Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

International Freight Industry to shift from air transport to sea and rail

Posted by | Jul 15, 2008 | |

Australia Post’s Managing Director, Graeme John, foresees cutbacks on flights and a shift towards sea and rail deliveries with regard to the annual meeting of the Kahala Posts Group last week.

John said that growth in international freight from consumer goods such as electronics had been managed on a “just in time” basis, with air delivery preferred to other means of transport due to its speed advantage. But that approach was no longer viable as global warming would have an enormous influence on the postal industry worldwide increasing the pressure to shift towards less environmentally-damaging modes of delivery.

The Kahala Posts Group (KPG) which is the alliance of nine national postal administrations in Australia, the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Spain, France and Britain, was founded five years ago and named after a resort the members stayed at during their founding meeting in Hawaii. The postal operators have since launched an upgraded, guarantee-based international service between their respective countries and territories.

Therefore, Kahala Group focused instead on reliability of delivery. But to keep the reliability of the service, the Kahala members had to upgrade their tracking systems. It also required the creation of a “delivery calculator”, a database of eight billion postcodes that allows a customer to walk into any postal outlet, list their destination and be told a precise time window during which a parcel would be delivered, Brisbane Times further reported.

While the private couriers already offered that service and faster delivery, the Kahala members undercut their prices by 40 pct to 50 pct to stay competitive in price.

John further said that a worsening economic environment could prompt a trend to slower “deferred” delivery services.

The Kahala partnership is also moving beyond postage, with Australia Post, China Post and the US Postal Service preparing to launch a group-owned money transfer service to compete against Western Union, Brisbane Times added.

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TNT Romania ups profits by 45 pct

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

TNT Express again grew strongly in Romania in the first half of 2008, according to a newspaper report.

TNT Romania increased its revenues by 25 pct in the first six months of 2008 and improved its net profit by 45 pct year-on-year in the first half of 2008. No exact figures were available.

In 2007, TNT Romania reported a net profit of EUR 5.6 million and revenues of EUR 33 million targeting an increase by 20 pct on the year in 2008, with international courier services generating 75 pct of the total revenues, TNT Country Manager Bogdan Enache said.

The company reportedly plans to build a new road hub at the international airport in TImisoara, western Romania, this year. It has now 20 offices located in main cities of the country, a fleet of more than 180 vehicles and employs 360 people.

TNT Romania competes with the other leading global players DHL, UPS and FedEx as well as domestic companies such as Cargus, Fan Courier, Cargus, Alo Curier, Concorde and Pegasus.

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New FedEx depot shows faith in region (UK)

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

FedEx has opened a new facility close to Exeter.

The new FedEx depot, at the Greendale Business Park, Woodbury Salterton, has the capacity to sort 500 packages per hour along a 70-metre conveyor system designed to quickly process parcels. And Trevor Hoyle, FedEx UK Managing Director, said: “This depot demonstrates our commitment to playing a central role in the future growth of the South West of England.

“Our investment in Exeter means faster and more flexible services for local businesses and ensures they can continue to benefit from connections with the global economy.”

The 17,000 sq ft facility was also specially adapted to allow vehicles to load from any of the 13 double-shutter doors at the front and side of the building — freeing warehouse space inside.

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Petitions opposing DHL deal (U.S)

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on Monday, July 14, delivered petitions opposing plans by DHL to ally itself with United Parcel Service.

After emerging from DHL’s offices on July 14, Brown said he met briefly with Mike Schmitt, Director of Operations for DHL’s hub in Wilmington, and delivered the petitions to Schmitt after rallying outside the building with workers from DHL, ABX Air and ASTAR Air Cargo.

The senator also laid out steps being taken by the federal government to deal with a proposed plan by Deutsche Post, owner of DHL, to move at least DHL’s air-freight operations to UPS’ hub in Louisville, Ky. If DHL moved these operations, as well as ground transport and overseas packaging operations to Kentucky, it could cost the region 8,200 jobs.

Brown said his staff is working with that of Sen. Herb Kohl to investigate potential antitrust issues related to the deal. Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, chairs the Senate’s antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights subcommittee. Lawmakers cannot hold hearings on the DHL situation until the company reaches a final agreement with UPS, Brown said. Federal officials are looking at DHL’s contracts with the U.S. government, the senator said.

Brown said he also has asked the Bush administration to help speed up a Justice Department review of the deal and also discussed potential uses of the facility by the federal government if DHL does leave.

Also on July 14, a coalition of workers and community leaders delivered the same petition to the state capitol. Mark Barbash, Chief Economic Development officer for the Ohio Department of Development, accepted the petition from members of Save The Jobs, said Keith Dailey, a spokesman for the governor.

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TNT shares jump on report of Fedex talks

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

Shares in TNT NV jumped almost 30 per cent on Monday 14th July after a report that FedEx Corp. is in preliminary talks to acquire it, raising the prospect of a bidding war for the Dutch mail company.

The Financial Times newspaper reported on Saturday that FedEx Corp. wanted to add to its European parcel delivery service and that both United Parcel Service and FedEx have “coveted” TNT’s European parcel business.

TNT and FedEx declined to comment on the report.

“Such a move would make a lot of strategic sense for FedEx, given its predominantly US-business gearing and the weakness in the US Express market,” said ING analyst Axel Funhoff in a note.

“Should FedEx make a formal bid for TNT – there could be a quick counter bid from UPS, who should be equally interested in TNT but which has deeper pockets.”

TNT shares were up 26 per cent at EUR 23.26 by 0946 GMT, making it the main gainer in the DJ Stoxx industrial goods and services index, which was up 2 per cent.

The smallest of the world’s top four express delivery companies has often been seen as a target for its bigger peers and some analysts say this could be the opportunity for them to pounce.

TNT shares had shed about a third of their value since the start of the year due to uncertainty over its German business, slowing economic growth and rising oil prices.

Europe’s second-biggest mail and Logistics Company by market value, which competes with Deutsche Post, is not active in the domestic U.S. market. It has a strong presence in Europe and is expanding in Asia and South America.

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