s largest bike rental company, is partnering with
the CFF train company and Swiss Post’s postal bus system to offer regular
and electric bikes in 20 locations, to start. Swiss Post has been increasing
its use of electric vehicles for some time and one-third of Basel’s scooters
for postal deliveries are now electric. They are calling the project “the
country’s first national bike sharing network”, with bikes available around
the clock.
The
March 2011 issue of
Postal
Technology International is now available online! Packed full of news,
interviews and features
Newstalk ZB: The rise of technology and the economic downturn are
marking a mark on traditional postal services provided by New Zealand Post.
The state owned company says it now delivers on average 20% less mail per
address than it did three years ago. They say the decline of traditional
mail has been made worse by the recession as businesses seek to cut costs by
increasing email use.
March 27, 2011
From the Federal Register:
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION Sunshine Act Meetings. Wednesday, April
6, 2011, at 11 a.m.
Commission hearing
room, 901 New York Avenue, NW., Suite 200, Washington, DC 20268-0001.
STATUS: Part of this meeting will be open to the public. The rest of the
meeting will be closed to the public. The open part of the meeting will be
audiocast. The audiocast can be accessed via the Commission’s Web site at
http://www.prc.gov. The agenda for the
Commission’s April 2011 meeting includes the items identified below.
PORTIONS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: 1. Report on completion of advisory
opinion on five-day delivery. 2. Report on completion of annual compliance
determination. 3. Report on status of pending dockets before the Commission.
4. Report on international activities. 5. Report on legislative activities.
6. Report on improved public access to Commission archival records.7. Report
on Commission docket management procedures in the event of a government
shutdown.
PORTIONS CLOSED
TO THE PUBLIC: 8. Discussion of pending litigation. 9. Discussion of
contractual matters involving sensitive business information — lease-related
negotiations. 10. Discussion of information technology security
implementation. 11. Discussion of confidential personnel matters —
performance, records and practices.
CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Stephen L. Sharfman, General
Counsel, Postal Regulatory Commission, 901 New York Avenue, NW., Suite 200,
Washington, DC 20268-0001, at 202-789-6820 (for agenda-related inquiries)
and Shoshana M. Grove, Secretary of the Commission, at 202-789- 6800 or
shoshana.grove@prc.gov (for
inquiries related to meeting location, access for handicapped or disabled
persons, the audiocast, or similar matters).
Dead Tree Edition: Here's one way labor unions are hindering staff
reductions at the U.S. Postal Service -- telling their members the truth
about the challenges of retiring from USPS.
Analytiqa:
DHL has launched ‘Logistics Without Borders’, an end-to-end supply chain
solution that connects suppliers, carriers and end-users on both sides of
the US-Mexico borde. The solution leverages the expertise of DHL’s Global
Forwarding and Supply Chain divisions in providing companies shipping across
the US-Mexico border one-stop access to the tools, expertise and services
necessary to simplify the process and ensure shipments reach their
destinations securely and on time.
Daily Republic: A U.S. Postal Service spokesman says the agency won't
make any changes that will adversely impact mail delivery in the Pierre
area. The Postal Service is conducting a feasibility study to determine
whether to move the Pierre post office's mail processing center to a
distribution center in Huron. The Pierre center serves 37 central South
Dakota communities.
Helena Independent Record: Montanans wouldn’t be blamed if a couple of
stories in the news this week make it feel like the U.S. Postal Service is
abandoning the Treasure State, and may shun the capital city as well. As
part of a measure designed to save some $750 million, the Postal Service
announced this week the closure of its district office in Billings, one of
six such closures announced across the country. Also this week, as Allison
Maier reports in today’s IR, the post office has announced it’s going to
again consider closing Helena’s mail sorting operation and consolidating
that function to Great Falls.
Associated Press of Pakistan: Pakistan Post has earned Rs. 526.29
million in foreign exchange during last three years period. This was stated
by Minister for Postal Services Sardar Muhammad Umar Gorgaij while
highlighting the three years performance of his ministry. He said that
similarly Pakistan Post has earned Rs. 224.266 million during period of
2007-08, while in 2008-09 Rs. 348.137 mln and Rs. 472.454 mln during
2009-10.
The International News: Federal Minister for Postal Services Sardar
Muhammad Umar Gorgaij has said that the Post Office will not be privatised;
however, steps will be taken for the required turnaround and improvement in
the department.
FinancialNews: Royal Mail is undergoing one of the most important change
programmes undertaken in the UK. New delivery methods designed to enable
Royal Mail employees to deal with the changes in the postal market – a
decline in letters and an increase in packets – are being introduced.
Significant reductions in the number of mail centres are also underway and
around half of the 64 centres in 2010 could eventually close by 2016 or
sooner.
BBC:
Manx postal workers are meeting to discuss their next move in a long-running
battle over pay. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents 250
workers, is seeking a pay rise for members despite a pay freeze across the
public sector.
PR-USA.net: PlanSmartChoice, an online suite of health plan selection
tools, recently named their top ten health plans in the FEHB program. The
APWU Health Plan was among the carriers recognized as a PlanSmartChoice Plus
Award recipient. PlanSmartChoice was developed to give postal and federal
employees a tool to help them choose the best health carrier for their
needs.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: The mailing industry is an
industry that depends on strong consumer demand. Whether we are talking
about transactions paid through the mail, advertising, or parcel delivery,
mail volume will rise or fall depending on consumer demand. The industry
will likely prosper if consumer demand grows and will face even more
challenges than it does now if consumer demand falls. That is why the
current debate regarding fiscal policy and the macroeconomic effects of that
debate is so important to the industry.
March 26, 2011
News and Sentinel: A slew of rural West Virginia post offices face the
threat of closure after the U.S. Postal Service released a discontinuance
study Friday. According to a list provided by U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.,
there are 31 smaller offices being considered for closure. Those 31 include
the Rockport and Auburn (Ritchie County) post offices. According to a press
release from Rahall's office, the postal service's discontinuance studies
are done prior to proposing to close a post office. Once proposed, the USPS
must notify the affected public and hold a 60-day comment period. Should the
USPS decide to close a post office, the public has 30 days to appeal the
decision to the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission.
Times of Malta: "Maltapost rebrands and offers new service"
North County Times: "Envelope factory weathers Internet storm."
March 25, 2011
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
DMM Advisory: IMb™ Services Update. The Facility Access and Shipment Tracking (FAST®) and PostalOne!® Full Service Data Distribution systems will be upgrading to the latest IDEAlliance® Mail.XML® version 10.0 in June 2011. Currently, the FAST system supports Mail.XML 6.0D and Mail.XML 8.0B. The FAST system will stop supporting Mail.XML 6.0D on October 28, 2011. For Full Service Data Distribution, the USPS® currently supports Mail.XML 7.0C, 8.0B and Mail.XML 8.1. The PostalOne! system will stop supporting Mail.XML 7.0C and Mail.XML 8.0B versions on October 28, 2011, for the Full Service Data Distribution functionality. The Mail.XML technical guides are currently being updated and will be posted on RIBBS® in mid-April.
Gothamist: United States Postal Service, you do not make it easy to love
you. "We" sent a check out earlier this week by placing it in this mailbox
on the corner of Water and Jay Streets in Brooklyn, as we have done in the
past, but the NYC-based recipient has not yet received said check yet. Last
night we checked the box on our way to the subway, recalling that it had
seemed a bit full when we originally placed the check in, and lo and behold,
it had envelopes bursting out of it. By this morning you couldn't even open
the flap. A call to the Cadman Plaza Post Office (1.5 stars on Yelp!), which
is responsible for the daily pick up at this box, garnered... no answer. A
call to the USPS customer service got us a case opened, which we should be
hearing about by... the middle of next week. And finally, we have reached
out to two press contacts here in New York City, and one has contacted us
and is looking into this mystery.
BayouBuzz: If the postal service is not privatized, there will be a
series of never ending rate increases, layoffs and reductions in services.
Customers should expect to see not only Saturday delivery curtailed, but
other days of the week. There will also be more post offices closed.
Government can never deliver any services as efficiently as the private
sector and the postal service is a perfect example. Over the years, the
postal service became overwhelmed by highly paid bureaucrats and dominated
by costly unions. This type of model has never worked well, but in today’s
environment, it is nothing less than a disaster. The Congress should put
this entity out of its misery and privatize the entire operation. Taxpayers
should not be forced to bailout another inefficient government enterprise
that is not able to compete in the 21st century.
The
Postal Service will conduct the first of a number of webinars planned to
provide information and explain the benefits of "Every Door Direct Mail" - a
new program designed to make Direct Mail easier and less costly for local
businesses. The webinar will highlight this exciting new service to help
kick off the "Grow Your Business" campaign planned nationwide during April
through June, and you will also learn about on-line information and new
tools being made available to local businesses - and about the many local
events planned all over the country during this period. The U.S. Postal
Service recently launched Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) and Every Door
Direct Mail Retail (EDDM Retail), both of which are designed to attract more
businesses to hard-copy communications as a marketing medium. EDDM and EDDM
Retail give your customers a new way to promote their business, and have the
potential to significantly boost demand for printing and mail services. This
webinar will explain EDDM and EDDM Retail and the on-line information and
tools available, and also let you know the benefits of these exciting new
offerings and all the business-boosting oppportunities they provide to you
and your customers. The webinar will also discuss Grow Your Business Days,
events held by Postmasters for small businesses, to which local printers and
mail service providers will be invited. Webinar Title: Every Door Direct
Mail When: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 2:00 pm Eastern Time (for 90 minutes)
Link:
https://usps.webex.com/usps/onstage/g.php?d=999229692&t=a
Insurance Journal: Six postal contractors in Ohio have been sanctioned
for workers’ compensation fraud, state regulators say. The Ohio Bureau of
Workers’ Compensation (BWC) said a task force created by its Special
Investigations Department (SID) in collaboration with the US Postal Service
Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) uncovered workers’ compensation fraud
at the businesses.
The Office of Senator Thomas Carper: "While I have serious concerns
about the length of time it took the Postal Regulatory Commission to produce
this advisory opinion, I welcome the commissioners' views on this proposal
from the Postal Service and look forward to studying their findings more
closely. "While I'm not an advocate for eliminating Saturday delivery, and I
continue to question whether taking such a step would be a good move at this
time, I do believe that decisions on operational matters such as delivery
frequency should be handled by postal management. At a time when the Postal
Service is struggling with record budget deficits and facing insolvency, it
makes no sense, in my opinion, to tie their hands when it comes to making
difficult operational decisions. A significant amount of money could be
saved if Saturday delivery is eliminated. I hope it isn't necessary, but
taking this step at the right time, and in the right way, might very well be
a necessary component of a comprehensive postal recovery plan. It would be
irresponsible for Congress, as it does now, to stand in the way and act like
a 535-member Board of Directors. No real business could ever function under
that type of governance and it's unrealistic to think that the Postal
Service would be well served by that type of micromanagement.
The Office of Senator Susan Collins: "The Postal Regulatory
Commission released an Advisory Opinion on the U.S. Postal Service five-day
delivery plan. The Postal Service must obtain a Commission Advisory Opinion
on any change in nationwide service it proposes. The Opinion found annual
net savings to be an estimate is $1.7 billion versus the Postal Service's
savings estimate of $3.1 billion among other discrepancies Senator Susan
Collins, the Ranking Member of Senate Committee that oversees the Postal
Service, issued the following statement. "The PRC found that the Postal
Service's estimate of savings was inflated and points out that ending
Saturday delivery would delay approximately a quarter of first class and
priority mail. While cutting service would save the Postal Service money, it
would also drive down the mail volume that is critical to maintaining its
solvency. "Moreover, the PRC exposes the Postal Service's failure to even
consider the likely harm to rural postal customers. Echoing my warnings, PRC
Chairman Ruth Goldway acknowledged in her addendum to the Opinion that
five-day delivery would 'unfairly discriminate' against rural postal
customers. The Advisory Opinion raises many of the same questions that I
have posed over and over. These consequences simply must be addressed before
consideration of such a significant service reduction."
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: On March 24th, L. L. Bean
announced that it will offer free shipping on all shipments no matter how
small. L. L. Bean can afford to do this because many of its light weight
shipments and delivered through the Postal Service either through a direct
contract with the Postal Service or through a consolidator like FedEx's
SmartPost or UPS SurePost. L.L. Bean is not alone in offering free shipping.
Firms like Newegg.com use free shipping on specific items to shift customer
demand toward certain items and away from others. Landsend offers free
shipping offers to e-mail subscirbers on a regular basis Other firms require
minimum purchases ranging from $25 for Amazon.com to $99 for Macy's. The
Postal Service is critical for these firms when they need to ship small or
light-weight items as a means to control the total delived price to
consumers.
More
on the PRC's Five-Day Decision:
National
Association of Letter Carriers: The National Association of Letter
Carriers is gratified by the Postal Regulatory Commission’s decision not to
recommend a shift to five-day-a-week mail delivery. Such a drastic move
would inconvenience millions of Americans, including many who count on being
able to get prescription medicines on Saturday; it would damage small
businesses for which Saturday is an important workday; and it would have an
inordinate impact on rural areas.
More on
planned facility closures and the USPS reorganization plan:
Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-R), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee, today announced a full committee hearing on United States
Postal Service (USPS) pay and benefits on April 5th. The Committee expects
to hear from the Postal Service on their tentative agreement offered to
their largest union, the American Postal Worker Union (APWU), last week. The
agreement has yet to be signed. Issa expressed serious doubt that the APWU
contract agreement would improve the fiscal situation that threatens USPS'
future. Rep. Dennis Ross (FL-R), chairman of the Postal Service
Subcommittee, expressed serious concerns about postal service pay.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Post & Parcel: Quality of European letter service has exceeded
targets set by the European Union (EU), according to the International
Post Corporation (IPC).
IsleOfMan: The chairman of the Isle of Man Post Office said he is
open to further talks with the Communication Workers Union over the
current pay disagreement.
Associated Press of Pakistan: All specialized training courses on
Postal Services are designed and developed using the Universal Postal
Union (UPU) train post networking approach.This was stated by an
official of Pakistan Post Training Centre (PPTC) here on Friday.He
informed that the centre imparts training on Informatics, Postal
Operations & Management, Agency Functions, Saving’s Bank, Marketing,
Customer Care and other Postal Courses for operational and supervisory
Staff. “Courses aim at meeting the training needs of Pakistan Post
Office and UPU member countries through the Train Post Project of the
UPU,” he said.
March 24, 2011
Wall
Street Journal: FedEx Corp. Chief Financial Officer Alan Graf called a
potential acquisition of TNT NV's express business "too expensive" Thursday
and reiterated that FedEx doesn't need to do a deal in Europe.
DMM Advisory: Folded Self-Mailer Study Nearing Completion. Collaborating with the mailing industry, we implemented a Lean Six Sigma test study in April 2009 with the goal of finding a balance between design innovation and machinability of folded self-mailers (FSM). Valuable feedback has resulted in the USPS™ and test study participants taking another look at the potential updated mailing standards for the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) that were presented to mailers for review. A revised framework — with industry input incorporated — will be presented to test study participants in the near future. We expect to share proposed rule changes via a Federal Register notice in early summer, with an expected effective date sometime in 2012. For now, it’s business as usual for mailers until updated FSM standards are effective. We’ll use DMM Advisory to let you know when these changes will be implemented.
Paid Content: Printing company R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co. announced its
purchase of Journalism Online, the company founded and managed by media
magnate Steven Brill and partners to help publishers make money online,
along with the company's Press+, a paid content management system.
Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe today announced a newly redesigned
Postal Service, one that is better positioned for growth, reflects further
alignment within the organization to achieve core business strategies and,
when fully implemented, will help realize approximately $750 million of
annual cost savings. About 7,500 positions will be eliminated across the
organization through the redesign that also includes the closing of seven
district offices and offers limited financial incentives to those who meet
specific qualifications. Today’s announcement focused on the administrative
and executive corps. Additional staff reductions will occur as the Postal
Service makes necessary changes to its network and retail operations. The
full scope and financial impact of these personnel actions should be
realized in one calendar year – March 2012. See also the
Frequently Asked
Questions posted by the Postal Service. See also the
Washington Post.
Press
Release: Pitney Bowes Inc. has launched pbSmartPostage™, the industry’s
first mailing and shipping service that uses cloud technology to enable
businesses to apply postage to letters and shipping labels and packages
directly from any PC with an Internet connection. Businesses with smaller
volume shipping needs and remote locations will benefit from this flexible
mailing and shipping solution. The introduction of pbSmartPostage™ is the
first in a series of solutions in the pbSmart family of on demand products
the company is developing to enable businesses to more effectively
communicate with their customers in an increasing mobile world.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe: We have received the Commission’s
advisory opinion on our proposal to move to a five-day delivery schedule. We
have been awaiting the document and look forward to studying the views
expressed by the Commissioners. Five-day delivery is an integral part of our
action plan for the future. It’s important to remember that the Postal
Service came well prepared to this undertaking. Based on extensive outreach
to our customers and other stakeholders, we developed an operational plan,
analyzed the potential cost savings and conducted extensive market research
to document customer reaction and estimate mail volume changes that could
result from implementation of this plan. Following tremendous losses in mail
volumes and revenues, the Postal Service remains in the midst of a period of
great financial instability. On March 30, 2010, we presented a compelling
case to the PRC, reflected in the testimony of Postal experts in operations,
marketing and finance, as well as a highly respected market research firm
and academician. Their testimony demonstrated that the plan would effect a
$3.1 billion annual saving and allow the Postal Service to continue
providing excellent service in an economical and efficient manner. The
Commission’s opinion is advisory only and therefore, is not a final
determination on the merits of our proposal. We remain convinced of our
findings. As such, we will also continue to press our case with the Congress
on this matter.
Dead Tree Edition: A divided Postal Regulatory Commission just issued
(early afternoon Eastern time) its advisory opinion on whether the U.S.
Postal Service should be allowed to discontinue Saturday delivery. After a
complex analysis, each commissioner wrote a separate opinion suggesting that
the commissioners agreed that USPS's projections regarding cost savings are
too rosy. But they could not agree on whether it should be allowed to switch
to five-day delivery.
The Center for
Research in Regulated Industries’ final Advanced Workshop on Regulation and
Competition for 2011 will be held on April 1, 2011. We will be accepting
registrations for the workshop until Tuesday, March 29th . Please click on
the link below to view the program and to obtain additional information
regarding the workshop. If you are intersted in attending please complete
the registration form and forward it to
us via email:
crri@business.rutgers.edu or by fax 973-353-1348. Advanced
Workshop on Regulation & Competition “Viable Modern Postal System?”
