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Royal Mail Strike Shows U.K. Needs Rival Post Service, TNT Says - October 23, 2009
[
Brian Lysaght and Caroline Connan, Bloomberg.]The strike by workers at Royal Mail Group Plc highlights the need for an alternative U.K. postal carrier, said the c
hief of TNT NV’s British unit, which is planning to roll out a competing service.
“What this strike does tell us is that our customers need choice,” said Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Mail, in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. “TNT in the future will be able to provide this.”
Britain’s Communication Workers Union today are holding the second of two days of national strikes at state-owned Royal Mail in a dispute over job security and work rules that has disrupted delivery across the country. The union, which represents 121,000 workers, is planning additional walkouts starting Oct. 29.
Royal Mail has lost market share to rivals such as TNT and Business Post Group Plc since Britain partially opened the postal business to competition in 2003. TNT, Europe’s second- biggest parcel company and the Dutch national mail carrier, handles U.K. corporate mail and is testing a door-to-door service in Liverpool, England.
The results are encouraging, said Wells. “We’ll roll it out depending on the demands and needs of our clients in the best areas,” he said. “If anyone can do it, TNT can.”
Before TNT can expand its services for homes and businesses, U.K. regulators must lift a ban on full competition with Royal Mail and offer tax equality, said Wells. Currently, Royal Mail doesn’t charge value-added tax, while its competitors must. Wells said he hopes those changes will happen in 2010.
“We are not going be able turn it on overnight,” said Wells. “It’s not a solution for the strike but is a strategic ambition for the future.”
Mailers Council’s New White Paper Calls for Legislative Reform to Avoid USPS Insolvency - October 23, 2009
[Press Release.]The Mailers Council, the nation’s largest coalition of mailers and mailing associations, has published a new white paper that warns of United States Postal Service insolvency without significant new legislative reform. The paper suggests other non-legislative steps to avoid collapse of the nation’s postal system.
The white paper is available on the Mailers Council’s website:
http://www.mailers.org/News_Releases/news_releases.html.
According to Mailers Council Board of Directors President James R. O’Brien, “The mailing industry, and the nearly nine million jobs it represents, and every American who depends on a reliable, affordable postal system, need Congress’ help now. Our research shows that recent legislation offers only temporary relief of the agency’s financial problems. Without more significant measures, such as those outlined in our white paper, the Postal Service will soon be unable to meet its financial obligations.”
The Postal Service was recently put back on the General Accountability Office’s High-Risk List, a reflection that the agency’s future is in jeopardy. It ended FY 2009 with a net loss of $3 billion and is expected to report a nearly $7 billion deficit for FY 2010. Mail volume declined by approximately 26 billion pieces in one year. Next year, the Postal Service will be close to its statutory borrowing limit of $15 billion, with no sign of being able to repay these funds anytime soon.
Legislation approved on September 30 gave the Postal Service a one-year reprieve from the large annual payments required to prefund its retiree obligations. However, because of staggering declines in mail volume, changing communication patterns and the ongoing recession, the USPS may be unable to pay its bills or its employees by the end of FY 2010.
The Mailers Council’s white paper offers these recommendations for addressing the Postal Service’s problems:
• The Postal Service needs to be allowed to reduce its head count.
• It must be allowed to close unneeded facilities and consolidate its retail network.
• The Postal Service needs greater control over compensation.
• It should be allowed to adjust its pre-funding schedule for retiree health benefits when economic conditions dictate.
• An arbitrator should consider the financial health of the Postal Service when making a decision in the collective bargaining process.
• The Postal Service should complete its study of five-day-a-week delivery and fully present its findings for further discussion.
The Mailers Council is a coalition of corporations, nonprofit organizations, and major mailing associations. Collectively, the Council accounts for 70% of the nation's mail volume. The Mailers Council believes that the USPS can be operated more efficiently, supports efforts aimed at lowering postal costs, and has the ultimate objective of containing postal rates without compromising service.
UPS 3Q Results: Earnings at High End of Guidance Range; Volumes Improve Through Quarter - October 23, 2009
[Press Release.]UPS reported diluted earnings per share of $0.55 for the third quarter on $11.2 billion in revenue. A stabilizing economic environment led to improving volume trends during the quarter, while UPS's International business continued to increase market share.
The $0.55 in diluted earnings per share was at the high end of the company's guidance range of $0.45 to $0.55.
