Year: 2007

Asociación Española de Empresas de Mensajería partnering with UKIP Media & Events

Posted by | Jun 29, 2007 | |

The spanish association of couriers companies (“Asociación Española de Empresas de Mensajería – AEM” ) signed an agreement with the British company UKIP Media & Events for the organization of the Courier and Parcel Logistics Expo 2007. The international fair, in its second edition, will be healed in Barcelona during the 2, 3 and 4 October of this year.

The event will be in parallel to the 11 edition of Post Expo, which includes an exhibition zone for the operators and suppliers of the delivery mail and courier sector and auditorium, where experts of the sector will present different conferences regarding the evolution and trends of the delivery mail and courier sector.

The decision of organizing the Courier and Parcel Logistics Expo 2007 in Spain represents an opportunity for the delivery mail and courier sector and also the recognition of the AEM work in its 24 years of history.

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USPS launches historic infomercial

Posted by | Jun 28, 2007 | |

The U.S. Postal Service used a bit of history to make history when it debuted its first infomercial on June 16.

The thundering hooves of the Pony Express led viewers through a series of modern-day business success stories in a 28-minute video that will run throughout the summer on 20 different channels, including CNBC, ABC Family and The Discovery Channel.

“The main focus on the infomercial is to talk to our customers and show them how we’ve made our products and services easier to use,” said Lisa Bobb-Semple, program manager at USPS. “It highlights a number of customers from a variety of backgrounds who have used our products and services with success.” Each story highlights a service available at www.usps.com that has made shopping and shipping easier. Interspersed with each story is a bit of USPS history showing how the Postal Service has been on the cutting edge of information transportation ‹ from the early days of the stagecoach to having the largest fleet of alternative fuel vehicles in the world today.

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The Envelope Manufacturers Association launches “Please Recycle” campaign

Posted by | Jun 28, 2007 | |

The Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA) has recently launched a major initiative to encourage the recycling of envelopes, cartons and packaging. Beginning this summer, EMA member companies will be adding “Please Recycle” logos to their envelopes, packages and cartons.

The “Please Recycle” campaign is sponsored by the Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA) in conjunction with the Direct Marketing Association and the Magazine Publishers Association.

Some facts about advertising mail and paper recycling:
• The average US household gets 18.5 pieces of advertising mail per week, a figure that has held steady during the past five years. (US Postal Service, 2005 Household Diary Study)
• Consumers do read their mail. According to the US Postal Service, 85 percent of US households usually read some or all of the advertising mail they receive. (US Postal Service, 2005 Household Diary Study)
• Direct mail accounts for only 2.2 percent (in weight) of the total municipal solid waste generated in the US annually, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. That figure is likely to decline as greater strides are made in paper recovery and recycling.
• In 2006, a record 53.4 percent of the paper consumed in the US (53.5 million tons) was recovered for recycling. Paper recovery now averages nearly 360 pounds for each man, woman, and child in the US. (American Forest & Paper Association).

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Axel Springer buys PIN stake for 510 mln eur

Posted by | Jun 28, 2007 | |

Axel Springer AG said it agreed to buy a stake in PIN Group AG from WAZ Media Group, Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and Rosalia AG for 510 mln eur.

The transaction will raise its holding in the mail service provider to 71.6 pct from 23.5 pct currently.

The deal is pending approval by the German Federal Cartel Office.

The sellers as well as Madsack Publishing Group will remain shareholders and cooperation partners of PIN Group, Axel Springer said.

The company plans to integrate other regional postal service providers into PIN Group until September, which will add more shareholders, thereby reducing Axel Springer’s stake in PIN Group to 63.7 pct.

According to a separate statement by PIN Group, one of the regional firms to be integrated is West Mail Hokding GmbH.

‘In only one and a half years, PIN Group has managed to become the leading service provider in the national letter develivery market after Deutsche Post,’ said PIN Group CEO Guenter Thiel in the statement.

‘After building up the company in Germany, the focus is now on profitable organic growth and further expansion.’

PIN Group was founded in 2005 by Axel Springer, WAZ Media, Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing and Luxembourg-based Rosalia by bundling their respective mail service operations.

The company handles about 2.3 mln mailings a day and expects to more than double its annual sales this year, to 350 mln eur.

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Italy govt plans to privatize post office in next few years

Posted by | Jun 28, 2007 | |

The Italian government plans to sell stakes in the Poste Italiane-run post office, and in publishing house Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato SpA in the next few years, the Radiocor wire agency reported, citing a draft copy of the government’s 2008-2011 economic and financial planning program (DPEF).

