Author: Archive

DHL begins ABX cutbacks

Posted by | Jun 27, 2008 | |

DHL notified ABX Air this week it will cut its use of the carrier’s DC-9 freighters by 23 aircraft starting next week, starting the DHL restructuring in the United States that will move the express operator’s volume over to UPS.

The cutback will reduce ABX revenue by approximately USD 3 million, the airline said. It is not yet known how many employees will be affected.

On May 27, DHL informed ABX Air that, starting in the third quarter, it intends, as a part of phase one of its cost-reduction programs, to remove from service over the next 12 to 18 months, 39 of 55 DC-9 aircraft that ABX Air has dedicated to DHL’s U.S. network.

“This reduction is in line with what we have planned for, and we are taking the steps necessary to accommodate these changes,” said Joe Hete, president and CEO of parent company Air Transport Services Group. Hete emphasized that his company will continue to perform under the current ACMI agreement and to pursue efforts to present DHL with a flexible plan to maintain a dedicated, efficient, and customized air network in the United States. The ACMI agreement with DHL includes a put provision that gives ABX Air the option to retain or to sell back to DHL the aircraft removed from the DHL network.

ABX has lately been aggressively expanding business with other customers. That effort will also continue, said Hete.

ABX Air has been DHL’s principal business partner in the United States since August 2003, when it became an independent publicly held company as its former parent, Airborne Express, was acquired by DHL.

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New directors extend APC Overnight prowess

Posted by | Jun 27, 2008 | |

APC Overnight has recently appointed two additional industry experts to its Board of Directors. Jon Barber, owner of Scarlet Couriers, and Syed Ziaullah, owner of Action Express, join the existing team of parcel logistics experts, comprising Quentin Abel, Paul Griffiths and Ivor Skinner. Barber takes on the role of Marketing Director, with Ziaullah taking up the mantle of Operations Director.

Barber has developed his Thames Valley-based Scarlet Couriers into one of the UK’s largest independent couriers. He brings his skills in targeted branding and publicity to his new role at APC Overnight. “It’s said that a brand is a promise that you make to the customer – underlining what people can expect of a company. Our brand stands for quality on a national scale, and our task is to make sure it is recognised wherever people need excellent delivery services,” says Barber.

Ziaullah is passionate about the parcel delivery business and his can-do attitude has proven to be the driving force of the 25 year history of his Northampton-based company Action Express. “The dedication of people involved in the network “from Day One” is a major APC strength, and the current Board offers and excellent balance of skills and experience to take the company forward,” adds Ziaullah.

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Catalogers debate the value of mail preference services at ACMA forum

Posted by | Jun 27, 2008 | |

Cataloger Crate & Barrel’s John Seebeck, direct marketing business director, said industry self-regulation is the best approach to the potential threat of do-not-mail legislation during the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) forum in Washington, DC on June 26.

Seebeck was joined by representatives from Gardener’s Supply Company, US Postal Service, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and nonprofit opt-out service Catalog Choice.

Do-not-mail legislation is one of the leading threats to the USPS’s business, said Marie Therese Dominguez, VP of government relations and public policy for the USPS.

The legislation is being pushed by consumer’s environmental concerns, as well as general annoyance with the amount of direct mail received, added Jerry Cerasale, SVP of Government Affairs for the DMA. For that reason, it’s important for marketers to listen to their customers regarding their mail preferences, he said.

The DMA, which has provided a mail preference service for more than 35 years, does not want to be a middleman, Cerasale said. It’s better if the customer and mailer communicate with each other directly, he added.

The mail industry has already been hit hard with last year’s rate increase, in addition to the current economic climate and the rising cost of paper. These factors have made Crate & Barrel a better marketer, Seebeck said. The company has cut circulation and the page count of its catalogs, and changed its contact strategies, he added.

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Royal Mail launches dedicated production helpline (UK)

Posted by | Jun 27, 2008 | |

Royal Mail is continuing to demonstrate its commitment to the direct marketing industry by launching a dedicated production helpline for production managers.

The initiative, manned by experienced production specialists, will offer over the phone support to agencies requiring immediate answers to production issues, including:

• Quick problem solving – effective solutions for postage weight issues, difficult formats and how to save money on P&P

• Instant technical advice – over the phone answers on pricing of items, Freepost artwork approval, PPI etc

• Extra mailing services – help with campaign management, Sameday service and approval for mail campaigns

Tim Hamill of Royal Mail said: “We are launching this new helpline in response to the feedback we have received from direct marketing agencies over the last few months. Print production is a tough job requiring answers to niggling questions on an ongoing basis. Through the helpline we want to relieve some of this pressure and really add value to our client relationships.”

