Tag: USA

USPS reports third quarter loss (U.S)

Posted by | Aug 6, 2008 | |

The U.S. Postal Service ended its third fiscal year quarter (April 1 – June 30) with a greater-than-expected net loss of USD 1.1 billion. The national economic slowdown reduced mail volume at an accelerated pace and continued inflation in fuel prices produced rapidly escalating transportation costs. Despite these financial challenges, Postal Service employees delivered record-breaking service performance in the third quarter.
For the third quarter ending June 30:
• Operating revenue was USD 17.9 billion, a decrease of USD 437 million, or 2.4 percent, compared to the same period last year.
• Operating expenses totaled USD19.0 billion, an increase of only USD 178 million, or 1.0 percent, from the third quarter last year, despite substantial increases in fuel prices.
• Expenses include USD 1.4 billion of the USD 5.6 billion payment to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund that the Postal Service is required to make by Sept. 30, 2008, under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006.
• Mail volume was 48.5 billion pieces, a 5.5 percent drop from the same period last year. First-Class Mail and Standard Mail volume were each down 5.5 percent in the third quarter, reflecting the challenging economic environment.
The fiscal 2008 year-to-date net loss totals USD 1.13 billion. The Postal Service had essentially broken even in the first half of the fiscal year. With no economic recovery in sight, the Postal Service expects an end-of-year, economy-driven net loss.

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FedEx Express introduces fuel efficient Boeing 757 to aircraft fleet

Posted by | Aug 6, 2008 | |

FedEx Express has launched its inaugural revenue flight using a Boeing 757 freighter. The new route provides reliable cargo service between the Memphis International Airport (MEM) and the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) eight times per week.

This FedEx Boeing 757 flight into DCA also serves a new airport for FedEx, further extending the reliability, connectivity and quality of FedEx service throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

In addition to customer benefits, the introduction of the Boeing 757 to the FedEx fleet continues the company’s commitment to growth in an efficient, environmentally-conscious way. The Boeing 757 is known for its improved fuel efficiency and reduced noise levels, and will be phased in over time as the less fuel-efficient Boeing 727 aircraft are retired from service.

The introduction of the Boeing 757 model into the company’s fleet offers measurable cost benefits for FedEx during a period of unprecedented energy prices. The aircraft has significantly improved fuel-burn efficiencies, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing fuel consumption up to 36 percent while providing 20 percent more capacity per flight, when compared to the Boeing 727 it replaces. FedEx Express plans to introduce an additional 11 Boeing 757s into service over the next year.

Efforts at FedEx Express to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions extend across the operation.

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FedEx starts 757 Freighter services

Posted by | Aug 6, 2008 | |

Parcel carrier FedEx has began services using the 757 Freighter. The airline will have 12 757 freighters in the next year as it replaces the 727-200 freighter fleet. FedEx are investing USD 2.6 billion in replacing the 90 727-200 freighters with 90 757 freighters.

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FedEx downshifts

Posted by | Aug 6, 2008 | |

While harboring hopes the U.S. economy will turn around and fuel prices will start to level off, FedEx is positioning itself for what company officials say is an altered industry landscape.

Frederick W. Smith, FedEx chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in the wake of the company’s first quarterly loss in several years that FedEx is rethinking its foundation express operations and even the way it gears up for international traffic.

“FedEx Express has not bought a unit of capacity for the domestic express business in years and years and years,” Smith told investment analysts in a conference call on the company’s earnings.

Instead, Smith said, is looking at a new era of air shipping that includes still lighter reliance on aircraft for shorter hauls and a focus on fitting the domestic network into a global supply chain.

That is where increasingly savvy customers, he said, are cutting back on premium services and streamlining.

“The network in the United States has been expanded basically to move inland international traffic,” Smith said. “Increasingly in the international market the movement of goods by air will be in smaller lots and door-to-door express movements rather than in the large consolidations that marked the industry structure several years ago.”

FedEx has benefited from the broad industry trends in recent years, gaining express parcel business as shippers have broken down larger consignments and taking on ground package and trucking volume in its growing surface divisions as cost-conscious shippers have traded down in mode.

But domestic express volume has been flat at best in recent years and now Smith acknowledges that the ideal target for air express is the international shipper rather than the domestic business.

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USPS says it will be ready for Intelligent Mail Barcode next May

Posted by | Aug 6, 2008 | |

Speaking to the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee, Tom Day, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality, said the Postal Service will be ready for mail bearing Intelligent Mail barcodes next May as planned.

“We believe the benefits of an information-rich mail stream will be evident for our mailers and the entire mailing industry, and investments to make that a reality will prove to be very much worthwhile,” continued Day. “However, given the volatility of the economy, decreasing mail volumes, and our own financial situation, it would be premature for us to commit to a pricing structure for the Intelligent Mail barcode at this time.”

Intelligent Mail is a comprehensive, integrated program designed to revolutionize all aspects of how the Postal Service accepts, processes and transports mail by using the Intelligent Mail barcode. The Intelligent Mail barcode notifies mailers when a mailing is inducted into the mail stream and allows them to track individual mail pieces as they travel through the postal network.

The Postmaster General’s Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee is a venue for the Postal Service to share technical information with mailers and to receive advice and recommendations from mailers on matters concerning mail-related products and services in order to enhance customer value and expand the use of these products and services for mutual benefit.

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