Association for Postal Commerce

"Representing those who use or support the use of mail for Business Communication and Commerce"
"You will be able to enjoy only those postal rights you believe are worth defending."


1901 N. Fort Myer Dr., Ste 401 * Arlington, VA 22209-1609 * Ph.: +1 703 524 0096 * Fax: +1 703 997 2414
What's New in the Postal World
Page Two (The Entire Month's Entries) | Page Three (Prior Month's Entries) | Page Four (And the Month Before That)
 

The date has changed!! This Webinar is now scheduled to be held on July 15!
Experian's Summer Rebate Program - Making the Most of the USPS Summer Sale.
Join us for a Webinar on July 15. Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/208822552 Learn how your organization can not only take advantage of the USPS Summer program, but also a unique offering from Experian. Title:   Experian's Summer Rebate Program - Making the Most of the USPS Summer Sale Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2009 Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
 

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/208822552

July 10, 2009

WGEM has reported that "A provision in a Senate Appropriations bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin will keep the mail processing and distribution center in Quincy. The Senate Appropriations Committee late Thursday passed the 2010 FSGG Appropriations bill, which includes a provision to halt the U.S. Postal Service's efforts to consolidate operations, which would close the mail processing and distribution center in Quincy." [EdNote: Here's a headline I'm waiting to read. "Durbin sponsors bill to support money-losing Postal Service. Sen. Schumer signs on as co-sponsor." See also the Quincy Herald-Whig.

From PR Newswire: "DHL Global Mail provides U.S. businesses with faster mail delivery to several key countries, according to a study comparing the performance of four shipping companies. DHL Global Mail's transit times were found to be shorter than those of three U.S.-based competitors on most lanes tested in the study, conducted by Ipsos, one of the world's largest survey-based research companies. That superior speed, combined with DHL Global Mail's competitive rates and full range of services, is how the mail expediter provides unmatched solutions for high-volume mailers and parcel shippers."

The DM Bulletin has reported that "Charities that send cash in direct mail packs to provoke a "guilt response" could face government intervention, a government minister has warned."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission: The Postal Regulatory Commission today issued Order No: 244 establishing Docket N2009-1 to provide a public hearing and issue an advisory opinion on the national service implications of a U.S. Postal Service “Station and Branch Optimization and Consolidation Initiative.” The Postal Service has advised it will examine approximately 3,200 postal stations and branches nationwide for possible closure or curtailment and that an additional 1,600 stations and branches could likewise be reviewed depending on the outcome of the initial examination.

 The latest issue of the PostCom Bulletin is available online. In this issue:

  • The U.S. Postal Service recently filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) a request for an advisory opinion on the possibility of changes in postal services. The Postal Service is requesting the PRC to “determine whether a plan to optimize the postal retail network by consolidating the operations of some retail stations and branches into nearby facilities constitutes a substantially nationwide change in the nature of postal services, within the meaning of 39 U.S.C § 3661(b).”
  • This week, the U.S. Postal Service petitioned the Postal Regulatory Commission to establish Docket No. RM2009-7 to consider a proposal to change analytic principles relating to the Postal Service’s periodic reports - Proposal Two.
  • A solution has been reach between the Mailer Technical Advisory Council (MTAC) and the U.S. Postal Service senior management when they met on June 30 to discuss the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) readability tolerances. This solution reflects the mailing industry’s interest, as well as the Postal Service’s desire to work with the industry.
  • Short list of the many stories focusing on the potential post office and distribution center consolidation or closing.
  • Electronic outreach tests House rules. Few postal employees accept VERA. New president for letter carriers union. FEDEX Ground opens new hub. USPS to receive alternative fuel vehicles.
  • Updates on dockets at the Postal Regulatory Commission.
  • A DMM Update for July 2009 issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
  • An update on DMM Advisory notices issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
  • A review of postal news from around the world.
  • Postal previews
Hey! You've not been getting the weekly PostCom Bulletin--the best postal newsletter anywhere...bar none?  Send us by email your name, company, company title, postal and email address. Get a chance to see what you've been missing.

The PostCom Bulletin is distributed via NetGram

According to Media Daily News, "The financial pressure on big newspapers is threatening to undermine their editorial integrity, with the business side, desperate to shore up collapsing revenues, exerting unwarranted control over newsroom operations. Newspapers are for-profit businesses, and there has probably always been some dubious influence by business execs on editorial; for example, telling journalists to be less critical of important advertisers. However the open nature of the recent transgressions (and attempted transgressions) suggests it is happening more frequently, and with fewer reservations, as newspapers' financial distress worsens."

APWU locals around the country have been busy fighting the consolidation of Processing & Distribution Centers — even as the Postal Service announced it was considering consolidating more than 3,200 of the nation’s larger stations and branches.

The Press of Atlantic City has reported that "Borough officials are calling on President Barack Obama, Gov. Jon S. Corzine, Congress and the U.S. Postal Service to replace the three drop mailboxes in the borough that were removed. The U.S. Postal Service mailboxes were removed 77 days ago from 19th Street, Central Avenue, and Sixth Street and Long Beach Boulevard in front of the Surf City Drug Store. Borough Council passed a resolution Wednesday evening during its regular meeting, objecting to the removal of the mailboxes and demanding their replacement."

ABC.az has reported that "Edouard Dayan, head of Universal Postal Union (UPU), sent a letter to the Azerbaijani postal administration in connection with the conference on development of postal financial services, took place in Baku on 4-5 June. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies reported that conducting of postal and modern financial services via mail service in Azerbaijan is noted as a success of the ministry. “It is also said on knowledge of head of UPU on the best results in development of mail financial services in Azerbaijan and income, received from them. The head of UPU in his letter also expressed his confidence that the experience of Azerbaijan in development of post financial services will be an example for many countries,” the statement reported."