April 1, 2011 K&L Gates LLP Washington, DC
http://crri.rutgers.edu/Viable%20Modern%20Postal%20System%20Agenda.doc
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: The Postal Service has published
a detailed schedule of dates that are important for employees whose jobs
will be affected by the management restructuring. Anyone who could be
affected should print out, or bookmark this schedule and add the key dates
to their smartphone calendar so they are sure act by the required deadlines
if they plan to take advantage of early retirement or will need to find a
new job within the Postal Service. For those outside of the Postal Service,
only those dates on which current Postal employees will leave employment
matter. These are the dates that the Postal Service begins experiencing cost
savings from either early retirements or RIF's.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: Pitney Bowes announced yesterday
that Chuck Cordray to the new position of president of the Volly™ secure
digital delivery service. The Volly™ secure digital delivery service,
unveiled in January, is a new cloud-based digital mail communications
platform that will empower consumers to receive, view, organize, and manage
bills, statements, direct marketing, catalogs, coupons and other content
from multiple providers using a single application. This opt-in,
consumer-focused consolidation service also includes online bill pay.
Postal Vehicles Services – Scheduling and Staffing - Connecticut Valley District (NL-AR-11-002). We found the Connecticut Valley District could save more than $2 million in yearly labor and related costs if it managed Postal Vehicle Service processes and schedules more efficiently and effectively. Specifically, managers could use alternate schedules to include split days off and expand the use of part-time drivers when possible.
Washington Post: The U.S. Postal Service on Thursday is expected to
detail how it plans to cut about 7,500
administrative positions — the first time it’s issued pink slips
in at least a decade. The job cuts are expected to
impact about 2,000 postmasters — the folks who manage individual
post offices — and another 5,500 supervisors and
administrative staffers. Cutting postmasters is especially
noteworthy, because it will likely prompt USPS to
close the post offices they operate. Though 7,500 seems like an
impressive figure, remember the Postal Service still has about 283,000
full-time workers; another 234,000 employees left in the last decade on
their own volition or through early-retirement incentive progarms. On
average, about 22,500 postal workers leave the mail agency each year by
retiring or finding another job, according to USPS. Postmaster General
Patrick R. Donahoe has said his goal is
to have 30,000 fewer employees working
for the Postal Service by the end of its fiscal
year in September by using the 7,500 layoffs and the estimated
22,5000 departures. See also
USPS
NewsLink.
From the Federal Register:
Postal
Service
News-Press: "Look-alike postal service website not the real deal."
Dead Tree Edition: "Here's What Darrell Issa Actually Said -- But Don't
Ask What He Meant."
The Flint Journal: U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee and Mayor Dayne Walling say
moving Flint postal processing would not save money, would affect service.
KMEG: Iowa
Senator Chuck Grassley says local businesses and Siouxland workers can't
take another hit, that's why he is joining the effort to prevent
consolidation with Sioux Falls. While visiting the Sergeant Bluff High
School Wednesday, the US Postal Service's Mail Processing study was a hot
topic. The Senator fears the move could be disastrous for Siouxland's
economy.
National Journal: The United States Postal Service seems to be playing
with the deck stacked against it. Not only is the cash-strapped Post Office
fighting to survive in the digital age, but now it has to answer to the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Postal Service: Confirm was migrated to a new, more stable and better
performing hardware platform over the weekend. After that was complete,
there were post implementation issues that caused some delayed data to
mailers. These issues were fixed on Monday and the system was fully
functioning that evening.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: Government Executive and Federal
Times both reported today that the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee will be holding a hearing on April 5 on Postal Service pay. It is
clear from quotes attributed to Congressmen Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross
that the Postal Service's witness is going to have a very unpleasant time.
The House committee has two options in looking at the compensation question.
The easy way is to bash Postal Service management and grab headlines by
focusing only on the wage premium issue. A more constructive alternative
would look at what would be required to bring compensation closer in line to
market values
March 23, 2011
On
the Postal Service's 2011
Organizational Redesign
Yahoo! News: USA Today, a newspaper created nearly 30 years ago to
appeal to people who grew up watching television, is revising its formula to
try to counter the Internet's threat to its survival. The nation's
second-largest newspaper is expanding its coverage of advertising-friendly
topics, designing content for smartphones and tablet computers and
refreshing the look of its print edition, whose circulation has fallen by 20
percent over the past three years. For readers, it means lots of travel
tips, gadget reviews, sports features, financial advice and lifestyle
recommendations. Top editors say investigative journalism will also be
emphasized.
EVWorld: Ford and
Azure Dynamics Corporation (TSX:AZD) have confirmed their first European
customer for the innovative zero-emission Transit Connect Electric van.
Norwegian Post today signed a contract for 20 Transit Connect Electric
vehicles, with an option to further increase the order at a future date.
Federal Times: The news keeps coming on that newly unveiled American
Postal Workers Union contract and the latest installment will not be welcome
to U.S. Postal Service employees. The House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee has just scheduled an April 5
hearing on postal workforce costs and it looks like the tentative
APWU deal will be a big part of the discussion. With workforce costs
comprising about 80 percent of USPS operating expenses, “the union contract
renewals are the best chance to find new savings,” committee Chairman
Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said in a news release. “Unfortunately, this looks
like a missed opportunity.” “The
Postal Service cannot afford to continue to pay,
as their own numbers have estimated, a 34.2 percent
wage premium over comparable private sector labor,” added Rep.
Dennis Ross, R-Fla., who chairs a Postal Service subcommittee. Ross said he
was referring to 2003 figures presented by economist Michael Wachter to a
presidential commission. See also the
Washington Post and
Government Executive.
Post & Parcel: Brazil’s Postal and Telegraph Company, Correios, has
launched a major recruitment campaign, offering 8,346 full-time vacancies.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Memphis Commercial Appeal: FedEx's 4,500 pilots will receive 3 percent
pay raises, lump sum payments, new safety programs and expanded foreign duty
assignment rules under a newly approved labor agreement. The agreement,
hammered out by FedEx management and the Air Line Pilots Association in less
than six months, was approved by pilots in balloting that ended early today.
The
USPS experienced a network outage this morning that was resolved at 9:55 am
Central Time. This outage impacted business mailers accessing mailing and
shipping services via the Business Customer Gateway (BCG). These services
included PostalOne!, FAST, CLDS, ABRM and CONFIRM. External users are now
able to access the Business Customer Gateway.
Press
Release: There is less than a week left until Marketforce and the IEA’s
European Postal Services conference.
View
the programme here
DMM
Advisory:
IMb™ Services
Update — Server Upgrade Reminder.
PostalOne!®
Full-Service
and Mail Quality reports
will be unavailable to mailers
from 5 p.m. CDT
Thursday, March 24, 2011, through 6 a.m. CDT Monday, March 28, 2011, while
the USPS™ MicroStrategy reporting servers are upgraded from MicroStrategy
Version 8.x to MicroStrategy Version 9.x.
Saturation and High Density Standard Mail Incentive Program Validation Process Update. When the Saturation and High Density Standard Mail Incentive Program application deadline was extended, the original date by which applicants must accept or dispute threshold volumes and permits (March 15, 2011) became invalid. As a result, the process is still ongoing. Over the next 2 to 3 weeks, program applicants will receive a threshold and permit validation communication. Applicants who disagree with any portion of their USPS-calculated threshold must complete the threshold inquiry form and submit supporting evidence no later than the date that will be provided on the threshold and permit validation communication. For questions about this process, contact the Saturation and High Density Standard Mail Incentive Program Office at SaturationHDIncentive@usps.gov.
USPS® Network Outage Resolved. The Postal Service™ experienced a network outage this morning that was resolved at 9:55 a.m. CDT. This outage affected business mailers accessing mailing and shipping services via the Business Customer Gateway (BCG). These services include PostalOne!®, FAST®, CLDS, ABRM and Confirm®. External users are now able to access the Business Customer Gateway.
Federal Times: Members of the American Postal Workers Union will get
about a month to decide the fate of a new contract, with the union dangling
prizes to encourage locals to get out the vote, according to a news release.
Ballots will be mailed out starting April 8 and are due back by May 10, with
the actual count taking place the following day, May 11, the union release
says.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: Currently there is a major push
by Congressman Darrell Issa to examine how government regulation affects
economic activity. There is no question that government regulation affects
the cost of running a business. However, those who believe that elimination
of regulation is a good idea need look no further than the unregulated
Japanese nuclear power industry, and poor regulation of oil drilling in the
gulf, and the financial meltdown that caused the great recession. In all
three cases, the relaxation of regulation reflected the problem of dealing
with rare but expensive risks.
Central Florida News: A last-ditch effort to keep the Daytona Beach
Processing and Distribution Facility on Bill France Boulevard open was
tossed aside by the Postal Regulatory Commission Tuesday. Commissioners
issued an order dismissing the appeal because they said they have no
jurisdiction over the closing or consolidation of processing and
distribution facilities.
Hellmail: The revelation that staff Colleagueshares at Royal Mail are
likely to be practically worthless, are I suspect, the tip of a mammoth
iceberg. Royal Mail itself admits that its modernisation plans are 18 months
behind but the pace of change needed is actually several years, if not a
decade behind.
Business Wire: Pitney Bowes Inc. today launched pbSmartPostage™, the
industry’s first mailing and shipping service that uses cloud technology to
enable businesses to apply postage to letters and shipping labels and
packages directly from any PC with an Internet connection. Businesses with
smaller volume shipping needs and remote locations will benefit from this
flexible mailing and shipping solution. The introduction of pbSmartPostage™
is the first in a series of solutions in the pbSmart family of on demand
products the company is developing to enable businesses to more effectively
communicate with their customers in an increasing mobile world.
AdAge Mediaworks: Magazines can now count iPad and other digital-edition
sales toward their paid-circulation guarantees even if those digital
versions don't include the ads they carried in print, according to a new
rule adopted by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the dominant arbiter of
circulation for consumer magazines and newspapers. That will let publishers
take credit for their success on new platforms but means more work for media
buyers, whose ads will increasingly appear in only a portion of each
magazine's paid circulation count.
Deutsche Welle: For some German companies like Deutsche Telekom, the
United States is a financial abyss capable of swallowing billions of euros.
But other firms venturing into the world's largest economy have quietly made
a fortune. Deutsche Post-DHL CEO Appel, by comparison, is still hanging on
to DHL. Germany's former postal monopoly completed its purchase of the US
parcel company in 2002. But the executive's hands have been full ever since
as he tries to turn around a business that has racked up more than 7.5
billion euros ($10.6 billion) in losses. DHL continues to face tough
competition from the world's largest parcel company UPS and FedEx. Some
analysts believe it's a fight the German-owned company can't win. The forays
of these three German companies into the US have one thing in common: they
were based on acquisitions. And these, arguably, can be tricky. Who knows,
maybe DHL, with the right strategy, can give UPS and FedEx a run for their
money. Frank Appel is giving it a shot anyway.
DI-VE: The CEO of MaltaPost p.l.c. has been recently re-elected as a
member of the PostEurop Management Board in Schaan, Liechtenstein. The
members present elected the new management board to serve the term between
2011 and 2013.
Hellmail: The Latvian government has backed a medium-term plan which
outlines the objectives of Latvian Post and a plan for sustainability of the
postal service in a more competitive market. The guidelines are expected to
remain in place until 2017 and lay out key objectives to deliver a quality
service and provide convenient access to postal services across Latvia.
Transport Intelligence: The rationalisation of former postal monopolies
continues, with Britain’s Royal Mail being the latest to announce a
down-sizing in the organisation’s resources and a reduction in its
workforce.
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
Russian minister of finance, Alexei Kudrin, confirmed that the creation of a postal bank was was still on the agenda.
Leading representatives of postal businesses from 13 Mediterranean border states signed a position paper on co-operation under the leadership of Poste Italiane. Postal Euromed was established to implement a shared policy for the postal sector within the Mediterranean region, develop new technologies for a more efficient mail service, establish a common platform for e-commerce and encourage closer collaboration in offering financial and communication services, the official statement read. One of the stipulated projects is to cut the cost of transferring money by 5% in the next five years.
Chronoexprés, Spanish Correos’s express subsidiary, signed a co-operation agreement with Portuguese Trans-Go Express. In a statement the company writes that Trans-Go guarantees nationwide delivery within 24 hours.
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.)
From the Federal Register:
Postal Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
DutchNews.nl: TNT Post does not support the setting up of a special fund
to finance improved working conditions for postal delivery staff, director
Pieter Kunz told MPs on Tuesday.
Dead Tree Edition: Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican Congressional
leader who has been boldly advocating a downsizing of the U.S. Postal
Service, suddenly doesn't sound so brave.
Verde Independent: New cutbacks will be announced by the Postal Service
this week to help stem its tsunami of red ink. U.S. Postmaster General
Patrick R. Donahoe is to make an internal announcement Thursday that will
become public Friday.
March 22, 2011
DMM Advisory: April 17 Mailing Services Price Change Update — Plant-Verified Drop Shipment . As a reminder, Mailing Services prices will change on April 17, 2011. Relative to that change, plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) mailings will be verified and accepted as follows:
Current Prices — PVDS mailings verified and paid for before April 17, 2011, using the current prices, will be accepted at destination entry postal facilities through May 7, 2011, when presented with appropriate verification and payment documentation (PS Form 8125).
New Prices — PVDS mailings may be verified and paid for beginning March 21, 2011, using the new prices, provided the shipments are not deposited at destination entry postal facilities until April 17, 2011, or later, when presented with appropriate verification and payment documentation (PS Form 8125).
Stuttgart Daily Leader: U.S. postal officials are studying 15 post
offices in Arkansas for possible closure as part of a money saving effort.
The U.S. Postal Service is looking to save money as email and other
electronic communications replace letters. Arkansas post offices on the list
for possible closure include Gepp, Alicia, Bigelow, Board Camp, Driver, Ida,
Monroe, Peach Orchard, Pineville, Wideman and Wilson. Also on the list are
branch offices in East Camden, Goodwin, Springdale and Fayetteville. Postal
officials are also considering converting the State University Post Office
at Arkansas State into a branch of the Jonesboro Post Office Postal Service
spokeswoman Leisa Tolliver-Gay told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that
postal stations in west Little Rock and Fort Smith are already scheduled to
close later this month.
Hellmail: The deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers
Union today accused Royal Mail of destroying any remaining trust that postal
workers had in the company after the announcement that the value of staff
shares had plummeted.
This Is London: Postal workers will be up to £1,400 out of pocket
because they will not receive an expected bonus, leaving many of them
wanting to take action, their union has said. The Communication Workers
Union (CWU) said staff were being briefed about the so-called ColleagueShare
scheme, which was introduced by former chairman Allan Leighton to pay a
bonus based on the value of the company. An internal memo issued by Royal
Mail said the "difficult outlook" for the business meant it was likely that
workers would only receive the remainder of the cash bonus element of the
scheme. The CWU said the move would leave postal workers up to £1,400 out of
pocket and claimed that Royal Mail paid out ColleagueShare to staff who have
left the company in the last six weeks. The scheme has paid out up to £1,600
to postal workers so far and the union said it was due to pay out a further
£1,400 this year, up to a limit of £5,300 over the five-year life of the
scheme.
From the Federal Register:
Postal Service RULES
Rules of Practice in Proceedings Relative to Mail Disputes,
15218–15219 [2011–6332]
[TEXT] [PDF]
Marketing Daily: Spending more marketing dollars per vehicle than ever
and facing an ever-more quickly metamorphosing media scenario, automakers
need to be more cognizant than ever about what channels are working, and
when to pull the plug on channels that aren't. In a new white paper,
marketing firm Acxiom says that in order to keep abreast of launch
campaigns, automakers must build flexible media optimization platforms into
them. "We might recommend they redirect some of their direct mail and TV to
search, email and display, which are on upward trajectories," it says.
AllAfrica.com:
Postal services have been struggling to stay afloat in a cutthroat market
dominated by new technologies. And so Postal Corporation has sought the help
of experts from US-based technology giant, IBM, to position the business in
this new era. IBM Corporate Service Corps Team says competition has taken
full advantage of the new opportunities - from banks expanding services to
organisations moving into the parcel business.
Springfield News: With Australia Post’s largest delivery centre at
Heathwood about to hit full stride, a whopping 1.5 million letters, parcels
and packages will whiz through the site each day. Staff, stakeholders, and
curious community members were given a sneak peek of the massive warehouse
at an open day last month.
Mineweb: The humble post office is the latest organisation to get into
the gold act in India. Standard 24 carat gold coins have been selling like
hotcakes at over 466 post offices dotted throughout the country. Despite the
current high price, Indian consumers have been buying small quantities of
coins to give as gifts during the festival season. With the spring,
harvesting and wedding season all in full swing in India, demand for the
yellow metal has shown a substantial climb.
Hellmail: The International Post Corporation (IPC) announced recently
that its Future of Mail by Air (FoMbA) initiative has enabled the transition
from paper delivery bills to an electronic method for 16% of all the mail
exchanged between postal operators and airlines on 127 routes worldwide in
only one year. The achievement, announced at the 2011 IATA World Cargo
Symposium, surpasses the 10% target set for 2010 by six percentage points.
MSNBC: Police are
investigating a postal worker accused of stealing prescription medicine
meant for patients. They say he headed off drugs from people who need them.
KITV: Five
years ago, the USPS considered moving Sioux City's mail processing to Sioux
Falls. In a letter to the Postmaster General, western Iowa congressman Steve
King said, the last time, the postal service couldn't answer a number of the
his questions. In the same letter, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says
the postal service has an obligation to conduct a review in a fair manner,
and "consider the views of the community." That's why Democrat Tom Harkin
says "the potential impact should be taken into account before any further
steps are taken" by the postal service. The postal service says the study of
Sioux City's mail processing could be done this spring, or summer.
Hellmail: Chronoexprés, parcels subsiduary of Spanish postal operator
Correos, has signed a deal with Portugese-owned Trans-Go Express. The deal
will extend the reach of Chronoexprés products and increase business for
Trans-Go Express. Correos said Trans-Go Express guarantees full coverage in
24 hours throughout Portugal and Chronoexprés has total territorial coverage
in Spain - working together enhancing the scope of services available to
customers in both countries.
Hellmail: French postal operator La Poste reports that revenue for 2010
grew by 2% to €20.9bn, operating profit rose by €27m to €784m, and debt was
reduced by €713m. Jean-Paul Bailly closed the Group’s consolidated financial
statements for 2010, thanking postal workers for their commitment and major
contribution to customer service and Group modernisation. Accordingly, he
announced the payment of incentive bonuses totalling €60 million, i.e. €245
per employee (+11% on 2009). The amount is the same for each postal worker,
whatever their status, profession or level of remuneration.
The Guardian: Royal Mail has told workers that
its employee share scheme will be virtually worthless when it
matures next year, dashing hopes of a windfall for staff. Having carried out
a valuation of the scheme, new chief executive Moya Greene has blamed the
group's financial position and lower than expected cost savings. The maximum
payout would have been £3,000 but the scheme now
seems unlikely to pay anything. Former chairman Allan Leighton
set up the share scheme along with former chief executive Adam Crozier in
2007 to give staff an incentive to boost productivity and compete with
private sector rivals. Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the
Communication Workers Union, said in a letter to members that
the value of each worker's holdings in the scheme
had fallen from around £1,400 in September 2010 - "to nothing".
KTIV: Members
of the American Postal Workers Local 186 are gearing up for a fight. Last
week, the federal government announced its intention to study the
possibility of moving work at the Sioux City mail processing plant to Sioux
Falls, South Dakota.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: Many of the readers of the blog
have raised the questions as to whether the Postal Service would have been
better served going to arbitration. In a comment to another post a reader
provided a history of previous contracts that were sent to arbitration, The
picture is not pretty.
Gearlog: The Association of American Publishers recently released
figures for the past year ending in January 2011, and the results are
startling: eBooks have taken off in a large way, with sales of eBooks from
various book stores doubling year-over-year from January 2010; close to
115%. The report also cast gloom over sales of traditional paper books,
which declined approximately 30% over the same period. Hardcover sales were
the biggest loss, dropping over 11% from January 2010 to January 2011.
March 21, 2011
Daily Mail: Royal Mail is planning to axe 1,700 jobs, including 1,000
managers, and close two mail centres in London under plans which have been
announced. The company also said that a further 1,700 jobs had been cut
since the start of the year in areas including finance, IT, human resources
and support services. The number of employees has been reduced by around
65,000 since 2002.
Advertising Age: Online Self-regulation May Not Satisfy Obama
Administration
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: A compensation comparison chart.
MediaWeek: Time Inc. isn’t the only entity facing a leadership dilemma
following the recent dismissal of its CEO, Jack Griffin. The Association of
Magazine Media (MPA), the industry's leading trade association, has also
been left without a leader.
Should the Postal Service Monitor Packaging Supplies? Should the
Postal Service monitor packaging supplies to control costs?
LINK
here to learn more give your comments.
The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General invites you to
comment on this week’s “Pushing the Envelope” blog topic:
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: Most of the comparisons made on
health benefits compare what the Postal Service offers to what other Federal
Employees receive. There are two parts of this benefit. First there are
benefits that exist while a person is working for the Postal Service. The
second are benefits that accrued while the person works but are payable when
they retire. A similar comparison needs to be made on retirement benefits.
While up until the signing of the APWU contract the retirement benefit
structure of Postal Service and other federal government employees is the
same, it is not clear if the hourly cost per employee is the same as the mix
of employees in CSRS and FERS may differ and the contribution rates of
Postal Service and Federal Government employees into retirement programs
with an employer match may also differ Postal employees like UPS's teamster
employees have both pre- and post-retirement health benefits. FedEx
employees only have health benefits while they are working for FedEx.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: The Pittsburg Tribune-Review's
editorial illustrates the problem that the Postal Service created because it
did not recognize that it had to sell the contract to Congress, influential
news media, and its customers. The Postal Service needs the support of all
three if the rest of its restructuring programs are to be approved. For
example, why would a member of Congress acquiesce to the closure of a local
processing plant or accept 5-day delivery, or modify the payment terms on
retiree obligations if they believed that the Postal Service did not do all
it could to reduce its compensation costs and excess employees.
Federal Times: The Postal Service is losing billions and has a plan to
solve its crisis. Congress and the Obama administration are standing in its
way. Congress has a choice: It can either grant the Postal Service the
control it needs to manage its $67 billion business, or foot the bill for a
multibillion-dollar bailout.
Datamonitor: Digital communication systems such as digital postal mail
could be a novel way for postal companies to address declining mail volumes,
while also adding to their top-line. Digital mail can be used in a variety
of ways and provides a secure, environmentally friendly communication
channel. The success of the service depends to a large extent on
partnerships being developed with service companies. A digital postal mail
service includes an electronic mailbox account which is a digital equivalent
of a physical postal address and can be accessed through a registered
identification number, such as a passport number. This account can then be
used as a single point for sending and receiving mail. The mail itself can
be digital (electronic sending and delivery), hybrid (a combination of
electronic and physical sending and delivery), or print to digital (physical
sending and electronic delivery). The biggest opportunity within digital
postal mail lies in partnering with companies from areas such as banking and
telecom services for the management of business documents. In this area,
digital postal mail serves as a secure and green business-to-consumer
communication channel between companies and their customers or staff for key
documents. These documents could include pay slips, employment contracts,
salary information, bills, and policy documents, as well as various other
types. Digital postal mail can also be a medium for e-commerce fulfillment.
Nairobi Star:
The Postal Corporation of Kenya must re-align its organisational structure
with new business priorities and tap young talent to cope with the rapidly
changing landscape of postal business and increasing competition, a new
study says. The study conducted by IBM Corporate Service Corps Team Kenya
proposes strategic directions for competitive re-positioning of the
corporation against challenges and new opportunities brought about by the
digital era and changing competitive landscape.
Hellmail: Syslore Ltd., the leading developer of intelligent data
matching and address recognition solutions for postal, logistics and mailing
companies, is delighted to announce an order from Posten Norden AB.
AMEInfo: Universal Postal
Union workshop highlights new regional approach to quality of postal
services in region.
Pittsburgh Tribune: Rather than press for flexibility to stem fiscal
hemorrhaging, the U.S. Postal Service sustains the stagnant status quo in a
new tentative contract with one of its largest unions. The 4 1/2-year deal,
subject to a vote by the 205,000-member American Postal Workers Union,
perpetuates an ineffectual business model -- one that's underscored by this
year's projected losses of $7 billion. Proponents on both sides of the
accord tout pay raises held to 3.5 percent over the life of the contract and
that workers will contribute "more" to their health insurance. Big deal. By
2016, the postal service's share of health premiums marginally drops, from
79 percent to 76 percent. Most federal agencies cover 72 percent, The
Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, the postal service will limit
"excessing" -- that is, reassigning postal workers from one city to another.
And, naturally, the new deal will protect jobs, assures APWU President Cliff
Guffey. So much for innovation.
Daily Mail: Royal Mail has admitted it destroys an average of 25million
letters, packets and parcels every year. A mountain of undelivered
correspondence – costing millions in postage – is amassed at the firm’s
National Returns Centre at a rate of almost 70,000 items per day. Items with
valuable contents are retained and then sold at auction, with the profits
going to Royal Mail – but the rest are shredded.
The East African: In a move intended to re-position the Postal
Corporation of Kenya (PCK) against challenges brought on by the digital era
and changing competitive landscape, IBM’s Corporate Service Corps conducted
a research survey on the attitude of Kenyans toward the service. The
findings indicate that a paradigm shift in operations in needed, in the
light of technological innovations and increasing competition.
March 20, 2011
BGR: A recent study conducted by payment
solution provider Mobio Identity Systems suggests that North Americans are
eager to see mobile payments become a reality. Mobio recently surveyed 1,085
people across North America and found that the overwhelming majority — 94% —
would use mobile payments if they knew the system was secure.
Hellmail: Over the past two years, and ahead of full market
liberalisation in 2013, Croatian Post has conducted an extensive
restructuring process which it hopes will lay down the foundations for a
more secure future. One of the key areas was investment in human resources
with more attention paid to the development of internal staff.
Restructuring, introducing new services, upgrading of existing services and
above all, preserving the trust of postal users were seen as critical and
after many years of losses, Croatian Post is now seeing positive results in
the market.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: One of the challenges in trying
to figure out whether the Postal Service has signed a financially
responsible contract is that there are few good figures available regarding
what are market wages for the work that APWU members do. The Teamsters Union
have recently posted in UPS Teamster Update a comparison of UPS and FedEx
Express employee wages.
Wall Street Journal: U.S. postal officials are expected to detail plans
on Friday for eliminating about 7,500 administrative and management
positions.
Federal Times: Higher gasoline prices — up 77 cents since this time last
year to an average of $3.56 a gallon — are squeezing federal agencies
already struggling with tight budgets. The U.S. Postal Service fleet of
215,000 vehicles logs 4 million miles per day, and every 1-cent increase in
fuel prices costs the agency $6.5 million annually, according to Steve
Masse, vice president of finance and planning. "If gasoline prices were to
rise 58 cents from current levels … USPS fuel costs would increase by an
additional $31 million per month," Masse said in a statement. He cited an
all-time high average of $4.11 in July 2008. The Postal Service's fuel bill
for 650 million gallons totaled $1.7 billion in 2010.
Slashdot: Late last year, we mentioned the idea floated by to Michael J.
Ravnitzky, a chief counsel at the Postal Regulatory Commission, that the US
Postal Service use its wide-ranging fleet to gather and upload useful data
of all kinds — everything from weather conditions to RF coverage. Now, an
anonymous reader writes "A workshop on this topic is scheduled for April
12th in Washington, DC. This month, the Postmaster General sent a letter to
Senator Thomas Carper, Chairman of the US Senate Subcommittee that oversees
the Postal Service, expressing interest in exploring this concept."
Chicago Tribune: No rain, sleet or snow, but mail goes missing.
Postalnews Blog: Twitter has provided politicians a quick and easy way
to broadcast their opinions- we’ve told you previously how the USPS’s
congressional overseer, Dennis Ross doesn’t think postal workers should have
unions, never mind collective bargaining. Now his boss, Darrell Issa, has
suggested that maybe we don’t need the USPS at all.
March 19, 2011
Hellmail: Alan Crowe MLC, Chairman of Isle of Man Post Office said this
week that proposed strike action by Communication Workers Union members on
the island would be "reckless". He said any pay increase had to be viewed
against a backdrop of a public sector pay freeze and that the Isle of Man
Post Office was very limited in what it could do.
Business Insider: The word in Washington is that President Obama is
close to naming departing CEO Eric Schmidt as the nation's next Secretary of
Commerce.
The Bismarck Tribune: After eliminating 100,000 positions, the U.S.
Postal Service still lost $8.5 billion last year. Understandably, that has
USPS officials searching for savings everywhere, including Bismarck. Closing
the downtown Bismarck post office and moving the boxes to the USPS building
on Expressway would save the federal mail delivery operation $162,000. he
proposed cost-saving action by the USPS would be inconvenient for many of
the 1,916 boxholders. It would be an unfortunate hit to the redevelopment of
the city's downtown. Post offices are community focal points, the loss of
which can be painful, as we have seen in many small North Dakota communities
that have lost their regular post offices. However, the financial
hemorrhaging of the postal service must be stopped. If closing the downtown
Bismarck operation is necessary as a part of the USPS cost cutting, then so
be it. We can't demand reduced costs and lower taxes and then protest and
complain about reduced services.
Des Moines Register: The U.S. Postal Service says it is again reviewing
whether to consolidate its Sioux City processing center with one 75 miles
north in Sioux Falls, S.D. The service decided against doing so five years
ago, when the idea was first raised. There has been a substantial drop in
first-class mail revenue since, thanks in part to web-based bill paying. A
consolidation study is expected to be finished before fall.
From the Federal Register:
Postal Service RULES Rules of Practice in Proceedings Relative to Mail Disputes , 15218–15219 [2011–6332] [TEXT] [PDF]
Multichannel Merchant: Talk of five-day mail delivery has permeated the
postal world since former U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter proposed it
in 2009. Now, the Postal Regulatory Commission is about ready to issue an
advisory opinion on the proposal to Congress. It’s hard to say exactly when
the PRC’s advice on eliminating Saturday postal delivery will reach
Congress, though. “The commission is working overtime to resolve both the
complex technical and policy aspects of this case,” says PRC chairman Ruth
Goldway. “We expect to produce our advisory opinion shortly.”
DMM Advisory: IMb™ Services Update.
PostalOne! Release 26.0.1.4 will be deployed to the production environment on Sunday, March 20, 2011, during the scheduled maintenance window from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. CDT and to the Test Environment for Mailers (TEM) on Monday, March 21, 2011, from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. CDT. Users may experience intermittent outages during these periods. The PostalOne!® .XML applications (including FAST OPS web services) will be unavailable during each period for database maintenance.
PostalOne! Full-Service and Mail Quality reports will be unavailable to mailers from 5 p.m. CDT Thursday, March 24, 2011, to 6 a.m. CDT Monday, March 28, 2011, while the USPS™ MicroStrategy reporting servers are upgraded from MicroStrategy Version 8.x to MicroStrategy Version 9.x.
Flats Sequencing System Presort Level ID Codes — As more mailers begin to adopt the optional Flats Sequencing System (FSS) bundle preparation standards, the Intelligent Mail® barcode system needs a way to indicate that level of presort. Barcode ID 20, currently used for optional endorsement line (OEL) 5-digit and 5-digit scheme presorts, has been extended for use on flats prepared under the rules for optional FSS bundle preparation.
The barcode ID tables have been updated in the Barcode ID table and Technical Resource Guide on RIBBS®. Clarifying the use of Barcode ID 20 for FSS OEL will not affect systems using Barcode ID information, but rather enable the Intelligent Mail barcode system to reflect bundles prepared under the FSS optional preparation.
Be on the Lookout for New Products. We've had a busy week with Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) filings — two announcements and one completed review for new products and services.
Parcel Select Regional Ground Service — This final rule Federal Register incorporates a new price category called Regional Ground service, which we filed in February with the PRC. Parcel Select® Regional Ground service is designed for commercial customers who ship lightweight parcels primarily destined to USPS® zones local, 1, 2, and 3. The entire final rule can be viewed on the Postal Explorer® website by clicking “Federal Register Notices” in the left frame. The effective date is April 17, 2011.
Parcel Select Forwarding and Return to Sender — On March 16, we notified the PRC of our intention to charge an additional $3.00 service fee, in addition to the Parcel Select barcoded nonpresort price for any Parcel Select items that are returned or forwarded. Pieces will no longer be handed off to facilitate local delivery within the same office, but will be sent to a Centralized Forwarding System for automated handling.
Introducing — Priority Mail Forever Prepaid Flat Rate Packaging — On March 16, we notified the PRC of our intention to introduce a new price category within Priority Mail® to allow Forever® Prepaid Flat Rate packaging. Forever Prepaid packaging can be purchased by credit card online only in multi-packs and will be sent to customers with prepaid mailing labels affixed for the following Priority Mail items:
We plan to begin offering Priority Mail Forever Prepaid Flat Rate packaging on April 17, 2011.
March 18, 2011
The Postal Service is conducting a National Grow Your Business Campaign.
Nationwide there are 1245 events currently being planned. The content of
these initial Grow Your Business Day events will be Every Door Direct Mail
(EDDM).
Register for the Every Door Direct Mail™ seminar from the U.S. Postal
Service®.
For more on when and where, check the information that's been posted on
this site.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Wall
Street Journal: FedEx Corp said Friday that it was the subject of a
Department of Justice civil investigation into alleged anticompetitive
behavior in the parcel-delivery market. The package shipper said in a
regulatory filing that the justice department last month asked it to provide
information "into the policies and practices of FedEx and United Parcel
Service, Inc. (UPS) for dealing with third-party consultants who work with
shipping customers to negotiate lower rates."
Congressman José
E. Serrano has sent a letter to the Postmaster General warning him that
plans to consolidate and close postal facilities in the Bronx was an unwise
idea that unfairly impacts the Bronx community.
U.S. Senator Mark Pryor has given the United States Postal Service’s
(USPS) a failing grade for its efforts to keep communities informed about
potential post office closures. The USPS currently has an operating deficit
of over $8 billion and may be forced to close up to 2,000 post offices.
While Senator Pryor agreed that the USPS needs to implement cost-cutting
measures to reduce their deficit, he urged the USPS to keep communities a
priority in the process. Specifically, he requested the USPS fairly review
post offices on a case-by-case basis, provide clear criteria about post
office closures, and notify residents about community meetings.
Dead Tree Edition: Is the APWU Eating Its Young? Although the American
Postal Workers Union has done all the crowing about its new labor contract,
the deal includes several items that could save the U.S. Postal Service
significant expenses. The USPS' contract with its largest union is mostly
good news for current APWU members, but will mean lower pay and more erratic
schedules for new hires, postal analyst Alan Robinson pointed out today.
Equimedia: Direct mail marketers are being targeted with new Royal Mail
proposals to boost the use of the traditional medium in the aftermath of a
postal price hike. The postal provider announced last week that it would be
increasing its prices for higher volume business packets and mail by ten per
cent, in May, meaning businesses could be facing higher prices for sending
out direct mail. But the company has come forward to encourage marketers to
continue to use direct mail as a way to spread their message.
Post & Parcel: Day two of PosTech provided an insight into development
of e-communications and the use of social media. The industry-leading
conference took place this week in Dubai at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Delegates heard from Jacob Johnsen, hybrid mail strategist, Ipostes, who
examined whether hybrid mail is ready to dominate the postal landscape of
the future.
Mmegi: BotswanaPost's International Mail Exchange Centre will transform
Botswana's postal operations and raise them to world standards.
Press Release: Husch Blackwell's Government Contracts and Postal Service
Contracting groups are pleased to announce the launch of The Contractor's
Perspective (contractorsperspective.com). This online resource provides
information and analysis on current legal issues impacting companies who do
business with the U.S. Postal Service and other federal agencies.
Courier, Express,and Postal Observer: Conservative thinkers are just
beginning to start thinking about what to do with the Postal Service. As
those who read this blog know, this is a complicated problem and the
solution will likely cause pain for all stakeholders and eliminate
protections that many have from the status quo. In a well reasoned article
entitled, "Does the U.S, Treasury Owe $75 Billion to the Postal Service?"
