AJG Parcels, which specialises in the Scottish Highlands and islands, is now representing Lynx Express in the Argyll and Campbeltown area. The company is subcontracted by “all but one or two” of the national parcel groups, said project manager James Barkley.
Read MoreThe postal services regulator has rebuffed Royal Mail’s attacks on its proposed price controls, dismissing the company’s warning it would be sent into a spiral of decline as “only to be expected”. Sarah Chambers, the chief executive of Postcomm, told a London conference the regulator did not intend to relax its proposals simply because of the Royal Mail’s intense lobbying. Ms Chambers said the watch-dog was prepared to listen to new evidence during the consultation on the proposals, which are due to be finalised in November. But she added that Postcomm’s financial analysis of Royal Mail was based on “evidence we’ve extracted – and it does feel like extraction sometimes – from Royal Mail”.
Read MoreGermany’s opposition Christian Democratic Union, the favourites to win federal elections expected in September, have won the powerful support of one of the most prominent German businessmen for an increase in value added tax to help offset the country’s high labour costs. Klaus Zumwinkel, chief executive of Deutsche Post, Europe’s biggest postal group, called for an increase in VAT from 16 to 20 per cent in order to finance the country’s creaking social security system, which is funded by levies on employees and employers.
Non-wage labour costs are widely regarded as the biggest obstacle to cutting unemployment from a post-war high of almost 5m. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Zumwinkel said that Germany’s cradle-to-grave welfare system, dating from the time of Bismarck in the 19th century, “has to be dramatically changed. . . The only solution is an increase in VAT. It has to go to 20 per cent”.
Royal Mail’s postmen and women have delivered to customers a record performance during April to June with a target-beating 93.4% of First Class letters arriving the day after posting, it was announced today. The performance for the spring quarter is the best in a decade and shows an improvement on the record performance during the January to March period, according to the early results from independent research into the letter service across the UK’s 121 postcode areas. Adam Crozier, Royal Mail’s Chief Executive, said: “Royal Mail is determined to do even better than the record quality of service our postmen and women are delivering. “Independent research is showing our performance running at a world-class level but Royal Mail wants to be demonstrably the very best and most trusted postal service in the world.”
Read MoreMeanwhile, the liberalisation of the swiss parcels market last year has driven competition to the heart of the business ultimately leading to a 2% decrease in parcels volumes for swisspost last year, according to Daniel Baettig chief financial officer.
Read More
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.
