Author: Archive

FedEx urges Tokyo to strip Japan Post of operating advantages

Posted by | Dec 6, 2005 | |

FedEx Corp has asked the Japanese government to remove Japan Post’s operating advantages ahead of April when it is scheduled to enter the international distribution market, the Financial Times reported.

In its online edition, the newspaper cited David Cunningham, president of FedEx Asia, as saying all players should compete on an equal and transparent basis.

Japan’s international distribution market has been dominated by the ‘big four’ — FedEx, United Parcel Service (UPS), DHL and TNT – with an estimated 70-80 pct market share.

‘Japan Post currently enjoys many regulatory advantages that inhibit fair competition,’ Cunningham was cited as saying.

Japan Post does not have to pay the fees associated with declaring packages’ contents to customs which private companies must pay, he said.

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UK postal watchdog in Royal Mail legal challenge

Posted by | Dec 6, 2005 | |

Postwatch, the consumer body for postal services, has mounted a legal challenge in London’s High Court over a refusal by Postcomm, the postal regulator, to force Royal Mail to pay millions of pounds of compensation to business customers. The case is being brought as a judicial review challenge, with Postwatch arguing that the regulator’s interpretation of a clause in the statutory compensation scheme has allowed Royal Mail to undercompensate users of bulk mail services by up to Pounds 35m. “There is no doubt that in the financial year 2003-4, the first year for which the scheme applies, Royal Mail failed to meet any of the quality of service targets under their licence,” David Pannick QC, representing Postwatch, said yesterday. “We estimate that what would otherwise be compensation of Pounds 70m for the aggrieved customers of the inadequate service has been reduced to compensation of Pounds 35m by reason of the disputed interpretation adopted by Postcomm.”

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French post changes its image

Posted by | Dec 6, 2005 | |

La Poste, the French post office, has decided to update its image with what it calls a more dynamic and contemporary logo. According to the organisation’s Marketing Director, Vincent Relave, the new logo better reflects La Poste’s position and ambitions in society. It has cost La Poste EUR 70,000, plus EUR 10m for an advertising campaign which begins at the end of the month.

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TNT to acquire leading Spanish domestic express distribution company TG+

Posted by | Dec 6, 2005 | |

TNT today announced that its Express Division will acquire TG+, a leading Spanish domestic distribution company, subject to regulatory approval. The proposed acquisition of TG+ will expand and strengthen TNT’s domestic express business and fuel its international express business in Spain, a strategic market in Europe with high growth potential. At the same time, TG+ will further drive growth of TNT’s leading position in the premium express delivery market in Europe by providing better coverage in this key market. TG+ is the third industrial parcel operator in Spain with revenues of around EUR120 million split between its own operations (EUR100 million) and dedicated agents.

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TNT announces initiatives to sharpen strategic focus

Posted by | Dec 6, 2005 | |

TNT announces today a broad range of initiatives that will sharpen its strategic focus on its core competency of providing delivery services by managing transport networks like Mail, Express and Freight Management. Key resulting initiatives include exiting its logistics business and a EUR 1 billion share repurchase which commences today. TNT intends to sell logistics business representing approximately EIR 3.4 billion in annual revenues and it has appointed Goldman Sachs to assist in the sale. The intended sale is expected to be completed in the second half of 2006. The transaction is subject to TNT shareholder approval.

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TNT sells bulk of French logistics unit

Posted by | Dec 5, 2005 | |

Dutch mail, parcel and supply chain operator TNT is to shed most of its struggling French logistics unit three years after it was acquired.

The European Union cabotage system and the French 35-hour working week took most of the blame for the unit’s problems.

Around 60percent of TNT’s French logistics activities have been sold and the rest will be sold in the next month.

French haulage and logistics giant Norbert Dentressangle has snapped up the majority of TNT’s contract logistics activities and part of the transport activities of French subsidiary TNT Logistics Holdings SAS. Price details were not revealed.

Jose Driessen, a TNT spokeswoman, said the French market was ‘very specific’ in that, contrary to most European units, transport accounted for 60percent of its activities and logistics 40percent.

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Polish parcel delivery sector attractive for global giants

Posted by | Dec 5, 2005 | |

Another courier company is planning expansion in Poland. TNT Express wants to double its domestic market share in two years by extending its branch network or taking over one of its competitors. There are two courier companies in Poland, which will certainly attract attention of investors. They are Opek and Siodemka. TNT does not reveal the target of its potential acquisition, however it should be expected that the company be interested in one of them.

“We are analysing the possibilities of taking over one of Polish courier companies. If it worked, our incomes would increase by ZL70-80m annually. The final decision concerning the transaction will be made at the turn of January and February,” said Robert Mianowski, TNT’s general director in Poland. It is worth reminding that Poczta Polska post office was also interested in Opek. “Recovering our position on the courier market is still one of our priorities,” stated Marcin Anaszewicz, Poczta Polska’s spokesman. “There is no other way of winning market share quickly than by taking over one or two companies,” said a manager from one of TNT’s competitors.

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Battle over `poor post service’ compensation payments

Posted by | Dec 5, 2005 | |

A legal battle began today over millions of pounds said to be owed by Royal Mail Plc to large customers who were the victims of poor and inadequate services.

The Consumer Council for Postal Services, known as Postwatch, applied for judicial review at the High Court in London over a refusal by the UK postal regulatory body to force Royal Mail to pay up.

The Postal Services Commission (Postcomm) refused last January to make an enforcement order under the 2000 Postal Services Act for the financial year 2003-4.

David Pannick QC, appearing for Postwatch, today told a judge that Postcomm was under a statutory duty to enforce.

The case turns on the disputed interpretation of an exclusion clause in the statutory compensation scheme.

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