Michael Schuyler, a Senior Economist at the Institute for Research on the
Economics of Taxation reviews the number one topic discussed among postal
stakeholders, disputes over Postal Service obligations for retirement
obligations. Simply stated, Mr Schuyler states that if the law states that
the Postal Service does not owe the money it should be refunded. If the law
states that the Postal Service owes the money, then it is a Congressional
prerogative to change the law but the budget deficit requires that changes
in law should be considered carefully. If Congress determines that the law
should be changed but due to the deficit changes cannot be made to fully
cover the disputed overpayment then the focus should be elimination of
prospective overpayments.
Bloomberg: The U.S. Postal Service, which says it may run out of cash,
needs chief executive officers of companies like Bank of America Corp. (BAC)
and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) to convince Congress to provide
long-term relief, the agency’s regulator said. President Barack Obama, in
his budget proposal, proposed deferring $4 billion of a benefits payment
this year and refunding some surplus pension payments. If executives from
banks, utilities, publishers and other large users of mail services push
lawmakers, there will be a better chance of adjusting the amount than if
just their trade groups do, Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth
Goldway said. “That’s what we need,” Goldway, 65, said yesterday in an
interview at Bloomberg’s Washington office. “The associations are very
valuable, but that’s not what’s going to make the difference now.”
Leagle.com: ASCOM HASLER MAILING SYSTEMS, INC., Plaintiff, v. UNITED
STATES POSTAL SERVICE, Defendant. NEOPOST, INC., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES
POSTAL SERVICE, Defendant.
A
document from
Japan Post regarding the effect of radioactivity on the mail has been
posted on this site.
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
The Motley Fool: Over the past 12 months, UPS generated $2,446.0 million
cash on net income of $3,488.0 million. That means it turned 4.9% of its
revenue into FCF. That sounds OK. However, the FCF is a lot less than net
income. Ideally, we'd like to see the opposite. Since a single-company
snapshot doesn't offer much context, it always pays to compare that figure
to sector and industry peers and competitors, to see how your business
stacks up.
PRWeb: Digital Technology International (DTI™) and Dimaps, a provider of
distribution optimization solutions and digital mapping to newspapers and
other distributors, have announced the signing of a partnership agreement.
Mary Olson, chief operating officer, DTI, said, “Together with Dimaps, the
agreement enables us to provide enhanced distribution optimization solutions
for our 1,000 DTI Circulation system customers around the world.” DTI
Circulation delivers all the tools necessary for effective circulation
management. Amongst the system’s more than 1,000 users worldwide are
NewsCorp. (Australia); DC Thomson (Scotland); HSS Media (Finland);
Transcontinental (Canada) and Cox Media (United States). Dimaps slates as
customers the Icelandic Postal Service as well many of the leading
publishers and distributors in its native Denmark.
Postalnews Blog: Burrus tells APWU members new contract would “turn back
the clock” . . . . This tentative agreement will turn back the clock and
erase those years of struggle. Notwithstanding the rationalization, if this
contract is ratified, future employees will suffer reductions in pay of more
than $300 per pay, more than $600 per month and over $8,000 per year. Over a
30 year career these losses will exceed more than $250,000 and will continue
into retirement, when the annuity includes the salary reductions. In total,
each employee hired after the date of this contract will receive over
$300,000 less for performing the same work.
Roll Call: The
Government Printing Office, finding its paper-based mission under
Congressional attack, is considering a name change to reflect its role in
the digital age.
A Peer-to-Peer Roundtable on Postal Regulatory Issues, led by two senior
representatives from the Postal Regulatory Commission, will be held at the
National Postal Forum this year. That Roundtable is scheduled for Monday,
May 2nd, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. at the San Diego Convention Center, Ballroom
6C. Information to register in advance is available here:
http://npf.org/peer-to-peer
Cato@Liberty: The U.S. Postal Service is in financial trouble.
Undermined by advances in electronic communication, weighed down by
excessive labor costs and operationally straitjacketed by Congress, the
government’s mail monopoly is running on fumes and faces large unfunded
liabilities. Socialism apparently has its limits. While the Europeans
continue to shift away from government-run postal monopolies toward market
liberalization, policymakers in the United States still have their heads
stuck in the twentieth century. That means looking for an easy way out,
which in Washington usually means a bailout. Self-interested parties –
including the postal unions, mailers, and postal management – have coalesced
around the notion that the U.S. Treasury owes the USPS somewhere around
$50-$75 billion. (Of course, “U.S. Treasury” is just another word for
“taxpayers.”) Policymakers with responsibility for overseeing the USPS have
introduced legislation that would require the Treasury to credit it with the
money.
KAIT: U.S.
Senator Mark Pryor issued strong words to the U.S. Postal Service Thursday
in the wake of possible post office closures in Arkansas. Pryor gave the
USPS a failing grade for its efforts to keep communities informed about
possible post office closures. The list of possible post office closures
include Alicia, Wilson, State University (ASU), Peach Orchard, Wideman,
Pineville, Board Camp, Gepp, Goodwin, Ida, Monroe, Johnson City, Springdale,
East Camden, and Driver.
Post & Parcel: The UK’s post office network could move to become a
mutual organisation or co-operative before the next general election, the
government stated yesterday. The Post Office Ltd, which oversees nearly
12,000 post office branches across the UK, is set to remain in public
ownership when the Royal Mail Group is broken up, with the Royal Mail
destined for privatisation. But under the government’s plans, the Post
Office Ltd could only be owned by the government or a mutual organisation.
KTIV: The U.S.
Postal Service will once again study the possibility of consolidating Sioux
City's mail processing center to Sioux Falls South Dakota. In a release, the
district director said the study will determine capacity needs at a facility
in order to increase efficiency and improve productivity. The study should
be complete this spring or summer.
CNNMoney:
Is the economy of the United States in better shape than many people think?
If you look at the latest earnings forecast from FedEx, the answer would
appear to be yes.
Roll Call: House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa announced
Thursday that he will investigate the allegations that D.C. Mayor Vince Gray
offered a quid pro quo to a former mayoral candidate.
Now hear this: "This Week In Postal".........the latest podcast posted now!
March 17, 2011
MESNET: A nationwide
mobile environmental sensor network consists of vehicles and other mobile
platforms that collect environmental observation data as they travel. The
observations are valuable for many applications ranging from weather
forecasts, travel conditions, communications, national security, energy,
health, and a host of others.. The meeting will present how some
stakeholders are currently putting a mobile environmental sensor network to
work. The meeting will also provide the opportunity to discuss technologies
and approaches for creating mobile environmental sensor networks, and for
developing funding mechanisms. For more information:
http://www.usmesnet.org/meeting.html
Ad Age Digital: The Obama administration asked Congress to pass an
online-privacy law today, a set of "baseline" protections that would act as
a privacy bill of rights, a significant move designed to settle the
continuing digital-privacy debate. But an important factor here that has not
been discussed is the timing of the president's call to Congress.
Forbes: Optical fiber may be the only way ahead to provide high-speed
Internet in India. But the business case looks tough in the short term.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: "Is the APWU Contract Good for
Creditors and Shareholders?"
The Economic Times: Western Union Money Transfer along with India's
Department of Post has transfered USD 6.5 billion worth of remittances
through 7,000 strong postal location network dotted across urban and rural
India in the last decade.
Press Release: FedEx
Corp. today reported earnings of $0.73 per diluted share for the third
quarter ended February 28. Excluding costs related to the previously
announced combination of the company's FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL
operations, third quarter earnings were $0.81 per diluted share, compared to
$0.76 per diluted share a year ago. "Continued growth in the global economy
is driving solid revenue gains in our transportation businesses," said
Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Corp. chairman, president and chief executive
officer. "We expect strong demand for our services to boost our financial
performance in our fourth quarter."
Media Daily News: The good news is that U.S. ad economy expanded 6.5% in
2010. The bad news is that some major media - especially print media like
newspapers and magazines - are still substantially below pre-recession ad
spending levels of two years ago.
BGR: Credit card giant Visa has announced a new payment service for U.S.
consumers set to launch in the second half of 2011. The new offering closely
mimics services offered by PayPal, allowing users with a Visa-branded
credit, debit, or pre-paid account to transfer money amongst each other.
The Royal Gazette: Junior Finance Minister David Burt suggested today
that Government should consider privatising some of its services in order to
inject “much needed innovation” into the economy. He told the Senate
candidates for privatisation could include public transport, postal
services, waste collection, waste treatment, water and recycling.
KITV: The U.S.
Postal Service in Hawaii has begun checking mail arriving from Japan after
mail in San Francisco and New York showed low levels of radiation, USPS
officials said.
New Zealand Herald: Kiwibank is operating a high-cost model compared
with banking sector benchmarks, and will be seeking to trim fat as it
anticipates slower growth for the rest of this financial year, said Michael
Cullen, chairman of parent New Zealand Post.
American Postal Workers Union: The APWU Rank-and-File Bargaining
Advisory Committee voted unanimously on March 16 to approve a Tentative
Agreement with the USPS for a new contract. Members of the APWU
Rank-and-File Bargaining Committee approve the Tentative Contract
unanimously on March 16. The Tentative Agreement will be sent to eligible
union members for a ratification vote. Details about the vote, which the
committee will supervise, will be announced once plans are finalized.
American Postal Workers Union: "Some Questions – and Answers – On the
Tentative Agreement"
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: The Wall Street Journal reported
today that some of the nation's largest retailers are backing a coalition
called the Alliance for Main Street Fairness to force e-commerce only
retailers to collect sales taxes on their web-based sales just like they do
on their sales at both brick-and-mortar outlets and over the Internet.
Companies that are part of the coalition include Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy
Co., Home Depot Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. These large retailers have
expanded their web presence and are among the top twenty web-based retailers
in the United States. On the other side of this issue are on-line only
companies like Amazon. com, NewEgg, and regional merchants that sell
nationwide over the web.
Canadian
Transportation & Logistics: Logistics professionals are sifting through
the latest crop of software applications looking for solutions they hope
will give them with an edge over the competition.
Post & Parcel: Polish postal workers took to the streets yesterday to
protest thousands of potential lay-offs and post office closures, with
several more protests planned. The union said Polish Post’s distribution
network was its biggest assets, and that reducing its size would reduce the
value of the company as a whole. The unionists also suggested that reducing
infrastructure would not help Polish Post when the domestic market is opened
up to foreign competition under European Union liberalization regulations in
2013.
Flint Journal: About 65 people, mostly workers at the U.S. Postal
Service's Flint Processing and Distribution Center gathered outside the
facility, 250 East Boulevard Drive, on Wednesday to protest a Postal Service
recommendation to close the center and move its operations to Pontiac.
Workers and leaders with the Flint-area local of the American Postal Workers
Union wanted to let the public know they think, despite the officials USPS
stance, closing the site would lead to slower service for local customers
and about 115 fewer jobs in Flint.
Sentinel Source: Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told the House
Postal Oversight Committee that by next fall the postal service won’t have
the cash on hand to put up $5.5 billion for future retirees’ medical
expenses and $1.3 billion for workers compensation. At least not unless
Congress lends a hand. What’s needed is a rational formula to determine
which post offices can be closed without disrupting lives, communities and
mail delivery itself. And until such a formula is publicly debated and
democratically adopted, the law against shuttering the unprofitable should
remain in place — and Congress should provide whatever help is required to
keep the postal service going.
KSLA: USPS
officials announced plans to consolidate the Texarkana Mail Processing
operations with those at the Shreveport plant. The decision was emailed to
KSLA News 12 Tuesday evening. That decision came as the result of a 7 month
study on whether the closing would help save money.
KRIS-TV: It's been a part of the local landscape for decades, but the
future of the Chapman Ranch post office is now in doubt. The United States
Postal Service said a recent review of business shows that the work load in
Chapman Ranch has declined over the years and the community may no longer
warrant an independent post office.
March 16, 2011
PRNewswire: Despite the tragic events as a result of the March 11th
earthquake and tsunami, the postal administration of Japan continues to
accept all types of international mail. Mailers are advised, however, to
expect delays in the delivery of all types of mail sent to Japan and in the
transmission of information on Express Mail International items and Priority
Mail International parcels. Significant delays could be experienced for
items addressed to northern Japan, including Sapporo, Sendai, Hokkaido,
Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima, and Ibaraki. Additional
information and updates regarding acceptance and movement of international
mail to these areas are posted online at
usps.com/communications/news/serviceupdates.
National Association of Major Mail Users:
As a normal part of negotiation tactics, this week CUPW called for a strike
vote. Each Local votes individually and the period of voting dates is
between March 25th and April 17th. The union maintains a strong mandate to
strike from its members will assist their bargaining with management. At
this point in the conciliation process, big issues remain on the table,
however, both parties continue to work on these issues with the conciliator,
Jacques Lessard. Mr. Lessard is an experienced conciliator who has worked
with Canada Post and CUPW during each round of collective bargaining since
1997, understands the postal system, knows the parties and issues involved
in this current round of negotiations. We continue to stress that
conciliation is a normal part of the negotiation process. This process can
be extended beyond 60 days if both parties agree, and as well, the Minister
of Labor also has the option to introduce mediation following the
conciliation process.
Affected areas
Mail types
Along the Pacific Ocean coast and neighboring inland areas of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures.
*Note: The details of the areas are still under investigation.
Part of the areas with postal codes beginning with the following two numbers: 02, 03, 30, 31, 96, 97 and 98
All types
Part of the areas where people are instructed for evacuation or to be sheltered in place following the accident in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (within 30km from the affected reactors).
Part of the areas with postal codes beginning with the following two numbers: 96 and 97.
All types
3FM: Postal workers will strike on the Isle of Man. It's been revealed
this lunchtime that the staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial
action.
Gizmodo: If you're tired of online entitites playing fast and loose with
the personal data of its users, you'll be happy to hear that the Obama
administration will attempt to pass legislation providing those users with a
Bill of Rights regarding privacy on the internet.
Statesman Journal: Marion County is taking a stand against junk mail —
as well as the tons of waste and disposal costs that unwanted mail brings
with it. The county has launched a mail preference service to allow
consumers to stop catalogs, phone books, credit card applications and other
unwanted mailers at the source. The service also serves as an economic
mechanism that could save the county garbage-removal and landfill-waste
costs. By joining forces with Catalog Choice, a California-based nonprofit,
the county hopes to encourage residents to reduce what gets put in their
mailbox.
San Francisco Chronicle: The familiar Yellow Pages delivered to your
home each year represent a vital connection between local small businesses
and prospective customers in San Francisco. The phone books give small
businesses exposure and customers and residents access to information about
local merchants. For some small businesses, the ability to advertise in the
Yellow Pages can mean the difference between success and failure, especially
in today's economy. That is why the proposed ordinance banning the
unsolicited distribution of the Yellow Pages is a bad idea for San
Francisco.
Interfax: The
creation of a Postal-Bank is still on the agenda, Russian Deputy Prime
Minsiter and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said at a banking conference in
Moscow on Wednesday. "We, nonetheless, believe it necessary to create this
bank," he said. Setting up postal infrastructure is necessary so that "a
payment system is formed, especially for those regions where there aren't
enough [financial] services," he said. Kudrin added that the state is ready
to reduce its stake in the Postal Bank to below that of a control stake in
the future. "The state stake will go below 50% plus one share after three
years," he said. Kudrin added that the government is ready to reduce its
stake in state banks. The three-year privatization program fixes the state
packet at 50% plus one share. After this period, the state stakes will be
further reduced, he said.
PR-Inside: Postal Services in Australia - Industry Risk Rating Report -
a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com This is the first
Postal Services in Australia Industry Risk Ratings Report. This Industry
Risk Ratings report evaluates the inherent risks associated with the Postal
Services in Australia industry. Industry Risk is assumed to be ´the
difficulty, or otherwise, of the business operating environment´. The report
looks at the operational risk associated with this industry.
Staebroek News: The Guyana Post Office Corporation is alerting the
public that there have been delays in mail coming from Canada since these
have been routed through Jamaica. The Postal Administration in Canada has
written advising the Guyana Post Office Corporation that it has been routing
mail and packages through Jamaica since December 2010 as a consequence of
measures put in place by the United States Transportation and Safety
Administration (TSA). According to a statement from the GPOC, the Canadian
Administration has noted that there have been delays in the further
conveyance of mail from Jamaica to Guyana.
Post & Parcel: The Indian government has launched a new consumer-facing
“e-Post Office” website, to help make postal services more inclusive and
accessible. The site takes the form of a slimmed-down re-design of the India
Post website, initially offering services including provision of money
orders, stamp sales for collectors, express and international shipment
tracking as well as an information and feedback facility. But, the intention
is for the first phase of the site to be expanded to provide a wider range
of services for consumers.
Budapest Business Journal: State-run postal company Magyar Posta signed
a contract to buy HUF 1.8 billion worth of software from JET-SOL after
announcing the company winner of a restricted tender for the delivery of
integrated postal network systems.
MarketingWeek: Royal Mail is planning a payment-by-results price offer
as one of several measures aimed at ensuring direct mail stays competitive
with other media channels in the wake of recent price hikes.
Marketwire: Although
digital communications have increased, physical mail volumes remain high.
Royal Mail alone processes nearly 70 million letters a day and over 1.2
billion parcels are sent each year, helped by the trend for consumers
shopping from home. Some recent research by Royal Mail underlines the
importance of physical mail to small and medium businesses.
MoreRFID: Detailed ten year forecasts are given plus a full explanation
of the technologies. In detail, there are 40 new case studies of RFID in
action in the postal and courier service in North America, Europe, the
Middle East and East Asia. The major breakthroughs that will provide future
success are discussed. Postal services ignoring this accelerating change
will become uncompetitive and suppliers missing out will regret it.
Washington Post: "Court faults USPS in firing of decorated Afghan war
veteran."
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
A strong performance in the parcel business caused Austrian Post’s profit to soar.
The Czech Government suspended the search for a new CEO for Ceska Posta. According to unanimous media reports the ministry of the interior plans to put the conversion of the state owned postal agency to vote first.
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.)
TheNews.pl: Over two thousand postal workers are expected to march
through the streets of Warsaw, Wednesday, to protest against plans by Poczta
Polska to shut down over 1,100 post offices, resulting in the loss of almost
5,000 jobs. Protestors are also cmampaigning against Poczta Polska’s plans
to change some post offices into agencies, which would be found in small
shops or petrol stations.
From the Federal Register:
Postal Service RULES Domestic Shipping Services Product Launch of Parcel Select Regional Ground , 14284–14289 [2011–6057] [TEXT] [PDF]
March 15, 2011
Post & Parcel: Canada Post employees could stage walkouts from next
month, after five months of talks with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers
have failed to secure a new collective bargaining agreement.
National
Center for Policy Analysis: Although the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is
often mistaken for a government-owned corporation such as Amtrack, it is an
independent branch of the federal government. It is controlled by a board of
governors and a postmaster general, and it is regulated by the Postal
Regulatory Commission. The USPS is currently at a tipping point due to the
combined effects of a large recent decline in volume and revenue that is
projected to extend into the future, as well as increases in operating
costs, according to Robert Carbaugh, a professor of economics, and Thomas
Tenerelli, an assistant professor of economics, at Central Washington
University. Although the USPS has enacted an array of revenue-generating and
cost-cutting activities, these measures likely are not sufficient to
eliminate the gap between revenue and costs. Given the state of technology,
privatization probably is the only long-term solution for the USPS. Simply
put, the governance structure of the USPS is flawed, and its ability to
realize commercial success is very limited. Looking forward, there are
several keys to successful liberalization of the USPS.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj31n1/cj31n1-9.pdf
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
The Postal Service has reported that Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) service
is suspended to the locations listed below. GXG is provided by the USPS
through an alliance with FedEx Express. The service is still available to
other locations in Japan. Please note that it is ONLY GXG service to these
locations that is suspended. Other USPS services to Japan (Express Mail
International (EMI), Priority Mail International (PMI), First Class Mail
International (FCMI), International Priority Airmail (IPA), International
Surface Air Lift (ISAL), Global Bulk Economy (GBE) are still available.
Post & Parcel: The UK government has insisted that any sale of Royal
Mail will leave the country’s universal service obligation intact – and
protected by law. The assurance came from Baroness Wilcox, the government’s
junior business minister in the House of Lords, as the upper House debated
legislation seeking to privatise the national postal operator.
Times of India: Postal department is coming up with Core Banking
Solution (CBS) at 20 post offices located in different parts of the state.
These post offices will be inter-connected by April-end.
Post & Parcel: Finland’s Itella Posti has said its digital postal mail
service, NetPosti, now has more than 300,000 users. The service took six
years to reach its first 100,000 users, but Itella said yesterday that the
service has grown rapidly in recent years with more consumers and companies
now handling their business electronically.
North Fort Myers Neighbor: New Regional Flat Rate Priority Mail Boxes
are an even bigger bargain.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: One of the problems the Postal
Service will have in selling the contract with the American Postal Workers
Union is the number of new members of Congress with limited understanding
regarding the impact of differences in labor law between the law covering
the Postal Service and either the National Labor Relations Act or the
Railway Labor Act. In addition many members of Congress will find it
difficult to understand why the Postal Service did not take the approach
that Wisconsin Governor Walker took with public employees, or President
Reagan took with air traffic controllers.
DMM Advisory: FAST Facility Contact List on RIBBS. A new Facility Access and Shipment Tracking (FAST®) contact list — a list of Postal Service™ facilities that mailers can use to make an appointment to drop their mail if extended FAST connectivity issues occur — is now available on RIBBS®. Customers should contact the FAST Help Desk (FAST@usps.gov or 1-877-569-6614) for all FAST-related issues or questions. Users will continue to receive email notification if FAST is experiencing system performance issues.
Estonian Public Broadcasting: The Competition Authority mandated that
national postal service Eesti Post lower its prices to Express Post. Eesti
Post owns the country's only nationwide postal network, a service that
Express Post has wanted to subcontract since 2009. However, the state
regulator found that the price offers made by Eesti Post are unfairly
discriminatory of Express Post compared to other companies that use the
service. Delivering the mail of Express Post, the Competition Authority
said, would not require any more work than with other companies. Payments
should be even cheaper if the deal provides that Express Post is in charge
of sorting the mail, the agency added.
Wall Street Journal: United Parcel Service Inc. Chief Executive Scott
Davis was paid $10.7 million in total compensation last year, 72% more than
the $6.2 million he received in 2009. UPS met its own performance standards
and the company's stock price rose nearly 30%, according to the company's
proxy statement.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission: You
can find archived audiocasts of Public Meetings of the Postal Regulatory
Commission posted here:
http://www.prc.gov/prc-pages/library/archived-audiocasts/default.aspx
Hellmail: French postal operator La Poste announced last week that
whilst a decline in volume had slowed last year, the decrease was around
3.5%. Turnover grew by 4% compared to 2009 with 938 million euros in sales
(+2.6% at constant exchange rates).
Wall
Street Journal: Austrian postal service provider Oesterreichische Post
AG (POST.VI), or Austrian Post, Tuesday reported that its 2010 net profit
rose 49% on the year, more than analysts had expected, helped by cost
cutting and stronger parcels business. For 2011, it expects sales to rise
slightly and the profitability to be kept intact.
Oral Arguments are today in the Exigency Case, in the United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Tuesday, March 15, 2011 9:30
A.M. USCA Courtroom - Judges Henderson, Tatel, Brown 10-1343 USPS v. PRC 15
minutes per side.
March 14, 2011
AFL-CIO Blog: While governors and state lawmakers across the
country are attacking the right of public employees to bargain, the
Postal Workers (APWU) and the U. S. Postal Service (USPS) today
showed that public employees and government can work together to
solve financial problems and provide good service.
Washington Post: The APWU-USPS agreement
prohibits layoffs of career employees who were hired
before the current contract expired last November, but it leaves the
door open to layoffs of newer workers. Some
work outsourced or assigned to managerial personnel in recent years
will be reassigned to APWU members, the union said. And
in a key concession for workers, the Postal Service will have to
limit its use of "excessing" - the reassignment of postal workers
from one city to another. According to the new deal,
postal workers may be reassigned only to a
location no further than 40 to 50 miles from their current
assignment. That restriction should make the potential
burden of reassignments easier, Guffey said, adding that some
workers had to uproot families and relocate in order to keep their
jobs. By 2016, the Postal Service will
contribute 76 percent of a postal worker's health premiums, down
from 79 percent currently. Most federal agencies cover about 72
percent of employee health premiums. [EdNote: Don't
hold your breath waiting for applause from the Republican House.
This contract probably will be replicated across the other three
unions. With an outcome like this, Congress (or at least the House)
is highly unlikely to be particularly sympathetic to the Postal
Service's laments about CSRS and pre-funding.]
The Hindu Business Line: Global IT giant HP is fighting it out
with domestic IT services companies such as Infosys Technologies,
Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro for a Department of Post
contract. The contract, which involves implementation of financial
services solution, is one of the eight projects that the department
is outsourcing as part of its IT modernisation initiative.
Digital Journal:
After five months of negotiations with Canada Post, members of the
Canadian Union of Postal Workers urban operations bargaining unit
will be voting on the possibility of a strike. The union asked for
conciliation in January, citing an impasse at the bargaining table
that shows no sign of abating.
Federal Times: More than 200,000 postal workers would receive
wage increases totaling 3.5 percent between now and 2015 under a
tentative contract agreed to by the U.S. Postal Service and the
American Postal Workers Union. APWU said the first across-the-board
pay increase of 1 percent would take effect in November 2012 if the
contract is approved. A 1.5 percent increase would take effect one
year later, and a final 1 percent increase would be enacted in
November 2014. APWU members' cost-of-living adjustment would be
waived in 2011, and the March and September 2012 COLAs will be
deferred until 2013. COLAs are based on increases in the Consumer
Price Index and are usually handed out every six months. If
ratified, the contract will run through May 20, 2015. "This is a
responsible agreement that is in the best interest of our employees,
our customers and the future of the Postal Service," Postmaster
General Patrick Donahoe said in a statement. "The contract will help
lay a foundation that is fair to our employees and stakeholders."
APWU President Cliff Guffey called the agreement — which protects
career employees who were on the rolls as of last Nov. 20 from
layoffs — a "win-win proposition."
Institute for Research on
the Economics of Taxation: "Does The U.S. Owe $75 Billion to
the Postal Postal Service?" This paper reviews the history of the
allocation question, including relevant legislation, and presents
the conflicting positions. The paper then examines the subjective
concept of fairness and finds strengths and weaknesses on both
sides. The costs of the existing allocation methodology have been
passed forward to mail users in postage rates. The allocation
methodology is not the cause of the Service’s current, worrisome
financial problems. The proposed transfer’s retroactivity would be
unusual and raises fairness and budget concerns.
American Postal Workers Union: The
American Postal Workers Union and the U.S. Postal Service have
reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, union President
Cliff Guffey announced today. See also the
Washington Post.
DMM Advisory: New Strapping Option for Bundle Preparation. Current DMM® standards require mailers to use “clear smooth strapping tightly secured around the bundle” as a way of ensuring that address and presort information on bundles is visible and readable by the naked eye. Recent testing shows that a new strapping with a transparency rating of at least 52 percent when tested using ASTM D1746 – 09, Standard Test Method for Transparency of Plastic Sheeting, methods meets all Postal Service™ readability requirements. Mailers may begin using this type of strapping immediately — it is more environmentally friendly and provides cost savings to mailers, while continuing to secure bundles in a way that helps the Postal Service process the mail efficiently. We are working on revising the mailing standards for strapping and will use the DMM Advisory to keep you informed.
Fundamental Questions for the Future of the Postal Service: How Would You Answer Them? Our recently released white paper, “Fundamental Questions for the Future of the Postal Service, “ asks eight questions that we consider critical for determining the role of the Postal Service in the 21st century. In this week’s blog we want to know how you would answer these questions. LINK here to learn more give your comments.
Post & Parcel: Finland’s Itella has apologized for disruption in
its services yesterday caused by a series of strikes by staff
protesting new postal legislation.
From USPS Global Business: The designated postal operator of
|
Affected areas |
Mail types |
|
Postal codes beginning with the following two numbers: 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 30, 31, 96, 97, 98 and 99 |
All types |
Please note that postal delays may be also expected in other areas owing to flight diversions and the difficult domestic traffic situation.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: FedEx has been offering a
branded joint-line service with the Postal Service for some time
now. United Parcel Service will likely soon market its joint line
service under a new name "UPS Surepost" rather than previous
unappealing name, "UPS Basic." The name UPS Surepost name was
trademarked in 2010. The name does not appear on UPS's website but
based on posts on Able Commerce Shopping Cart Software and
Browncafe, it appears that UPS is test marketing the brand and the
service. Information on UPS Surepost is also available on a web page
dedicated to UPS Worldship software. . . . (more)
Wall Street Journal: The U.S. jobless rate will be 7.7% in
November 2012, the highest level for a presidential election month
since Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford in 1976, according to the
average forecast of economists in the latest Wall Street Journal
survey.
Zawya: The land mark 'e-Mall' initiative of Saudi Post is among
the highlights of PosTech 2011, the post and parcel sectors'
dedicated technology event to be held in Dubai, March 14-16. Dr.
Mohammad Bin Saleh Bin Taher Bentin, Saudi Post President and CEO,
will present a paper titled "The Post as Sales Portal: Hosting a
Virtual Shopping Mall" at the event, the world's first specialized
conference on information and post technologies.
Hellmail: French postal operator La Poste announced last week
that whilst a decline in volume had slowed last year, the decrease
was around 3.5%. Turnover grew by 4% compared to 2009 with 938
million euros in sales (+2.6% at constant exchange rates).
Charleston Daily Mail: Rare is the occasion when all five
members of the West Virginia congressional delegation - Sens. Jay
Rockefeller and Joe Manchin, and Reps. Nick Joe Rahall, Shelley
Moore Capito and David McKinley - will agree. But they agreed
recently to complain about the U.S. Postal Service's consolidation
of operations in West Virginia. They seem to think the state is
being targeted for an unfair number of studies that lead to
cutbacks.
March 13, 2011
Saginaw News: U.S. Postal Service officials will move Saginaw
mail processing jobs to Pontiac, a spokesperson said. Officials last
year completed a feasibility study, citing the dwindling amount of
mail as a reason to consolidate services.
March 12, 2011
From the Federal Register:
Postal Service
PROPOSED RULES
New Origin Entry Separation and Containerization Standards ,
13704–13767 [2011–5273]
[TEXT] [PDF]
Hellmail: Russian Post has begun offering the Western Union
money transfer service in Russian post offices. 1500 partner
organisations including online shops and bookmakers currently accept
Western Union payments.
WJRT: The United States Postal Service has officially announced
it will move part of its processing operations from Saginaw to
Pontiac. The Saginaw processing plant operation will move to a
newer, more high-tech facility in Pontiac called the MetroPlex. The
news comes as no surprise, but some in the community say it's
disappointing and disheartening.
Daily Times: Federal Minister for Postal Services Sardar Umar
Gorgage Friday categorically said there is no privatisation plan of
Pakistan Post. Talking to the postal union office bearers, he
stressed on the employees to further improve their performance in
order to enhance the credibility of postal services. The union
office bearers thanked the minister for providing support in the
solution of employees and called off the announced strike.
Postalnews Blog: The APWU local in Oakland California has started a
campaign to encourage President Obama to name another Democrat to the Postal
Reglatory Commission. The PRC currently has three Republican and two
Democratic members. Two of the Republicans’ terms have expired, however, so
Obama could replace one of them with a Democrat- by law, the Commission can
only have three commissioners from the same political party
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: Over the past several days, there
has been some debate about what the 30,000 reduction in Postal Service
employees really mean. Both postalnews.com and the Washington Post have
reported that 30,000 represents a combination of regular attrition and the
reduction in 7,500 management positions that will be announced on March 25.
The March 25th announcement will just start the process of eliminating
positions, so it is likely that the Postal Service will not see the full
impact of the announcement until the end of June. So the cuts in positions
will cut the payroll for only three months this fiscal year. The savings,
using the same assumptions will be $306 million.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Federal Times: Apparently, there is much spin going on in the
wake of our story on Wednesday that the Postal Service is cutting
its workforce by 30,000 positions this year. The Washington Post’s
Ed O’Keefe said he was told by postal officials that this is not
correct. Let’s be clear: There was nothing incorrect about our
coverage and I stand by it. Not only that, you can see for yourself
exactly what was said. Federal Times reported this story directly
from an editorial board meeting we held with Postmaster General
Patrick Donahoe on March 9. Donahoe said his goal is to downsize the
Postal Service by 30,000 people this year, mostly through attrition.
He added that if further reductions-in-force or buyouts are required
to reach that number, the Postal Service will use them.
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
March 11, 2011
Financial
Times: Please respect FT.com's ts&cs and copyright policy which
allow you to: share links; copy content for personal use; &
redistribute limited extracts. Deutsche Post expects operating profit to rise by as much as a 10th
this year as solid growth of its international logistics unit DHL
makes up for the loss of business in the German postal market, where
it no longer holds a monopoly.
BBC: People
stuck for a stamp in Denmark will soon be able to send a text message to pay
the postage on a letter. From 1 April, the Danish post office is introducing
The Mobile Postage service that does away with stamps for standard sized
letters. Instead, people will send a text to the post office and get back a
code they write on the envelope. Sweden's post office said it was also
considering introducing the service and is planning trials.
Board of Governors Meeting. Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at 10
a.m. Washington, DC at U.S. Postal Service Headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza,
SW.
STATUS: Closed. Matters To Be Considered Tuesday, March 22, at 10 a.m.
(Closed) 1. Strategic Issues. 2. Financial Matters. 3. Pricing. 4. Personnel
Matters and Compensation Issues. 5. Governors' Executive Session--Discussion
of prior agenda items and Board Governance.
Federal News Radio: The U.S. Postal Service could reduce its
workforce by up to 30,000 employees this year. Up to 7,500 of those
positions would be eliminated as part of a redesign that USPS will
announce March 25, said agency spokeswoman Joanne Veto in an email.
The other 22,500 could come through attrition. Veto said
historically about that many have left through normal reductions
each year for the past six years. On today's Your Turn with Mike
Causey, Federal Times editor Steve Watkins discussed these changes
and others expected over the coming months.
Your Turn with Mike Causey Download mp3
Federal Times' Steve Watkins on USPS reductions
Columbo Page: Sri Lanka Postal and Telecommunication Services
Union says that the postal workers of the country will launch a
protest campaign tomorrow. The secretary of the union Chinthaka
Bandara stated that the demand of the postal employees is to
systematize the management of the Postal Department.
Postalnews Blog: The new Chairman of the House Subcommittee on
Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy, Congressman
Dennis A. Ross, R of Florida’s 12th District has been posting tweets
of the internet of late with his own opinions of collective
bargaining in the public sector. Chairman Ross posted comments like;
“There is no Constitutional basis for collective bargaining rights
or unionization”. In another post Ross added; “Private sector unions
were needed in the 20’s and the 30’s. They are even helpful in some
ways today. Public sector Unions must go”. With comments like this
from the chairperson of the committee that will be overseeing the
future of the Postal Service, every member of a management
association or a postal union should be very concerned that the
collective bargaining rights that the unions now enjoy and the
consultative rights that we have under Title 39 could be abridged or
even eliminated under the new leadership of this House committee.
Outsourcery: Microsoft SharePoint 2010 has been installed by the
Royal Mail to help it reduce outgoings and improve its IT
infrastructure. The move is part of a "rapid modernisation" of
postal services to help fend off increased competition and the
threat of privatisation. Furthermore, the company now has a scalable
solution to help it pay for what it uses, while having Microsoft
SharePoint 2010 hosted off-site.
Macleans: The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and Canada Post have
received worse than a failing grade by Canada’s information
watchdog. Federal Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault gave both
organizations a “red alert” for their poor performance in processing
access-to-information requests. The postal delivery service refuses
requests 73.5 per cent of the time, with some of the longest delays
ever recorded, said Legault. They took an average of 190 days to
complete a single request.
The Mailers Technical Advisory Committee has formed a workgroup on "Start-the-Clock
for all Commercial Parcels."
March 10, 2011
DMM Advisory: Mailer ID System Maintenance Tomorrow. The Mailer ID System will be unavailable during a one hour maintenance window this Friday — On March 11, 2011, the Postal Service will be applying a system patch between 3 p.m. CT and 4 p.m. CT. The Mailer ID System will be unavailable during this time.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Washington Post: Some misleading news reports published
Wednesday suggested the U.S. Postal Service is slashing 30,000
positions by the end of September. Not so, according to postal
officials. Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe will formally
unveil plans to cut 7,500 jobs by the end of the month -- reductions
expected to focus primarily on administrative positions and
postmasters. In an interview earlier this week, Donahoe suggested
USPS would likely see the departure of about 30,000 total employees
this year, because 22,500 of them retire or leave the agency on
average each year. (So do the math: 7,500 expected job cuts plus
22,500 retirements/departures equals 30,000 total departures.) In
turn, two trade publications (that The Eye reads regularly and
admires) incorrectly characterized Donahoe's statements as meaning
that he was ordering the elimination of 30,000 jobs.
