Author: Archive

TNT to freeze wages of staffers for the next 2.5 years

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

Mail and package distributor TNT NV is to freeze wages for all staff for 2.5 years, and is also planning to have staff partly pay pension premium fees, news agency ANP reported late yesterday.

TNT’s management in the company’s internal magazine said that it will enter talks with labor unions concerning the plans.

The move is seen as necessary by the management due to fierce competition in the Dutch market, while TNT’s labor costs are higher than those of its competitors.

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World Courier targets Chinese pharmaceutical shipments

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

World Courier World Courier, the US-based international courier network, is targeting the booming Chinese pharmaceutical sector by extending its cold chain network to 36 major cities in the country, including provincial capitals.

“China is poised to become the fourth largest pharmaceutical market by 2012,” said Henning Voss, director for World Courier North Asia. But he noted: “China presents many infrastructure challenges for temperature-controlled and clinical trial shipments. Domestic transport companies do not yet fully understand the many international standards at play in handling these types of shipments. As such, the real concerns and requirements of major pharmaceutical clients in China have not been adequately addressed until now.”

With its new operational network, World Courier could help pharmaceutical companies, central labs and clinical research organizations improve their supply chain efficiencies, Voss said. All temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and clinical trial shipments are handled by trained personnel according to established operating practices and IATA transportation standards. Only validated packaging complete with industry-accepted cold-pack mediums and temperature recording devices are used.

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Australia Post 'not forcing' APEC holiday shift

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

Australia Post has rejected union claims mail sorters are being forced to work on the APEC public holiday next week, even though there will be no mail deliveries until the following Monday.

The Communications, Electrical and Postal Union say 600 employees are expected to turn up for work at 40 mail centers across Sydney on Friday September 7.

The union’s Ed Husic says while the workers will be paid double-time-and-a-half, they will be faced with a “nightmare” drive home after their night shift.

“The order itself from Australia Post will put pressure on our members to get into the city and navigate through the security zones on a day where sorting that mail will end up nowhere at any rate,” he said.”

But Australia Post says while mail is not being delivered on that day, sorting needs to continue to ensure services for Monday.

It says working public holidays is a normal part of the roster for full-time night sorting staff.

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TNT calls for 30 month pay freeze

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

TNT wants staff to agree to a 2.5 year pay freeze and to make their own payments into the company pension scheme, according to the postal group’s starting position for the latest round of pay talks.

Union Abvakabo describes the proposals as ‘dramatic’, saying the plans would cost workers hundreds of euros a year. Abvakabo wants a 3 pct rise per year.

TNT says the pay freeze is necessary to allow the company to compete with new players on the delivery market, which do not have proper salaried staff.

The company announced earlier this year that it plans to cut 6,500 jobs – a figure which could mount to 11,000 if workers do not agree to a slimmed-down pay and conditions package.

Negotiations on the new pay deal start on September 17.

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DHL opens new facility in Baltimore, Maryland

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

DHL announced the opening of a new facility at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport to better-serve the growing needs of shipping customers. DHL’s previous operations at the airport have been enhanced with the opening of a new, USD 1.6 million on-airport facility serving Baltimore and surrounding areas. Improved material handling equipment for aircraft container loading and unloading as well as a 25 percent larger facility now provide for a significantly more efficient operation.

The new 18,663-sq.-ft. facility will also handle additional routes, providing deliveries for more customers in Baltimore, as well as various locations in Howard County, Md., including Columbia, Elkridge, Hanover, and Jessup, and features additional load positions to accommodate more vehicles and volumes of freight.

The facility employs approximately 30, including couriers, administrative staff, managers, sales and security personnel.

The new Baltimore facility investment is one of many initiatives that DHL has undertaken to improve U.S. network efficiencies and connectivity system-wide. DHL has recently enhanced its presence in cities across the country through new facilities in New York City, Columbus, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.; Charlotte, N.C.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Charleston, S.C.; White River Junction, Vt.; and Atlanta, Ga. DHL also recently completed a USD 1.2 billion build out of its U.S. domestic network and infrastructure, including an expanded primary air and ground hub in Wilmington, Ohio, seven new Regional Sort Centers located throughout the country, and the development of new, state-of-the-art distribution facilities for the east and west coasts in Allentown, Pa., and Riverside, Calif.