In his most recent perspective on the state of today's postal service, National Academy of Public Administration Fellow Murray Comarow wrote: "While the Board of Governors has described the Postal Service’s business model as broken, it has not specifically proposed a better model. It should do so, in the form of amendments to the crippling statutes, setting forth exactly how its “business” should be shaped. Its justification has been, “Why squander our political capital on legislative proposals that will be dead on arrival?” Or, “The unions won’t like it and we need to work with them; besides, they have the political clout.” Sounds superficially reasonable, and that’s what it is, superficial. It is a serious mistake."

July 9, 2009

International Business Times has reported that "The London postal workers are on a three day strike over jobs cuts, pay and conditions. The strike is spread across three sectors of the postal operation. On Thursday the distribution and logistics staff are on strike and the mail centres will take part in the strike. Royal Mail confirmed that collections and deliveries will take place in all areas of London on Thursday. However, Royal Mail warned that "deliveries and collection times may be slightly later than usual because of larger than usual volumes of mail being handled."

From OfficialWire: "ONEPOST, the UK's leading provider of independent postal advice and management, has just carried out its first customer satisfaction survey. The survey conducted independently by TCS MarketStudy found 90% of customers said their main satisfaction came from the cost savings they had been able to make with speed of delivery being recognised by 25%. When asked what customers felt ONEPOST performed best in, 98% stated the company’s postal market knowledge and 86% identified their customer service standard and 54% their personnel."

Radio New Zealand has reported that "The recession is blamed for hundreds of jobs shed from New Zealand Post in the first six months of this year. Figures obtained under the Official Information Act show almost 500 jobs or contract positions have gone, most of them in postal services. New Zealand Post made 237 people redundant in the first six months of this year. A further 176 positions were not filled when people left and 82 contracts were not renewed. But the total net loss was kept to 384 by the creation of 89 jobs at Kiwibank and 22 in other departments. NZ Post says an unprecedented drop of 7% in domestic mail is behind the job cuts."

Postal snippets:

Review Nepal has reported that Nepal government’s Policies and programmes for the fiscal year 2010/2011 includes an effort at postal modernization.

From Business Wire: "Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/c919a0/express_benchmarki) has announced the addition of the "Express Benchmarking 2009 - Poland" report to their offering. "

Press Release: "American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) President and CEO Frank Keating issued the following statement today praising the statements made by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk on negotiations regarding the competitiveness of the Japanese insurance market: "The United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk recently indicated that securing a level playing field for U.S. insurance providers remains a serious concern, and called on the Japanese government to address the issue expeditiously."

As Federal Computer Week has noted, "The U.S. Postal Service considered rewriting its Cobol-based product tracking system in Java but, with 15 years of business logic embedded in that Cobol code, USPS officials eventually realized that it would be a massive job. They opted instead to use a Micro Focus compiler to repurpose the code so it could run on a mainframe Linux system."


Logistics Management has reported that "in an effort to meet growing customer demand, FedEx Ground
 recently opened up a new distribution hub in Chicago."

DMM Advisory: July DMM Update. Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com) is your source for up-to-date mailing standards. The Domestic Mail Manual is fully searchable on Postal Explorer and features fly-out menus, cross-reference links, and an extensive subject index. We updated our mailing standards with the following changes:

  •  Arizona District ZIP Codes Realigned to Include "851" 3-Digit Service Area
    We revised 246.3.1, 346.3.1, 366.4.1, 446.3.1, 453.3.1.3, 466.4.4, 608.8.4.1, 705.6.2.3, and 705.8.13.1 to realign ZIP Code boundaries and establish new ZIP Codes for the Arizona District

  • Confirmation Services/eVS Barcoded Label Precertification Program
    We revised 503.9.4.3 and 503.10.4.4 to include a new Confirmation Services/eVS Barcoded Label Precertification Program.

  • Standard Mail Volume Incentive Program (aka Summer Sale)
    We added 709.2.0 which describes the Standard Mail Volume Incentive Program. Commonly known as the "Summer Sale," the Standard Mail Volume Incentive Program is a volume incentive program for qualified high-volume mailers of commercial or Nonprofit Standard Mail letters and flats mailed between July 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009. The program provides a 30 percent credit, to participating mailers, for qualifying volume exceeding their USPS-determined threshold level.

  • Extended Enrollment Period for the Standard Mail Saturation Mail Volume Incentive Program
    We revised 243.1.7.2 and 343.1.6.2 to extend the enrollment period for participation in the Saturation Mail Volume Incentive Program to August 1, 2009.

  • Labeling List Changes
    We revised Labeling List L010 to reflect changes in mail processing operations.

According to Direct, "There’s bad news for those who sell traditional marketing channels: Six in ten marketers surveyed by Forrester Research Inc. will increase their interactive marketing budgets by shifting funds from traditional media. Article Tools EmailSavePrintReprintMost Popular Articles-Mail Delivery, Open Rates Up, Clicks Down Wanda Gierhart Named CMO of Neiman Marcus Group Summer Reading Watch: Novel Looks Behind 419 Scams Interactive Marketing Will Cannibalize Traditional Channels: Forrester Q Interactive Acquires Postmaster Direct CMOs Say Budgets Cut By 20% Or More: Forrester advertisement And direct mail was cited by more marketers – 40% -- than any other channel as being one to cut, outranking newspapers (35%), magazines (28%) and television (12%). "

The U.S. Postal Service will conduct a one-for-one replacement of 6,500 vehicles with 1,000 E-85 ethanol-capable and 900 gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles to its delivery fleet, part of a vehicle purchase by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The balance of the GSA purchase for the Postal Service will be fuel-efficient, four-cylinder vehicles, which will replace aging vehicles at postal offices and facilities across the country. There was no cost to the Postal Service for the vehicles. GSA bore all purchase and distribution expenses.

The Royal Gazette has reported that "Government Minister Terry Lister will be able to make changes to postal rates without first getting permission from the House of Assembly, under new legislation passed through the House of Assembly yesterday. The Post Office Amendment Act 2009 will mean the Post Office can change rates in a more timely way — meaning it can compete better with rivals such as courier firms — the E-Commerce Minister told MPs."

WOWK-TV has asked: "The federal government came to the rescue of America's financial institutions, the automobile industry and others. But is it capable of returning its own U.S. Postal Service to profitability, or to the point where it at least breaks even? That is the billion-dollar question these days."

According to Federal News Radio, "Many federal agencies are going to get bigger as the Obama administration tackles the economic crisis. But the biggest kid on the federal block isn't one of them. That would be the U.S. Postal Service. Picture, if you can, the USPS as one of the contestants on that popular NBC reality show, "The Biggest Loser". Like the human contestants, the USPS needs to downsize to stay in the game and stay alive. So how did a popular federal operation that touches nearly every American household 6-days a week suddenly become too big? And how can it downsize?"

Procurement Leaders has reported that "The national postal supplier of Belgium, De Post - La Poste, has adopted a spend management solution to help with a transformational journey to maximise profitability and increase transparency before the liberalisation of postal services in 2011. The solution, supplied by Indian-based spend management company, Zycus, and, according to the company, will allow it to improve spend transparency to better identify cost-reduction opportunities."

Arabian Business has reported that "Bahrain residents will soon be able to pay their electricity and water bills using their mobile telephones, in the latest of a series of eGovernment initiatives on the island state. “We will launch the service before the end of August,” Mohamed Ali Al Qaed, CEO of Bahrain’s eGovernment Authority (eGA), told Arabian Business in an interview. The eGA already offers customers 17 services on their mobile phones, including real-time flight arrival and departure information, specialist medical services searches, and postal tracking."

At its closed session meeting on June 23, 2009, the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service voted unanimously to close to public observation its meeting to be held on July 15, 2009, in Washington, DC via teleconference. The Board determined that no earlier public notice was possible. Items Considered: 1. Financial Matters. 2. Strategic Issues. 3. Pricing. 4. Personnel Matters and Compensation Issues. 5. Governors' Executive Session--discussion of prior agenda items and Board Governance.

Hellmail has reported that:

Swiss Post is deploying 110 new gas-powered vehicles to ensure an environmentally friendly parcel delivery. 40 of them will be used at the newly opened Magenwil distribution base. The new gas-powered Fiat Ducato, which Swiss Post operates with the support of gasmobil Switzerland, produces 10% fewer environmentally harmful greenhouse gases compared to conventional diesel engines. Overall, Swiss Post uses 140 gas-powered delivery vehicles in Switzerland and thus has the largest gas-powered fleet in the country. For letter delivery, Swiss Post relies on low-emission electric scooters.
Maiga Dzervitis is to be the new chairman of the board at Latvian Post. Mr Dzervitis was born in 1953, is married, and graduated from the Riga Polytechnic Institute (now the Riga Technical University), studied at the George Washington University in the United States, and also studied in Latvia.

The Memphis Business Journal has reported that "FedEx Corp. rose 14 spots on Fortune magazine’s Global 500 companies list. Memphis-based FedEx is now ranked 200 on the list, up from 214 last year. Its $37.9 billion in revenues ranked it below Deutsche Post’s $97.7 billion, below the U.S. Postal Service at $74.9 billion and below United Parcel Service Inc., which posted $51.5 billion in revenues."

From PR Newswire: "PostNet, an international network of neighborhood business centers, announced today the launch of its national business conversion program designed to allow independent retail operators to diversify into PostNet's digital copy, printing and shipping franchise model."

July 8, 2009

ManxRadio has reported that "Post being sent to parts of London over the next few days is likely to be disrupted. The Communication Workers Union is carrying out a rolling programme of 24-hour stoppages between Wednesday and Friday Although Isle of Man Post Office employees are not involved in the industrial action and will forward all mail as normal, deliveries to most London postcode districts will be affected."

The Baltimore Sun has reported that "The Baltimore County Council has banned unsolicited advertising circulars that often end up littering neighborhoods and clogging area waterways. By a unanimous vote Monday, the council prohibited advertisers from delivering fliers to homes or leaving them on vehicles. The law, which takes effect in 45 days, does not apply to U.S. Postal Service deliveries or those by private mail services, and also exempts newspapers and campaign literature. Violators could face fines of up to $1,000. Councilman John Olszewski Sr., who sponsored the bill, said a day of volunteering at a creek cleanup in his district gave him insight into the mounting problem of discarded paper that eventually finds its way into streams, creeks and the bay. "This law is the direct result of many complaints from residents," he said. "

The DM Bulletin has reported that "Traditional media channels such as above-the-line advertising and direct mail have been most harshly cut in favour of online channels, as marketers seek to get the most out of drastically reduced budgets, according to a new survey by Forrester Research. The survey, which questioned a panel of chief marketing officers worldwide, discovered that 71 per cent of marketing budgets have been reduced in 2009 compared with last year, with more than half cut by at least 20 per cent."

Brand Republic has reported that "The part-privatisation of the Royal Mail will go ahead once the economy picks up, Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, reiterated yesterday. Lord Mandelson’s assertion, made to MPs on the Business and Enterprise Committee yesterday, comes amid growing skepticism about the prospects for the sale of 30% of Royal Mail ahead of the next General Election."

The Philippine Information Agency has reported that "Legislators may now have to ask Congressional amendment to the law governing the Philippine Posts Corporation (Philpost) following the public knowledge of its becoming irrelevant and inefficient."

  The Korea Times has reported that "With France and Singapore newly included, the express mail service (EMS) offered by Korea Post has expanded its global network for special deliveries to connect 176,000 post offices in 10 countries."

CEP News (Courier-Express-Postal), published by the MRU Consultancy, has reported that:

The volume of addressed mail in Switzerland continued to decrease in 2008.
Given the downward trend in volume, the French La Poste has announced a review of its medium-term strategy. In particular, the company will look over how to absorb the long-term decrease in mail and parcel consignments, which makes up three quarters of total revenue.
Schweizerische Post is anticipating a profit collapse of 27 per cent this year - at best.
Last Tuesday, Doris Bures (Social Democratic Party of Austria), the minister responsible for Österreichische Post, suspended the planned closure of 193 post office branches for three months.
TNT has increased pressure on trade unions and confirmed its intention to cut up to 11,000 jobs in the next three years in order to make savings of up to 395m euros per year.
Stralfors, a subsidiary company of the Swedish Posten AB in the information logistics sector, is breaking away from all activities in the areas of office supplies and computer accessories.
SingPost is taking over 30 per cent of shares in the American Postea Inc.
FedEx is sticking to its plans to open its new Central and Eastern European hub at Cologne/Bonn Airport next year.
Parcelforce Worldwide plans to expand further with new international services.
With weak demand on long-haul routes from China to Europe and North America, the Chinese domestic market is becoming increasingly attractive for logistics operators.
Deutsche Post has sold off its shares in Deutsche Bank and made a significant gain in doing so.
Greenlight Capital Group, one of the biggest shareholders in Österreichische Post, has reduced its share holdings to under 5 per cent.
Environmentally friendly driving has brought about considerable savings for Posten Norge.
Österreichische Post and the trade union have negotiated a collective agreement for new employees.
Alexander Kisseljow, head of the Russian post, has suggested that domestic aircraft manufacturers concentrate increasingly on developing a small aircraft. According to his statement there is great demand for aircraft that can carry up to 2.5 tonnes of freight and 10 people and - even more importantly - are able to land on soft ground.
DHL is on the verge of moving its flight operations in the USA from Wilmington to Cincinnati.
The Emirates Post implemented significant improvements to its parcel service to India at the end of June.
 

The MRU, founded in 1992, is the only consultancy in Europe, which has specialised in the market of courier-, express- and parcel services. For large-scale shippers and CEP-services in particular, the MRU provides interdisciplinary advice for all major questions of the market, as there are for example market entry, product design, organisation, and EDP.To learn more about the stories reported above, contact CEP News. (We appreciate the courtesy extended by CEP News to help whet your appetite for more of what CEP offers.)

Bernama has reported that "A team of specialists at Azerbaijan's state postal service, Azerpocht, have attended an ICT course in Thailand, Azerbaijan's news agency (AzerTAc) reported Wednesday quoting the country's Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies as saying. Supported by the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU), the courses provided an insight into application of electronic services in the postal system."

Here's a story in the Washington Post you gotta read. It's about one of our own....long-time postal colleague Robert Brinkmann.

Bloomberg has reported that "London postal workers began a three- day strike in a dispute over workforce reductions at state- owned Royal Mail Group Plc. The industrial action started at 5 a.m. today and no talks with the company are scheduled." See also Reuters and BBC.

The Hill has reported that "Lawmakers from both parties are resisting the Postal Service’s attempts to end Saturday deliveries and close branches in order to make up its budget shortfall. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said that she’s concerned that a reduction in service would lead to a loss in customers. Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that considers USPS funding, said she supports maintaining a rider in an appropriations bill that requires the USPS to deliver six days a week. That provision has been left intact in the House version of the financial services and general government spending bill. Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.), who is shepherding the bill through the lower chamber, said that people depend on Saturday service and “would be greatly inconvenienced by missing a day’s delivery."

The International Business Times has reported that "London is facing a three day postal strike starting on Wednesday, 8 July to Friday, 10 July. Royal mail postal workers to go on three day strike.The Communications Union (CWU) that represents the postal workers called for the three day London strike over job and pay cuts and conditions."

Hellmail has reported that:

Lord Mandelson made it clear today that the government remains committed to the modernisation of the Royal Mail through the Postal Services Bill. He was asked a series of questions by the Enterprise Committee about the present status of the Bill and the future of Royal Mail which is saddled with a pension deficit said to be approaching £10bn.
The Portugese postal opertator, CTT said it would not be increasing the prices of transport and distribution of books, newspapers and periodic publications - even to the end of 2009, maintaining existing prices that came into force in August 2008. The price hold was agreed on Monday between the CTT, the Office of Social communication and the Portuguese Association of Press (API). The agreement forms a program of support and action to develop in cooperation with the regional Press.

The New York Times has reported that "United Parcel Service Inc. aims to cut its airline fleet's greenhouse gas emissions 42 percent from 1990 levels during the next decade by using less fossil fuel in its jets. UPS currently operates the world's ninth-largest private airline fleet, with 228 jumbo jets in service and 314 more chartered aircraft. The Atlanta-based company said in a sustainability report today that it plans to invest in more fuel-efficient aircraft models, introduce biofuels, reduce runway idling and optimize flight routes, among other things, to slash its fuel costs and emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases."