Target Marketing: Media Usage Forecast 2011. There are some new
trends—social media may be this year's email, SEO has only gotten
hotter—but the overall balance of direct print to digital seems to
be stabilizing. The eclectic mix of multichannel direct marketing
reported here appears to be more than a response to the recession.
It looks like marketing's new normal. Direct mail and DR space ads
see the highest percentage of companies reducing spend (12.7 percent
and 10.7 percent, respectively), but more companies plan to increase
spending on those channels than decrease. So while print has been
squeezed, as we reported in the 2010 Media Usage Forecast, it still
appears to be a top-performer for companies using it. Open responses
indicated that companies decreasing direct mail spend were doing so
due to costs, not results. And direct mail ranks very highly as the
medium with the highest ROI.
Post & Parcel: US lawmakers have called on the country’s
Transport Security Administration to do more to prioritise the
screening of high-risk air cargo, rather than treating all air cargo
equally. Congressman Mike Rogers said today that screening all air
cargo in the same way “distracts us from the real threats” while
also disrupting trade.
Direct Marketing Association: "Although volumes hit record highs
for the season, response rates remained quite stable, again proving
that email marketing is an effective tool to reach people while they
are in the market for a particular product or service,” according to
Kevin Mabley, senior vice president of strategic & analytic
consulting at Epsilon. “Email marketing drives consumer behavior,
builds brands and increases revenue. We recommend that email
marketers track behaviors and analyze campaigns in order to continue
to improve performance and create deeper connections with
consumers.”
Wanna see a post that's trying out new waves to remain relevant in
the 21st century? Check out the
annual report from Deutsche Post.
Haven't had enough postal yet? If you still have an appetite for more,
consider these events:
Advanced Workshop on Regulation &
Competition “Viable Modern Postal System?” April 1,
2011. K&L Gates LLP. Washington, DC.
http://crri.rutgers.edu/Viable%20Modern%20Postal%20System%20Agenda.doc
19th Conference on Postal and
Delivery Economics. June 1-4, 2011.Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel.St. Helier, Jersey
http://crri.rutgers.edu/PC11%20Brochure.pdf
RTT News: German postal and logistics firm Deutsche Post DHL on
Thursday reported a profit for the fourth quarter, compared to a
loss last year, helped by lower items and higher revenues. Further,
the company hiked its dividend over 8 percent.
Helsinki Times: A group of postal workers from the Vantaa
logistics centre staged walkouts on Wednesday to protest against the
Finnish Parliament's decision earlier the same day to approve the
new post law. Just moments earlier, the Post and Logistics Union
(PAU) had announced that it is not to enter a labour dispute despite
the new legislation.
The
Baltic Course: The state-owned postal company Latvijas Pasts
concluded 2010 with LVL 600,000 in losses, which is four times as
much as in 2009 when the company's losses totaled LVL 159,282.
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
China Post will start to equip all of its branches with displays this year. In addition to regular postal services, seasonal groceries, gift articles, nutritional supplements, tickets, phonecards etc. are to be sold via the displays.
Swiss Post International has started a co-operation with Irish Nightline. According to the announcement the goal is to provide a faster, cost-effective and more customer- focussed international mail service to Irish business clients. Nightline will become a so-called ’Preferred Partner’ of Swiss Post International.
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.)
Transport Intelligence: Figures published in Global Express
Parcels 2011, the latest report from Ti, reveal that the market for
express parcels grew by nearly 7% in 2010 to reach €141,555m. The
level of growth went some way towards correcting the significant
fall in value the year before (10.6%) although the market is still
considerably below the peak in 2008. Although the market as a whole
rebounded strongly, performance from market to market was very
patchy. Overall the international express parcels sector performed
better than its domestic counterpart, showing strong growth
throughout all regions as international trade rebounded on the back
of inventory re-stocking. The trend was consolidated by a hardening
of rates and the migration of shippers to higher value products,
although there is still a great deal of caution.
From the Federal Register:
Postal Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
Change in Postal Prices , 13242–13243 [2011–5409]
[TEXT] [PDF]
Homeland Security Today: TSA Launches Air Cargo Security
Initiatives
PC World: A bill that would direct the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission to create a mechanism to allow consumers to opt out of
online tracking efforts tops a list of proposals that would be bad
for the Internet, according to e-commerce trade group NetChoice.
Representative Jackie Speier's bill, introduced in February, would
hurt both businesses and consumers, said Steve DelBianco, executive
director of NetChoice, whose members include Aol, Yahoo and eBay.
The Do Not Track Me Online Act and four other bills on NetChoice's
latest iAWFUL (Internet Advocates' Watchlist for Ugly Laws) list
"strike right at the heart" of the revenue model of online
publishers and advertisers, DelBianco said.
March 9, 2011
Federal Times: The U.S. Postal Service will announce later this
month a downsizing of approximately 7,500 supervisory, managerial
and postmaster positions. Most of those positions are filled, but
many are not, especially in the postmaster positions, because of
past attrition, said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe in a March 9
interview with Federal Times editors and reporters. The agency will
use reductions-in-force (RIFs) and RIF avoidance measures in
carrying out the downsizing, he said. The positions targeted, which
will hit as many as 10 district offices and headquarters, include
3,500 administrative positions, 2,000 front-line supervisor and
manager positions, and 2,000 postmasters. Donahoe said the
announcement will be part of a broader effort to trim postal ranks
by 30,000 positions this year.
Mailing Systems Technology: Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine,
urged a women’s leadership gathering to use its extensive knowledge
of postal issues and its vast supply of energy to push for reform of
the Postal Service, a vital part of the nation’s communications
infrastructure and the linchpin of a $1 trillion mailing industry.
Federal News Radio: The Postal Service's goal is to cut 30,000
employees overall for the year, said Federal Times editor Steve
Watkins, breaking the news on Your Turn with Mike Causey. USPS will
also announce a drawdown of 7,500 positions on March 25 that include
unoccupied positions, administrators, frontline supervisors and
managers and postmasters, Watkins said. Federal Times found out
about the plans after an editorial board meeting with Postmaster
General Patrick Donahoe.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: In addition to declining
volumes, the Postal Service now faces another stumbling block to
self sufficiency, rising fuel prices. Increases in fuel prices used
by the trucks, airplanes, cars, boats, and railroads that transport
and deliver the mail have a nearly immediate impact on Postal
Service operating costs.
Texas Press Association: If your newspaper has experienced
problems or continues to experience problems related to the USPS
implementation of SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley legislation), you can now
submit your concerns or register your complaints. You are encouraged
to relate your personal experiences in dealing with your local post
office and describe the negative impact of complying with recent
changes in postal policies.
RedState: The Washington Monument Ploy is a tactic used by
government bureaucrats that works like this: Imagine the city of
Washington, DC is facing a budget crisis. So rather than throw
freeloaders off the dole or cut the deadwood from the city
bureaucracy, the city closes the highly-visible Washington Monument
in a cost-cutting action. The people are so horrified that they
immediately agree to big tax increases to keep the Monument open.
The same thing now is happening with the United States Postal
Service (USPS) which is planning to close as many as 2,000 local
post offices in 2011 to plug an estimated 2010 budget deficit of
$8.5 billion that may grow larger this year. These closings are
unnecessary and are very harmful to the small towns where most of
them are going to happen. There are many other things that can be
done to contain costs but USPS is operating like a typical
bureaucracy, cutting essential or visible services instead… just
like closing the Washington Monument.
PR-Inside: Stamps.com®, the leading provider of postage online :
and shipping software : solutions to approximately 400,000
customers, today announced that it has introduced PC Postage Version
8.8 software which includes new features to help ecommerce sellers
improve communication with their buyers. The software download is
simple, quick and available for free to existing customers.
Passport Magazine: The Swedish postal service, Posten AB, is
seriously considering replacing the traditional paper stamps with a
new text massage payment system. It's a rather simple concept (as
long as you have a cellphone). Customers will send a text payment
and will then receive a code that will then be written on the letter
or parcel. This code will provide proof of payment. The system is
expected to begin in the summer, and Denmark is also expecting to
begin a similar program next month.
AFP: Five US cities launched initiatives Tuesday to let
residents refuse junk mail, hoping to support the environment and
cut expenses by stopping waste at its source. Americans receive some
100 billion pieces of advertising mail a year, according to the US
Postal Service. Catalog Choice, a non-profit group, estimates that
disposal costs at least $1 billion annually. Catalog Choice, set up
in 2007, allows people to go online to ask specific companies not to
mail them. Chuck Teller, executive director of the group, said some
one percent of the US population now chooses to opt out of some
mail. Five communities including Chicago and Kansas City said they
were teaming up with Catalog Choice to set up localized versions,
which Teller hoped would give the initiative more authority and
broaden involvement.
Emirates 24/7: Come April and Palm Jumeirah residents will be
the first in Dubai to have their mail delivered to their doorstep.
Emir Mail, a Dubai-based independent mail delivery company, will
have 250 postal delivery staff in the first year to serve and
deliver mails to various Dubai communities, with the number rising
to 1,200 in the next two years, Rabia Ijaz, Marketing & Sales
Manager, Emir Mail told Emirates 24|7. “The mail will be picked-up
from Emirates Post offices and sorted at the Emir Mail Hub. We have
a fleet of delivery vans and eco-friendly scooters to be used by the
postmen,” Ijaz said. The company has already launched an ‘At Your
Doorstep’ campaign from March, starting with flyer distribution
around Palm Jumeirah, which will then extend across Dubai. Online
registration is, however, open to everyone.
The Register-Herald: The five members of the West Virginia
congressional delegation are concerned the United States Postal
Services is solving budgetary gaps at the expense of West
Virginians. In a letter initiated by U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.,
the delegation expressed concern about the proposed consolidation of
mail processing operations in West Virginia. Studies to close Area
Mail Processing facilities are ongoing in Bluefield and Martinsburg
and completed in Wheeling, Beckley and Huntington. The letter was
signed by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.,
and Reps. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and David McKinley, R-W.Va.
Bloomberg: The Czech government plans to turn Ceska Posta, the
state postal service, into a joint-stock company, Hospodarske Noviny
reported, citing Martin Riman, an adviser to Prime Minister Petr
Necas. The government may discuss the issue next week at the
earliest.
Federal
News Radio: Lawmakers grilled President Obama's pick to be
second in command at the Office of Management and Budget Tuesday
about topics ranging from deficit reduction to information
technology procurement to Postal Service pensions. But Heather
Higginbottom, who worked for seven years as legislative director for
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) before becoming policy director for the
Obama presidential campaign and then the White House's domestic
policy council deputy director, would likely be approved as OMB's
deputy director. The President nominated Higginbottom for OMB's
second highest ranking slot in January.
Press
Information Bureau of India: Shri Kapil Sibal, the Union
Minister of Communications and Information Technology(C&IT) launched
today “e-post office”, the e-Commerce portal of India Post. The
portal will enable the customers to transact postal business any
time and from anywhere using either debit card or credit card
through the medium of internet. Speaking on the occasion Shri Sibal
said that in the changing word, the ways we live are changing.
Launch of e-Post is a step in this direction offering a bouquet of
services to the consumers. This is inline with shift in marketing
trend of service provider reaching the consumers.
New York Times: For nearly as long as there have been pen,
parchment and wars, there has been military mail. Even in the
Internet age, it remains a huge morale booster for troops. The mere
possibility of some buried goodie in a box, or some special piece of
news in a letter, still makes mail call a bit like Christmas,
soldiers in the First Battalion, 87th Infantry in north Afghanistan
say.
Postalnews Blog: APWU members demonstrated in front of the White
House asking that the Administration return the billions of dollars
the USPS has been overcharged for pension benefits. The
demonstration was not endorsed by the union’s national leadership
From the Federal Register:
Postal Service
NOTICES
Transfer of Commercial First-Class Mail Parcels to
Competitive Product List , 13000 [2011–5272]
[TEXT] [PDF]
Las Vegas Business Press: United Parcel Service has contracted
with Clean Air Fuels Corp. to build a liquefied natural gas fueling
station in Las Vegas to serve its new fleet of 48 road tractors that
will use the alternative fuel.March 8, 2011
Post & Parcel: Canada Post is facing a union challenge to its
position that workers at postal retail counters run by third-party,
franchise-based pharmacies are not federal employees of the Crown
Corporation. hide Google Search Results You arrived here after
searching for the following phrases: * canada * post * news Click a
phrase to jump to the first occurrence, or return to the search
results. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is currently seeking
to recruit employees to its membership from more than 2,000 postal
counters hosted by drug store chains including Shoppers Drug Mart,
Pharmaprix, Familiprix and Uniprix. But it has denounced the postal
operator for deploying a “small army of lawyers” to try to prevent
the employees from joining the union.
IsleOfMan: The cost of a number of Post Office services will
rise next month - but the organisation is not yet revealing how much
extra customers will have to pay. It has said stamps will go up by
two pence but businesses and the public will have to wait until
March 28 to find out how much the price rises for services will
affect them. A statement said: "With effect from April 4, changes to
postage and ancillary services rates will be introduced.
Post & Parcel: Brazil’s national postal operator Correios has
increased its postal rates, as effective from the start of this
month. hide Google Search Results You arrived here after searching
for the following phrase: * postal Click a phrase to jump to the
first occurrence, or return to the search results. The increase in
tariffs came 14 months after the previous rate rise in January 2010,
with rates for individual letters rising 7.1%, from $0.70 to $0.75.
Business letters have had tariffs increased by 4.8%, from $1.05 to
$1.10. There has also been a 6% increase in international services
including priority document shipments and economy document
shipments.
Indianapolis Star: Kokomo officials today announced plans for a
new $5 million FedEx Ground distribution center about an hour's
drive north of Indianapolis. The announcement comes as FedEx has
reportedly been examining an expansion at Indianapolis International
Airport.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
DeadTree Edition: Recent widespread press reports and public
outcry about supposed plans to close 3,000 post offices were a
misunderstanding, U.S. Postal Service officials said today. The
trouble started when USPS gave the Postal Regulatory Commission a
list of about 3200 stations and branches that would be part of a
study of which facilities to discontinue, the Postal Service said in
a PRC filing today.
PostandParcel: The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is currently
seeking to recruit employees to its membership from more than 2,000
postal counters hosted by drug store chains including Shoppers Drug
Mart, Pharmaprix, Familiprix, and Uniprix. But it has denounced the
postal operator for deploying a "small army of lawyers" to try to
prevent the employees from joining the union. The case is before the
Canada Industrial Relations Board.
MediaPostNews: Rep Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) said he intends to
introduce privacy legilsation that would empower the Federal Trade
Commission to oversee a five-year self-regulatory program. In a
speech on Friday at an event by the Technology Policy Institute,
Stearns also said that consumers should have access to the
information amassed about them online and be able to opt out of the
data collection.
Bluefield Daily Telegraph: Five West Virginia lawmakers are
expressing their concerns to the postmaster general over the
proposed consolidation of mail processing operations in Southern
West Virginia. U.S. Rep Nick Rahall, D-WVa, U.S. Rep Shelley Moore
Capito, R-WVa, U.S. Rep David McKinley, R-WVa, U.S. Sen. Jay
Rockefeller, D-WVa, and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WVa, have all
signed a letter expressing opposition to the postal consolidations,
including the proposed closure of the Bluefield postal and
distribution facility. The postal service has proposed five Area
Mail Processing studies to consolidate mail processing operations in
West Virginia, which Rahall calls an "unusually high number"
for one state, according to Rahall.
U.S.
Postal Service posts $451 million loss for January.
KSN.com: Hundreds of Mulvane residents use the post office in
the center of town to conduct their mailing business, but soon they
may have to travel to a different location to handle that business.
The U.S. Postal Service says it is in serious money trouble and
could go broke by October. Mulvane is one of the locations the USPS
is looking to consolidate. Operations would be moved to a smaller
facility where stamps and packages would still be handled, but mail
carriers would work out of the Derby Post Office.
FOLIO: Hearst Magazine's Loughlin called attention to four drivers vital for
magazine companies to focus on: traditional direct marketing
techniques; tablets and other technology; databases and data mining;
and e-commerce. He also closed the debate on "print vs. digital,"
and for magazine publishing, "The only way it works is to embrace
the possibility of 'and' signaling a digital and print co-existence,
as opposed to the digital issue only vs. print issue only.
Postcrescent.com: There is still no formal decision on a
proposal to close Oshkosh's mail processing facility and consolidate
the operation in Green Bay. The consolidation of Oshkosh's facility
with Green Bay's could save the postal service $4.6 million annually
and, following job transfers, result in a net loss of 54 jobs, USPS
officials have said.
PCMAG.COM: At least one country is making postage stamps a
relic of the past. The Swedish postal service is ditching stamps in
favor of a text message payment system. After mobile users send a
test, they will receive a reply that includes a code to be written
on a piece of mail that will represent paid postage. It will work
for packages weighing up to two kilograms.
The Republic: Postal operations at a Batesville mail processing
operation will be moving to Jonesboro. The U.S. postal Service said
Monday that it has been conducting a study to determine how it can
save money during the economic downturn. Six positions are to lost
in Batesville.
ABC12: More than 100 jobs could be impacted if the United States
Postal Service decides to consolidate and move mail processing
operations out of Flint and over to Pontiac.
March 7, 2011
Post & Parcel: Indiana-based company Engineering Innovation has
unveiled a new parcel-processing machine it says will help
small-to-medium-sized organizations make the most of the US Postal
Service Priority Mail service.
Flint Journal: The United States Postal Service is recommending
moving mail processing operations from the Flint Processing and
Distribution Center on East Boulevard Drive to a similar facility in
Pontiac. Announced today, the recommendation is the result of a
consolidation study launched in November. No final decisions will be
made until input is gathered from a public hearing, according to the
agency.
YLE: Communications Minister Suvi Linden believes the proposed
new postal law will improve postal deliveries in the countryside.
The law is to be debated in parliament tomorrow, and postal workers
have demanded that it be stopped. The law mandates deliveries five
days a week, but postal union PAU has demanded it also specify who
will pay for them. Linden believes that in Sweden most operators
coming to rural areas have been small, while obstacles to entry in
the bigger cities remain high. A new agreement is needed with each
apartment block owner, for instance.
