USPS Seeks $6.1 Billion Postage Rate Increase

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Telstra (Australia) in e-Billing Project with Post

Minister Proposes EU Postal Compromise Plan

FedEx Opens 63 Home Delivery Terminals

DMA: USPS Rate Hike Will Damage Economy

Postal Technology Conf. Opens in Geneva Oct. 9

USPS Seeks $6.1 Billion Postage Rate Increase

La Poste Announces Online Marketing Venture

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Telstra (Australia) in e-Billing Project with Post
September 26, 2001 — Mandy Bryan, Australian Financial Review: "Telstra [Melbourne, Australia] is preparing to boost the electronic delivery of its bills across its retail customer base in a joint project with Australia Post to be rolled out by the end of the year. The new online bill presentment service is part of a belated move to participate in an aggregated POSTbillpay online service launched by Australia Post last year. Australia Post and Telstra said delays in Telstra's participation had to do with the technical complexity involved in integrating Telstra's multiple billing platforms. Telstra's own aspirations in the billion-dollar Australian billing market are also thought to have contributed. Telstra issues about 100 million bills a year, which at the height of the dot com boom represented a potential traffic source for its own internet portal. Telstra customers keen to transact online can already opt to receive their bills via e-mail but have previously had to pay these on Telstra's website or online through Bpay. The Australia Post partnership extended this to its aggregated POSTbillpay site which already accepts online bill payment on behalf of 121 companies and attracts tens of thousands of internet bill payers, according to its group manager of financial services, Mr Terry Stephens." Bryan says, "The electronic delivery of bills is considered the next key differentiator in the competitive online billpay market. So far, Australia Post has six billers signed to its bill presentment service, but it plans to have at least 10 major billers, including Telstra, by the end of the year, he said. From there this would spread to smaller companies, following an Australia Post decision to lower its POSTbillpay service cut-off from companies sending 20,000 bills a year to 5,000." (Source: Australian Financial Review)

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Minister Proposes EU Postal Compromise Plan
September 25, 2001 — Matthew Newman, Dow Jones: "The Belgian presidency of the European Union is trying to bridge major differences over liberalizing the E.U.'s EUR80-billion-a-year postal market. In a compromise plan to be discussed Wednesday, Belgian Privatization Minister Rik Daems has proposed a three-step process to open the market, with certain exceptions to appease E.U. member states who adamantly oppose losing their monopoly on universal service. At stake is whether the E.U. will eventually force its national postal companies to give up their monopolies in standard and direct mail, and open the market for outward cross-border mail and express mail services. E.U. ministers will decide on the long-running and politically sensitive reform plan at an Oct. 15 meeting in Luxembourg. Ministers want to reach a deal, but it's too early to say what the final compromise will be."

Newman says: "At the moment, the express mail lobby is worried about the prospects of watering down the reform. The European Express Association, or EEA, which represents express delivery companies, wants a final date for full liberalization to give clarity to companies competing with state monopolies. The current compromise fudges the issue of a final date by calling for a 'decisive step' in 2009, following partial liberalization of the market in 2003 and 2006. Member states opposing liberalization, including France, Luxembourg, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy, don't want a final date for liberalization. The Belgian compromise thus includes a compromise to have the E.U. Commission, the E.U.'s executive branch, conduct a study in 2006 on whether liberalizing would hurt universal service coverage. If the study concludes universal service won't be hurt, full liberalization will automatically go forward in 2009. But if the study finds the opposite, then the Commission must come up with a new reform plan, which would be reviewed by the E.U. Parliament and the E.U. governments. The EEA says the proposed study opens the door to further delays in liberalizing the market. The debate on modernizing the postal sector started in 1988, and under a 1997 directive, 3% of the market was opened. 'The compromise doesn't propose an unconditional final date,' says Mark Van der Horst, chairman of the EEA's postal committee. 'It suggests a date for a decisive step but it's subject to the outcome of the E.U. Commission study. This means companies have to live with legal uncertainty.' In a statement, the EEA said if a blocking minority of member states have their way Oct. 15, 'the potential of the market will be kept in check for at least eight years to come.'"

