Year: 2007

Sagawa Express Begins Using Bio-fuels for Pickup/Delivery Trucks

Posted by | Jul 23, 2007 | |

Sagawa Express Co, Ltd., a member of the SG Holdings Group, conducts trial use of “bio-natural gas” in natural gas vehicles, while also commencing use of “biogasoline” in cargo minivans (gasoline-fueled), with the aim of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its pickup/delivery trucks.

The Kobe municipal government, together with a private company, co-developed a device to purify digestion gas from sewage treatment, using a high-pressure water absorption method, and to use resulting “bio-natural gas” with a methane level of over 98 pct. The municipal government has been conducting demonstration experiments since 2006, with such public vehicles as city buses and garbage trucks.

In May 2003, Sagawa Express became the first Japanese company– and the world’s only logistics company– to join the Climate Savers Programme, a global warming prevention program run by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Under this program, the company aims at reducing total CO2 emissions from our business activities at a rate of 6 pct by year 2012, in comparison with the base year of 2002.

As a means of achieving this goal, the company has established a plan to introduce a cumulative total of 7,000 natural gas vehicles by the year 2012; so far we have introduced 3,394 natural gas vehicles– the most such vehicles owned by one Japanese company– and have installed a total of 7 in-house natural gas stations.

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Correos invests EUR 16 million in ITC plan

Posted by | Jul 23, 2007 | |

Correos will invest EUR 15 million to modernize its informatics assets. This investment is part of the ITC strategic plan in order to improve the quality and efficiency of postal services and to incorporate more add-value services.
Correos will also acquire 5,000 optical lectors, which improve the quality of tracking services.
Correos investment committee also approved € 1, 3 million for the purchase of 14 machines to facilitate the documents digitization process. The new equipments will be distributed into around 50 regional centers.

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Service and efficiency in postal service

Posted by | Jul 23, 2007 | |

Recently, members of the letter carriers’ union, with strong vocal support from local and national politicians, beat back an effort by the U.S. Postal Service to further privatize some mail routes in North Jersey. In the carriers’ eyes, at least, it was a way of preserving, at least for now, the integrity of the post.

The carriers’ triumph came about at the same time that Postal Service officials agreed to a tentative moratorium on the use of outside contractors to deliver mail. It also coincided with the announcement that the Postal Service had reached a tentative five-year contract agreement with the union.

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, who rallied with hundreds of unionized carriers in the Silk City earlier this month, hailed the pullback on contract workers as a victory, proclaiming that “postal delivery routes will remain exactly where they belong — in the reliable and secure hands of unionized letter carriers.”

Specifically, the cancellation of the contract routes means that delivery service to the Four Seasons at Great Notch in Little Falls and West Paterson, and to the Bel Air Development in West Orange, will be maintained by union carriers.

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Kuehne + Nagel International AG: Half year result

Posted by | Jul 23, 2007 | |

Kuehne + Nagel’s recent growth has moderated only slightly over the past six months, as seen through its half-yearly figures for the period Jan- July 2007 published last 29th July.

The headline profit figure, EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Depreciation and Amortisation) which is the favored measure of the new logistics orientated K+N, grew by 12.6 pct compared to the first half of 2006, to CHF 467.9million on a turnover of CHF 9,968.3million, up 14.7pct . Net earnings grew by 27 pct. These figures are slightly below last year’s very high growth rates and suggest some tightening in margins.

K+N’s key sea freight business continues to grow strongly. Although a 15 pct increase in container volumes and a 13.6 pct increase in turnover reflect the buoyancy of the overall market, it claims it is still gaining market share. K+N admitted that margins were tightening yet still managed to return an operating profit growth of 15 pct .

Airfreight grew at an impressive 16 pct in terms of tonnage and 7.1 pct in turnover. Operational profit grew by 25pct and EBITDA margin was over 5pct .

Road and rail transport grew at 17.5 pct , but margins were much tighter with investment driving down EBITDA to CHF21.7million. However contract logistics jumped by 15.1 pct in terms of operational profits to CHF115million.

K+N indicated that it wants to grow its rail freight network business through acquisition in an attempt to improve its economy of scale. Six months ago it similarly indicated that it aimed to expand its road -freight network through acquisition; however it has yet to make a major purchase.

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DHL appoints Nour Suliman as new General Country Manager for SNAS/DHL in Saudi Arabia

Posted by | Jul 23, 2007 | |

As part of DHL’s continuous plan of expanding and growing business in Saudi Arabia, DHL announced the appointment of Mr. Nour Suliman as the new General Country Manager in the Kingdom.

Considering the ever-growing demand on the logistics services and the huge potential of the transportation and logistics market in the Kingdom, Mr. Suliman will take the responsibility of driving the efforts towards developing the service portfolio offered by DHL in Saudi Arabia.

DHL’s expansion strategy, Suliman added, puts the Saudi market on its top priorities due to its volume and growth.

DHL has scored remarkable growth in its shipment and logistical business estimated at 22.30 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year. This growth positions DHL as one of the most growing companies in the Saudi logistics market.

After joining the customer service department at DHL in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1978, Suliman occupied several senior management positions in different DHL locations including Egypt, KSA, UAE and Kingdom of Bahrain. With over 29-year experience, Suliman is one of the industry veterans across the region.

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Vietnam: Foreign investors sniff postal sector opportunity

Posted by | Jul 23, 2007 | |

Foreign companies are lining up as Viet Nam opens its post and telecommunications industry, which is expected to be one of the most lucrative sectors in the country.

Last June, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung issued a new directive easing the way for more foreign investment.

The Ministry of Post and Telematics is required to come up with a plan to open up the domestic post and telecommunications market for foreign companies in line with Viet Nam’s World Trade Organisation commitments.

In the postal service field, foreign companies will be allowed to enter into a joint venture with a Vietnamese post partner and their capital contributions to these projects must be less than 51 per cent.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Lai said that the telecommunications ministry is drafting a decree with specific regulations for foreign investors.

The new decree includes measures aimed at removing impediments to investment activities in the posts and telecommunications field. The draft may be submitted to the government by year’s end.

Pham Hong Hai, director of the Telecommunications Department, predicted that foreign investors will be most interested in partnerships involving mobile services and renting of network infrastructures.

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Postcomm proposes to reject Royal Mail's zonal pricing application

Posted by | Jul 23, 2007 | |

Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services, has announced that it is proposing to reject Royal Mail’s application to charge large mailers – using products which are not part of the universal service – different prices depending on where in the UK their mail is delivered (Royal Mail calls this zonal pricing).
Postcomm will issue a consultation document in August that will set out in detail why it is proposing to reject Royal Mail’s application. However, in the interests of reducing market uncertainty, the regulator is making this announcement today.
Royal Mail’s ‘zonal pricing’ application did not include services paid for by stamps or those bulk mail products that are included within the definition of the universal service which must, under the Postal Services Act, remain priced at a uniform rate regardless of delivery zone across the country. It is open to Royal Mail to submit a new application if it can be framed to meet the regulatory tests in Royal Mail’s licence and Postcomm’s statutory duties.
Royal Mail wanted to introduce this new pricing structure to these business mail products:
Mailsort 120 – first, second and third class, OCR and CBC;
Mailsort 700 – first, second and third class
Mailsort 1400 – third class;
Presstream – first and second class; and
Walksort – first and second class.

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