Tag: Europe

US postage rates going up again

Posted by | Nov 17, 2005 | |

Yesterday the Postal Service announced that it would raise rates by 5.4% on January 8th, 2006. The cost to mail a letter will increase by 2 cents to 39 cents. In their announcement, postal officials blamed Congress and the 2003 CSRS pension law for the rate hike, stating, “This rate increase – the first since 2002 – is needed to fulfill the requirement of a federal law passed in 2003. That law requires the Postal Service to establish a USD3.1 billion escrow account, with use of the funds to be determined by Congress at a later date. Without this federal mandate, it would not have been necessary to raise rates in 2006.”

Read More

UK regulator set to reject Royal Mail plea over efficiency

Posted by | Nov 17, 2005 | |

The postal regulator is expected to reject Royal Mail’s plea for an easier regime on efficiency improvements when a final plan for price controls is produced this month. Nigel Stapleton, chairman of Postcomm, said that some of Royal Mail’s claims were “almost impossible to believe”. He criticised its initial business plan, submitted as part of the regulatory review of prices, as lacking coherence. In an interview with The Times, Mr Stapleton said that, although Postcomm might accept changes to its initial plans for stamp prices, it was unlikely to give ground on its demands for efficiency gains of 3 per cent. Royal Mail has said that it can manage only 1.5 per cent. Mr Stapleton said: “They achieved savings of 1 per cent in the 1990s with very little investment in the business and what was perceived as being poor management. Now they are intending greater investment and have what is regarded as a good management…It is almost impossible to believe their numbers.”

Read More

Letter volumes fall but UK Royal Mail Group’s overall profit rises 20% with boost from European parcels business

Posted by | Nov 17, 2005 | |

Royal Mail Group today announced a 20.5% increase in operating profit to GBP159 million for the first half of 2005-06 but warned that profits in its letters business had fallen as growth in addressed mail volumes went into reverse.
Allan Leighton, Royal Mail Group’s Chairman, said the downturn in letters profits and volumes meant the biggest part of the Company was no longer contributing to the Group’s overall growth in profitability. The Group operating profit of GBP159 million in the six months to the end of September 2005 was a GBP27 million improvement on the same period a year earlier. But the increase was driven by better financial performance in General Logistics Systems (Royal Mail’s European parcels business), Post Office Limited and Parcelforce Worldwide. Operating profit in the letters business had fallen as addressed mail volumes declined for the first time in a quarter of a century.

Read More

Palletways looks at moving to gas

Posted by | Nov 17, 2005 | |

Palletways this week confirmed it is trialling gas-fuelled forklift trucks. Operations director Kath McCann says: “We are looking into the environmental benefits of using gas-fuelled forklifts and have recently received delivery of a demonstration vehicle. We are hopeful that the results will be positive.” Gas power, which has been adopted by some other large hubs, would do away with a need for lift truck drivers to wear masks to protect themselves from fumes.

Read More

DPD tightens up its management structure

Posted by | Nov 16, 2005 | |

The management of DPD GmbH & Co. KG is to be slimmed down from five members to two
* With immediate effect the two-man Fluri/Schroven management team is to take charge of the franchisor
* Paul-Marie Chavanne to become Chairman of the Supervisory Board

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What's the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest