Author: Archive

USPS stats put FedEx & UPS at risk

Posted by | Aug 28, 2008 | |

The number of parcels and packages that postal workers are toting around the country has declined sharply, according to government statistics, opening the prospect of fresh liabilities for the U.S. Postal Service’s private-enterprise rivals, analysts said.

According to the data, challenging economic conditions, the end of stimulus checks, and inflation in fuel prices have contributed to a pronounced sell off in package deliveries. Express mail shipments fell 14 pct in the quarter that ended in June, the most recent data available. Priority mail shipments declined 6 pct in the period. The pullback could have direct implications for FedEx, which has made as much as USD1.2 billion a year flying priority mail packages for the USPS. But there are threats to the franchises of FedEx as well as United Parcel Service (UPS) simply from industry pressures. The USPS data suggested that package shippers have gotten more cost-conscious about their shipping activities. FedEx’s May quarter showed that daily domestic air freight declined about 15 pct, including its priority shipping business. Nevertheless, both FedEx and UPS have ticked up about 1 pct in Wednesday’s trading (27th August).

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UK parcels carrier Amtrak stops trading

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

Amtrak has suddenly stopped trading, leaving up to 900 employees facing redundancy and customers waiting for deliveries. It is the second time within two years that the company has hit financial difficulties and had to go into administration.

In a brief statement posted on its website, the company stated: “Netfold Limited, trading as Amtrak, went into administration on 22 August 2008 and has ceased trading. Should you have any parcel collection or delivery requirements, you may contact Business Post Limited, which will be happy to provide an alternative service.”

Accountancy firm Ernst & Young issued a statement saying that it was appointed as the company’s financial administrator by the directors of Netfold Ltd on August 22. One of the joint administrators from Ernst & Young commented: “Amtrak has found trading in the current economic climate challenging. It is a business led by consumer demand and as consumer spending power has weakened Amtrak’s business has suffered. We are currently assessing the financial situation of the business, and as a result the collection and delivery of goods may be disrupted.”

British newspaper The Independent reported today that customers were waiting for deliveries of goods such as wine, beds and televisions, and noted that the company has a contract to carry mail between government departments.

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GLS Dutch express parcels

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

GLS Netherlands announced that the “on time” delivery of its express parcel service equals nearly 100 pct and that it has doubled express volumes in the last six months.

Introduced in Netherlands about a year ago, the express parcel option offers next-day delivery by 17:00 for urgent shipments. Moreover, customers can book time-definite services for their express parcels to be delivered by 9:00 or 12:00 at the latest. Even on Saturdays, GLS offers additional delivery service.

GLS Netherlands handles the express parcels in its own system that was originally dedicated to standard parcel delivery only. But its dense and effective network enables smooth distribution of express parcels with working processes being reorganized accordingly.

To ensure reliable delivery of the express shipments, GLS implements additional control measures. The express parcels are checked individually right after they were previously registered in the sorting centre. In addition, specially trained customer service staff look after each express parcel. Through the state-of-the-art IT system and the close contact to drivers, the employees are always informed about the delivery status of the shipments and can update the shipper and the recipient accordingly.

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TNT to expand in Poland

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

TNT Express plans to expand in Poland by opening five new facilities this year, with the latest new depot to open in Nowy Sacz, in southern Poland in September, the newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported.

Rafal Dziura, Sales and Marketing Director of TNT Poland, said the company plans to grow its operations in Poland by up to 2 pct per year, aware that any more dynamic growth might threaten the quality of its services. “Poland is now not only a target country, but a transit point for the East, and it will stay that way,” he said.

According to the newspaper, TNT has a 40 pct stake in the international courier market in Poland, and a 4 pct-5 pct stake in the domestic courier market which is growing faster than the international segment.

TNT Express also wants to concentrate on the newly opened road link with Ukraine. The international road connection was launched earlier this year to handle growing shipping volumes to and from the Ukraine, one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies.

