The week that was: 20 November 2011
Rounding up the top stories in the mail and express industry during the last seven days, as reported by Post&Parcel… This week we reported on the confirmation of US Postal Service losses for the 2011 fiscal year, which appeared on the surface to be better than expected, though the accounting included a major payment deferred into the next financial year.
German parcel companies jostled for position in a highly competitive market, as volumes began to grow ahead of the festive season.
And, in the UK the ambitious sameday specialist CitySprint continued its run of acquisitions with its largest deal year…
USPS confirms losses, though some are deferred
The US Postal Service reported its latest full-year results, showing a $5.1bn loss for the 12 months up to September, half the expected loss thanks to the deferrment of a $5.5bn payment to the federal government.
The payment looks set to be deferred until mid-December, but next month the USPS will also have to resume its contributions to its federal pension fund, after the Department of Justice ruled that it could not withhold payments because of a $6.9bn surplus.
Meanwhile, much-needed reforms to help USPS maintain liquidity are being further delayed, with regulators struggling to cope with post office closure appeals and Congress suggesting it could be early next year before new postal legislation will be passed.
German parcel companies jostle for market share
After launching a low-price new parcel service last week, this week saw Hermes launching a new loyalty programme with one of the country’s largest loyalty card providers, Payback.
The programme will allow retail customers to earn loyalty points for each item shipped, which can then be redeemed for merchandise or vouchers through Payback.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Post DHL hit back with its own price cut for parcels in Germany, offering to ship parcels up to 2kg in weight for just EUR 3.50 in the run-up to Christmas.
UK sameday specialist continues run of acquisitions
British express delivery firm CitySprint made its biggest acquisition yet, as it agreed to buy the courier operations of London-based Lewis Day.
CitySprint, which has snapped up eight regional courier firms in the past three years, said the deal will see its network growing to 35 service centres around the UK and more than 2,000 couriers, handling around 15,000 transactions each day.
Integration of the operations is expected to take place over the coming months.
And finally…
A major agreement for Singapore Post will see financial services under the banner of the old Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) returning to post offices in Singapore. POSB’s history stretches back to 1877, but it was sold to DBS Bank in 1998. Now, SingPost has formed a partnership with DBS Bank to provide access for its customers to basic banking services via post offices, including customers of POSB.
