Tag: Mail Services

Post Office Counts the Cost of Wild Animal Accidents

Posted by | Mar 6, 2008 | |

Post Office Car Insurance is advising UK drivers to take extra care on the UK’s roads as we enter a peak period of wild animal related road accidents.

Every year an estimated one million animals, including deer, foxes, badgers, otters and squirrels, are killed on UK roads, with many more suffering fatal injuries but crawling away from the roadside to die.

It’s not only animal lives which are at stake; it’s estimated that deer accidents alone account for over 500 personal injuries, including over 100 serious or fatal injuries. And costs for repairs to motor vehicles involved in animal collisions are estimated at over GBP 17m.

The Spring season signals the start of a peak period for road accidents involving badgers and Roe Deer – road accidents account for an estimated 100,000 deaths of badgers and deer every year. As we move into Spring, the Post Office is working with The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the Deer Initiative to raise awareness of how to avoid accidents with wild animals, and what to do in the event of a collision.

It’s not just country roads where drivers need to beware of wild animals crossing – each year an estimated 20,000 urban foxes are killed on roads in UK towns and cities.

Birds are also at risk with an estimated ten million killed on the roads each year. Three million are pheasants and for increasingly rare species such as barn owls, a worrying 3,000 juvenile birds are killed by motor vehicles annually.

According to the PTES’s ‘Mammals on Roads’ survey, rabbits account for up to half of overall animal casualties, with the following creatures also accounting for tens of thousands of road deaths:

• Foxes – 100K Estimated annual road fatalities
• Deer – 50K Estimated annual road fatalities
• Badgers – 50K Estimated annual road fatalities
• Hedgehogs – 15K Estimated annual road fatalities

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Last post for junk mail? Steep fall in letters you love to hate

Posted by | Mar 6, 2008 | |

The modern curse of junk mail may be lifting, as figures revealed direct marketing has slumped to its lowest level this century.

According to the Royal Mail, there are now 800,000 fewer items being delivered annually than at the industry peak in 2003. However, the industry watchdog warned that while this might be welcomed by householders, it could be bad news for the postal service.

Figures from the Royal Mail still showed 4.65 billion items of direct mail dropping through doors last year – down 7.4 per cent year on year.

Trisha Dow, director of Postwatch Scotland, said the drop was “worrying” as it would cost the postal service – but the figure could be an aberration due to industrial action by Royal Mail workers last year. Postal workers went on strike over pay and conditions, leading to a major backlog of mail.

Ms Dow said: “We would say it’s worrying because it’s an element of the mail that helps balance the books. If that drops substantially – and we know there seems to be a growth in electronic marketing – then it’s difficult to say we would be glad of that.

“It’s not great news if it’s anything other than a blip. I would be interested to see if it’s a pattern.”

According to the advertising industry, the figures mean firms are getting better at targeting direct mail so that householders only get the type of offers in which they are interested. New methods of getting the message out – such as texts and e-mails – are also taking away some of the direct-mail business.

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Postal Service Feels Weight Of 'Junk Mail'

Posted by | Mar 6, 2008 | |

The souring economy and changing lifestyles are dramatically affecting the U.S. Postal Service. Troubled banks are mailing fewer credit card offers. Declining new-home sales mean vacant houses sitting with empty mailboxes. And as consumers switch to paying bills online, first-class mailings are drying up.

Montgomery proposed “do not mail” legislation late last year, making Maryland one of 18 states to consider such a registry since 2007.

Soon after she filed her bill, she said she was inundated by lobbyists who represent the Postal Service and direct marketing industry. “There was so much pressure against it,” she said. “It turns out the Postal Service is relying on a lot of this junk mail.”

Montgomery withdrew her bill but says she will reintroduce it after more research and a consultation with the state’s attorney general.

Potter talked about the Postal Service’s lobbying efforts against “do not mail.”

It seems unlikely that mail volume will return to previous levels once the economy improves, thanks to shifts in the way Americans are communicating and doing business, Potter said.

To solve its immediate headaches, the Postal Service will reduce labor costs by cutting overtime and using more seasonal workers, Potter said. The service also plans to raise the cost of stamps and premium services in May, taking advantage of major reforms passed by Congress last year that clear the way for annual rate increases. The cost of a first-class stamp will rise a penny, to 42 cents, and will increase every May thereafter, officials said.

Under the reforms passed by Congress, postage for letters can increase no higher than the rate of inflation, but fees for package delivery can be raised to compete with rates charged by FedEx and other private competitors.

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Direct mail figures in Scotland

Posted by | Mar 6, 2008 | |

The modern curse of junk mail may be lifting, as figures revealed direct marketing has slumped to its lowest level this century.

According to the Royal Mail, there are now 800,000 fewer items being delivered annually than at the industry peak in 2003. However, the industry watchdog warned that while this might be welcomed by householders, it could be bad news for the postal service.

Figures from the Royal Mail still showed 4.65 billion items of direct mail dropping through doors last year – down 7.4 per cent year on year.

Trisha Dow, director of Postwatch Scotland, said the drop was “worrying” as it would cost the postal service – but the figure could be an aberration due to industrial action by Royal Mail workers last year. Postal workers went on strike over pay and conditions, leading to a major backlog of mail.

Ms Dow said: “We would say it’s worrying because it’s an element of the mail that helps balance the books. If that drops substantially – and we know there seems to be a growth in electronic marketing – then it’s difficult to say we would be glad of that.

According to the advertising industry, the figures mean firms are getting better at targeting direct mail so that householders only get the type of offers in which they are interested. New methods of getting the message out – such as texts and e-mails – are also taking away some of the direct-mail business.

Robert Keich, a spokesman for industry body the Direct Marketing Agency, said: “There is a much greater use of targeting and precision and taking out ‘gone always’ – people who have left the household.

For its part, Royal Mail believes the internet is creating the biggest dent in its business. Fraser Chisholm, head of media, said: “The internet is a significant threat to direct mail in its current form but it’s a fantastic opportunity for direct mail to re-position itself.”

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Correos logistics deployment for 9 march

Posted by | Mar 6, 2008 | |

On 9 March Correos will activate D-Day for the General Elections and Regional Elections to the Parliament of Andalusia, a huge mobilisation of human, technical and transport resources to coordinate its logistics networks and guarantee the delivery of all the postal votes received in any of its more than 2,200 offices around the country to the corresponding Polling Station.

Correos is going to mobilise more than 21,000 workers in total, including delivery and office personnel, and practically all its vehicle fleet, made up of around 13,000 cars and motorbikes, normally used for post collection and delivery. In this way, the public postal operator contributes, as in other elections, to the voting in the General Elections and Elections to the Parliament of Andalusia to be held this Sunday, 9 March.

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