Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

Toll Returns Rail to New Zealand Crown

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

Toll Holdings announced the sale of its New Zealand rail and ferry operations to the New Zealand Crown.

Toll Managing Director, Mr Paul Little said, “The disposal of the rail and ferry operations to the New Zealand Government, will give rail in New Zealand the opportunity to move forward in an environment with greater clarity and ability to better plan its development. We are very proud of our achievements in managing the rail assets and believe that the Crown is acquiring a well run business with a highly motivated workforce”.

“I am also pleased that the Crown has acknowledged the role that Toll has played in
improving the efficiency of rail freight movements within New Zealand.

“The sale will result in Toll retaining Toll Tranzlink, the company’s rail and road forwarding business, together with warehousing and contract logistics operations. We support the Government’s objective of boosting capital spending on rail and our New Zealand freight businesses will continue to be major users of rail capacity.

“While we had not been looking to sell the rail operating business back to the Government, the sale has enabled us to re-focus our efforts on accelerating growth in our road and rail forwarding and logistics businesses, and this will include acquisition based growth.

“New Zealand remains a vital and attractive market for Toll both from a domestic and cross border viewpoint” said Mr Little.

The sale involves payment of NZD 665 million for equity plus a six year rent free period on existing premises with Toll retaining the Tranzlink business. It is expected that settlement will occur by 30 June 2008 with a management transition period. The estimated book value of assets disposed of is NZD 430 million.

1 NZD = 0.756255 USD

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TNT targets strong growth in SE Asia

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

TNT Express is targeting strong growth in South-East Asia following the recent launch of its new Europe-Singapore-China freighter service and the announcement of a EUR 100 million five-year investment in its network and infrastructure in the region.

The operator is likely to invest about half of the figure in its air operations through Singapore while a large amount of the rest will go on a new handling facility with airside access at Changi airport, which will become its main hub in the region, the International Freighting Weekly reported.

In Singapore, TNT Express said it has seen an eightfold increase in its healthcare business in the past four years, including 68% growth last year, making it the fastest growth sector for the express operator. TNT last year opened a 65,000 sq ft regional distribution centre for its life sciences business in Singapore.

In Malaysia, country manager Gerry Power welcomed the new Singapore-China freighter service, saying TNT could now offer Malaysian exporters a choice of air- and road-based solutions. “Given Malaysia’s strong export volumes to China and the rest of the region, the expansion of our network coverage and connectivity is timely,” he commented.

TNT has been growing at 30% in Malaysia over the last two years, outpacing the local market growth of 10-12%, thanks to an image change, new services and improved infrastructure, Power told the Business Times in an interview. “We have had a bit of a perception problem in Malaysia,” he said. “Many of our customers believe that we just do documentation and package deliveries when we actually offer much more than that.”

TNT Southeast Asia regional managing director Onno Boots added that this problem is not unique to Malaysia, but something which TNT is facing in Asia. “Here (Asia) we are known as a courier company, when we are so much more than a courier company,” he said.

In Indonesia, TNT hopes for annual volume growth of up to 50% compared to previous growth rates of 15-20% now that it can offer freighter capacity out of Singapore, Andry Adiwwinarso, sales and marketing manager Indonesia, told the Jakarta Post. The company uses capacity on planes leased from Malaysian carrier Transmile to fly freight from Indonesia to Singapore.

In Thailand, TNT plans to open a new 3,465 sqm depot in Rangit, north of Bangkok, this month to act as a regional hub for the Greater Mekong region, the Bangkok Post reported. The depot will link with 26 branches across Thailand and with the operator’s Asian Road Network to neighbouring countries.

To the north-east, TNT Vietnam is showing strong growth rates, the Vietnam News reported, citing TNT country manager Mark van den Assem. The operator’s traffic with China was up by 90%, with Singapore by 35% and with Europe by 30% in the first quarter of this year, it wrote.