The Business Standard has reported that "With the wage bill of postal department, having around 484,000 employees, expected to go up by 20 per cent in the current fiscal, the postal deficit for 2009-10 is set to go up by 41 per cent to Rs 5,395 crore over 2008-09. This is because the postal department is estimated to earn only Rs 6,135.74 crore in 2009-10 while its total working expenses for the period are pegged at Rs 11, 531 crore. Therefore, the balance of Rs 5,395 crore has been provided as the budgetary support. Postal deficit in the revised estimates 2008-09 stood at Rs 3,825 crore while the Budget estimates for 2008-09 had made allocations of only Rs 958 crore as postal deficit. Postal deficit is the gross non-plan expenditure less postal earnings."

Press Release: "GrayHair Software, the direct mail industry’s leader in mail tracking and Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb) services, and Neopost USA Inc., an industry leading provider of mailing and shipping solutions, formed a strategic alliance to add mail tracking and IMb management into its new high-speed metering system."

According to the Portland Business Journal, "Perfect Output of Kansas City LLC is partnering with Earth Class Mail Corp. to offer businesses combined document-processing and mail-management services, prompted by their work serving Sprint Nextel Corp. Kansas-based Perfect Output will sell a document-management outsourcing package that will include Earth Class Mail’s online postal-mail technology as its centerpiece, Seattle-based Earth Class Mail said in a release."

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

According to the Prescott Report, "Last Friday, July 3, the lower house of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) passed an amendment to the German data protection law that incorporates the recommendations of the Interior Committee of July 1, 2009. It appears to be a widely held belief that it is likely that the upper house of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundesrat) will adopt the legislation shortly and that the law would then come into effect on September 1, 2009. Bottom line for Database Marketing. Personal data may no longer be used for marketing purposes unless the individual consents to such use. There are very important exceptions to this sweeping prohibition, which would otherwise prove the death-knell for direct marketing. These exceptions will permit the industry to remain robust, although handicapped."

July 7, 2009

Press Release: "WIT Postal Logistics, LLC, (“WIT”) is pleased to announce the hiring of Richard L. Kropski as President. Rick joins WIT with a broad range of experience in the print and mail logistics business. Rick formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Postal Commerce."

Associated Press of Pakistan has reported that "Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Tuesday directed the country’s postal services to provide speedy, efficient and better services to the people.Chairing a briefing of the Pakistan Post to review its performance and future plans at the Postal Staff College, the Prime Minister directed the Ministry to ensure delivery of cost-effective, client-responsive postal service to the people. Gilani directed the postal department to up-grade and modernize its infrastructure and office environment, compete with the private sector and re-engineer its business procedures by integrating automation in running the organization."

"Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "It's now clear that Royal Mail management is the biggest block to modernisation. When presented with the best deal we - or any other union - can offer, which is for three months of no industrial action and focused negotiation on modernisation, they refuse. "Management seem to be sulking because the prospect of privatisation and increased executive pay has disappeared. The Chairman Donald Brydon appears to be incapable of focusing on making Royal Mail a success in the public sector. He was clearly brought in to oversee a part sell-off and his skills are not suited to the current problems facing the company. "The problems that Royal Mail face are not going away. The pension deficit in particular needs to be resolved along with the increasingly important outstanding issues of modernisation. The government is allowing the same management that was criticised for failure to continue mis-managing the company. "Strike action in London is in response to Royal Mail's continuing executive action of cuts without modernisation. There's no machinery, no redesigning of deliveries and no improvement on industrial relations. The company has abandoned the final phase of the 2007 Pay and Modernisation agreement and is set on piling more work and pressure on already stretched staff."

The BBC has reported that "The taxpayer has been a "very generous banker" to the Royal Mail and needs paying back now, the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said. Speaking to MPs on the Business and Enterprise Committee, Lord Mandelson said the public deserved a modern and reliable mail service."

"Halting the spread of HIV by 2015 is one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To contribute towards this goal, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and UNAIDS together with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNI Global have launched a global awareness campaign. Post offices in participating countries will display HIV prevention information which will reach the general public and postal employees."

According to Hellmail, "Neopost ID has launched an innovative online shipping service for Australia Post called ‘Click and Send’. Business or individual Internet users can now ship and track parcels internationally, without leaving the home or office."

Bloomberg has reported that "The U.K. government should use its unprofitable network of post offices to offer expanded banking services in isolated communities, a committee of lawmakers said.
 

Scheduled for Friday, July 10, 2009. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Edolphus Towns, Chairman Agenda: The Committee will hold a business meeting to mark up H.R. 22, which amends Chapter 89 of Title 5, United States Code, to allow the United States Postal Service to pay its share of contributions for annuitants’ health benefits out of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund. The Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia Subcommittee reported H.R. 22 by voice vote on June 24, 2009. Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: Rayburn 2154

The Federal Times has reported that "Fewer than 2 percent of U.S. Postal Service employees who were offered a chance at early retirement last month accepted the offer — far less than postal management expected."

The following will appear in this Friday’s (July 10) DMM Advisory: From now through November 28, 2009 the following readability thresholds for Intelligent Mail barcodes applied to Letter and Flat automation-price pieces are in effect: a. A mailing with an Intelligent Mail barcode readability verification result of 70 percent or higher passes verification. b. A mailing with an Intelligent Mail barcode readability verification result of below 70 percent will have additional postage calculated based on 100 percent of the automation-price pieces in the mailing.