"I'm encouraged by the signs of economic recovery that are becoming apparent, although we still have a long way to go," said Scott Davis, chairman and CEO. "Ongoing strategic investment has positioned UPS to capitalize on growth opportunities around the world. We are managing operations well, while controlling costs and maintaining excellent service."
Consolidated volume for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2009, totaled 927 million packages, down 2.4% fom the same period in 2008. Average daily volume and revenue per piece declined 3.9% ad 11.3%, espectively. Operating profit decreased to $929 million as the benefits of substantial cost reductions and productivity gains were more than offset by the economic impact of lower volumes and changes in product mix.
Mailers Council’s New White Paper Calls for Legislative Reform to Avoid USPS Insolvency - October 23, 2009
The Mailers Council, the nation’s largest coalition of mailers and mailing associations, has published a new white paper that warns of United States Postal Service insolvency without significant new legislative reform. The paper suggests other non-legislative steps to avoid collapse of the nation’s postal system.
White Paper
Selected presentations from Post-Expo 2009, 29, 30 September and 1 October, Hannover, Germany - October 23, 2009
World Postal Business Forum
Economy - Responding to the economic crisis: new challenges, new opportunities
- “The global economic and financial crisis: green and red shoots in the postal sector” by José Anson, economist, Universal Postal Union
[Presentation]
- “Competition and the crisis: trends and challenges in EU postal markets” by Alex Dieke, head of department, postal services and logistics, WIK-Consult GmbH
[Presentation]
- “Korea Post's strategy in response to the environmental changes of postal business - overcoming crisis and challenges for the future” by Mr Kee-Deok Kim, director general, Korea Post
[Presentation]
- “Customer focus: Revolution not evolution” by Carl Gerold-Mende, board member, parcel and logstics division, Austrian Post
[Presentation]
- "Economic crisis: Challenges and opportunities” by Carlos Silva, director, international, CTT Correios
[Presentation]
Chief Executive Forum - Reshaping the sector: the leaders look to the future
- “Delivering tomorrow - our strategy for meeting customer needs in 2020 and beyond” by Dr Frank Appel, chairman of the board of management, Deutsche Post AG
[Presentation]
- “Facing the Challenge of Growth Through Innovation?” by Massimo Sarmi, CEO and managing director, Poste Italiane, SpA
[Presentation]
- “Transforming post for sustainable growth: India Post” by Mrs Radhika Doraiswamy, director general, Department of Posts India
[Presentation]
- “The experience of a medium-size PPO” by Claude Béglé, president of the council of administration, Swiss Post
[Presentation]
- “Trends and developments in the global postal industry” by Dr Andreas Taprantzis, POC Chairman, Hellenic Posts SA (ELTA SA)
[Presentation]
- “Transformation of Magyar Posta - best answer also in crisis time” by Dr. Péter Kazár, Chief Financial Officer, Magyar Posta
[Presentation]
Technology - Growing business through innovative technology
- “Innovation management: how to create value in times of change - concepts and examples” by Dirk Palder, member of the global postal leadership team, Capgemini
[Presentation]
- “How innovative is the logistics industry?” by Martin Wegner, head of technology & innovation management, DHL Innovation Center
[Presentation]
- “Replication and interconnection of digital postal services” by Paul Donohoe, specialist postal electronic services, Universal Postal Union
[Presentation]
- “Ready, steady, go! Making mail fit for the 21st century” by Barry Larson, head of strategy media, Royal Mail Group
[Presentation]
Environment - The postal sector and climate change from the global environmental perspective?
- “Environmental impact - challenges, threats and opportunities” by Ingemar Persson, secretary general, PostEurop
[Presentation]
- “Our strategy to fight against climate change” by Stéphanie Scouppe, assistant, sustainable development, ethics, La Poste
[Presentation]
Environment - The postal sector and the environment from a business perspective
- “Sustainability in Royal Mail Group” by Dr Martin Blake, head of sustainability, Royal Mail Group
[Presentation]
Nationwide Royal Mail Postal Strikes Formally Begin - October 22, 2009
[Press Release.]Nationwide postal strikes have begun today after last-minute talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) collapsed.
Some 42,000 mail centre staff and postal drivers around the country began strike action at 04:00 BST this morning.
