Japan Post unveils new fees to compete with parcel delivery firms
In a move to launch head-on competition with private-sector parcel delivery companies, the state-run Japan Post said Wednesday it will base charges for its Yu-Pack service on size, effective Friday, instead of weight as before.
While private transport companies have already adopted size-based fee systems, Japan Post’s new structure enables consumers to understand that charges for the Yu-Pack services are lower as a whole.
Under the announced structure, a delivery fee is determined by a total of length, width and thickness of a parcel, with measurements divided into seven groups from 60 to 170 centimeters. Charges are also grouped into eight categories based on destinations.
For a parcel measuring a total of 60 cm, the minimum charge is 600 yen.
The new fee structure also offers a variety of discounts, such as 100 yen if a customer brings a package to a post office or handling agent or yearly discount contracts for companies that send more than 20,000 parcels a year.
Basic charges under the revised structure are lower than those of Yamato Transport Co., the biggest parcel delivery company, by between 40 and 2,220 yen.
The new fee system is expected to invite strong opposition from private parcel delivery companies fearing that they will lose customers to the Yu-Pack service.
On Tuesday, Yamato filed a lawsuit in a bid to halt Japan Post’s tie-up with convenience store chain operator Lawson Inc. in handling parcels, stressing that the state-backed entity’s full-fledged entry into the parcel delivery market would be unfair as it receives preferential treatment in taxation and other areas.
At Wednesday’s press conference to announce the new fee structure, Japan Post President Masaharu Ikuta said, “We are extremely perplexed (by the lawsuit).”
Ikuta denied that the new fees are unfairly low, as claimed by private companies, because they have taken “due profits” into account.
Pointing out that Japan Post’s parcel delivery service has been dwindling, Ikuta said it hopes to capture 10 percent of the market next year, up from the current 6 percent.
Yamato, meanwhile, issued a statement saying Japan Post can reduce fees to impossible levels for private companies because “terms of competition are not equal.”
Referring to new services announced by Japan Post such as delivery of golf gear and ski boards to and from golf courses and ski resorts, Yamato questioned whether a public entity should start services developed in the private sector.