PRNewswire: The U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service are joining other federal, state and local
government agencies and consumer protection organizations to kick
off the 13th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March
6-12. This year's theme — Your Information Destination: ncpw.gov! —
highlights a wealth of tips and information from federal and state
government and non-profit partner organizations on how consumers can
protect their privacy, stay safe online, manage their money, avoid
identity theft, understand mortgages and steer clear of frauds and
scams.
Washington Post: Looking to lead a multibillion-dollar
organization with more than 500,000 employees? Hoping to find a
career allowing you to flex your political and media savvy? Are you
good on TV and okay working for a money-losing company? Then the
U.S. Postal Service may want to speak with you. The headhunting firm
SpencerStuart is in hot pursuit of an incredibly experienced
political and media pro to serve as deputy postmaster general
alongside U.S. Postmaster Patrick R. Donahoe.
The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General invites
you to comment on this week’s “Pushing the Envelope” blog topic:
New Audit Projects:
LINK here to visit our
audit project pages. This week we opened the following new
project(s): (Please share any information you may have that
would help with this audit currently in progress by clicking on
the link below):
A new audit project has been started on the external website.
The New American: The more that government can be limited to
protecting basic rights, the better for the taxpayer and the
consumer. Even though the federal postal service is relatively
"efficient" compared to other government work, government, by its
very nature, can never be as efficient as the private sector. The
Founding Fathers clearly envisioned a federal postal service, but
they did not envision a Post Office monopoly.
The Local: The
Swedish postal service plans to give customers' tongues a rest by
allowing them to pay their postage via mobile phone text message
instead of stamps. •Swedish bar lets patrons pay via mobile phone. A
similar system is set for launch in Denmark on April 1st allowing
users to send a text message, prompting a special code to be sent
back. The code is then written down on the letter and serves as
proof of the postage having been paid, the Sydsvenskan newspaper
reports.
Financial Times: For an entity that is in the delivery business,
speed in decision-making is not a strength of the department of
post. From idea to implementation, the department has taken 16 years
to computerise and connect all its 155,000 branches; it’s taken 10
years to enter the business of managing the movement of goods for
companies. Most recently, it’s taken four years just to commission a
feasibility study for its biggest transformation yet, becoming a
bank.
Minnesota Public Radio: The U.S. Postal Service is losing
hundreds of millions of dollars a year. It says it will be unable to
pay its bills this year unless Congress lets it stop Saturday
delivery. Today's Question: Do you need the U.S. Postal Service?
[EdNote: Here's a question for you. Public radio costs taxpayers
millions. There are commercial stations all over the radio dial. Do
you really need Minnesota Public Radio?]
LiteBlue: On January 7, PMG Pat Donahoe announced the beginning
of an organizational redesign that will help streamline the Postal
Service. The announcement included a 16-percent reduction in the
officer ranks of the Postal Service and the impending closure of the
Southeast Area (Link, 1/21 and additional updates in Link, 2/4 and
Link, 2/9). In the event of RIF and/or VER, all relevant information
– including timelines and guidance - will be posted here on the
Organizational Changes website as soon as details are finalized.
Watch for internal communications such as LINK articles and stay
tuned to this website for any and all HR-related updates.
Redesign FAQs.
Postalnews Blog: Though his acolyte Dennis Ross is careful to
refer to an “alleged” bailout if the federal government returns any
of the billions of dollars it overcharged the US Postal Service,
self proclaimed “watchdog” Darrell Issa still insists it IS a
bailout. Ironically, he didn’t feel that way when he was getting
contributions and endorsements from the NALC .
YLE: The board of the Finnish Post and Logistics Union PAU on
Sunday decided not to begin any labour action before Parliament
votes Tuesday on a bill that changes provisions of the law on postal
services. The union has appealed to the Parliament to reject the
bill and re-start the process of revising the legislation.
March 6, 2011
Senator Richard Durbin: In a letter to the Postmaster General,
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and U.S.
Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) today expressed concern about the
United States Postal Service’s plan to conduct a study examining the
possibility of moving operations performed at the Rockford
Processing and Distribution Facility to the Postal Service’s Carol
Stream facility.
Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation: Post Master General M.K.B.
Dissanayake says number of measures have been taken to carryout
efficient postal service in the island. Although the revenue
received by the sale of stamps has shown a slight decrease many
other novel income generating methods have been implemented. At a
press briefing held in the postal headquarters in Colombo yesterday
Mr. Dissanayake said that four hour courier service and electronic
money order system is popular among the public. People can send
money via postal service to any part of the island within few
minutes. Payment for electricity, water and telephone bills can also
be made to post offices. The Postal Department expects to provide
many other services of the government institutions through the
postal service as well.
March 5, 2011
Dead Tree Edition: Many Postal Service employees report working
longer hours recently, and the statistics back them up: Overtime
hours have increased more than 11% this fiscal year versus the same
period last year even though the workforce is smaller. Part-time
city carriers are also keeping busy, working nearly one hour of
overtime for every six of straight time from October of last year
through Feb. 26. Their overtime is up 8% this year even though their
straight time hours are down 8%.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: The February employment
numbers showed a growing private sector economy in every sector
except retail. Retail jobs dropped by 8,100. Retail jobs can grow
only to the extent that sales at brick and mortar outlets are
growing. The decline in retail jobs reflects the shift from
brick-and-mortar to online retail sales.
WKTV: Postal workers rally against closing of mail processing in
Utica.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
The latest copy of the
National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. electronic governmental affairs newsletter is available on the NAPUS web site.March 4, 2011
DMM Advisory: New Standards for Origin Entry Separation and Containerization Proposed. Today, on the Postal Explorer® website, we posted an advance copy of the Origin Entry Separation and Containerization Standards Federal Register proposed rule. The new standards — designed in collaboration with mailing industry partners — will simplify mail preparation requirements for mail entered at origin, either as an entire mailing or residual volume for plant verified drop shipment (PVDS) mailings. These new standards also will result in improved efficiency and cost savings for mailers and the USPS®. We look forward to your comments.
IMb™ Services Update. Business Customer Gateway update — As a reminder, the Business Customer Gateway (BCG) external application Release 1.8 will deploy this Sunday, March 6, 2011. New features include:
See detailed information in the Business Customer Gateway External Users Release 1.8 Notes posted on RIBBS®.
Full Service applications unavailable during March 6 UNIX maintenance — On March 6, 2011, the Postal Service will be applying the quarterly UNIX operating system patches between 4 a.m. CT and 4 p.m. CT. The Full Service applications, including Business Customer Gateway, Mailer ID, FAST® and PostalOne!/MDR, will be unavailable during this time.
Now hear this: "This Week In Postal".........the latest podcast posted now!
The latest issue of
the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:
Politico: The unemployment
rate dropped slightly to 8.9 percent in February, the Labor
Department reported Friday.
Federal News Radio: The relationship between the House Oversight
and Government Reform Committee and the Obama administration isn't
starting off on the best foot. For the second day in a row, the
Office of Management and Budget declined an invitation to testify
during a hearing on a White House priority. A request to OMB for
comment on why it didn't send anyone to testify was not returned.
OMB also declined to send someone to testify Wednesday during a
hearing of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on
Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy about Postal
Service reform. Previously, the administration expressed support for
both of these issues. In the 2012 budget request, President Obama
called for USPS to receive relief from its mounting financial
obligations to pay for retiree benefits and worker's compensation
funds. [EdNote: Is this how this nation's leaders intend to
determine the future of the nation's postal infrastructure? Make it
a pawn in grand political games and just let it die on the vine for
some party's short-term political advantage? And what about the
nation's interest -- the role the post plays as an economic engine
and job creator? This isn't national leadership. It's pathetic.]
The Telegraph: A Guernsey politician has spoken out in favour of
closing the Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR) VAT loophole in
order to 're-establish a mutually respectful relationship with the
UK.' The LVCR loophole has benefited many large companies by
allowing them to move offshore and avoid VAT on goods, such as DVDs,
CDs and printer cartridges, valued at up to £18. Its closure would
signal an end to the Channel Islands' lucrative online mail order
business, known as the fulfilment industry, along with 1,000 jobs.
See also
Medical News Today.
Yorkshire Post: Marketing specialist Communisis is gearing up
for a move away from mailshots to online marketing once postal
prices for bulk mail increase in May. The Leeds-based group is
forecasting a switch from large generic mailing campaigns to more
personalised and targeted communications and from paper-based to
digital formats. [EdNote: Hellooooo posts! Get on board, and
fast! The digi-train is about to leave the station.]
Hellmail: Users of Sage 50 can benefit from significant cost
savings with a new print and mail application from Docmail. Released
this week, Docmail Connect is a free plug-in for Sage 50 packages
providing a cloud based software tie up with a hybrid mail
production system. The new Docmail Connect app allows a user to
create Docmail-ready documents directly from Sage 50. Invoices,
statements and letters channelled to Docmail are securely printed
and mailed in a dedicated production plant, saving on postage,
stationery and production costs, and since the app sits within the
Sage 50 workflow, saving time too.
TelecomPaper: German postal service Deutsche Post and eBay have
announced en electronic mail alliance at CeBIT. Under the terms of
the agreement, Deutsche Post's electronic mail technology
(E-Postbrief) will be integrated with eBay processes. They strategic
development partnership targets innovation and enhanced security for
e-commerce. Meanwhile, Post has signed up Medion and My Hammer as
new customers for E-Postbrief.
Postalnews Blog: Reports filed with the Postal Regulatory
Commission show that the US Postal Service has reduced its career
workforce by 22,334 employees over the last twelve months, from
595,316 down to 572,982, a reduction of 3.8%. Ironically, the
largest share of the reductions came in the letter carrier craft,
the segment of the postal workforce least sensitive to volume
fluctuations. (Carrier workload is affected more by the number of
delivery points, which continue to increase as volume declines.)
Transport Intelligence: Figures published in Global Express
Parcels 2011, the latest report from Ti, reveal that the market for
express parcels grew by nearly 7% in 2010 to reach €141,555m. The
level of growth went some way towards correcting the significant
fall in value the year before (10.6%) although the market is still
considerably below the peak in 2008. Although the market as a whole
rebounded strongly, performance from market to market was very
patchy. Overall the international express parcels sector performed
better than its domestic counterpart, showing strong growth
throughout all regions as international trade rebounded on the back
of inventory re-stocking. The trend was consolidated by a hardening
of rates and the migration of shippers to higher value products,
although there is still a great deal of caution.
Roll Call: Attendees at the January Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas may have been confused when they ran into Darrell Issa:
Were they meeting the California Republican Congressman and new
chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee? Or
were they meeting the board member of a private company Issa founded
called DEI Holdings Inc.? Issa declared he was there as a board
member on personal business, and therefore exempt from House ethics
rules governing travel provided to Members by outside parties. But
his press secretary, standing next to him, declared he was there on
official Oversight Committee business, and the Committee paid his
way.
AllAfrica.com: Rwanda will, next week, host a five-day workshop
on postal service provision, with an aim of sharing experience
between postal officials from the region. It will draw participants
from Sudan, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho,
and Mozambique. Organized by the Universal Postal Union, the
workshop aims at bringing together postal service providers to share
information, challenges and explore ways of promoting quality
services.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
Postal Regulatory Commission NOTICES New Postal Product and New Price Category , 12141–12142 [2011–4947] [TEXT] [PDF]
March 3, 2011
Marketing: Canada Post is hoping to improve the online shopping
experience of Canadians from coast to coast with the national roll
out of CentrSource; an online network that lets advertisers reach
consumers with local deals and promotions on items including music,
movies, consumer electronics and clothing. Consumers can search from
over 43,000 coupons, discounts and free trials on the network,
according to their postal code on CentrSource.ca. Aside from the
local search option, consumers can also search the network for
offers from businesses across Canada.
Government Executive: The U.S. Postal Service's proposal to
eliminate Saturday delivery continues to draw opposition from
lawmakers. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., on Wednesday introduced a
resolution calling on the Postal Service to preserve its six-day
delivery schedule. Any reduction in service would cause post offices
to close, limit access to mail for some areas and cut jobs for
letter carriers, he said. Graves has introduced a similar measure in
previous years.
Post & Parcel: The US Postal Service is now exploring possible
opportunities for getting into digital forms of communications,
including hybrid or digital postal mail services. Two reports came
out last month recommending that the USPS should look into
opportunities for revenues in new electronic forms of communication,
one from the USPS inspector general and one from the Government
Accountability Office (GAO). Yesterday, Postmaster General Pat
Donahoe told the Congressman that his team was now examining various
ideas in that direction, including working with partners.
Federal Times: A federal court on Feb. 28 ruled in favor of a
veteran who was fired by the U.S. Postal Service after he had spent
nearly six years on active National Guard duty. The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the Merit Systems
Protection Board had improperly ruled that Richard Erickson had
abandoned his postal career and had waived his rights under the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The case
will now be sent back to MSPB to be reconsidered. If MSPB rules for
Erickson, he could get his job as a distribution clerk back, and be
eligible for more than $1 million in back pay, benefits and attorney
fees.
We are about to start an audit survey of the Postal Service
Government Relations Organization to determine whether to
conduct an audit, and if so, to establish our audit objectives.
We expect to complete the survey phase by March 15, 2011. During
this phase, we will be contacting headquarters personnel to
gather information and to discuss government relation
operations. We have established an Audit Project Page web site
to provide an opportunity for our stakeholders to comment on our
projects. Web site visitors can register comments and upload
documents related to our project at the link below. We will
consider and use this information as appropriate during the
course of our work. We have started the conversation on this
topic by asking the following question:
How effective do you think the Government Relations office
has been in conveying the Postal Service position on significant
issues and responding timely to internal and external inquiries?
The Audit Project Page Link is:
http://auditprojects.uspsoig.gov/2011/02/22/government-relations-operations-11bg015ff000/
.
DMM Advisory: New MailPro Available. The January-February MailPro [HTML] [PDF] is available now on usps.com/mailpro. You’ll find informative articles on the installation of Postmaster General Pat Donahoe, the new Executive Leadership Team, highlights of the upcoming Mailing Services price change, the expansion of Hold for Pickup service, prepaid postage greeting cards, and more. Customers can access current and past issues of MailPro online or subscribe by sending an e-mail to mncsc@usps.com. Include your name, title, company name, complete delivery address, and daytime phone number.
The Courier: Scotland's postal union leader said he wasn't
surprised Dundee and Angus recorded the worst quality of service
figures on the mainland.
YLE:The Finnish Post and Logistics Union (PAU) is considering
strike action over the government’s proposed legislation on postal
services. The union claims Communications Minister Suvi Linden went
back on assurances made during the negotiation of a new collective
agreement about the introduction of second class services.
Hellmail: The Department for Work and Pensions has today
announced that the government is taking the contract for benefit
payments away from the Post Office and giving it to private company
PayPoint. The CWU said the contract was worth £15 million a year to
the Post Office, brought vital footfall into the network and that
the government had promised to make the Post Office the "front
office for government"but was now cutting existing services.
Handling & Storing Solutions: DHL Supply Chain has launched a
web-based Live Order Tracking System (LOTS) which allows DHL and its
customers view order information securely over the internet.
FijiLive: Post Fiji today handed government their second
dividend cheque of more than $400, 000 today. Attorney General Aiyaz
Sayed-Khaiyum said it’s always good for government to get dividends
paid by its state-owned enterprises.
Post & Parcel: Regulators in the US are set to provide an
advisory opinion to Congress “shortly” concerning proposals by the
US Postal Service to move to a five-day delivery week. The chairman
of the Postal Regulatory Commission, Ruth Goldway, said today that
her team had been “working overtime to resolve complex and technical
policy aspects” of the USPS request to drop Saturday deliveries. The
loss-making USPS submitted its request to the Commission 12 months
ago, setting out the proposal as one key part of its strategy to cut
costs. The Commission’s advice on the proposal is seen as important
in influencing how Congress puts forward legislation on reforms
needed in the USPS. Last March, the Commission said it would produce
its opinion on the matter within six to nine months, but has
remained quiet on the issue over the winter.
Government Executive: Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Dennis Ross,
R-Fla., said such cost-cutting measures must be the primary focus of
the Postal Service now. "We need to empower you," he said. "However,
proposals to provide short term relief ... do not address the
long-term, systemic problem and solvency issues that must be tackled
in order that the Postal Service will achieve long-term financial
stability."
DailyFinance: The U.S. Postal Service has warned that it will
fall $6.8 billion short on payments it owes the federal government
this fiscal year. In a presentation to a House of Representatives
subcommittee on Wednesday, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said
the postal service won't be able to pay its retirement and workers'
compensation obligations unless the government steps in.
MarketWatch: The U.S. Postal Service will be unable to pay two
major bills later this year unless Congress changes the law to
eliminate Saturday mail deliveries, the postmaster general, Patrick
R. Donahoe, told the House Postal Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
See also
Dallas Morning News.
Hellmail: From April this year, Jersey Post is to move from a
six-day mail service to just five. The reduction is blamed on
declining mail volume. Mail volume in Jersey has declined markedly
since 2004, falling by as much as 14% in 2009 and after a formal
request to the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority, it was
agreed that from April 1st, Jersey Post could reduce its service to
five days a week. The operator, which had previously held a monopoly
on bulk mail, also saw competition from other companies after the
JCRA granted Citipost and Hub Europe licences on Jersey. In recent
years Jersey Post developed subsiduary businesses, notably in the
mobile phone market with 'me:mo' and 'Ship2me' - a shipping service
between Southampton and the Channel Islands.
Federal News Radio: Some members of Congress are poised to give
the Postal Service some relief to its crushing financial
requirements. But it's far from a done deal. Sen. Susan Collins
(R-Maine) introduced the U.S. Postal Service Improvements Act of
2011 (S. 353) Feb. 15. The ranking member of the Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee introduced a similar bill last
session of Congress. The latest version of her legislation calls on
the Office of Personnel Management to redetermine the postal surplus
or supplemental liability as of the close of fiscal 2010, and for
each year thereafter through 2043. That surplus would remain in the
Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund until distribution is
necessary as long as USPS meets certain criteria. Rep. Stephen
Lynch (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Oversight and Government
Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and
Labor Policy, will follow Collins' lead and introduce a version of
the bill as early as this week. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who
co-sponsored the postal reform bill last session with Collins, may
hold a hearing this spring on the new bill.
