Korea Express Co Ltd, a country logistics company, said it had signed a deal to hand its 40 percent stake in a local joint venture to United Parcel Service Inc .
It did not disclose the value of the transaction.
Atlanta-based UPS had owned 60 percent of UPS-Korea Express, launched in 1996.
Read MorePostbank owner, Deutsche Post, is in no hurry to reach a decision on a possible sale of the German retail bank, Chief Executive Frank Appel told Reuters in an interview.
‘I don’t feel any rush or haste. I will decide according to what is best for Deutsche Post, but also for Postbank,’ Appel said on Saturday during a trip to China with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Postbank, the country’s biggest retail bank, is up for sale and its owner has invited expressions of interest. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that if offers are good enough, Deutsche Post will push ahead with a sale within weeks.
Deutsche Bank has flagged interest in Postbank, as have Allianz and Commerzbank, which are making a joint approach. They would plan to swallow Postbank into a newly created group that would include Allianz’s Dresdner Bank.
Asked about the possibilities on the table for Postbank, Appel said: ‘We are sounding out options and are not participating in any speculation.’
Appel was participating in a three-day trip with Steinmeier to China, where Deutsche Post’s delivery arm DHL express is moving to strengthen its foothold in the fast-growing market.
Read MoreFedEx Corp unit FedEx Ground has filed a lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries seeking to gain control of an unedited copy of a report on the company’s use of contractors to deliver packages.
The lawsuit, filed with the Superior Court of Washington for Thurston County on Monday, is the latest chapter in a broad-ranging battle between FedEx Ground and a number of critics of its contractor model, including the Teamsters union.
FedEx Ground uses some 15,000 independent contractors as drivers whom the company describes as entrepreneurs.
FedEx Ground states in the lawsuit that it was contacted by an employee of the labor department in late 2006 or early 2007 who stated that the department had received a report addressing FedEx Ground’s classification of “pick-up and delivery drivers” from an entity named Clark Consulting.
In February 2007 FedEx Ground said it issued a Public Disclosure Act request to the labor department seeking a copy of the report and information about who compiled it. The labor department originally refused to release the report, FedEx Ground said in its filing.
Read MoreLess than two years after its grand opening, UPS Canada is already expanding its Burlington strategic logistics campus. The expansion of more than 175,000 square feet will support faster shipping turn-around for the local, national and international businesses UPS serves in the area.
The centre, located at 4156 Mainway in Burlington, will expand from its current 800,000 square feet in two buildings to more than 975,000 square feet with the addition of a third distribution centre. The decision to enlarge the facility was made after the current centre, including 55,000 square feet of storage area, hit maximum capacity.
The campus serves as a key central supply chain facility in Canada for major national retailers. Increasing e-commerce activity across Canada is driving customer requirements for post-sales service and returns management. The latest UPS expansion also is expected to support after-sales activity and critical parts inventory management for high-value technology components and computer products.
The strategic logistics campus opened in September 2006 and currently employs 500 people to provide order fulfillment, freight receiving, shipment preparation and inventory management. The expansion is expected to create 15-to-20 new jobs for southwest Ontario’s economy.
Customers who better manage their supply chains typically realize cost reductions of 10 to 20 percent. The multi-client campus links with UPS Canada’s transportation network of package and freight services. A portion of the facility is a specialized healthcare centre focused on the needs of pharmaceutical and medical device industries with compliance and quality assurance that adhere to Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate regulations.
The UPS Burlington logistics campus is part of a global network of more than 1,000 warehousing and freight processing facilities and critical parts stocking locations in more than 120 countries.
Read MoreExpress and parcel delivery companies in Germany expect only moderate growth this year after 5 pct growth in 2007, according to an industry association.
Gunnar Uldall, former Hamburg economics senator and new president of the German International Express and Courier Services Association (BIEK), said that the CEP sector generated volume growth of nearly 5 pct and revenue growth of over 5 pct last year. Further moderate growth is expected for 2008. The association represents DPD, FedEx, Go!, Hermes, TNT and UPS.
The CEP industry was a key services sector with growing importance for the German economy, with its strong export focus, Uldall told a news conference. BIEK members had taken on about 3,000 more employees last year, and there is currently a need for qualified drivers, he noted. BIEK members employ about 65,000 staff directly or as self-employed drivers. There are about 173,500 people working in the German CEP sector as a whole.
Addressing key issues for the association, Uldall criticised Deutsche Post’s VAT exemption for letters up to 2kg and parcels up to 20kg which was a competitive distortion in the formally liberalised German mail market.
Since neither option was likely, however, BIEK proposed a compromise, with deliveries of up to 50 letters, including individual private letters, remaining VAT-exempt, and all other items, including bulk mail, parcels and added-value mail, being VAT-chargeable. This would not lead to a price increase for customers due to intense competition between Deutsche Post and private operators, Uldall said.
BIEK will also hold talks with Deutsche Bahn over opportunities to transport more express and parcel shipments by rail, and continue to promote the use of alternative fuels and motors to reduce CO2 emissions, he added.
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