Author: Archive

Portuguese postal unions to strike. UNI demands Portugal Post (CTT) start proper negotiations

Posted by | Feb 22, 2008 | |

Two of UNI’s Portuguese affiliates, SNTCT and SINDETELCO, are taking strike action Monday 25 February to protest against work deregulation and to demand the renegotiation of a decent collective agreement. The unions action is taken to try and stop CTT – Correios de Portugal, S.A (the Portuguese Postal Service) from destroying the benefits of the workers that have been gained in the past through negotiations.

UNI Post & Logistics has sent a message of solidarity to the workers and has called on CTT to immediately start meaningful negotiations with the trade unions.

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Royal Mail blames Europe for late deliveries

Posted by | Feb 22, 2008 | |

Late postal deliveries affecting many parts of Pembrokeshire look set to be permanent as Royal Mail struggles to find solutions to a new European law which restricts the speed of its carriers.

Royal Mail has had to comply with the new EU road transport directive which introduced lower speed limits for some vehicles.

This means lorries which transport mail down the M4 to Pembrokeshire can only travel at 57mph.

As a direct result, postal workers at sorting offices including Pembroke Dock have been told to clock on an hour later at 6.30am and this has delayed deliveries by an hour Because of Pembrokeshire’s peripherality, the effects of the new transport directive are more apparent here than other areas of the UK.

Royal Mail insisted “customers can be reassured that Royal Mail is working hard to minimise the impact of these changes across the country”.

A spokesman said it would continue to make the last delivery by lunchtime in urban areas and mid-afternoon in rural areas.

But Gordon Barry, secretary of the Narberth Chamber of Trade, said words were of little comfort to businesses which relied on an efficient postal system.

Mr Barry suggested that as the standard of service deteriorates businesses will gravitate further towards the internet.

Mr Barry also questioned why Royal Mail didn’t transport its post by train. For towns with stations and sorting offices such as Narberth, Haverfordwest and Pembroke Dock this would be a sensible alternative, he suggested.

However, Royal Mail said this means of transport was abandoned a few years ago.

“A decision was taken at the time to cease the use of trains and instead to maximise the use of our vehicles. By ensuring they are not running with empty or low volumes of mail, we managed to reduce our costs and also our road miles,” said its spokesman.

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Spir Communication announces closure of Adrexo Mail (FRA)

Posted by | Feb 22, 2008 | |

Spir Communication has announced that it will close Adrexo Mail, its addressed mail distribution arm, after a difficult year. Group net income plunged 43.5 percent to 29.8 million euros in 2007 compared to the same period last year and operation income decreased from 42.5 percent to 44.5 million euros. Turnover increased 10.5 percent to 650.1 million euros.

The company said that its margins and last year’s results have been severely affected by the distribution networks of Adrexo Mail, an activity which was launched last year pending deregulation of the postal market in France and Europe. “This important strategic decision was motivated by the lack of clarity and stability of the market,” Phillippe Leoni, CEO of Spir said at a conference. “Spir stresses that given the lag from the date of full liberalization of the postal marketing in France from January 2009 to January 2011, there is uncertainty.”

He added that the group benefited from the difficult experiences of its European competitors in the market for the distribution of addressed mail. Leoni said that Spir chooses to limit the damage, and as a result this activity has generated an operation loss of around 18 million euros in 2007. The closure of Adrexo Mail will result in a total loss of less than 13 million euros in 2008. Spir expects to keep some activities, such as packages and relay letters, which do not depend on the opening of the postal market. This division has weighted on the results of the mail (distribution of printed matter, packages, catalogues, mail), which saw net operation profit plunge from 61.7 percent to 8.6 million errors despite a 23.4 percent increase in turnover of 303.6 million. The group remains confident in its ability to improve its performance in 2008.

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Green growth for Norway Post in the Nordic region

Posted by | Feb 21, 2008 | |

Norway Post is making green the main colour for its Nordic postal and logistics operations. In Norway, the company will keep its well-known red colour.

Norway Post’s strategy is to be a leading player in the postal, logistics and IT sectors in the Nordic region. Customers are becoming increasingly Nordic and Norway Post offers solutions that meet Nordic needs. By investing more than NOK 5 billion in acquisitions over the past three years, Norway Post has gained a solid foothold in the Nordic market, mainly in Sweden. The acquired companies have increased the Group’s revenues by NOK 10 billion in three years and a corresponding expansion is planned for the years to come. Companies outside Norway accounted for 23 per cent of Norway Post’s income in 2007.

The expansion has also led to a large number of brands in Norway Post’s portfolio. Now the time has come to create more distinctiveness and make the Group’s activities in Norway and the Nordic region visible.

Norway Post is working on a new brand strategy that aims to make visible its wide range of Norwegian and Nordic products and services and equip the Group to face the major changes in the market. One of the conclusions from this work is that the Group is to choose green as the main colour for its Nordic postal and logistics operations.

By choosing the colour green, Norway Post is building further on the successful position and good visibility that its subsidiary Box has achieved in the Nordic region.

