Year: 2005

House passes bill to update US postal service

Posted by | Jul 27, 2005 | |

A bill designed to make the Postal Service more competitive – and which might help head off the rate increase planned for next year – was passed overwhelmingly by the House Tuesday night. The measure was approved by a vote of 410-20. It will bring the post office into the 21st century, helping it avoid a “death spiral” of rising rates and declining business, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said. The first major overhaul of postal operations in more than three decades keeps the requirement for the agency to provide service six days a week to every address, but gives the post office more flexibility in some operations and in rate setting. If passed by the Senate and signed by President Bush, the measure would relieve the agency from a requirement that it put USD3.1 billion in Civil Service retirement savings annually in escrow.

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UPS forging stronger links in the UK

Posted by | Jul 26, 2005 | |

Express giant UPS has signed an agreement to acquire UK parcel carrier Lynx Express. This move should not only help strengthen the US company’s capabilities in one of the most dynamic and fragmented parcel markets in Europe, but could signal a move towards further consolidation within the UK market.

UPS disclosed that it would acquire Lynx Express for USD96.5 million and expects to complete the transaction in the second half of 2005. UPS CEO Mike Eskew implied in an interview that the Lynx Express brand may be folded into UPS. This would not be surprising as UPS’s business model is based on rolling out a standard proposition in every country it has a presence in, albeit with some regional differences, giving its operations a strong and globally recognized brand.

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Poste Italiane offers recommended letters internet service

Posted by | Jul 26, 2005 | |

Italy’s state-owned postal services company Poste Italiane launched a new service, which allows consumers to send recommended letters via personal computers and Internet, it was reported on July 26, 2005. According to Poste Italiane, the consumers have to download a software, which will allow them to send the recommended letter at the same price as in the post office. The sending of the letter via Internet will cost 3.50 euro (USD4.21). The software is available for downloading at Poste Italiane’s Internet site, www.poste.it.

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Dutch govt to consider sale of remaining 10 pct TNT stake

Posted by | Jul 26, 2005 | |

Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm has asked parliament if it has any objection to the government eventually selling its remaining 10 pct stake in TNT NV. In a letter on the sale of TNT shares earlier this month, sent to parliament late yesterday, Zalm cited an agreement from 2001 to inform parliament before taking the government’s stake in TNT below 10 pct. The government cut its stake from 19 pct on July 12. While the letter suggests the government may be readying for a further share sale, the remaining holding is subject to a lock-up period until July 2006.

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Asia-Pacific postal services combine to fight couriers

Posted by | Jul 26, 2005 | |

Australia Post is part of an alliance intended to improve competition against international air express companies. The other alliance members are China Post, Hong Kong Post, Korea Post, Japan Post and the US Postal Service. The alliance will provide a low-cost express courier service. It will target small to medium-sized businesses. The new enterprise will offer over 261 million delivery points, with 142,000 retail locations. Its rates for parcels up to 30 kilograms will be between 40 per cent and 50 per cent lower than those of competitors.

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TNT service extended

Posted by | Jul 25, 2005 | |

TNT has extended its Express Import service to 20 additional countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Morocco, Libya, Madagascar, Iraq and Sri Lanka. The service allows customers to arrange collections from a client in another country and pay for the delivery in their own currency. They can also send shipments to a receiver in another country and have them pay for the transaction in the local currency, removing any difficulties arising from exchange rate conversions and fluctuations.

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France’s La Poste wants to double int’l package delivery ops by end-2006

Posted by | Jul 25, 2005 | |

France’s state-owned La Poste mail carrier wants to double the size of its DPD international package delivery business by the end of next year by expanding its network of partners worldwide, Claude Begle, head of the unit, told the Financial Times Deutschland. ‘Our goal is to double the size of our business by the end of 2006,’ Begle told the Financial Times Deutschland. ‘In order to do this we will build up a worldwide package delivery network together with partners on four continents.’ The newspaper also said that the decision to expand DPD outside of Europe represents a radical shift in La Poste’s strategy. Previously, La Poste saw DPD as primarily a European company.

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Japan Post expanding presence in parcel delivery market

Posted by | Jul 25, 2005 | |

Japan Post has been rapidly expanding its presence in the door-to-door parcel delivery business, especially since last October’s revamp of its Yu-Pack service. In fiscal 2004 ended in March, the state-backed postal entity accepted a record 214,688,000 parcels for delivery under the Yu-Pack service, far above the previous record of 184,720,000 set in fiscal 1970. Yamato Transport Co. is credited with the growth of the market for door-to-door parcel delivery services, by creating innovative and consumer-friendly services, including tie-ups with convenience store chains. Japan Post considers it imperative to reinforce its Yu-Pack business, as its mail delivery service continues to contract in the age of the Internet and mobile phone.

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