July 6, 2009

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

NewstalkZB has reported that "Croxley Stationery is going head to head with New Zealand Post by launching a postal service. The company's managing director Joe Naus says people will be able to buy Croxley mail stamps and pre-paid envelopes from everyday stores such as the Warehouse, Whitcoulls and local stationery stores. He says the prices are the same level as New Zealand Post charges but Croxley stamps and envelopes will be available from a wide range of outlets, compared with those provided by NZ Post. Mr Naus says Croxley has brokered an access deal with New Zealand Post, enabling Croxley mail to be delivered through the postal system."

AllAfrica.com has reported that "In its uncompromising determination to expose and weed out corrupt elements, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has dismissed three of its employees for the alleged involvement in corrupt practices"

The latest postal blog entry has been posted on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s Internet site “Pushing the Envelope.” The public, mailers, postal employees, and other stakeholders are invited to weigh in on the online discussions taking place. To view the site, visit http://blog.uspsoig.gov/. A Look at India Post. How do developing countries’ postal services cope with the tension between their universal service obligation and financial viability? Looking at today’s India Post the OIG blog asks, “What kind of a business model should India Post adopt? Do you think India Post’s experience of providing universal service has any lessons for the U.S. Postal Service?” You can visit Office of Inspector General’s public website at: www.uspsoig.gov. If you have additional questions, please contact Communication and Work Life Director Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286.

From PR Newswire: "Fredric V. Rolando assumed the presidency of the 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO) today, following the retirement of William H. Young after more than 6 1/2 years as head of the postal union. Rolando, 56, a member of Sarasota, Florida NALC Branch 2148, moved up from his position as the union's executive vice president under terms of the union's constitution."

The Western Morning News has reported that "ministers will this week be urged to take practical measures to secure the future of the Post Office network. A Commons inquiry into how to ensure branches can survive will stress the need for practical measures to attract more customers. It follows the controversial closure programme which saw some 140 Post Office branches axed across Devon and Cornwall last year. Devon County Council pledged earlier this year that it would provide grants to 15 village shops in order to help them to stay open. Countryside campaigners have stressed the importance of branches to community life, particularly for the elderly." [EdNote: What ever happened to senior centers?]

According to Dead Tree Edition, "The laws of economics say the U.S. Postal Service needs to reduce the number of post offices. But the laws of the United States may say otherwise. As USPS embarks on a study to determine which of approximately 3,000 large post offices can be eliminated, it is seeking the Postal Regulatory Commission's blessing on the legality of its efforts. The Postal Service is concerned about running afoul of the law requiring it to “maintain[s] postal facilities of such character and in such locations, that postal patrons throughout the Nation will, consistent with reasonable economies of postal operations, have ready access to essential postal services.”

Shares.ie has reported that "A new option for securing the future of Northern Rock and Royal Mail has been put forward: the formation of a 'Post Bank'. The Communication Workers' Union, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Unite union are among those supporting using state-owned Northern Rock as the basis for a new postal banking service. In a report out today it proposes running a postal bank through the Post Office network, reviving the latter and providing support for communities and small- and medium-sized businesses. The coalition argues such a move would help provide more diversity to the banking sector and would help the government's campaign against financial exclusion."

Reuters has reported that "Deutsche Post AG has sold its entire stake in Deutsche Bank AG, the logistics group said on Monday, ending a brief period when it was one of the bank's biggest shareholders. Post Chief Executive Frank Appel said in a statement the move cleared the way for the German post office turned global logistics group to concentrate on its core business."

"House members are spending millions in taxpayer funds on email and other electronic outreach to voters, often in ways that avoid their traditional rules on constituent communications. During the nine months ended March 31, which included the run-up to the last election, House members spent about $3.5 million from their office accounts on electronic outreach, according to a Wall Street Journal review of expense records. Congressional rules bar lawmakers from using their free-mail privilege -- known as franking -- to send mass mailings through the U.S. Postal Service in the 90 days before an election. One goal of those limits is to curtail the advantage of incumbency and to discourage entrenched lawmakers from driving up taxpayer costs in a flurry of pre-election appeals to potential voters. But rules for email, congressional Web sites and social-media tools are far less restrictive, and in some cases nonexistent."

According to Online Media, "Based on current trends, Internet ad spending will rise to $56.8 billion this year, or 12.6% of the global advertising economy. That means the Internet will pick up more than two points of worldwide advertising share, this year, and its momentum is only expected to accelerate. According to the Publicis' ZenithOptimedia Group, "most of this growth will come from paid search, which is an ideal method of reaching consumers looking for bargains. In the U.S., we predict search advertising to grow 20.0% in 2009, while traditional display grows 3.0% and classified grows just 1.8%."

Hellmail has reported that "Spanish postal operator Correos has announced that as part of the modernisation of its service with more than 2.200 multiservice points, it now offers 'Postal International Express' through all these outlets, with a guaranteed delivery date for urgent mail destined for the United States, China, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and South Korea. These countries belong to the “Kahala Post Group” (KPG), the postal network with major world coverage, of which CORREOS has been a member since 2006. Correos said that due to its integration with the KPG international alliance, it can offer customers an exact date for delivery. It said the service would be well received in terms of commercial relations between these countries, both for the export of products and for the import and distribution of the mail on the part of Correos. The fully tracked service can be accessed by customers through the internet."

Xinhua has reported that "China's postal revenue rose 13.1 percent year on year in the first half of this year to an estimated 76.5 billion yuan (11.2 billion U.S. dollars), according to China's State Post Bureau."

Transport Intelligence has reported that "GeoPost, the express parcel arm of French Groupe La Poste, and Continental Air Express Pvt Ltd, an associate company of the Vohra family owned Continental Carriers Group, have announced the establishment of a joint venture company. The new company will be called DPD Continental Pvt. Ltd and will offer inbound and outbound express parcel services under the DPD brand to customers in India."

