Deutsche Post World Net AG is planning to integrate its parcel delivery operations in Germany with the mail delivery operations, Die Welt said, citing company sources.
It said the move will be part of a radical restructuring of the company’s ailing parcel delivery operations.
Trade union officials said they are worried the move could affect around 180,000 employees.
Read MoreThe fragmented British courier, express and parcels market looks set for a new wave of consolidation following this week’s GBP 210 million acquisition of independent parcels carrier Target Express by Rentokil Initial, parent holding of leading player City Link. The deal makes City Link into a top competitor to DHL, TNT and UPS in the domestic next-day parcels market.
Growth in Europe’s second-largest express and parcels market has slowed over the last year, especially in the domestic sector. The market is forecast to grow only moderately at about 3% over the next few years. At the same time, the traditionally fierce price-based competition in Britain and higher operating costs, especially fuel costs, have combined to put pressure on profit margins. These factors have hit smaller, domestically-focused companies in particular, and opened up new opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.
There have already been several important transactions in the UK in recent years. UPS improved its domestic market position with the acquisition of Lynx Express last year, while Amtrak Express Parcels broadened its portfolio through the takeover of Nightspeed. DHL had earlier jumped to become market leader with the acquisition of the Securicor Omega Express business, while GeoPost had acquired Parceline and Interlink Express.
Read MoreFrom now on, customers will be able to hand in urgent international courier items at the luggage counters of 14 rail stations in Switzerland as well as at post offices. The documents and goods will be collected by TNT Swiss Post and sent to over 200 countries worldwide via the URGENT courier service.
With this simple and convenient service, URGENT items can be handed in at SBB luggage counters. They will be accepted daily during SBB luggage counter opening hours, also at weekends and on public holidays, enabling customers to benefit from the longer opening hours. SBB staff will fill out the necessary freight documents.
All types and sizes of parcels can be packed free of charge, but pre-packaged parcels will also be accepted. Documents and goods sent to addresses in Europe will usually arrive on the next working day, and parcels can be tracked by clicking “Track & Trace” at www.swisspost.com.
Read MoreRoyal Mail bosses have hailed the hard work of Edinburgh’s postmen and women after they finally ensured the city’s first-class mail was arriving on time.
For years, Edinburgh has had one of the poorest delivery records in Scotland.
Figures released by Postwatch Scotland show households within the EH postcode had seen delivery rates improve dramatically between July and September.
The quarterly results show in Edinburgh the Royal Mail is now delivering 93.6 per cent of all first-class mail by the next day – higher than the 91.5 per cent target set by postal regulator Postcomm.
However, the watchdog warned the results are for the quiet summer months and urged the city’s postmen to keep up the good work over the annual Christmas rush.
John Manson, Royal Mail area manager, added: “The challenge we now face is to maintain the consistent, high-quality service we are delivering to our customers in the run-up to the busy Christmas period. We are determined to meet that challenge.”
Tricia Dow, director of Postwatch Scotland, which monitors the performance of the Royal Mail and other postal providers, said: “It is good news that there has been an improvement in Edinburgh and, at last, the city has started to move up in the rankings.
“We now want to see an increased improvement by the time the next quarterly figures come out and hope that Edinburgh continues to go in the right direction.
Read MoreU.S. and Worldwide Document Outsourcing 2006 – 2010 Forecast
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