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Austrian Post to Keep Branches to Support Bawag Bank's Business

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

Austria Post will refrain from closing more branches to support the sales of Bawag P.S.K. Bank, the country’s biggest by customer outlets.
Austrian Post, which last year bought a 5 percent stake in Bawag, serves the bank’s customers through its post offices and earned 92 million euros (USD 135 million) from the business in 2007. The Vienna-based postal service has reduced its network by 44 percent since 2001 to make itself more profitable.
“Bawag has 240 branches, we have 1,300,” Chief Executive Officer Anton Wais said during a press briefing in Alpbach, Austria, last night. “If we close branches, we hurt Bawag’s sales, and therefore our investment of about 80 million euros in the bank.”
A group led by New York-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP bought Vienna-based Bawag in May 2007 for 3.2 billion euros. The group includes the Austrian unit of Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA, Austrian Post and private investors.
“Cerberus is likely to sell its stake in Bawag in 2012,” Wais said. “As we are a minority shareholder we will probably have no choice but to sell as well. It makes no sense to close branches and diminish the profitability of our investment.”
Ties between Post and Bawag date from 2000, when Bawag bought P.S.K., the bank that belonged to the postal service.

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FedEx launches domestic service in Mexico

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

FedEx Express announced the introduction of FedEx Express Nacional, a domestic next-business-day service that provides highly reliable, convenient and quality express shipping solutions across Mexico. This follows the Company’s domestic service launches in China, India and the UK, and is the first FedEx domestic service offering in Latin America.
FedEx Express Nacional begins operations on Oct. 6, 2008. The service features delivery to any address in Mexico, online tracking and tracing, and is backed by the FedEx money-back guarantee(a). It includes:
• FedEx Express Nacional 10:30 AM (FedEx Priority Overnight): Next-business-day delivery in Mexico for documents and parcels weighing up to 68 kg, by 10:30 a.m.
• FedEx Express Nacional Día Siguiente (FedEx Standard Overnight): Next-business-day delivery by the end of the business day. Also for packages weighing up to 68 kg.
As part of the broad FedEx portfolio of shipping solutions, FedEx Express Nacional offers customers in Mexico the convenience of working with a single provider for both their domestic and international shipping needs. This service expansion builds on the success of FedEx domestic service offerings in key markets such as China, India and the UK.

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Kiwibank declares NZD 36.8 million profits

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

Kiwibank has announced an after-tax profit of NZD 36.8 million for the 12 months ended 30 June 2008. Chief Executive Sam Knowles described the result as “very satisfactory in a challenging economic environment”.

The profit for the previous year (2007), has been restated under new accounting procedures adopted by banks, from NZD 25.5 million to NZD 30.9 million.

Mr Knowles said in the last year:
Loans and advances increased 57 per cent from NZD 3.6 billion to NZD 5.6 billion
Retail deposits increased 46 per cent from NZD 3.3 billion to NZD 4.8 billion

Mr Knowles said the continued growth in loans and deposits was an excellent result for the bank. “Our very strong deposit growth enabled the bank to be largely self-funded for residential and small business loans. This reduced the bank’s exposure to the more expensive and volatile wholesale markets and enabled us to maintain competitive home loan rates. In fact the bank continually led the market down in loan interest rates, but still maintained some of the best term deposit and online call rates available.”

The increase in the loan portfolio included the acquisition of the AMP home loan portfolio of NZD 700 million.

He singled out small to medium business banking as one of the key strengths in the continued improved performance by the bank. “We clearly have struck a chord with small businesses in New Zealand. They like our rates and they like our service. We are getting very solid growth in our business-banking portfolio, but at a level that we can ensure we maintain excellent service.”

1 USD = 1.42672 NZD

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Amtrak Express Parcels Receivership Update

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

Joint Administrators from Ernst & Young LLP were appointed by the directors of Netfold Limited on Friday 22 August 2008.

Netfold Limited trading as Amtrak, specialises in national and international parcel freight. The business is head quartered in Aldridge, West Midlands, and operates two distribution hubs in Aldridge and Warrington together with 36 distribution depots across the UK, employing over 900 people.

One of the Joint Administrators from Ernst & Young commented, “Amtrak has found trading in the current economic climate challenging. It is a business led by consumer demand and as consumer spending power has weakened Amtrak’s business has suffered.

Further to this an announcement on Amtraks website states that Business Post – UK Mail are offering to take on Amtrak’s customers work on their current terms.

This time it is highly unlikely that anyone will buy-out/save the company.

On Friday evening (22nd August) all staff were contacted to be told that they no longer had jobs until further notice. They employed nearly 1,000 workers with countless other self-employed workers in driving positions.

It is unknown whether workers will receive their last due pay. Self-employed drivers are highly unlikely to receive the money due to them.

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