The Coventry Telegraph has reported that "postal services in Coventry and Warwickshire could be disrupted after union leaders revealed they would be balloting for industrial action. A national dispute at Royal Mail - which will see thousands of postal workers in London take part in three days of strikes this week - looks set to spill over in to Coventry and Warwickshire in the next few days."

Baltimore Breaking News has reported that "A Baltimore County councilman wants to curtail unsolicited advertising circulars, claiming the papers litter neighborhoods and can eventually clog area waterways. Councilman John Olszewski has drafted a bill that prohibits circulars from being dropped off at homes in the county. The County Council is expected to vote Monday on the proposal. If passed, the law would take effect in 45 days. The law will not apply to U.S. Postal Service deliveries or those by a private mail service."

CanadianDriver has reported that "Japan’s postal service will deploy 40 electric vehicles this fiscal year, with the first units launching later this month, according to the Green Car Congress. Japan Post Service has signed 5-year leases for 20 units each of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the Subaru Plug-In Stella. The cars will be used mainly in the company’s branches in Kanagawa Prefecture, which has a charging infrastructure."

The Financial Mail has reported that "Royal Mail management has hit out at criticism from Lord Mandelson that the organisation has failed to modernise, arguing that the Business Secretary is simply trying to deflect criticism for postponing plans for a partial privatisation. Business Secretary: Lord Mandelson OTHER STORIES Skipton to take over Newcastle BS From buy-to-let to fraud and a lost £100k Bank may ask to print more money Passengers sue easyJet over 31 hour delay Price rise warning on T-Mobile takeover It believes his attack on Royal Mail's industrial relations record is outdated and an attempt to blame problems on management."

The New Nation has reported that "Bangladesh Postal Department has taken steps to introduce mobile money order service in the country's post offices for reaching money to the clients within an hour."

The New Vision has reported that "Kenya is the most corrupt county in the East African region followed by Uganda, the latest Bribery Index report has said. Postal companies are seen as the least corrupt in Uganda and Kenya and microfinance in Tanzania."

The Times has reported that "The chairman of Royal Mail’s pension trustees is considering plans to close its retirement scheme to existing members after legislation to part-privatise the postal service was shelved last week."

Reuters has reported that "Package delivery giant and U.S. economic bellwether FedEx Corp is seeing signs for a potential turnaround in the second half as production seemed to be picking up again."

July 5, 2009

Folio has reported that:

  • The U.S. government has asked a New York bankruptcy court to deny Quebecor World’s plan of reorganization because it releases third parties from environmental penalties and because the company owes unpaid taxes.

  • The first half numbers are in, and according to MediaFinder.com─an online database of U.S. and Canadian magazines—187 new titles have launched thus far in '09. But unfortunately, the frequency of these launches wasn't enough to counteract the number of titles shuttered. Of the 279 that folded, main category culprits include regional interest magazines, which took a dive and saw 27 titles fold, like Denver Living and Florida InsideOut. However, regional interest publications were also the top category for new launches at 12. Other categories on the decline include construction, lifestyle and business with 18, 14 and 10 folded titles, respectively. Since the end of March, 77 magazines have launched and 184 have folded, compared with 110 launches and 95 closings in the first quarter of 2009. A bright spot, if there is one, is that after the print editions folded, 43 titles continued to live on the Web.

Network World has reported that "The U.S. government is releasing $4 billion worth of funds to pay for the first round of broadband projects mandated by the economic stimulus package passed earlier this year." [EdNote: And the USPS gets bupkus.]

Easier.com has reported that "Parcelforce Worldwide has launched a new suite of cost effective international services following an 11 per cent rise in export deliveries in the past year. With UK companies taking advantage of the weak pound to seek out new market opportunities, Parcelforce Worldwide has seen strong export growth across the world. Exporting hotspots include EU ‘accession’ countries in Eastern Europe, major Asian destinations and Western Europe, where there has been a marked increase in the amount of parcels sent from the UK."

According to Hellmail, "Royal Mail's interpretation of modernisation is one based on massive restructuring both to the sorting network and the nature of employment. The CWU's view is that it wants to check the small print in more detail and debate what should or should not close. The Royal Mail, concerned that it may miss the bus if it doesn't push through widespread change seems in no mood to chew the cud. Many within (and outside of) the union believe that Royal Mail should remain a public institution, paid for from the public purse but competition is here to stay and whether through access agreements or other means, will continue to plunder the most lucrative areas of Royal Mail's customer base or else leap into entirely new areas that have arisen since the post business was opened to all. Keeping Royal Mail in the public sector will not, on its own, solve all the problems faced by the company and could just saddle the country with not only the pension deficit but the cost of the USO as well. It still needs investment, something that isn't for the moment, on offer."

The Rocky Mountain Telegram has reported that "Postal union officials said Thursday that they are concerned that local carrier’s jobs might be eliminated if curbside delivery inside the city limits comes to fruition."

July 4, 2009

According to Daily Finance, "Newspaper publishers hope that as the economy recovers, so will their advertising, which has been falling at a rate of 20 percent or more year-over-year. Many experts believe that there will be no recovery. Too many print marketing dollars have moved to the internet and won't be back." [EdNote: Gee, that has a familiar "postal" ring.]

As the Business Insider has noted, "newspapers have had a rough 2009. But you may not quite appreciate the magnitude of the collapse. So far this year: 105 newspapers have been shuttered. 10,000 newspaper jobs have been lost. Print ad sales fell 30% in Q1 '09. 23 of the top 25 newspapers reported circulation declines between 7% and 20%. What happened? The economy collapsed and advertising budgets went with it, accelerating a process already underway: the Internet's erosion of the entire newspaper industry."

