LYNX Express gains new partners
Lynx Express says it has formed “trading partnerships” with more than 30 former franchisees of NCN Express Parcels which called in the administrator on December 23.
Read MoreYear: 2005
FedEx to open five-plus branches in China annually
FedEx will annually open no less than five branches in China over the coming years, aiming to keep a leader position in the booming market.
Eddy Chan, FedEx Regional president for China, said that after entering the World Trade Organization, the gradually improved investment environment and logistics infrastructure in China make the country a highlight in the eyes of global logistics giants. According to the analysis made by the China International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFA), the Chinese express delivery business will increase at over 30percent annually over the upcoming years. President Chan revealed that the company held a very optimistic view on the prospect of the market.
In FedEx’s development plan, the front-runner will keep a speed to establish five or more branches every year in China. At the same time, it will extend reaches from the current 220 cities to 320 cities over a few years.
Read MoreFierce US rivalry undermines UPS profits
Analysts yesterday blamed fierce competition from FedEx and DHL for the surprise profit warning issued by United Parcel Services on Tuesday, sending shares in the world’s largest package delivery company down nearly 8 per cent in afternoon trading.
UPS has been losing domestic market share to FedEx for the past few years and now faces fresh competition from DHL, a unit of Deutsche Post, which is expanding aggressively in the US.
The company is also struggling to keep pace with its rivals in the international market, particularly in fast-growing Asia where it trails both FedEx and DHL.
Read MoreÖsterreichische Post AG presents concept for postal service coverage in all of Austria
As announced already before Christmas, Österreichische Post AG today presented a comprehensive concept on how it plans to meet its obligation to provide universal service, with a special focus on what the network of postal service outlets will look like.
In this context, Österreichische Post AG pointed out that the obligation to provide universal service goes far beyond the issue of how many post offices there should be in Austria, being concerned with ensuring daily postal service delivery all over Austria on a continuous and permanent basis.
CTT/Portuguese Post-Office selects edocs’ to deliver mail online
edocs, Inc. today announced that its software platform has been selected by CTT Portugal to launch an electronic mailbox service encompassing electronic statement, billing and payment capabilities to all corporate, consumer and government customers of the Portuguese Post-Office. The new platform is part of a nationwide rollout that will provide customers with solutions for accessing all documents via a secure Universal Electronic Post Office Box (UEPOB), and will specifically provide the ability to view mail and pay invoices anywhere, anytime.
Read MorePoste Italiane hikes Special Delivery prices by 9.0 Pct
Italian state-owned postal services company Poste Italiane has raised the prices of the special deliveries by 9. 0 pct, it was reported on January 13, 2004. The rise was due to the higher costs of the company and the improved quality of the services. The price of the special delivery of a letter in one day increased to 8.5 euro (USD11.3) from 8.0 euro (USD10.6). The special delivery of a parcel in one day went up to 13 euro (USD17.2) from 12 euro (USD15.9), while the price of a parcel consigned in three days rose to 8.0 euro from 7.0 euro (USD9.3). Recently Poste Italiane has raised the prices of the ordinary parcels to 7.0 euro from 5.16 euro (USD6.8).
Read MoreTPG says ‘preliminary’ talks continuing with Japan Post over possible alliance
Japan’s state postal service and Dutch post and logistics group TPG are holding preliminary talks about a possible future alliance, a spokeswoman for TPG Post said.
Earlier yesterday media in Japan reported that TPG executives have been holding talks with Japan Post since Tuesday on details of the alliance, expected to focus on international express services.
In the Netherlands TPG Post spokeswoman Daphne Andriessen would only confirm that the two parties had agreed last year to hold preliminary talks on the possibility of a future alliance.
‘We are holding exploratory talks and these talks are currently continuing,’ she told Agence France-Presse.
No official was immediately available at Japan Post to confirm the reports.
Read MoreDutch TPG not in talks with Austrian Post
Dutch TPG NV is not in talks yet with Austrian Post AG about a possible takeover of a stake in the company, TPG spokesman Tanno Massar said on January 13, 2005. The Austrian State Holding (ÖIAG) said, it planned to list a part of Austrian Post on the stock exchange in 2006. TPG has earlier said, it was interested in a majority stake in European sector companies, including Austrian Post AG. TPG targets a majority stake, however if this is impossible, it does not mean that the company is no more interested, Massar said.
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