Tag: USA

US Postal Service reports results for fiscal third quarter

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

Priority and express volumes at U.S. Postal Service declined during the organization’s fiscal third quarter, while parcel post shipments increased slightly, the postal service said.

Priority mail volumes fell 2.8% to 215 million, express volumes slipped .5% to 14.2 million and parcel post volumes rose .7% to 78.3 million.

Total revenue for the quarter rose to $18.4 billion, a 2.9% gain compared with the previous third quarter, according to the postal service.

The postal service competes directly with UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. for priority, express and parcel freight.

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Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), Senate postal subcommittee discuss service

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) chairman Dan G. Blair stressed the need for service standards and performance measures that are transparent and accountable when he appeared in front of the Senate postal subcommittee August 2.

Blair talked about the steps PRC is taking to implement modern service standards as required by Title III of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

The PRC filed two advanced orders on its site regarding its modern service standards and the process to implement it, according to Nanci Langley, d irector of public affairs and government relations at the PRC.

In a joint statement to the PRC, the Alliance of Non-Profit Mailers and the Magazine Publishers of America said: “When the Postal Service makes structural changes to a rate design and thus has no billing determinant data that matches the altered rate design, the volume weights used for the new, altered rate structure should be based on a mail characteristics study for the same time period as the billing determinant data used to calculate average revenue per piece under the existing rates.”

The two organizations advocate pricing flexibility for competitive products.

The act requires the Postal Service to consult with the PRC on development of regulations establishing service standards due by December, as well as report to Congress on their implementation, due by June 2008.

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FedEx Kinko’s escalates expansion efforts

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

FedEx Kinko’s, an operating company of FedEx Corp today officially announced an aggressive expansion plan to open 300 new office and print centers in the United States throughout fiscal 2008. The company also will redesign 110 existing centers and introduce 20 new locations internationally. These changes are part of the company’s overall plan to provide small businesses and traveling professionals with even greater access to the company’s office and print services and the FedEx transportation network.

FedEx Kinko’s has more than 1,700 locations in operation today, and this latest push for growth comes on the heels of the successful execution of its expansion plan in fiscal 2007. Last August, the company introduced a smaller store format and announced plans to open 200 centers nationwide with the new design. These centers have an average footprint of 1,800 square feet and carry more than 700 different office products. In addition, they offer the same services as a traditional center and have generated positive customer feedback since the launch. Based on the strong results, the 300 domestic locations scheduled to open in fiscal 2008 will feature the small-format design as well.

FedEx Kinko’s also plans to embark on its most aggressive international expansion effort to date by opening 20 new centers outside the United States during fiscal 2008. These new centers will be focused in the Asia-Pacific region with 12 in China, four in Japan, two in Korea, and one in Australia. In addition, one new center will be opened in Canada. Currently, the company has 159 locations outside the United States.

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UPS talking pension issues

Posted by | Aug 4, 2007 | |

UPS hopes to resume talks with the Teamsters union toward a new contract soon, a company spokesman said yesterday.

The two sides put talks on hold last month while UPS sought more information about a union pension plan that draws support from UPS and other employers. Teamsters officials have said UPS wants to pull its employees out of the plan.

The union says the company and the troubled Central States Fund have an agreement on “establishing conditions for a potential UPS withdrawal.”

UPS and the Teamsters, which represent about 246,000 workers at the company, have been in contract talks since September. The current contract expires Aug. 1, 2008.

The shipping operates its Worldport hub at Louisville International Airport, and has more than 20,000 employees in the metro area.

The Central States Fund has been an issue because as the number of employers paying into the fund declines, more of a burden falls on UPS.

In May, the union said UPS expressed willingness to jointly manage a new pension plan with the Teamsters as a way to get out of the fund.

The fund raised health-insurance costs and lowered pensions for some future retirees in 2003.

The agreement disclosed last Thursday “does not mean that UPS is free to withdraw from Central States,” the union said on its Web site. Teamsters officials said they would not agree with a UPS withdrawal from the fund unless they are satisfied it would be in the interest of all Teamsters.

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