The week that was: 17 December 2010

Royal Mail to raise prices, Fenwick promoted at DHL, and TNT reaches deal with Unions… Good afternoon, I trust you are all well. Welcome to ‘the week that was’, your news round-up courtesy of Post&Parcel.

We will start in the UK this week, where Royal Mail said it will raise the price of a First Class stamp by 5p to 46p. The operator also announced that Second Class stamps will rise 4p to 36p, whilst the cost of a large letter stamp will rise by 9p to 75p for First Class items and 7p to 58p for Second Class mail. Stamp price rises will take effect from 4 April 2011. There will also be an increase in prices for franked mail, by 3p to 39p for standard First Class items, and by 3p to 28p for Second Class Mail. This is the first increase for two years on franked mail following a price freeze last year. Moya Greene, Royal Mail’s CEO, said: “We have thought carefully about these increases as we are conscious of the difficult economic circumstances our customers are facing. No-one likes to pay more and we regret having had to take these tough decisions on pricing. After these increases, we will continue providing value-for-money as our prices will still be among the lowest in Europe. Royal Mail Wholesale, which provides direct access to Royal Mail’s delivery network for its customers, has already asked Postcomm for price increases averaging 15% from May 2011. For 2011, Standard Parcel prices, up to 2kg in weight, are unchanged. However, prices above 2kg will increase by 8% from April. An increase in Special Delivery services was also confirmed, with prices now starting from £5.45, an increase of 40p. Royal Mail will also introduce of a charge of £210 a year for customers to collect mail from their delivery office after 8.30am. This service is used in the main by a small proportion of business customers. Earlier in the week, Royal Mail said it will deliver up to 7,000 rounds this Sunday (19 December) as severe weather returns to the UK. The operator has put contingency plans in place, with snow and ice expected to hamper essential services across the UK. The move follows Royal Mail’s announcement on Monday (13 December) that it has invested £20m in a range of measures to tackle the impact on deliveries of the coldest December in almost 30 years.

In the US, Stephen Fenwick was promoted to the position of CEO at DHL Express Americas. Fenwick currently serves as a member of DHL’s Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Middle East (APEM) Express Management Board and oversees network operations in the 131 countries and territories in the APEM regions. He will take up his new role on 1 January 2011. In his new position, Fenwick will be responsible for the management of DHL Express business activities in 50 countries and territories in the Americas region, which includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. Fenwick began his career with DHL in the Middle East but later held positions in the United States, Europe and Asia. Fenwick replaces Roger Crook who will assume the position of chief executive officer for DHL Express’ Asia/Pacific, Eastern Europe and Middle East regions (APEM) from January.

One of the longest sagas of the year came to an end this week as TNT Post reached an agreement with Dutch Unions to reduce the number compulsory redundancies it will make by 1,700. The operator will still make 2,800 compulsory redundancies, it was confirmed. Due to falling mail volumes, TNT Post said it requires 11,000 jobs to be cut. Allowing for natural attrition and voluntary redundancies, 4,500 compulsory job cuts were originally planned. However, after continued negotiations with the Abvakabo FNV, CNV Publieke Zaak, and BVPP unions, that figure has been reduced. The decision has been reached that no more industrial action will take place. TNT said they will attempt to keep more jobs open at its Auto Unit, as well as assisting reemployment for axed staff. Abvakabo FNV director, Peter Wiechmann, claimed that it “remains a tragedy” that thousands of people will still lose their jobs, but added it was important that many people will benefit out of the agreement.

And finally…

The programme brochure and speaker line-up for World Mail & Express Americas 2011 was released this week. The event takes place on 7-9 February in Mexico City, and looks like being one of the best yet. Take a look.