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Battle of the Brands: UPS vs. FedEx

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

The largest player in the U.S. overnight package delivery business is attempting to increase its market share in the fast-delivery business next month. USPS is barely holding on to its 32 pct market share in the business, as FedEx and UPS continue to push the envelope at 31pct and 25pct market share, respectively. For the first time, shippers using Express Mail, Priority Mail, and several other parcel services will be able to get lower rates for large- and medium-volume contracts, according to the agency. Will UPS and FedEx need to cut their prices further to compete with the USPS?
Large Rate Increases For 2008
This year, FedEx and UPS announced that rates for ground packages would increase an average of 4.9pct on the ground and 6.9pct in the air (minus a 2pct cut in fuel surcharges, creating a 4.9pct increase in the air as well). So what does this mean for you? The key term we need to acknowledge is averages. Rates for certain packages will increase more than 4.9pct, while other shipments will increase less than 4.9pct , all depending on the characteristics of the package, the distance traveling as well as the service you use (ground or air).
Fuel Surcharges
If you’ve studied the fine print of the pricing that both FedEx and UPS use, the key is in the fuel surcharges. Don’t let the 2pct cut in air fuel surcharges trick you into thinking you’re saving, because you’re not. In a nutshell, carriers tack on a 0.5pct surcharge for every four cents of an increase in jet fuel prices — starting at the base price of $1.14 a gallon. With jet fuel prices up nearly 70pct since April of last year, you’re going to be paying more to for air delivery regardless of which company you use. For every eight cent increase in standard fuel prices, there is a 0.25pct jump in the fuel surcharge — starting at the base price of USD 1.50 a gallon. The price of gas has jumped nearly 50 cents over the past year, so going ground will also hurt your wallet.
The data clearly shows a significant increase from last year’s rates. But what really grinds my gears is that both FedEx and UPS have exactly the same rates for four out of six delivery services. So where can you find a cheaper overnight service?
A Possible Alternative
The fourth-largest overnight service is DHL, owned by Deutsche Post World Net AG, and holds a 9pct market share in the United States. In the same 2008 study, DHL’s prices to Huntington Beach were slightly cheaper than UPS and FedEx. Earlier this year, however, there were reports that DHL might leave the US shipping market due to considerable losses since 2004. One industry expert believes the U.S. shipping industry needs DHL to stay; fearing competitor prices would rise with DHL out of the picture.
The Bottom Line
With pricing so similar, choosing a delivery service really depends on who you can trust getting your product where it needs to be on time.

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DHL wins exclusive U.S. and international express shipping contract with Lord and Taylor

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

DHL announced that it has been chosen as the exclusive U.S. and international express shipping provider for Lord and Taylor, one of the nation’s leading department stores. Lord and Taylor chose DHL in order to improve distribution for its retail store network throughout the U.S., enhance merchandising capabilities for its new Internet presence, and support its on-going brand campaign that spotlights the company’s reputation for quality, customer care and style.

DHL will handle all U.S. and international package shipments for Lord and Taylor, including shipments to and from Lord and Taylor’s distribution center in Pennsylvania and 47 retail stores in nine states throughout the U.S. Through the new agreement, Lord and Taylor can also offer store customers the added convenience of delivery of in-store items purchased at any Lord and Taylor store. DHL will deliver these items upon request by customers to a business or residence.

Last fall, Lord and Taylor launched its new Internet storefront as part of an ongoing brand campaign, featuring the company’s high-quality merchandise, apparel and accessories. DHL integrated its shipping systems with Lord and Taylor’s consumer ordering processes, providing a seamless order management system for Internet orders. With the DHL shipping systems, consumer purchases at lordandtaylor.com automatically generate inventory order requests to a nearby Lord and Taylor retail store, fulfillment house or its distribution center. DHL provides pickup service from any one of these sites, with consumer orders delivered by as early as the next morning, depending on the service requested.

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Deutsche Post World Net: Preview of the first quarter 2008

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

Business in the first quarter of 2008 was very satisfactory with underlying profits making progress year on year and being in line with our targets and guidance. There were two fewer working days in the first quarter, which will reverse in the second quarter. Last year’s first-quarter LOGISTICS result included a 59 million-euro profit from the disposal of Vfw.

Volume growth and general trends, particularly in the LOGISTICS and EXPRESS Business Divisions, continued to be similar to the latter part of 2007. New order intake from major accounts (Global Customer Solutions) and from LOGISTICS generally was encouraging.

In its customer business Deutsche Postbank recorded, adjusted for the impact from capital market turbulence, a good operating result in line with plan.

The company continues to make progress in refining our plan to improve performance substantially in the U.S. EXPRESS business. The company said it will make a further announcement on the initiative, as guided, by the end of May.

Detailed first-quarter results will be published, as planned, on May 14, 2008. A conference call for investors will be held at 2 p.m. (CEST) that day.

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