Tag: USA

Integrators change course as clients go for ocean transport

Posted by | Sep 1, 2008 | |

This summer, FedEx opened two new gateways on the US West Coast for traffic entering its home market from Asia by ocean vessel. The integrator’s trade networks unit created gateway offices at the ports of Seattle and Oakland for traffic that moves in consolidations to the US and after breakdown is fed into the domestic FedEx network.

The focus on waterborne traffic is indicative not only of the weakness of the US economy and the impact of high oil prices on supply chain costs and strategies, it also shows a change in strategic thinking at FedEx.

Fred Smith said that FedEx was reviewing its strategy in order to position itself better to deal with an expected change in the way how its clientele was doing business. He outlined a new situation, where reliance on aircraft for shorter hauls is diminishing further. Increasingly, customers are cutting back on premium services.

The integrators remain bullish about their international express package business, particularly in Asia. FedEx and UPS are due to open their new Asian hubs in Guangzhou and Shanghai respectively this year.

Elsewhere in Asia, UPS bought out Korea Express’s share in their joint venture to assume full control of its express business in Korea.

According to some unconfirmed reports, FedEx is about to take a giant leap to boost its strength in the market, particularly on intra-European and Asia-Europe trade lanes. The integrator is allegedly seeking to acquire TNT. Both sides declined to comment on what they described as “speculation”.

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UPS issues new sustainability report (U.S)

Posted by | Aug 29, 2008 | |

UPS released its sixth annual Corporate Sustainability Report with progress reports on the company’s economic, social and environmental performance. The report is posted at sustainability.ups.com.

The report is based on data from 2007, UPS’s 100th anniversary. Highlights include safety goals achieved, fuel conserved through technology and increases in global employee volunteerism and charitable giving. Additionally, the 2007 report includes a new Climate Change Statement and establishes 2011 sustainability goals.

“With these new additions, you will see that our sustainability goals and processes are evolving along with our business as we begin our second century,” said Chairman and CEO Scott Davis.

UPS was the first company in its industry to issue a sustainability report and to publicize its specific goals.

UPS pursues a wide range of socially responsible and sustainable business practices designed to reduce its impact on the environment and improve communities around the world. UPS is included in the Dow Jones and FTSE4Good Sustainability Indexes, which evaluate corporations based on economic, environmental and social criteria.

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USPS stats put FedEx & UPS at risk

Posted by | Aug 28, 2008 | |

The number of parcels and packages that postal workers are toting around the country has declined sharply, according to government statistics, opening the prospect of fresh liabilities for the U.S. Postal Service’s private-enterprise rivals, analysts said.

According to the data, challenging economic conditions, the end of stimulus checks, and inflation in fuel prices have contributed to a pronounced sell off in package deliveries. Express mail shipments fell 14 pct in the quarter that ended in June, the most recent data available. Priority mail shipments declined 6 pct in the period. The pullback could have direct implications for FedEx, which has made as much as USD1.2 billion a year flying priority mail packages for the USPS. But there are threats to the franchises of FedEx as well as United Parcel Service (UPS) simply from industry pressures. The USPS data suggested that package shippers have gotten more cost-conscious about their shipping activities. FedEx’s May quarter showed that daily domestic air freight declined about 15 pct, including its priority shipping business. Nevertheless, both FedEx and UPS have ticked up about 1 pct in Wednesday’s trading (27th August).

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TNT sees growth in video conferencing

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

Reducing carbon footprint, a new priority for multinationals, is no easy task for TNT, which operates 47 aircraft and more than 26,000 trucks to move an average of 4.4 million parcels, documents, and pieces of freight each week.
There is not much that can be done to cut back on that traffic, so TNT is instead urging employees to reduce carbon dioxide emissions under a program called Planet Me. A big part of Planet Me is a drive to reduce business travel and use videoconferences instead. TNT estimates the CO2 savings from videoconferencing alone to be 2.6 kilotons a year for the next four years, or a total of 10.5 kilotons.
The embracing of videoconferencing by TNT is part of a larger trend. The worldwide videoconferencing systems and services market, which reached USD 1.63 billion in 2007, is expected to grow to USD 4.2 billion by 2012, according to technology consultancy Frost & Sullivan, as more companies try to become greener and cut costs.
Few companies are benefiting as much as Norwegian videoconferencing equipment maker Tandberg, which counts TNT as one of its customers. The company, which has dual headquarters in Oslo and New York, leads the industry in revenue with 40 pct of the global videoconferencing market, says Frost & Sullivan. The U.S.’s Polycom is market leader in number of units shipped. Together, Tandberg and Polycom control about 70 pct of the market for videoconferencing devices and infrastructure, selling against and sometimes cooperating with Hewlett-Packard and Cisco, both of which make high-end videoconferencing systems.

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USPS seeking comment on detached address labels

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

The US Postal Service is seeking public comment on a proposal that would require detached address labels (DALs) accompanying saturation mailings of periodicals or Standard Mail flats to be automation-compatible and barcoded.
The proposal was published in the Federal Register August 27.
The revised standards would require DALs accompanying these types of mailings to have a correct delivery point Postnet barcode or an Intelligent Mail barcode with an 11-digit routing code. The proposal would not apply to DALs with simplified addresses.
Existing mailing standards do not require DALs accompanying saturation mailings of periodicals and Standard Mail flats to be automation-compatible and barcoded unless advertising appears on the front.
Comments on the proposal are due to the USPS by September 26.

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