The week that was: 30 March 2012
Summing up the biggest stories of the week in the world of mail and express, as featured in the pages of Post & Parcel…
Free to raise prices, Royal Mail raises prices
Ofcom made its final decision to relieve Royal Mail of most of its price controls this week, and Royal Mail immediately raised its rates 30%, effective next month.
Britain’s small businesses labelled the regulator a “toothless dog” over its decision, while direct mailers warned that unless Royal Mail consults its customers over proposed price changes in future, it could drive them out of the mail entirely.
Consumer advocates Consumer Focus pointed out that if Royal Mail brings in big price rises for its products, it should expect to see its customers’ expectations on service quality increase accordingly.
Europe busts freight forwarding cartels
The European Commission handed out EUR 169m in fines to 14 international freight forwarders – including UPS, Kuehne + Nagel and Deutsche Bahn – for running a series of “price-fixing” cartels.
Deutsche Post and its DHL subsidiaries escaped all penalties for being involved in the activities occurring from 2002 to 2007, as a reward for tipping the European authorities off to the actions of its cartel partners.
Following several years of antitrust proceedings, the Commission fined the freight forwarding groups for coordinating their prices and surcharges, even using code names to conceal their collusion using the names of vegetables like asparagus and baby courgettes. The fines could be appealed.
Congress wants bigger say in USPS, votes out postal debate
US Postmaster General asked Congress for an independent healthcare system this week, an also offered to close fewer mail plants if Congress could help raise postal rates a little further.
With almost everyone who has ever heard of the US Postal Service agreeing it should be freed from excessive control by Congress, even those in the Congress itself, the Senate became the second chamber on Capitol Hill to propose that a new body be set up by Congress to oversee operations at USPS. The Senate then voted not to do anything about the current financial crisis at USPS, at least until mid-April, perhaps indicating exactly why Congress shouldn’t have any more control.
Meanwhile, US regulators reported back on the US Postal Service’s 2011 year with concerns about service levels and underwater products.
Australia Post to launch Digital MailBox this year
Australia Post announced plans to launch its own digital mailbox service later this year, offering every Australian their own free account tied to a physical address.
The plans were revealed just 11 days after a private sector consortium, involving US digital mailbox specialists Zumbox, announced its plans for a secure Australian digital mailbox service.
The Australia Post offering would similarly allow banks, utilities, government agencies and other large mailers to switch their transactional mail to the digital channel.
FedEx continues organic expansion in Europe
With its US rival hogging most of the headlines recently in its attempts to gain a stronger foothold in Europe, FedEx Express quietly got on with expanding its own operations organically.
The Memphis-based firm revealed plans to add four Boeing 757 freighters to its fleet to boost next-day services to eight airports in Northern Europe, and a new Berlin flight.
The aircraft will replace two slower feeder services operated by small regional aircraft, and an Airbus A300 as the company continues to modernise its air fleet.
And finally…
It’s easy to forget the incredible value an effective address system offers a country’s economy. Trinidad & Tobago has now launched preparations to adopt a new post code system that should bring big benefits to local business and residents…
