Yamato Transport to start int’l delivery service for printed matter

Yamato Transport Co. will start a new service for sending printed matter, such as magazines and catalogues, from Japan to overseas in the same delivery time but at a cheaper rate compared with Japan Post, company officials said Tuesday.

Yamato Transport will offer the new service at 70 locations across the nation from July 1, eventually increasing its availability to about 3,000 places, the officials said.

The company will not handle individual letters addressed to specific persons.

Under the new service, delivery will take four to 14 days, almost the same as that of Japan Post, the public corporation in charge of postal services, the officials said.

Yamato Transport will assign the delivery at overseas destinations to local mail service providers, they said.

Sending a 300-gram document will cost 400 yen for other Asian countries, 540 yen for North America, Central America, Oceania, Europe, and the Middle and Near East, 700 yen for South America and Africa, all of which are 60 yen to 70 yen cheaper than Japan Post’s rates, they said.

Besides Japan Post, DHL, the logistics and express delivery business of Germany’s Deutsche Post AG, and United Parcel Service Inc. of the United States, the world’s largest package delivery company, are currently competing in the market for overseas delivery services for printed matter in Japan.

The Asahi Shimbun has reported that “Yamato Transport Co. will launch international document delivery services in July, with plans to undercut its archrival Japan Post, sources said The parcel delivery company is allying with Deutsche Post AG. It plans to entrust overseas delivery to the German logistics giant and its partner postal service operators around the world Yamato Transport plans to offer lower rates than similar services provided by Japan Post. The company expects to start offering the new service at 70 sales branches in Japan The service will cover printed matter, such as magazines, catalogs and direct mail. Individual mail addressed to a specific recipient, such as postcards and letters, will be excluded Items will be classified into five weight groups, of up to 50 grams, 100 grams, 300 grams, 600 grams and 1 kilogram Destinations will be divided into three regions: Asia and Guam; Oceania, the Middle East, North and Central America and Europe; and Africa and South America.”