Taking the UPS with the downs
Taking the UPS with the downs
Read MoreTag: USA
DHL launches new international gateway in Merida, Mexico to serve US-Mexico shipments
DHL today announced the opening of a new gateway in Merida, Mexico to enhance service quality and meet the growing needs of DHL customers shipping across the US-Mexico border.
The recently installed international gateway operation will increase DHL handling capacity by more than 87 percent in the region, enabling the transport of more than 38,000 additional shipments per year. The investment is part of a strategic DHL development plan for Mexico’s Southeastern Region. The strategy will enable DHL to increase its routes and capacity, as well as expand service coverage and provide enhanced customer service.
The new Merida Gateway provides both U.S. and businesses based throughout the region (including those located in Cancun, Ciudad del Carmen, Villahermosa, Tuxtla Gutierrez, and Minatitlan), with a new facility for the transshipment of goods across the US-Mexico border. DHL’s Merida gateway has been authorized by the Mexico national customs authority to operate as a customs facility for the consolidation of the area’s imports and exports.
With the establishment of the Merida gateway, DHL will manage the customs clearance process through a local agent from start to finish, which will reduce average international delivery service times into the cities of Merida, Cancun, Ciudad del Carmen and Campeche from two days to one. DHL customers will receive specialized service by contracting with the agent of their choice.
Before the Merida gateway, shipments bound to the area from the U.S. were processed by Customs in Mexico City. “By having a Merida-based customs agent process shipments, U.S. businesses benefit because DHL can move shipments through customs without intermediate delays,” said Rosano.
Read MoreFedEx profit declines to USD 420 million as demand drops
FedEx Corp. said quarterly profit fell for the first time in three years and cut its earnings forecast for this quarter because of a slowing U.S. economy.
Net income for the fiscal third quarter dropped to USD420 million, or USD1.35 a share, from USD428 million, or USD1.38, a year earlier as winter storms damped shipping demand, FedEx said today in a statement. Revenue rose 7 percent to USD8.59 billion.
FedEx pared its outlook for the quarter ending May 31 by 5 cents a share and said it may miss its annual earnings growth target of 10 percent to 15 percent. The U.S. economy grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate in 2006’s final quarter, less than half the pace at the start of the year.
Slower economic growth is particularly hurting results at FedEx’s Express parcel delivery and Freight trucking units, the company said. FedEx said earnings growth this year may fall short of the company’s 10 percent to 15 percent target unless the U.S. economy accelerates.
FedEx hadn’t reported a lower year-over-year quarterly profit since November 2003.
Operating profit fell 12 percent at FedEx Express, which makes up almost two-thirds of the company’s sales, as economic weakness and bad weather curbed demand for shipping, the company said. Earnings were also pared when FedEx reduced the fuel surcharge it levies to offset higher fuel expense.
Smith is expanding FedEx’s trucking, international and retail businesses to give shippers more options than at rival United Parcel Service Inc. and smaller trucking firms.
Revenue at FedEx Ground, the company’s parcel delivery business and second-largest unit, grew 12 percent to USD1.5 billion. Operating profit rose 5 percent to USD196 million.
FedEx Freight, the third-largest unit by revenue, had a 32 percent decline in operating profit on slowing demand and costs of integrating last year’s acquisition of Watkins Motor Lines.
Read MoreLufthansa Cargo summer schedules: More frequencies and new destinations
Lufthansa Cargo is increasing its freighter frequencies to Dallas, Sao Paulo and Shanghai in the summer timetable. New destinations in the summer flight schedules are Lahore and a direct connection from Cologne through East Midlands (UK) to Wilmington (USA). Cargo customers will also benefit from changes bearing on airfreight in Lufthansa passenger services.
In the freighter timetable, Lufthansa Cargo is raising frequencies to Dallas from two to thrice weekly. Sao Paulo will be served by six flights weekly from Frankfurt. Frequencies to Shanghai will be increased from eight to nine weekly. Changes are also forthcoming in traffic days to Los Angeles. In the summer flight schedules, Los Angeles will be served twice weekly – on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Lufthansa Cargo is, moreover, operating scheduled flights in summer to and from Lahore in Pakistan. These services will be laid on ex Frankfurt, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in combination with Bangkok. New in the timetable is a direct connection from Cologne through East Midlands to Wilmington. This service will be operated within the framework of the existing intercontinental joint venture with DHL.
The summer timetable is valid from 25 March to 27 October 2007.
Read MoreU.S stamp prices to rise in May
Americans will pay 2 cents more to mail a first-class letter beginning May 14, but they will be able to buy a new type of stamp that could shield them from future price increases.
U.S. Postal Service governors approved a plan Monday to increase some rates, including raising the price of a first-class stamp to 41 cents. It also authorized the creation of a “forever stamp,” which can be used indefinitely regardless of rate changes.
The forever stamp will be sold for 41 cents starting in mid-April. After that, it will be sold at the prevailing first-class rate.
“The idea of the forever stamp is to make for a smoother transition between price changes,” and spare customers the annoyance of buying small-value stamps to make up the difference when rates go up, says Michael Plunkett, the Postal Service’s acting vice president for pricing.
The forever stamp is intended for consumers and small businesses, he says. It will be sold in books and sheets, not the high-quantity rolls often used by large businesses.
Quantities won’t be limited, however, even when future rate increases are announced, says Postal Service spokesman Mark Saunders. “People can buy as many as they want,” Plunkett says.
About 4 billion of the stamps have been printed, Saunders says. “We have the flexibility in our printing process to respond to demand,” he says.
The stamp, which will be available initially in one design, will be unveiled next week.
Other changes approved by the governors include:
*Increasing the price to mail a postcard from 24 to 26 cents,
*Reducing the rate for additional ounces of first-class mail from 24 cents to 17 cents
*Basing first-class rates on package shape. For instance, boxes and large envelopes will cost more to send than letter-size envelopes of the same weight.
Rates were last raised in January 2006.
Read MorePost & Parcel Magazine
Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.