The appearance of Norway Post’s Nordic operations, including their brand and symbol, will not be known until the new brand is launched later in 2008. In Norway, the company will keep its well-known red colour.

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China Postal Airlines launches flights between Yantai, Seoul

Posted by | Feb 21, 2008 | |

Mail and cargo flights between the Chinese coastal city of Yantai, Shandong Province, and Seoul, Republic of Korea, went into operation, shortening delivery times between the two cities by at least 12 hours.

A Boeing 737 aircraft of China Postal Airlines, specializing in express mail services (EMS) and cargo transport, took off from Yantai International Airport at 11 a.m. and landed in Seoul 70 minutes later, airline sources said.

It is the first cargo flight service between South Korea and Shandong, its largest investment destination in China. South Korea has invested about 20 billion U.S. dollars in the eastern province through 2007, accounting for 27 percent of its China investment.

The new route boosts economic exchange between Shandong and South Korea and gives China Postal a better footing in the international market, according to the China Postal Airlines source.

Currently, there are 18,000 companies that have been directly invested by South Korean businesses in Shandong, half of the total in China.

China Postal Airlines will fly from Yantai to Seoul five times weekly, according to company sources. Express mail from the province can arrive at Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon in South Korea the next day and in other cities a day after that.

Shanghai-based China Postal Airlines, a 51/49 percent joint venture between China’s State Post Bureau and China Southern Airlines, boasts a fleet of 13 aircraft and operates 30 flights to a dozen domestic cities. The company’s delivery network covers more than 300 Chinese cities.

In line with its commitments to the World Trade Organization, China has fully opened its express delivery market. International delivery companies such as DHL, TNT and UPS are now competing in China.

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EnvoiMoinsCher partners Sodexi and Aramex

Posted by | Feb 21, 2008 | |

Air France-KLM express subsidiary Sodexi and Middle East carrier Aramex are targeting French small businesses and consumers through a newly-launched online parcels portal “EnvoiMoinsCher.com”. Prices will significantly undercut those of the leading global express operators.

EnvoiMoinsCher (EMC), which is targeting one million online visitors a month and 400,000 parcels booked through its system in its first year, announced yesterday that it had formed partnerships with Sodexi and Aramex. According to information on its website, existing transport partners include La Poste/Chronopost, TNT and Schenker. The portal, launched at the end of 2007, is targeting small businesses, online retailers and consumers, and offers transportation of documents, parcels, pallets and freight.

The online parcels portal said Sodexi prices would be as much as 40 pct lower than competitor offers. The express operator, which is majority-owned by Air France-KLM, would use capacity on the airline’s commercial flights and its network of sub-contractors to transport shipments. Sodexi, which has a 20,000 sqm hub at Paris CDG airport, aims to expand by building up a customer base of small companies and consumers, EMC said in a statement.

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Toll profits from Asian expansion

Posted by | Feb 21, 2008 | |

Australian transport and logistics group Toll Holdings announced today it is profiting from its expansion into Asia and good domestic demand. The group has made two express acquisitions in Australia but could soon sell its majority stake in the Virgin Blue airline.

The listed company, whose businesses include leading Australian express operators, announced net profits up 10.7pct to AUD 237 million (EUR 147.8 million) for the half-year ending December 31, 2007. Underlying operating profit (EBIT) rose 13pct to AUD431 million on revenues up 8.3pct to AUD 4.1 billion.

Toll Australia, covering all Australia-based businesses, improved its EBIT by 18pct to AUD 184 million on revenue up 7.3pct to AU D2.3 billion. The company said it benefited from higher volumes generated by the resources sector and buoyant retail sector demand, as well as new facilities and upgraded fleet and technology.

Although Toll does not release figures for its express businesses Toll IPEC, Toll Priority and Toll Fast, it said that “the time sensitive operations of Toll IPEC and Toll Priority continued to drive improved results”, despite Toll Priority’s one-off costs for the creation of an air linehaul network.

In July, Toll Priority launched a dedicated cargo fleet of three B737s and two ATRs, supported by 50 chartered aircraft. The B737s operate between Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, while the ATRs fly between Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. It also sealed a long-term agreement with Virgin Blue for exclusive access to bellyhold capacity on the passenger airline’s domestic and international flights.

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Spanish express carrier MRW grows 12pct in 2007

Posted by | Feb 21, 2008 | |

MRW increased sales by 12pct last year and has now extended its franchise network to more than 800 outlets.

The privately-owned company said its revenues grew by 12pct to EUR 632 million in 2007. It does not release profit figures. Major investments last year included a new EUR 17 million logistics hub in Barcelona and three other logistics hubs.

Meanwhile, MRW topped the 800 mark for franchise outlets with the opening of a branch at La Carlota in the province of Cordoba last month. The company said it normally opens about 25 franchise outlets each year, but exceeded the average last year with 36 additional locations.

MRW, which specialises in same-day and next-day delivery of documents and small packages, said it expects to grow at about the same rates again in 2008.

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