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Erik Olsson resigns from Posten AB

Posted by | Jun 27, 2008 | |

Erik Olsson, President and CEO of Posten AB, and proposed President and CEO for the merged company with Post Danmark, leaves his position immediately due to lack of confidence from the Board.

Lars G. Nordström is appointed President and CEO of Posten AB. He will also lead the task of preparing for the integration with Post Danmark. Lars G. Nordström is a member of the Board of Nordea, where he was President and CEO until 2007. He is also a member of the board of TeliaSonera and VikingLine.

The process to recruit a permanent President and CEO will begin immediately.

Accord to contract, Erik Olsson has the right to 12 months notice in case of dismissal. He is also entitled to a severance pay equal to one year’s salary. The severance pay will be deducted against employment income. Olsson will be at the company’s disposal during his period of notice.

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Postcomm: Royal Mail must reduce costs further (UK)

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

Nigel Stapleton, Chairman of Postcomm the UK postal industry regulator, said that Royal Mail must make greater efforts to become more competitive and not look to Postcomm for a relaxation of price regulation.

In the 2007/2008 annual report, Mr Stapleton said that most people firmly believe that mail can hold its own, despite the rise in email and internet use, but that all mail operators need to raise their game in terms of price competitiveness, service quality and product innovation.

He said that the GBP 100 million loss on the universal service was of great concern as well as the break-even position overall from its addressed letters business. He said Postcomm had relaxed a key feature of the current price control, thereby allowing bigger increases to the prices of certain products where currently prices are below their fully allocated costs. Postcomm was also minded to suspend during 2007/08, the compensation that would otherwise be due from Royal Mail to its customers when quality of service drops below the licence standards. However, he said that Royal Mail needed to be more innovative and reduce costs further to retain customers:

He drew attention to sporadic industrial action in 2007, saying that two thirds of the total working days lost in the UK through strikes were attributable to the series of stoppages at Royal Mail while the company sought to gain support from its workforce for the initiatives required to become more cost competitive.

On an optimistic note, he pointed out that more mail users are now being offered a choice of using either Royal Mail or one of the new entrants to the market.

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Postal company head asks Histadrut to exempt needy from sanctions

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

Israel Postal Company director-general Avi Hochman called on Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini on Wednesday to intervene in the current work dispute and allow National Insurance Institute allotments to be distributed to the needy.
He also called on the workers’ union, headed by Baruch Weizman, and the finance and communications ministers to sit down immediately and solve the dispute.
Sanctions by Israel Postal Company employees intensified earlier this week, halting the delivery of mail to government ministries and ministers, MKs and diplomats, as well as payments for visas to the US.
The sanctions have resulted from an impasse between the Communications Ministry and the postal company union.
The former refuses to lower bulk mail rates so the government-owned company can offer competition to private entrepreneurs and make money from such mail distribution, while the latter insists that it do so, fearing hundreds will be dismissed as the postal company continues to lose money.
The Communications Ministry and the Treasury prefer efficiency measures to lowering rates, while the postal company demands its “promised security net” until it stabilizes financially. During the first quarter of this year, the company lost over NIS 10 million. 1 USD = 3.33077 ILS

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Canada Post Responds to Cost Pressures with 2009 Pricing Strategy

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

In response to rising cost pressures, Canada Post is proposing an amendment to the Letter Mail Regulations to establish the rates of postage for domestic Lettermail for the next three years. The domestic Lettermail rate would increase from 52 to 54 cents in January 2009. The rate would rise by two cents per year in the following two years. Even after these rate increases, Canada will continue to enjoy the 3rd lowest rate of postage in the developed world.

Under the current Letter Mail Regulations, increases in the domestic basic letter rate have been restricted by a price-cap formula that limits increases to two-thirds the rate of inflation as reflected by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI has increased 14.5 per cent since 2002, while the price of a basic stamp has gone up only 8.3 per cent or 4 cents. This does not adequately reflect Canada Post’s costs in operating the postal service – in particular rising costs for labour, fuel and transportation.
Other rate adjustments for regulated products announced in the Canada Gazette include a 2-cent increase to 98 cents for letters, cards and postcards up to 30g destined for the USA; and a 5-cent increase to CAD 1.65 for letters, cards and postcards up to 30g to foreign destinations.

Price adjustments will also be applied to non-regulated products. Publications Mail rates will increase by an overall weighted average of 3.1 CAD along with the introduction of a distance-based Letter Carrier Pre-sort price structure. Canada Post will also introduce a new formula to calculate the existing Parcel Fuel Surcharge.

1 CAD = 0.991926 USD

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