Tag: North America

DHL Express employees ratify Teamster national labor agreement

Posted by | May 2, 2008 | |

DHL Express U.S. employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters voted to ratify a new, historic national labor agreement between the Teamsters and DHL yesterday. The national agreement’s approval, following three weeks of voting among the affected employees’ groups, puts in place a five-year deal between the express package delivery company and the Union that represents the vast majority of its employees who handle customer shipments.

The new national collective bargaining agreement applies to practically all DHL’s unionized operations nationwide. The deal provides for increased operational flexibility that allows DHL to enhance labor resources management and improves its competitive position. It also provides for annual wage and benefit increases for DHL’s Teamster-represented workforce.

The agreement, covering approximately 10,000 DHL employees, also signifies a new chapter in the relationship between DHL and the Teamsters, which has steadily evolved since DHL acquired Airborne, Inc., in 2003.

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UPS Canada podcasts

Posted by | May 1, 2008 | |

Reaching out a helping hand to Canada’s small business market, UPS Canada today announced the launch of a new advice-oriented podcast series called Logistically Speaking. Hosted by Canadian small business expert, journalist and blogger, Rick Spence, the podcasts will be available for download through iTunes and other podcast directories, as well as on UPS.com.

In a pilot series of three 10- to 15-minute episodes, Logistically Speaking addresses key issues affecting the SMB market with a strong focus on helping businesses reach beyond Canada’s borders. Throughout the series, host Rick Spence interviews expert guests about hands-on issues that affect entrepreneurs – from tips on how to survive the credit crunch, to sourcing the perfect shipping partner. The Logistically Speaking roster features the following topics and guests:

– Episode 1 – Why Go Global? – Justine Hendricks, Regional Vice
President of Small Business Sales, Export Development Canada
Available today, April 30, 2008
– Episode 2 – Surviving North America’s Current Economic Climate –
Amgad Shehata, Vice President of Government Relations, UPS Canada
Available May 28, 2008
– Episode 3 -Getting to Know Your Market – Hylton Karon, President,
Coconut Grove Intimates
Available June 25, 2008

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FedEx and UPS eye U.S. slowdown

Posted by | May 1, 2008 | |

Package shipping giants FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc are walking a narrow path between expanding their businesses overseas and scaling back in the United States, where the economy has slumped.

But industry analysts say the two rivals should be able to weather a short-term slowdown without hefty drops in profits, with only a prolonged U.S. downturn presenting a serious threat.

Recessions push companies and individuals to rein in expenses, which includes package shipping. But revenues are not the only wild card for UPS or FedEx profits. The record surge in fuel prices for trucks and airplanes is another.

Like many U.S. transport companies, UPS and FedEx have been routinely passing on higher fuel costs to customers. But in a recession, such surcharges are just one more reason for customers to cut shipments.

Rising fuel costs also present big challenges to the shippers just in managing cash flows and hedging.

While Graf says FedEx has leeway in allocating its capital expenditures, growing markets like China remain a priority.

FedEx’s total capex spending should be about USD 3 billion for the fiscal year beginning on June 1, he said.

As part of its expansion plans, FedEx will open a new air hub in Guangzhou, China, in 2009.

At UPS, overseas spending that includes the booming China market will also remain core to its strategy in 2008 and 2009.

UPS’s new airport hub in Shanghai will open this year.

In their latest quarters, net profit declined 12 percent at UPS and fell 7 percent at FedEx. Both cited the sluggish state of the U.S. economy and high fuel costs.

Both companies still derive about three-quarters of their business from the United States, said Morningstar analyst Keith Schoonmaker.

The good news, highlighted by both, was growth in international package shipments, including a boost from rising U.S. exports on the back of the weak U.S. dollar.

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USPS MailPro Magazine – May/June 2008

Posted by | May 1, 2008 | |

USPS MailPro Magazine – May/June 2008

MailPro is a free bimonthly publication for mailing professionals. It contains information on current Postal Service programs and services, rates and classification, mailing success stories and industry news. MailPro replaced Mailers Companion and Memo to Mailers January 2007

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Canada E-Commerce Growing Quickly

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

Online sales increased at a double-digit pace for the sixth consecutive year in 2007, according to Statistics Canada. Total private and public sector Internet sales hit an estimated C$62.7 billion ($58.6 billion), up 26% from 2006.

Despite the continued strong growth, e-commerce still represents a relatively small fraction of total economic activity, at about 2% of total operating revenue.

Statistics Canada said that only about 8% of Canadian private sector companies sell goods and services online.

In the private sector, business-to-business sales accounted for 62% of online sales in 2007, down from 68% in 2006. The proportion of online business-to-consumer sales climbed from 32% to 38%.

B2C e-commerce sales therefore reached C$23.8 billion ($22.2 billion), or 38% of C$62.7 billion. That is almost 50% higher than eMarketer’s November 2007 estimate. eMarketer counts online travel, tickets and digital downloads as services, not products, and thus excludes them from its estimate.

It is estimated that customers outside Canada generated almost one out of every five dollars (19%) in online sales in the private sector, similar to the last two years.

While Canadian consumers are comfortable purchasing travel, media products, and computer hardware and software online, they tend to shy away from high-touch categories such as apparel and home furnishings. Instead, they head to one of their excellent shopping malls. A common explanation for this tendency is that, unlike Americans, Canadians lack a catalog tradition and have not been conditioned to shop remotely.

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