The week that was: 13 January 2012
Rounding up the top stories of the last week on Post&Parcel, with the EU Commission set to investigate the cross-border parcels market and DHL Global Mail downsizing in the UK…
European Commission probes e-commerce market
The European Commission announced plans to push for a “single digital market” in Europe, to double e-commerce volumes by 2015 by breaking down barriers to cross-border web-based purchases among the 27 EU nations.
The Commission, the executive branch of European Union government, issued a Communication launching 16 initiatives to find ways around major obstacles to EU cross-border e-commerce, including delivery difficulties.
New research on European cross-border parcels market suggested prices for delivering parcels across borders within the EU are “too high”, hindering growth in e-commerce and distance selling.
PostNL stands by TNT leadership amid calls for change
Dutch postal service PostNL said it was standing by the management of beleaguered TNT Express, despite calls from other investors for changes at the top.
Since demerging from TNT in May in order to boost shareholder value, PostNL has taken a EUR 734m hit from the poor stock performance of its 29.9% stake in the global express and logistics giant.
TNT share prices have fallen 30% since May, while PostNL’s stock has slumped by more than 60%.
DHL Global Mail to drop struggling UK publishing unit
DHL Global Mail confirmed it is consulting with employees in the London area, with the intention of closing part of the business in the UK by March 2012.
The company launched a 90-day consultation with staff last month, proposing to shut down operations related to the wrapping and distribution of mail for the publishing sector.
The operations concerned involve the packaging of print materials, newspapers and magazines and the distribution of those items out of the UK.
EquaShip ramping up e-commerce challenge to FedEx and UPS
After a quiet first Christmas, e-commerce parcel delivery startup EquaShip is beginning to ramp up its customer base from a stronghold on America’s East Coast.
The Seattle-based consolidator is seeking to be the “fourth carrier” in the US for e-commerce shipment – rivaling USPS, FedEx and UPS – using Minnesota-based Blue Package Delivery to provide a physical transportation network, and the US Postal Service for last mile delivery.
This month, the company lowered its prices as its service offering has been attracting larger companies than had been expected.
And finally…
Next month sees the World Mail and Express Americas conference and exhibition taking place in Miami, with senior figures from North, Central and South America convening to discuss the future of the industry. Click here for more »