The DPEF, which sets the country’s medium-term objectives and the broad ways to achieve them, is due to be approved later today.

Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato is a publishing house for Italy’s official journal and other government publications as well as the country’s mint.

In the next few months, the sale on the stock exchange of a stake in Fincantieri is also expected, with 51 pct of the ship-yard staying in the hands of the state, Radiocor reported, citing the document.

The DPEF also includes plans to privatize state-ferry company Tirrenia.

The document also defines as strategic stakes in companies in the energy and defence sector.

The State still has stakes in Eni SpA and Enel SpA in the energy sector and in Finmeccanica SpA in the defence sector.

The document also confirms the State’s plan to continue to sell real estate.

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ABX Air Inc. Receives Unsolicited Indication of Interest from ASTAR Air Cargo Holdings

Posted by | Jun 28, 2007 | |

ABX Air, Inc. today acknowledged the receipt of an unsolicited indication of interest from ASTAR Air Cargo Holdings, LLC to acquire all of the outstanding shares of ABX Air for $7.75 per share in cash. No formal offer has yet been made.
The ABX Air Board of Directors, consistent with its fiduciary duties and commitment to enhancing value for shareholders, will evaluate this indication of interest as well as any formal offer actually made. The Company will respond in due course and neither the Board nor ABX Air management will make any other comment on the indication of interest until then.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. is acting as financial advisor to the Company. O’Melveny & Myers is serving as legal counsel.
ABX Air is a cargo airline that operates out of Wilmington, Ohio, and 17 hubs throughout the United States. In addition to providing airlift capacity and sort facility staffing to DHL, ABX Air provides charter, maintenance and package handling services to a diverse group of customers. ABX is the largest employer in a several-county area in southwestern Ohio.

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UPS receives additional tax breaks for Worldport expansion

Posted by | Jun 28, 2007 | |

United Parcel Service Inc. again has received tax breaks from Kentucky to help offset some of the costs of the USD 1 billion expansion project under way at its Worldport air cargo hub at Louisville International Airport.

UPS was approved by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority for USD 2.5 million in state sales tax refunds during its June 28 meeting in Frankfort. The refunds are related to construction materials purchased as part of the Worldport expansion project.

At yesterday’s KEDFA meeting, the package-delivery giant submitted the second of what will be three applications for such tax credits, according to Mike Mangeot, public relations manager for UPS in Louisville.

The company was approved for USD 15 million in sales tax refunds a year ago. The third application is planned for next year.

UPS announced its Worldport expansion plans in May 2006. UPS received preliminary approval for USD 31.6 million in tax incentives for up to 10 years when the project was announced. Those incentives were based on job creation. The expansion of Worldport is expected to create 1,284 full-time jobs and 3,787 permanent part-time positions.

UPS already is one of the largest employers in Kentucky, with more than 20,000 workers.

The project began last summer and is on schedule, Mangeot said. The first phase is expected to be finished in 2009 and the entire project in 2010.

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UPS selling Sinotrans stake for HKD 462.5m

Posted by | Jun 28, 2007 | |

United Parcel Service has offered to sell its entire stake in Sinotrans for as much as HKD 462.48 million, further cutting its ties with the mainland courier service provider after buying out their express delivery joint venture in 2005.

UPS was selling 124.65 million Sinotrans shares at between HKD 3.56 and HKD 3.71 each, a 2 per cent to 6 per cent discount to the stock’s closing price of HKD 3.79 yesterday, according to a term sheet sent to fund managers.

The shares represent 7 per cent of the Beijing company’s issued H shares or 2.9 per cent of its total issued share capital. Citigroup was the sale arranger.

UPS, one of the world’s leading package delivery companies, bought the stake when Sinotrans went public in February 2003.

The two companies parted ways in 2005 when UPS paid USD 100 million to buy Sinotrans’ 50 per cent stake in their venture after Beijing opened the market to foreign firms under its World Trade Organisation accession commitments.

Sinotrans also has a venture with Deutsche Post, the parent company of DHL, which raised its stake in the mainland firm to 13.3 per cent from 11.3 per cent in December 2005.

The company formed an express airline joint venture this year with Korean Air Lines, the world’s largest international air cargo carrier, to tap the mainland’s growing exports.

Sinotrans, the listed flagship of state-owned China National Foreign Trade Transportation (Group), saw its net profit drop 28 per cent to 618.8 million yuan last year due to declining freight rates.

Shares of Sinotrans fell 3.81 per cent yesterday, closing at HKD 3.79. The stock had surged 22 per cent over the past three months on speculation its parent would inject more assets into the firm and eventually list the entire group.

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