The article states: "E.U. reform is key for overnight delivery firms such as United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), FedEx Corp. (FDX), and DHL (X.DHL) which have complained that postal companies use funds they earn through monopolies to subsidize express mail and parcel service. Liberalization is also important for the two publicly listed European postal companies, state-owned Deutsche Post AG (G.DPW) and the Netherlands' TNT Post Groep NV (TP), which are eager to move into other E.U. markets. The Belgian plan calls for opening an additional 22% of the postal market by 2006 by lowering the threshold for reserved-letter post to 100 grams in 2003 and 50 grams in 2006. The current threshold is 350 grams. While these moves seem important – and they are politically very significant – they don't offer true liberalization because the majority of the postal market is below 20 grams. An E.U. Commission official said the compromise is a major step forward because it includes all elements of liberalization, even if some governments don't like it." (Source: Dow Jones, Matthew Newman reporting)

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FedEx Opens 63 Home Delivery Terminals
September 25, 2001 — "Today, FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX), will open 63 additional FedEx Home Delivery terminals throughout the United States to expand the service's geographic reach to 80 percent of the U.S. population. FedEx Ground will co-locate 56 of the new FedEx Home Delivery terminals with existing FedEx Ground facilities to optimize its network." (Source: FedEx)

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DMA: USPS Rate Hike Will Damage Economy
September 25, 2001 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) "has voiced grave concerns over the timing and size of the postal rate increase request that was filed today with the independent Postal Rate Commission (PRC). The United States Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors (BOG) filed a rate case today with the PRC, seeking a $6.1 billion hike in postage rates across the board. This proposed increase is in addition to the $3 billion in hikes that the Postal Service has implemented since January 2001." (Source: PR Newswire/DMA)

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Postal Technology Conf. Opens in Geneva Oct. 9
September 25, 2001 — "The latest innovations in postal technology that are reshaping the postal industry will be displayed when POST-EXPO returns to Geneva, Switzerland from 9 to 11 October 2001. These new generation technologies will assist Posts in years to come to improve and expand their products and services in order to respond effectively to the challenges posed by a rapidly changing business environment. [Press Release – 19kb]

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USPS Seeks $6.1 Billion Postage Rate Increase
September 25, 2001 — Melissa Campanelli, dmnews: "The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors yesterday filed its next rate case with the Postal Rate Commission, seeking a $6.1 billion increase in postage rates across the board. This proposed increase is in addition to the $3 billion in increases the postal service has implemented since January. The request is for an overall rate increase of 8.7 percent. For Standard Mail, overall rates would rise 7.3 percent. Regular Standard Mail rates would rise an average of 8 percent, and nonprofit rates an average of 6.7 percent. Commercial enhanced carrier route rates would rise an average of 6.2 percent, and nonprofit enhanced carrier route rates would increase an average of 6.5 percent. On average, within each subclass, flats — or catalog-shaped mail — would increase more than letters."

Campanelli says: "Other notable proposals in the Standard Mail category are: large destination entry discounts. According to the filing, greater discounts would provide incentives for mailers to use their own or third-party transportation to move Standard Mail closer to the point of delivery. Two new presort options would replace the Basic Automation Rate — Automated Area Distribution Center and mixed-AADC. These options encourage finer sortation by mailers when the necessary volume exists. As in the last case, the USPS proposes that automation-compatible letters weighing up to 3.5 ounces receive an automation letter discount. Customers would experience higher prices for some letters containing objects or having other characteristics that render the pieces nonmachineable and require higher-cost manual processing. The nonmachineable letter surcharge would be 4 cents for regular and 2 cents for Nonprofit Standard mail. The residual-shape surcharge would increase by 5 cents for items prepared as parcels. The 3-cent barcode discount for regular and nonprofit parcels would be retained. The USPS also asked for a 3-cent increase on the price of a First-Class stamp, which equates to an 8.8 percent increase and a total increase for the class of 8.2 percent; 9 percent for packages; 10 percent for periodicals; 13.5 percent for Priority Mail; 9.7 percent for Express Mail; 19.8 percent for Business-Reply Mail; and 9.1 percent for Bound Printed Matter. Mailing groups are already expressing dismay over the filing. The Direct Marketing Association, for example, voiced grave concerns over the timing and size of the postal rate increase request." (Source: dmnews, Melissa Campanelli reporting)