Tag: North America

Stamps Increasing by one cent on May 12 (U.S)

Posted by | May 9, 2008 | |

The price for a one-ounce First-Class stamp will increase from 41 to 42 cents on May 12.
Prices for other mailing services, such as Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services (including single-piece Parcel Post), and Special Services will also change (see chart below). The average increase by class of mail is at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.
“The Postal Service developed the Forever Stamp for consumers to ease the transition during price changes,” said Postmaster General John Potter. “We encourage Americans to buy Forever Stamps now for 41 cents, because like the name suggests, they are good forever.” The price goes up to 42 cents on May 12.
The Postal Service has sold 5 billion Forever Stamps since the launch last April and plans to have an additional 5 billion in stock to meet the expected demand before the May price change.
Consistent with a new law, prices for mailing services will be adjusted annually each May. The Postal Service plans to provide 90 days’ notice before the price changes each year.
New prices for shipping services, including Express Mail and Priority Mail, will be announced in March. Prices for all postal products and services are available at usps.com/prices.

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USPS looks to expand package returns service with major carriers (U.S)

Posted by | May 9, 2008 | |

Looking to cooperate more with its competitors, the U.S. Postal Service is hoping to expand its package returns service through major carriers UPS, FedEx Corp. and DHL, says Jim Cochrane, acting vice president of ground packages at the U.S.P.S. But while none of the three big carriers have yet to publicly express an interest in the service, the Postal Services’ sole returns partner for now, Newgistics Inc., plans a major expansion of the service this year, Newgistics CFO Mike Twomey says.

The Postal Service wants to expand the returns service—through which the U.S.P.S. takes packages from a consumer’s home address to a postal facility, where a private carrier picks it up to complete delivery back to a retailer or manufacturer—as part of a broad effort to expand its delivery business in cooperation with carrier companies. Newgistics specializes in serving apparel and consumer electronics retailers, so extending the U.S.P.S. returns service through other carriers could broaden its reach.

UPS, FedEx and DHL all declined to comment on the Postal Service plan. Cochrane, noting the three carriers were all aware of the Postal Service’s interest in working with them, also declined to say if the U.S.P.S. had entered contract negotiations with any of the carriers.

The Postal Service, in an attempt to run its own operations more efficiently, is providing its shipping partners financial incentives to pick up and deliver packages at direct-delivery units, such as local post offices, instead of at regional bulk mail centers. Newgistics will use its shipping management system to look at a matrix of carrier shipping rates and Postal Service incentives to determine whether it’s more cost-effective to ship to a direct-delivery unit or to a bulk mail center.

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FedEx Delivers for Mother's Day

Posted by | May 9, 2008 | |

With Mother’s day just days away, FedEx has ramped up operations to support one of its busiest times of the year. Millions of flowers and gifts will pass through its hubs as FedEx is ready to brighten the day for mothers across the nation and around the world.

FedEx Express expects to see the largest delivery volume of flowers, plants and gifts for moms on Friday, May 9. On May 9, FedEx Express couriers will make 20 times more domestic flower deliveries than on an average day. Hundreds of thousands of flower deliveries have traveled through major FedEx hubs and gateways in Memphis, Miami, Indianapolis and Oakland between Tuesday, May 6 and Friday, May 9 on their way to be delivered in time for Mother’s Day.

FedEx Ground expects to see the largest delivery volumne of flowers, plans and Mother’s Day gifts on Saturday, May 10. FedEx Ground and Home Delivery will deliver more than 150,000 bouquets of flowers on May 10 alone.

For those procrastinators, FedEx will be making deliveries through Saturday, May 10 in time for Mother’s Day. Many e-commerce flower and gift retailers have located warehouses close to the FedEx Express Super Hub in Memphis, TN, allowing them to take last-minute orders up until Friday, May 9 and still have them delivered before Mother’s Day.

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FedEx Corp. Revises earnings guidance

Posted by | May 9, 2008 | |

FedEx Corp. announced that earnings for the fourth quarter ending May 31, 2008 are expected to be in the range of USD 1.45 to USD 1.50 per diluted share, compared to the previous forecast of USD 1.60 to USD 1.80.

“Since we provided earnings guidance for the fourth quarter in March when the crude oil price was slightly above USD 100 per barrel, our estimated fuel costs for the quarter have increased more than 7 percent, or USD 100 million from our previous estimate, and the weak economy has restrained demand for U.S. domestic express package and LTL freight services,” 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. This revised outlook assumes no additional increases to the current fuel price environment and no further weakening of the economy.”

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USPS releases final address standards for commercial flat-sized mail

Posted by | May 9, 2008 | |

The USPS has published its final rule for new address standards for commercial flat-sized mail in the Federal Register.

The new standards, published May 7 and set to go into effect March 29, 2009, will require mailers to adopt new address placement and formatting requirements for periodicals, Standard Mail, bound printed matter, Media Mail and library mail flat-sized pieces sent at automation, presorted or carrier route prices, the USPS said. The standards also include similar revisions for automation and pre-sorted First-Class Mail flats.

According to the new standards, mailers will need to place delivery addresses within the top half of their mailpieces. Mailers will also need to address presorted, carrier route and automation flat-sized mail pieces using a minimum of eight-point type. Or, if the piece has a Postnet or Intelligent Mail barcode on it, a minimum of six-point type in all capital letters will be required.

In the notice, the USPS said it will publish a quick service guide and other additional materials to help mailers prepare for the change.

The new address standards will assist the USPS in its implementation of its new Flats Sequencing System (FSS), which will sort flat-sized mail into delivery sequence, thereby reducing carriers’ time spent manually sorting mail.

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