Tag: North America

Online bargain hunters clogging up mail depots

Posted by | Nov 17, 2007 | |

Canadians empowered by a strong dollar and faced with long lines at border crossings have turned to the Internet as a way to do their holiday shopping in the United States.

But a consumers’ agency said this week that online shoppers are already facing a “bottleneck” that will only make delays longer as the Christmas season approaches.

Canada Post reported seeing cross-border parcel traffic increase 15 per cent in October compared to the same month last year, and noted a similar jump in September.

Francois Legault, a spokesperson for Canada Post, said the jump is likely related to an increase in online shopping at U.S. stores.

“We have noticed that the parcels that we have received, the majority of them are from U.S. retailers,” Legault told CTV.ca.

After the loonie hit parity with the U.S. dollar, reaching a value of USD 1.10 at one point last week, Canadians began flocking across the border to take advantage of lower prices and stronger buying power.

But in the lead-up to the Christmas season, the number of parcels and mail received from south of the border has jumped as well.

The Canadian Border Services Agency reported seeing a notable increase in the amount of packages sent to Canada from the U.S.

Canada Post and the Canadian Border Services Agency routinely increase their staff to handle the extra traffic during the holiday season.

Your package is in the mail

Mail flowing from the U.S. is checked by border services at one of three mail centers, located in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, before being returned to the chain of delivery.

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FedEx Corp. Announces quarterly dividend

Posted by | Nov 16, 2007 | |

FedEx Corp. today announced that earnings for the second quarter ending November 30, 2007 are expected to be in the range of USD 1.45 to USD 1.55 per diluted share, compared to the previous forecast of USD 1.60 to USD 1.75. For the full fiscal year, the company now expects earnings of USD 6.40 to USD 6.70 per diluted share, compared to the previous forecast of USD 6.70 to USD 7.10.

“Since we provided earnings guidance for the second quarter in September, our fuel costs have increased more than eight percent, or USD 85 million,” said Alan B. Graf, Jr., FedEx Corp. executive vice president and chief financial officer. “While we have dynamic fuel surcharges in place, they cannot keep pace in the short-term with rapidly rising fuel prices. In addition, less-than-truckload freight trends in the FedEx Freight segment remain weak, despite economic signs that the decline in U.S. industrial production has hit bottom. We are taking prudent steps to reduce expenses, and are reviewing our capital investment plans for further reductions.”

Separately, the Board of Directors of FedEx Corp. today declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD 0.10 per share on FedEx Corp. common stock. The dividend is payable January 2, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 12, 2007.

FedEx will provide additional financial and operating details when the company releases second quarter earnings on December 20, 2007.

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USPS new system will peg postal rate increases to inflation

Posted by | Nov 15, 2007 | |

The U.S. Postal Service today announced that postage costs for nonprofit and other mailers will be set using a new approach pegged to inflation.

The new system enables the Postal Service to increase postage rates
annually — more frequently than it has in the past — but requires the increases to be no higher than the rate of inflation. To determine inflation, postal officials said they will rely on the most recent monthly average compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Organizations that represent charities welcomed the news.

Previously, new rates were the result of a cumbersome process in which an independent body spent months in hearings, deliberating over research and comments submitted by charities and other organizations that send a large volume of mail. That process will no longer take place.

With the new system, nonprofit organizations are likely to see significantly lower postage increases than in the past, albeit more frequent ones. For example, postal officials noted that a recent monthly inflation average was 2.3 percent, much lower than the 6.7 average increase in postage for standard mail, the class of mail used by charities most frequently, that took place last spring.

While the law authorizing the new rate-making system requires the Postal Service to give a 45-day notice before postage costs go up, postal experts said that a longer notice is more likely, because the service and mailers need more time to adjust their mail-processing and printing schedules. Mr. Conway speculated that a 90-day notice is likely.

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USPS Rates Hikes Will Follow Reform Bill

Posted by | Nov 15, 2007 | |

It’s official that postal rate increases will follow the Postal Reform bill passed 11 months ago. The U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors announced that future price increases will be tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or rate of inflation, for mailing services that include First Class, Standard Mail, and periodicals.

The BOG said future prices would be adjusted using new regulations issued by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on Oct. 29. The board’s decision is consistent with the Postal Reform and Accountability Act, which calls for a rate-increase cap that ties future postage increases at or below the rate of inflation. It also has strict criteria regarding conditions for emergency rate increases.

Technically, the BOG could have filed one final rate case under the old regulations in place since 1971, but voted to proceed with the new pricing regulations. “We thank the Postal Regulatory Commission for completing the new rules eight months ahead of the statutory deadline,” Postmaster General John E. Potter said in a release. “This delivers one of the main goals of the new law for business mailers–a predictable price schedule.”

With the new pricing regulations, the Postal Service has more flexibility for shipping services, including bulk parcels and expedited package services such as Priority Mail and Express Mail. “We intend to use this new flexibility to grow our competitive business offering volume discounts and contract pricing,” Potter said. “There are still many details to be worked out, but we look forward to partnering with the PRC and our customers to maximize the advantages of the new pricing rules.”

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