TNT NV said Karstadt Quelle AG has renewed and expanded a five-year contract worth over 100 mln eur with a unit of TNT’s Mail division, for the distribution of a variety of parcel consignments. From 2006 onwards, it will deliver several million parcels each year for various KarstadtQuelle units in the Netherlands, including Quelle Nederland, Neckermann Nederland and Bonaparte.
Read MoreGermany’s postal regulator supports ending Deutsche Post’s monopoly for delivering standard letters by the end of 2007, it said on Thursday. Deutsche Post had shown that it can hold its own “despite steps in the past toward liberalisation of the letter market,” said Matthias Kruth, the head of the regulator that oversees postal, gas, electricity and telecoms operations in Germany. The regulator therefore saw “no reason not to let (Deutsche Posts’s) exclusive licence run out on Dec. 31, 2007,” he added. The German postal market is worth 23 billion euros (USD27.7 billion) a year in sales at present, Kurth said, adding that Deutsche Post accounts for about two-thirds of that.
Read MorePalletways has appointed its first member in Denmark as part of the expansion program for its Central European network, which also covers the Benelux countries, Northern France and Germany. Esbjerg-based IAT will provide overnight deliveries domestically and a 48-hour distribution service to and from the rest of the region covered by the Central European network. The company will distribute quarter, half and full pallets on behalf of Palletways.
Read MoreMajestic Wine Warehouses has launched a nationwide delivery service, called Gift Solutions, using Amtrak’s specialist wine service.
Majestic has only made deliveries in-house to addresses near its shops, which it will continue to do. Distribution will be from Majestic’s centre in Enfield to destinations across the UK.
Deutsche Post on Wednesday upped earnings guidance after closing its GBP3.8bn (USD4.5bn) deal with UK logistics group, Exel. The company now expects operating profit to reach EUR3.7bn compared to earlier guidance of EUR3.6bn. The company is set to benefit from reduced costs for health care as a result of new legislation relating to health insurance which will reduce its costs by about EUR70m a year.
“As a one-time effect in 2005 the reduction in our annual obligation to fund future shortfalls led to a reversal of health care provision with a positive earnings before interest and tax impact of of about EUR1bn.”
But Deutsche Post added that the impact would be offset by EUR0.7bn of new provisions for new “optimisation measures”, such as the creation of a new global corporate services division, creating a net benefit of about EUR0.3bn.
Read MoreSwiss logistics company Panalpina Welttransport (Holding) AG is not interested in the takeover of the Logistics division of Dutch mail and logisticscompany TNT NV, Panalpina spokesman Martin Spohn said on December 14, 2005. We are not considering such large acquisition, which is not in line with our strategy to take over small specialised companies, Spohn added. TNT announced its intention to divest the Logistics division earlier in December 2005. The division generates an annual revenue of 3.4 bln euro (USD3.977 bln). Swiss logistics company Kuehne & Nagel International has recently said, a large acquisition was improbable in the near future because the company was engaged with the integration of a large acquisition in France.
Read MoreThe January freeing of the postal services market will not cause an increase in competition. Courier companies are giving up the fight over the letter delivery market. As of 1 January 2006, the Poczta Polska national postal service monopoly will be further limited. The weight of parcels reserved for it will fall from 350 to 50 grams. However, this will not cause a turnaround on the postal services market. Advances in IT mean letters are becoming less popular. Instead, companies choose the Internet as a means of sending invoices and other business-related documentation. It is possible that even 2009’s full market liberalisation will not tempt the courier companies: by that time, new and safer forms of electronic communication may have been developed. Courier companies believe that the new liberalisation only increases their safety margin.
Read MoreDeutsche Post World Net today completed the acquisition of U.K. logistics company Exel plc, becoming the global No. 1 in air freight, ocean freight and contract logistics. Just one month after Exel’s shareholders welcomed the offer, the company’s equity capital was transferred in its entirety to Deutsche Post World Net. The combination of the two companies creates a group with some 500,000 people and about 55 billion euros in annual sales. “This acquisition marks a historic step for Deutsche Post World Net. By bringing together these two powerful, high-quality organizations, we are creating the largest logistics company in the world. Our Group will set the future pace in the forwarding and supply chain industries, enabling us to serve even better the global needs of our customers,” said Deutsche Post Chief Executive Officer Klaus Zumwinkel. “The transaction has been carried out in a very positive and constructive atmosphere. Within very short time, our two management teams have developed a deep understanding and mutual trust. Our top priority now is to combine DHL Logistics and Exel in a rapid and efficient manner.”
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