Tag: USA

DHL should repay ABX for overhead, arbitrators rule

Posted by | Jul 17, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post AG’s DHL Express should reimburse ABX Air Inc. for overhead expenses related to a contract in November, arbitrators ruled.

ABX and DHL will begin discussing how much of ABX’s overhead DHL should pay, Wilmington, Ohio-based ABX said today in a statement distributed by Business Wire.

ABX claimed that DHL defaulted on an agreement Nov. 5 by failing to repay it for certain costs. DHL contended some expenses no longer had to be reimbursed because ABX’s revenue from other customers exceeded 10 percent of total sales.

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Amazon, others to suck up holiday shipping costs

Posted by | Jul 17, 2008 | |

Online retailers cannot afford to raise shipping prices. The high cost of fuel is hurting the wallets of American consumers and businesses alike, but online retailer Amazon.com Inc and others will likely forgo shipping price increases on its discount programs this upcoming holiday shopping season for fear of alienating hard-pressed shoppers in the weak economy.

Long-term contracts with shippers may insulate Amazon and some others, even as companies small and large scramble to find other costs to cut. Margins could suffer more as time goes on, but the biggest companies could watch smaller rivals fade away as the move to online shopping continues to accelerate.

Avoiding shipping price hikes may appear foolhardy — after all, the cost of diesel fuel has risen 154 percent in the last year. But companies such as Amazon and Overstock.com Inc rely on low or free shipping to stoke business in good times — so any rise in bad times could be a major problem.

Free shipping is a major competitive advantage for Amazon, which has already been lowering prices to stave off rivals, said Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.

U.S. carriers like United Parcel Service Inc, FedEx Corp and the U.S. Postal Service have been raising prices due to higher fuel costs.

But Amazon and some brick-and-mortar companies with major online businesses say they’ve largely been able to insulate themselves by being more efficient elsewhere in their businesses, whether through better distribution or less waste.

Overstock will not raise its blanket USD 2.95 shipping price on a full order, and fuel increases have not affected the company’s profit margins, Chief Executive Patrick Byrne said.

Large online shippers have bargaining leverage over transport carriers when it comes to contracts, Amazon and Overstock said.

However, smaller online retailers that aren’t as nimble as Amazon will be struggling this holiday with higher fuel costs and be forced to raise shipping prices.

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FedEx Corp. Reports fourth quarter and full year earnings

Posted by | Jul 17, 2008 | |

FedEx Corp. (reported a loss of USD 0.78 per share for the fourth quarter ended May 31, compared to earnings of USD 1.96 per diluted share a year ago. The quarter’s results include the previously announced charge of USD 891 million (USD 696 million, net of tax, or USD 2.22 per diluted share) related predominately to one-time, non-cash asset impairment charges. These charges were associated with the decision to minimize the use of the Kinko’s trade name and a reduction in the value of the goodwill resulting from the Kinko’s acquisition. Last year’s fourth quarter included a USD 0.06 per diluted share net benefit from a settlement with Airbus related to the A380 aircraft order cancellation. Excluding these items, earnings were USD 1.45 per diluted share in the fourth quarter compared to USD 1.90 per diluted share a year ago.

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U.S. Postal Service to remove vending machines

Posted by | Jul 16, 2008 | |

The U.S. Postal Service is removing vending machines from all of its locations nationwide. The machines will be removed in phases.

The vending machines are the victims of technology, competition and aging parts, said Ray Daiutolo, U.S. Postal Service spokesman for the Central Pennsylvania region.

The U.S. Postal Service can no longer find parts for its 12,000 aging vending machines, he said.

Perhaps the biggest reason the machines are going the way of the pay phone is because people no longer want to use them.

People are buying their postage on the postal service’s Web site, and through its “stamps by phone” and “stamps by fax” services.

Consumers also can find stamps at most grocery stores and some banks offer them at their automated teller machines.

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FedEx seeking incentives for proposed shipping centers (U.S)

Posted by | Jul 15, 2008 | |

Guilford County commissioners plan a public hearing this week on whether to provide nearly USD 1 million in incentives for FedEx Ground’s proposed shipping center.

Commissioners are to hear from the public Thursday about a proposal to provide USD 952,000 in incentives for FedEx’s proposed USD 110 million shipping center.

The News & Record of Greensboro reported Tuesday the center’s first year of operation would bring 80 full-time jobs paying an average of more than USD 40,000 annually.

FedEx is considering building the center in Kernersville, a few miles from Piedmont Triad International Airport where the company is building an East Coast air shipping operation.

Dan Lynch with the Greensboro Economic Development Partnership says the region is competing with Tennessee and South Carolina for the ground shipping

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