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Kintetsu Express considers shipping tie with Nippon Express

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

Nippon Express Co. and Kintetsu World Express Inc. said Tuesday they are studying joint air transport services from Japan to other Asian countries to take advantage of growing demand for shipping services within Asia.

The two Japanese firms are in talks to develop a small package shipping service that would deliver items such as samples and documents.

Japanese transport companies have lagged behind their U.S. and European competitors such as DHL and FedEx Corp.

Kintetsu World, for instance, provides shipping services to other Asian countries from Japan but focuses mostly on large shipping contracts such as delivering electronic parts, a Kintetsu World spokeswoman said.

Growth in demand for commercial shipping within Asia has been growing at 7 pct to 8 pct a year, Nippon Express and Kintetsu said in a joint press release.

The Nikkei reported that the two firms and Japan Airlines Corp. are expected to form a tie-up in international package shipments from Japan to other parts of Asia.

But the Kintetsu World spokeswoman denied the report, saying that the two transport firms haven’t decided which airline they may want to use for their potential new service. JAL wasn’t immediately available to comment on whether the airline is involved in talks with the two transport firms.

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Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), Senate postal subcommittee discuss service

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) chairman Dan G. Blair stressed the need for service standards and performance measures that are transparent and accountable when he appeared in front of the Senate postal subcommittee August 2.

Blair talked about the steps PRC is taking to implement modern service standards as required by Title III of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

The PRC filed two advanced orders on its site regarding its modern service standards and the process to implement it, according to Nanci Langley, d irector of public affairs and government relations at the PRC.

In a joint statement to the PRC, the Alliance of Non-Profit Mailers and the Magazine Publishers of America said: “When the Postal Service makes structural changes to a rate design and thus has no billing determinant data that matches the altered rate design, the volume weights used for the new, altered rate structure should be based on a mail characteristics study for the same time period as the billing determinant data used to calculate average revenue per piece under the existing rates.”

The two organizations advocate pricing flexibility for competitive products.

The act requires the Postal Service to consult with the PRC on development of regulations establishing service standards due by December, as well as report to Congress on their implementation, due by June 2008.

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Freightways achieves record results

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

New Zealand express and freight transport group Freightways said it achieved record revenues and earnings for the year ending June 30, 2007, despite a challenging marketplace.

The company reported that consolidated operating revenue for the year rose to NZ$283 million (EUR 156 million), up 10% on the prior corresponding period, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of NZ$62.9 million (EUR 34.67 million), 8% ahead of the previous year.

Cash generated from operations for the year before interest and tax also reached a record NZ$62.3 million (EUR 34.34 million), while consolidated net profit after tax and before amortisation (NPATA) of NZ$30.9 million (EUR 17.03 million), was 6% higher than the prior corresponding period.

Managing Director Dean Bracewell said: “It was an eventful 12 months for Freightways in which it has performed soundly in New Zealand, established a firm presence in Australia and delivered another record result.”

The core express package brands of New Zealand Couriers, Post Haste Couriers, Castle Parcels, SUB60, Security Express and Kiwi Express again contributed the majority of the group’s revenue and earnings. The internal linehaul providers, Fieldair Holdings and Parceline Express continued to provide a seamless and efficient air and road linehaul service, respectively, the company noted.

The express businesses continued to invest in areas that further enhance their competitive advantages and where additional capacity will be required to accommodate future growth, Freightways said. This included the relocation of all Freightways businesses operating in Hamilton into a purpose-built facility to service the growing Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.

DX Mail, a nationwide business mail competitor to NZ Post, continued its growth, accelerated by the acquisition of the franchisor rights of the Pete’s Post mail delivery business in December 2006.

Looking forward, Bracewell said that Freightways’ performance in the short term “will continue to be influenced by the challenging New Zealand marketplace. Medium to longer term and subject to factors beyond our control, Freightways is exceptionally well positioned in all aspects of its business to continue to achieve positive outcomes for shareholders and other stakeholders.”

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Postwatch: Postal strike hurting customers – resolution needed urgently

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced further strikes, to take place in the period to 17th August. Postal customers – and the postal industry – have suffered from industrial action since 29th June.

Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services, urges Royal Mail and the CWU to resolve the dispute and avert further disruption.

Post boxes and, for the most part, post offices are still open, but post is nonetheless being delayed. The longer industrial action continues, the worse problems will become. Customers who cannot use alternatives to mail are being inconvenienced.

Some businesses are moving to using other forms of communication, and more will do likewise if strikes persist. Mail volumes are already decreasing year-on-year: strikes will only worsen problems for the UK postal service.

Postwatch advises customers to be aware of the strikes, consider what postal disruption will mean to them, and then act to minimize inconvenience. That might mean using other communication methods.

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FedEx Kinko’s escalates expansion efforts

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

FedEx Kinko’s, an operating company of FedEx Corp today officially announced an aggressive expansion plan to open 300 new office and print centers in the United States throughout fiscal 2008. The company also will redesign 110 existing centers and introduce 20 new locations internationally. These changes are part of the company’s overall plan to provide small businesses and traveling professionals with even greater access to the company’s office and print services and the FedEx transportation network.

FedEx Kinko’s has more than 1,700 locations in operation today, and this latest push for growth comes on the heels of the successful execution of its expansion plan in fiscal 2007. Last August, the company introduced a smaller store format and announced plans to open 200 centers nationwide with the new design. These centers have an average footprint of 1,800 square feet and carry more than 700 different office products. In addition, they offer the same services as a traditional center and have generated positive customer feedback since the launch. Based on the strong results, the 300 domestic locations scheduled to open in fiscal 2008 will feature the small-format design as well.

FedEx Kinko’s also plans to embark on its most aggressive international expansion effort to date by opening 20 new centers outside the United States during fiscal 2008. These new centers will be focused in the Asia-Pacific region with 12 in China, four in Japan, two in Korea, and one in Australia. In addition, one new center will be opened in Canada. Currently, the company has 159 locations outside the United States.

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Post offices accused of second blackmail

Posted by | Aug 5, 2007 | |

Post office bosses were last night accused of a second blackmail after thousands of staff has been offered GBP 1,000 bonuses to keep quiet about branch mergers.

It comes just days after the Daily Mail revealed that Post Office bosses considered spying on sub-postmasters to ensure they were cooperating with their closure programme.

Thousands of post-office staff have been offered GBP 1,000 bonuses to keep quiet about branch mergers

Alan Cook, the Post Office’s managing director, has sent a letter to all staff who work for ‘crown’ – or main – post offices threatening to withdraw the bonus if they oppose the mergers.

Mr Cook’s letter is set to provoke fury among staff as it comes amid reports that he is in line for a GBP 1 million bonus.

The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) has warned that workers who switch over to WH Smith are facing pay cuts – as the company pays just over the minimum wage of GBP 5.35-an-hour – and reduced pension provisions.

Many employees were told in July whether theirs was one of the 2,500 branches to close – but were warned not to update customers for another three months.

From January next year, Royal Mail is to start closing 2,500 of the country’s 14,300 post offices in a move which it says is essential to ensure the long-term prospects of government-owned company.

The Royal Mail first announced the WH Smith plans last year.

Under the proposals, around 85 crown post offices will be replaced with a post office counter at their nearest branch of the retailer.

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