From the Federal Register:
Postal Regulatory Commission NOTICES New Postal Products , 11823–11824 [2011–4742] [TEXT] [PDF] Post Office Closings , 11824–11825 [2011–4752] [TEXT] [PDF]
Hellmail: French postal operator La Poste said this week that
its digital document exchange services,
Digiposte, attracted many individuals and businesses
during its test phase. It is hoped that the service, which provides
a secure way to receive, archive and share digital documents will
become more widely used by the public. Digiposte has already been
chosen by major partners for management of business documents such
as ADP and ISE Microlist, specialists in the archiving of business
documents. La Poste said the response from
businesses and individuals during the trial demonstrated a need to
create a standard for secure digital exchange.
CNN: Despite significant cost-cutting, the U.S. Postal Service
has "an inflexible business model" that will make it unable to pay
huge bills without legislative fixes, the postmaster general
testified Wednesday. The agency cut $3 billion in costs last year
and will see about $2 billion in savings this year, but it still
won't have the revenue to meet its obligations, Patrick R. Donahoe
told the House postal oversight committee. Despite cutting 230,000
positions in recent years, without
significant changes, he said, the Postal Service, which is not
taxpayer funded, cannot survive as a self-financed entity.
Watertown Daily Times: A state attorney general's office
investigation into United Parcel Service's delivery fleet, which was
prompted by complaints from a mechanic at the UPS Watertown
facility, has resulted in a $1.3 million settlement with the package
deliverer. Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the
settlement Tuesday, saying in a prepared statement that the
agreement resolves allegations that UPS knowingly permitted trucks
in serious disrepair to be driven by employees throughout the state.
Politico: Democratic Sen.
Daniel Akaka of Hawaii will not run for re-election in 2012,
creating yet another open seat for Democrats to defend in the
Senate. Akaka, 86, has been in the Senate for 21 years, and will
serve out the remainder of his term.
March 2, 2011
Post & Parcel: Congressman Dennis Ross, the chairman of the
subcommittee, said in his opening remarks to the hearing that
modifying pre-funding requirements for USPS retiree pension and
benefit funds “do not address the long-term systemic problems and
solvency issues” the Postal Service faced. He said work force
reductions had to be the “primary focus” of the Postal Service, its
unions and Congress to improve financial stability. And, noting that
negotiations between the Postal Service and its unions were
currently underway, he added that in his opinion it was not enough
to cut staff numbers by attrition and early retirements.
Associated Press: The Republican-controlled House opened the
envelope of postal finances on Wednesday and what it pulled out
wasn't pretty. Unless things change, the post office will run out of
money by the end of the fiscal year in October, Postmaster General
Patrick R. Donahoe told the House Oversight subcommittee on the
postal service.
Press Release: Return Mail, Inc. filed a lawsuit on February 28,
2011,against the federal government alleging that the United States
Postal Service is using the company’s patented process for handling
undeliverable mail without permission. The lawsuit seeks
compensation for unauthorized use of Return Mail’s patent. Covington
& Burling LLP attorneys represent Return Mail. Return Mail, a
Birmingham, Alabama, corporation founded in 2000, invented an
automated system that processes returned and undeliverable mail.
Return Mail’s system provides benefits and costs savings to mailers.
For example, it allows mailers to reduce the costs of manual
handling and processing of return mail. It also improves the
accuracy of the delivery of invoices, thereby increasing revenue for
mailers using Return Mail’s system. The United States Patent and
Trademark Office awarded Return Mail United States Patent Number
6,826,548 (“ ’548 Patent) for this invention.
DMM Advisory: Published Federal Register Notices. The following three Federal Register notices have been posted on the Postal Explorer® website at pe.usps.com.
Combined Mailings of Standard Mail and Periodicals Flats — This final rule adopts revised standards to provide a new option for mailers to combine Standard Mail® flats and Periodicals flats within the same bundle, when placed on pallets, and to combine bundles of Standard Mail flats and bundles of Periodicals flats on the same pallet. The effective date is June 6, 2011.
New Customs Declarations Label Requirements — This final rule adopts revised standards to require all mailpieces containing goods that enter the Customs Territory of the United States (CTUS) (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico) from outside the CTUS to bear a customs declaration label. Additionally, we are updating standards for items weighing 16 ounces or more when sent to, from, between, and, in some circumstances, within certain U.S. territories, possessions, and Freely Associated States. The effective date is June 6, 2011.
Shortpaid and Unpaid Information-Based Indicia (IBI) Postage and Shortpaid Express Mail Postage, Revised Proposal — This revised proposed rule establishes new procedures to manage shortpaid Express Mail® and a new process to detect mailpieces with shortpaid and unpaid IBI postage. Customers are encouraged to comment on or before March 24, 2011.
Marketwire: Zumbox, the leader in secure digital postal mail
services, is experiencing rapid growth due to recent corporate
activity and market maturation, increasing overall awareness of the
digital mail services market. Citing $9.7 million in new corporate
financing and alliances with major mailing houses including DST
Output and KUBRA, Zumbox' growth and momentum has the company poised
to deliver postal mail from more than 1,000 mailers directly -- and
digitally -- to consumers in 2011.
Hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform: "Pushing the Envelope: The Looming Crisis at USPS"
Witnesses: Panel I
Patrick Donahoe, Postmaster General
and CEO U.S. Postal Service;
Ruth Goldway, Chairman Postal
Regulatory Commission;
Phil Herr, Director Physical Infrastructure
Issues U.S. Government Accountability Office;Panel II
Jim
Sampey, Executive Vice President and CEO Valpak;
Arthur Sackler,
Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service;
Fredric Rolando
President National Association of Letter Carriers.
Excerpts from
this hearing will be made available on this site.
At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
DMM Advisory: All Mail Service to Libya Temporarily Suspended. Effective immediately, all Post Office™ and other mail acceptance locations cannot accept any mail addressed to recipients in Libya. This temporary suspension affects Global Express Guaranteed® (GXG®), Express Mail International®, Priority Mail International®, First-Class Mail International®, International Priority Airmail™ (IPA®), International Surface Air Lift® (ISAL®), and M-Bag items.Mail addressed to Libya that has already been accepted by the Postal Service (other than items already at an International Service Center) will be returned to sender. Upon request, the Postal Service will refund postage and fees on items returned due to the temporary suspension of service. Items already at an International Service Center may be returned or held for dispatch once service is restored in accordance with USPS policy. We will use the DMM Advisory to keep you informed of any further developments affecting mail delivery to Libya.
Scotland Courier: The chief executive of Dundee and Angus
Chamber of Commerce says it is "really disappointing" that the
area's postal staff recorded the worst performance in mainland
Scotland.
Focus Taiwan: Chunghwa Post has seen some success with efforts
to diversify its marketing strategies, handling 27.34 million pieces
of international mail in 2010, about 50.4 percent higher than the
previous year, officials said Wednesday. In an effort to cope with
the overwhelming rise in popularity of e-mail compared with the
traditional postal system, Chunghwa Post has expanded its services,
including handling more international bulk mail from mainly East
Asian countries, the officials said.
DI-VE: Slightly fewer items passed through the national post
last year, although courier services were more frequently used.
National Statistics Office figures show that the national postal
traffic last year totalled 44.3 million items, representing a 0.5
per cent drop over 2009 figures. The decrease was more pronounced in
the delivery of parcels and similar items. 75,657 such items passed
through the national postal system last year, 7.7 per cent fewer
than in 2009. But courier services saw increased use, handling a
total of 446,006 items last year – 17.2 per cent more than in 2009.
Post & Parcel: Canada Post is beginning one of its largest ever
product launches today, with the start of a major publicity campaign
for its new online direct marketing platform, known as CentrSource.
Developed with Swiss firm CentrSource, the website offers Canadian
residents access to localised retail incentives and offers on items
ranging from music, movies and electronics to clothing, accessories
and health products.
Congressional Research Service: "The U.S. Postal Service’s
Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress"
Stuff: More than 100 posties out and about delivering mail was a
sign of life starting to return to normal in Christchurch today.
CEP News
(Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:
A delegation of FedEx senior executives, led by Michael Ducker, currently explores investments opportunities in the Ghanaian postal and express market.
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.
Hellmail:
PaidContent.org: Hearst is unveiling the beta version of
Manilla, a free personal account management service that lets
consumers organize their bills, finances, travel rewards programs
and, yes, magazine subscriptions, in one online spot. The company,
named for “manila folders,” will be headed by George Kliavkoff.
While “billing and account management” might initially sound like an
odd choice for a media company to get into, it does show how Hearst
and other publishers are realizing that with the
old models crumbling, areas that
even lightly touch on existing businesses, like advertising and
subscriptions, are pointing the way to new ones. The genesis of
Manilla began during brainstorming sessions among Kliavkoff and his
team, who now also includes former Dish marketing exec Jessica
Insalaco as CMO. “We talked about what
areas are the most inefficient and the ones most ripe for
disruption,” Kliavkoff said. “That’s where we started the idea of
tackling junk mail. Essentially, we’re challenging the US Postal
Service’s business.”
From the Federal Register:
Postal Regulatory Commission NOTICES New Postal Products , 11532–11533 [2011–4684] [TEXT] [PDF]
Politico: Darrell Issa was supposed to be the White House’s
worst nightmare — a partisan Republican with subpoena power and
freedom to target administration officials at will. But two months
after taking over the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, the publicity hungry Issa finds himself firing his top
press aide and dealing with the fallout not only from the media but
from fellow lawmakers in a Washington mini-scandal over how press
secretary Kurt Bardella secretly shared other reporters’ e-mails
with New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich. See also
Roll Call and the
Washington Post.
Direct Marketing News: The postal rate increase coming this
spring is not expected to have a significant effect on direct mail
marketing plans this year, thanks to its size and timing.
However,
the fact that the increase is even smaller than the US Postal
Service had initially proposed is not much comfort to marketers, say
industry observers. As with any cost increase, they point out higher
postal rates continue to erode marketers' use of direct mail.
Lexology: Postal Service unveils FY 2010 - 2012 strategic plan
for supply management.
North Fort Myers Neighbor: The U.S. Postal Service has made it
even easier to use direct mail by offering Every Door Direct Mail
(EDDM) on any delivery route nationwide! You can target a location
without an address list, send out local mailings or national
campaigns, build more traffic, find new customers, increase revenue
and reduce mail preparation costs. With Every Door Direct Mail, you
can distribute flats (mailpieces measuring larger than 6 and 1/8 by
11 and 1/2 inches) without applying individual names and addresses
on any delivery route nationwide. In addition, you can distribute
letter size mail (mail measuring at least 3 and 1/2 by five inches
to as large as 6 and 1/8 by 11 and 1/2 inches) to any delivery route
that is designated as rural or highway contract delivery.
March 1, 2011
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the OPM Inspector
General’s study reviewing our recent reports about the
mischarges and overfunding of the Postal Service’s benefit
obligations. Both the postal pension and health funds are
administered by OPM and are accounted for separately from the
federal government’s benefit funds. Our reports focused on the latest of OPM’s long history of
miscalculations involving Postal Service benefit funds:
OPM typically responded to these findings with initial denial
followed by major corrections. In such a history of errors, one
would expect to see some balance. Regarding the matter that was reviewed in the OPM report, the
Postal Service Office of Inspector General has the following
observations: Our reports concerning the mischarges and overfunding of Postal
Service benefits relied on the work of an actuarial firm that
was under contract to the OIG. That firm had previously done
work for OPM in the benefits fund area. Our work was
independently reviewed by a second actuary employed by the
Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). In contrast the OPM
characterizes their study as an analysis based on the work of
others, but without independent actuarial assistance.
The OPM study makes the following points in their review:
In response to the OPM, we have some observations on each of
their points:
This is not about the financial condition of the Postal Service,
but that the Postal Service was overcharged and subsequently
overpaid into benefit funds. In the Unites States there is the
rule of law and the accounts must be settled. This issue is
fundamentally about righting an inequity. [See
Washington Post for additional background. Stay tuned
for "Food Fight at the CSRS Corral."]
Atlanta Business Chronicle: The U.S. Justice Department is
investigating both Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc. and
Memphis-based FedEx Corp. for possible anticompetitive behavior,
according to The Wall Street Journal. On Monday, department
officials confirmed an investigation, but declined to name
names, saying only that they are investigating the
parcel-delivery industry. However, both parcel delivery
companies told the WSJ in January they were being investigated,
and described the action as preliminary. Justice Department
officials would not confirm an investigation at that time. A UPS
spokesman told the WSJ on Monday the status of the investigation
has not changed. A FedEx representative did not respond to a WSJ
request for comment, the paper reported. See also
Internet Retailer. At the
Postal Regulatory
Commission:
http://www.prc.gov/docs/72/72127/2011%2003-01%20FORM%208-K.pdf
http://www.prc.gov/docs/72/72127/Transmittal letter 8K 2011
3-1.pdf
The following is the response from the USPS OIG to the OPM OIG on the
report noted below:
Business Insider: Hearst is taking the wraps off its stealthy
new digital startup, "Manilla." Manilla is
a free one-stop online hub for all your bills -- from
magazine subscriptions to credit cards to whatever. How will Manilla
make money? It gets paid everytime one of its users scraps paper
billing. If a user signs up through Manilla to manage his Comcast
bill, Comcast will stop sending him a paper
bill. Comcast pays Manilla a fraction of what it would
have cost to mail the bill. Hearst also puts ads for Comcast around
the Comcast bill in Manilla.
Canada NewsWire: Over 2000 Canada Post counters are now open for
business in pharmacies. That number is growing as Canada Post
continues to open more counters in pharmacies across the country.
That's why the union representing postal workers has been busy
persuading employees working at postal counters in Shoppers Drug
Mart, Pharmaprix, Familiprix and Uniprix stores to join its
55,000-strong ranks. So far, the organizing drive has resulted in
211 employees in Montreal and Saskatoon joining the Canadian Union
of Postal Workers. On February 28, CUPW's Quebec region filed an
application on behalf of 25 more workers at Familiprix. If the
application is successful, this will raise the number of unionized
postal counters in pharmacies to 51 and counting.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: The OPM-OIG report
suggests that this could happen if the Postal Service cannot make
its statutorily required payments tothe Enployee Health Benefit
(EHB) Fumd. The report goes on to suggest that any shortfall by the
Postal Service could raise the premiums paid by all other Federal
employees.
Direct Marketing News: Media and marketing services firm
Valassis and News America Marketing, a coupon and consumer
promotions provider, said February 28 that they have agreed to a
cross-publishing deal to expand each company's respective coupon and
savings websites. The combination of News America's SmartSource
product portfolio and Valassis' RedPlum.com and Save.com platforms
will result in a “significant increase in the number of coupons
available to shoppers on both sites,” said John Lieblang, president
of Valassis Digital Media. SmartSource is a network of more than
1,600 newspapers and 55,000 US businesses, while RedPlum and
Save.com have more than 7,000 associates.
The Ukiah
Daily Journal: It looks like the U.S. Postal Service is on a
path to making the same mistake so many corporate types do when it
comes to the Ukiah Valley. They think just ignoring us will make us
go away.
Direct Marketing News: A US Postal Service update to its
periodical content rules last July gave marketers a new route to
send creative print materials at a discount. The new rule allows
advertisers to mail supplements and certain other materials at a
periodical rate, so long as they mail them with a host publication.
They can also take advantage of updated technologies to include
things like video chips within magazine pages. This means an
advertiser can send such materials with a magazine rather than at
the higher direct mail cost.
Fox19:
The U.S. Postal Service says it will review operations at its Gary
Processing and Distribution Center. Officials say they will consider
consolidating some of its mail processing and transportation
operations at the Gary office into its South Bend distribution
center depending on the study results. From the Federal Register:
Postal
Regulatory Commission
NOTICES
Meetings; Sunshine Act ,
11297 [2011–4696]
[TEXT]
[PDF]
New Regional Ground
Service for Parcels ,
11297–11298 [2011–4460]
[TEXT]
[PDF]
Post Office Closing ,
11298–11299 [2011–4420]
[TEXT]
[PDF]
Spanish postal operator Correos announced this week that it
has introduced two new express products - 'Chrono 10' and
'Chrono 14'. The products are the result of an integration
between the postal service and subsidiary Chronoexprés.
The
Royal Mail today received criticism from Consumer Focus,
following the publication of its Quality of Service report.
Robert Hammond, Head of Post and Digital Communications at
Consumer Focus, said that disruptions caused by fine-tuning of
its modernisation programme and poor communication with
customers in some areas needed addressing.
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: In a previous post, I
noted that the Postal Service plans to announce a cut around
non-union 7,500 employees on March 25. In all likelihood, a cut of
that magnitude would involve a cut in the number of district and
area offices along the line of the reductions suggested by the USPS
- Office of Inspector General. It is possible that the USPS - OIG
may have underestimated the number of cuts in district and area
offices that the Postal Service could cut and still manage the
business effectively. Larger cuts would come if the Postal Service
was as aggressive as United Parcel Service was in 2010 in cutting
levels of management.
Politico: Rep. Darrell Issa,
the Republican chairman of the powerful Oversight and Government
Reform Committee, has launched an inquiry into whether spokesman
Kurt Bardella improperly shared e-mails from other reporters with a
New York Times reporter writing a book on Washington’s political
culture, POLITICO has learned. Bardella has been cooperating
extensively with Times reporter Mark Leibovich on the book, and Issa
told POLITICO Monday that he would "get to the bottom" of exactly
what Bardella shared with Leibovich.
Government Executive:
U.S. Postal
Service proposals to change how retiree benefits are funded could
adversely affect those programs and would not help the agency out of
the red, according to
a new report
from the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general. The
study, which is expected to be discussed during a Wednesday hearing
on Capitol Hill, warned USPS against "using the federal retirement
program as a vehicle through which to implement policy objectives
unrelated to the federal retiree benefit programs," the agency said
in a statement. The IG report recommended that "OPM
strongly oppose any legislative action that would permit the USPS to
fund its FERS responsibilities at 80 percent." The OPM IG
also said the proposals would shift the costs from USPS ratepayers
to American taxpayers. We generally agree with Proposal 1 regarding
the disposition of excess FERS contributions. We strongly object to
the remaining proposals on several grounds.
Of great concern to us is the fact that during the course of our
research, we did not find any viable projections indicating that the
USPS will be able to restore its operations to profitability. [EdNote:
Now there's faith for you. Does this Administration want to
the nation's postal infrastructure or just watch it go to hell in a hand
basket? With stuff like this, it's getting hard to tell.]