The week that was: 31 August, 2012
Rounding up the biggest stories of the week from the pages of Post&Parcel, with USPS challenged by the newspaper industry in court, UPS investing in a British same-day courier firm and Canada Post continuing to record losses…
US newspapers take legal action against USPS mail contract
This week we reported on the US newspaper industry’s fight against an important direct mail contract for the US Postal Service.
After regulators approved the contract with direct mail giant Valassis last week, the Newspaper Association of America filed for a judicial review, concerned that discounts for Valassis would unfairly damage newspapers’ advertising business.
An advisor for the Postal Regulatory Commission said he believed US appeals courts were ‘likely’ to overturn the approval for the Valassis deal.
Canada Post records $10m loss in second quarter
Canada Post Group recorded a pre-tax loss of $10m for the second quarter of the year, with its core mail business making a $34m loss.
In the second quarter, growth was seen in parcel volumes, but Canada Post said this was not enough to offset the “poor” performance in the rest of its mail business.
The Crown Corporation said today that its financial performance is being hit by electronic substitution of mail, competitive pressures and the uncertain economic climate at the moment. Given the pace of electronic substitution of traditional letters, it said its volumes are not expected to rebound.
UPS invests in British sameday courier firm
The strategic venture capital fund of global integrator UPS invested in UK same-day courier company Shutl, which now plans to launch its services in the US.
Shutl launched in London in 2010, making a name for itself with rapid deliveries of ecommerce purchases, offering deliveries in 90 minutes or a one-hour delivery window, and spent the past year expanding, and currently delivers to about 65% of UK households.
The company revealed this week that UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund was one of the leading players in a GBP 2m investment round for the company, along with existing investors that include early-stage venture capital firm Hummingbird Ventures and La Poste’s international parcel company GeoPost.