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Strong mid-year results for Posten

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

increased by 15 pct, totaling just over SEK 15 billion. At the same time, our operating earnings improved by a full 30 percent. This is evidence of our strength, and shows that we have succeeded in the transition to our new operational structure without losing momentum. Posten has been able to combine an increased level of specialization with its reliable delivery quality and unique ability to reach all of Sweden’s households and companies each workday. Not only has this enabled us to increase sales for our existing customers, but we have also competed and won valuable contracts with new customers.

The projects and ongoing rationalization activities that Posten is conducting allows us to present a broader and more competitive portfolio of communication and logistics services. Proof of our ability to streamline operations lies in the fact that every quarter has shown a measurable increase in productivity since the beginning of 2003.

Competition is increasing for all our operations. The Swedish postal market has been completely deregulated since 1993. Now it will be very interesting to follow the upcoming decision-making process for a fully deregulated EU postal market. This will bring interesting development opportunities for Posten, thanks in part to Stralfors’ platform in Europe. The Swedish Parliament’s decision on June 14th has been an important milestone. The decision means that Posten’s obligation to provide essential financial transaction services through the Cashier Service will cease as of January 1, 2009. This welcome decision eliminates the uncertainty that has surrounded the future of the Cashier Service within Posten.

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Rival postal operators eat into Royal Mail profit

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

When Royal Mail blamed its first operating loss in six years on increased competition, eyebrows were raised across the industry.

But new figures from Postcomm reveal that the 15 alternative licensed postal operators are clawing their way deeper into Royal Mail territory.

End-to-end delivery is still largely unfeasible for most of the newer service providers, with only 1 per cent of mail currently not handled by Royal Mail. However, according to Postcomm’s latest figures, access volumes have gone from 2.4 billion items at the end of the last financial year, to 4 billion between April and August. This now accounts for one in five items of business mail.

And with GBP 700m a year being earmarked for Royal Mail’s troubled pension scheme, and the fact that bulk business volumes are down 12 per cent, Royal Mail’s predicament starts to look pretty sticky.

But not all Royal Mail customers are willing to lend a sympathetic ear. Stephen Bentley, chief executive of response management and fulfilment house Granby Marketing Services, believes that Royal Mail’s troubles are due to a failure to keep costs under control. He is nervous the only way for Royal Mail to recover financially will be to increase prices.

“We’ve lost GBP 44 m this year on access mail that we’re handling on behalf of competitors,” says Budd. “The reality is that we are subsidising their businesses.”

But other parts of the business are looking up. In the first half of last year the regulatory report figures show that Royal Mail made a profit on first class mail, including franked mail.

Andy Fruin, external relations director at Postwatch, does not believe Royal Mail’s future is terminal. He concludes/ “Royal Mail has gone through a dramatic recovery before, and it will become a healthy company again.”

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Post Danmark H1 profits slump as revenues stagnate

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

Post Danmark saw its profits slump significantly in the first half of 2007 due to stagnating revenues and higher costs. It continues to expect a drop in full-year profits.

The partly-privatised postal operator achieved a net profit of DKK 355 million (EUR 47.7 million) in January-June 2007 compared to DKK 665 million (EUR 88 million) in the same period the year before. The operating profit dropped by 41pct to DKK 436 million (EUR 58 million) against DKK 741 million (EUR 99.57 million) the year before.

“The profit performance was clearly marked by stagnant revenue mainly due to the implementation of changes from the beginning of this year in relation to the subsidy for the distribution of dailies etc. as a result of which it is now paid directly to the media. A range of publishers have therefore decided to develop their own distribution network or to choose other distributors. In addition, revenue dropped for letters, magazine mail and unaddressed mail,” said Helge Israelsen, CEO, Post Danmark.

The domestic parcels business increased revenue, however, to DKK 861 million from DKK 655 million one year earlier. But its H1 operating loss widened to DKK 104 million from DKK 37 million, mostly due to higher transport costs.

Post Danmark’s operating costs also grew following the acquisition of Transportgruppen, new collective agreements in the spring, higher transport costs and the impact of a three-year voluntary early retirement program at Belgian Post, in which it holds a minority stake. Post Danmark said it is pursuing a number of initiatives in relation to production, transport structure and distribution to generate cost savings.

1 DKK = 0.0912605 GBP

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