Tomorrow around 78,000 delivery and collection staff will follow suit. Union leaders have warned further strike action will also be announced shortly.
Yesterday the CWU accused business secretary Lord Mandelson of working with Royal Mail to "undermine the dispute".
The union's deputy leader Dave Ward said in a press conference on Wednesday every time progress appeared to be being made "external forces" deliberately attempted to undermine any form of agreement.
Union leaders claim the industrial action is in response to current working conditions and plans to modernise Royal Mail.
The government has continued to criticise the strike action, while Conservative leader David Cameron accused Gordon Brown of a lack of "courage and leadership" over the dispute at prime minister's questions on Wednesday.
The prime minister has described the walkouts as "counterproductive".
Deutsche Post CEO Says No Recovery Benefit Yet - October 22, 2009
[Rene Wagner, Anneli Palmen, Eva Kuehnen and Will Waterman, Reuters.]German postal services company Deutsche Post has not yet benefited from the recent economic upswing, its chief executive said on Wednesday, after rivals made upbeat noises about market improvement.
"So far, we can't see this in the results for July and August," Deutsche Post CEO Frank Appel said.
U.S. rival FedEx Corp in September reported a 53 percent drop in its first-quarter profit as the economic downturn continued to weigh on shipping volumes, but said most of its markets were continuing to show signs of improvement.
TNT NV, Europe's second-largest global express delivery company, also said it saw improvement in the air freight market.
Deutsche Post shares were down 2 percent at 12.495 euros by 1057 GMT, underperforming a 0.9 percent drop in Germany's blue-chip DAX index .
Appel added that Deutsche Post would take a hit in the third quarter from the closure of German mail-order company Quelle, one of Deutsche Post's major customers.
"Of course this will have an impact on us," Appel said.
A Post spokesman said the Quelle closure would affect about 200 to 300 jobs at Deutsche Post.
USPS Goes Mobile - October 22, 2009
[Press Release.]It’s a Post Office on your phone. Customer convenience and product access are the focus of expanding the most popular online services onto web-enabled mobile devices.
Some of the most popular functions currently available on usps.com are now available on cell phones and other mobile devices. The new features include Track & Confirm, Post Office locator, and the most popular application, ZIP Code lookup.
With more than 232 million mobile communications devices in the United States — a growing number of which can access the web — the promise of Internet access from virtually anywhere in the country is fast becoming a reality.
“Our new mobile capability makes USPS services even more convenient for our customers,” said Robert Bernstock, president, Mailing and Shipping Services.
Any mobile user with web access will be able to log on to the Postal Service mobile site no matter where they are, without having to use a personal computer, Bernstock said.
“If they’re on the road, they’ll be able to use the Post Office locator function to find a Post Office that’s close to them. And they’ll also be able to track and confirm delivery of their mail or packages using their mobile phone,” he said.
The Postal Service is also designing applications for “smartphones” and other mobile devices like the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry and iPod Touch which take advantage of additional capabilities, such as GPS.
Mobile applications make it easier for customers to interact and transact business with the Postal Service. These applications are the latest in a series of enhancements, upgrades and solutions designed for Postal Service customers.
Australia Post Delivers Solid Results In Tough Times - October 22, 2009
[Press Release.]Despite tough economic conditions, Australia Post's revenue grew by $26.1 million (or 0.5 per cent) in 2008/09 to $5.0 billion, with growth in all three core business areas.
Australia Post's Annual Report, tabled in Federal Parliament today, shows the governmentowned postal corporation earned a pre-tax profit of $380.9 million, a decline of 35.7 per cent from a record high of $592.2 million in 2007/08.
The corporation's underlying profit, however, fell by just 14 per cent in 2008/09, according to Australia Post Chairman David Mortimer. He said that superannuation cost in a tougher financial market, movements in bond rates and property valuations were the factors that had the biggest impact on the decline in the corporation's bottom line and totalled $127.2 million.
"This was a very tough year for Australia Post, as it was for businesses throughout the world, but our underlying profit shows that we are still in a strong position," said Mr Mortimer.
"Over recent years we have invested heavily in broadening our revenue base and cutting our operational costs. So those strategic investments meant we were well prepared for the tougher economic conditions experienced this year."
"We foreshadowed a 40 per cent decline in profit against our plan at a Senate Estimates hearing in May. So this result is ahead of those revised forecasts."
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