Editorsweblog.org has reported that "This week, a tax break for newspapers in Washington state went into effect, giving print publications a 40 percent reduction in the state business tax. Nicolas Sarkozy of France has taken the approach of compelling the government to pony up 600 million euros, in addition to the millions of euros in subsidies newspapers already receive. Former Scotsman editor Tim Luckhurst has argued Scotland's papers need some form of state assistance. In the case of Washington state, not all newspapers are suffering to the same degree, but a little extra cash is nothing to sneeze at. [EdNote: Soooo, when is the Congress gonna do the right thing by the Postal Service?]

According to Le Temps, Swiss Post is looking for solutions to avoid rate increases.

According to E-Commerce Times, "Countless online shoppers are asking themselves whether paying a premium for express shipping and handling fees is really necessary. After all, there have been many times when they've ordered an item for the "week-to-10-day" delivery and received it within three business days without paying the premium."

NewsChannel34 has reported that "US Senator Chuck Schumer is on board with local post office workers who are against a consolidation move. The USPS is having major financial problems and is looking at possibly doing away with mail sorting in Binghamton and moving that Syracuse. Local postal workers say the move doesn't make sense and it will take longer to get your mail. Schumer is asking the USPS to reconsider the move, something it has done in the past."

July 3, 2009

Hellmail has reported that "The announcement this week that TNT Post is to lay off a staggering 11,000 employees may have been avoided had the union accepted a pay cut - it has been revealed. The Dutch-based company, which is seeing falling mail volume, and intense competition, suggested that to protect jobs for the next three years, postal workers take a pay cut of 15% but this was rejected outright by the union. TNT says it now has no other option but to lay off 11,000 workers to save around 395 million euros and that it was now too late for the union to try to reverse the decision. The company recently carried out its own survey of employees to find out how many would be prepared to take a pay cut. 74% said they would choose a pay cut rather than losing their jobs."

The Staten Island Advance has reported that "Mail bound off Staten Island will no longer be processed at the Manor Road Post Office, the Postal Service said, in an unpopular move the federal agency telegraphed months ago. As of July 20, nearly all mail originating on Staten Island will travel to the distribution center in East New York, Brooklyn, where it will be postmarked with that borough's stamp."

As the North Fort Myer Neighbor has noted, "There are many advantages to using bulk business mail. The most important advantage is that bulk postage rates are significantly lower than single-piece rates. That can save you a lot of money. Mailing in bulk requires a permit and there is a 200-piece minimum per mailing. Consider this. You can mail Simplified Addressing format (e.g., "Postal Customer") for only 13.9 cents per piece if you mail to all delivery points on certain delivery routes or all Post Office boxes at any Post Office. The majority of delivery routes in Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties qualify for this type of mailing. The size of the mailpiece can range from as small as 3 1/2 x 5 to as large as 6 1/8 x 11 1/2. Not only is this method economical, it is also easy. There are no address lists to purchase; each piece is simply addressed to Postal Customer ECRWSS."

Swissinfo.ch has reported that "Swiss Post says a banking licence would help increase its financial potential as profits are expected to drop by more than a quarter this year. Chairman Claude B gl said it was unfortunate that the government came out against granting such a permit, since the company already had the necessary the know-how. He is hopeful that parliament might change its mind, but added that Swiss Post was also willing to cooperate with partners in the banking business."

The Ghana News Agency has reported that "Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communications, on Friday called for the immediate resuscitation of the Instant Money Transfer (IMT) services, operated by the Ghana Post in order to generate income for the cash trapped organization."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that "Insolvent German retailer Arcandor AG's mail-order retail unit, Quelle GmbH, was handed a lifeline by federal and state governments. The Arcandor unit needs the loan because of upfront costs associated with the mail-order business. Catalogs must be printed and distributed and products stocked before customer orders are received. Quelle has said it needs the money to finance the printing of its fall-winter catalog."

According to MLive, "The idea of dropping a day, however, is nothing new. Grand Rapids Postmaster Chris Tinkham acknowledged discussion of eliminating Saturday mail delivery continues. But the topic has remained on the periphery of public attention ever since, with more recent reports indicating the debate continues on a national level. In April, The Press editorialized in favor of dropping six-day delivery, noting that in an age of widespread electronic communication, its need is "long past."

The Institut D'economie Industrielle (IDEI) Universit Toulouse 1 Sciences Sociales has issued its Call for Papers for the sixth conference on Regulation, Competition and Universal Service in the Postal Sector to be held in Toulouse on March 18-19, 2010.

The DM Bulletin has reported that "A Tory government would revive plans to sell a stake in Royal Mail, party insiders told the Financial Times yesterday."

DMM Advisory: The latest USPS Intelligent Mail Services Weekly Update has been posted on this site.

At the Postal Regulatory Commission: 

As the Postalnews Blog has reported, "The Postal Service announced today that the New York Metro Area based in Flushing NY is to be merged into the Northeast Area, which has offices in Windsor CT. NY Metro is responsible for New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and part of New Jersey. The Northeast Area office currently handles the New England states, and upstate New York."

The Telegraph has noted that "With one swoop a three-pronged rescue plan to part-privatise Royal Mail, for the Government to take on its pension burden and to relax the restrictive regulatory regime that hampers its commerciality was put on ice."

   

2009 Postal Prices

PostCom's charts of 2009 postal prices
PostCom Master 2009 Price Chart
USPS Prices
Postal Rate Histories

PostCom Links

Search the PostCom web site.
Enter word or phrase to search for:
Only match whole words

PostCom Postal Podcasts

PostCom Bulletin (Members)
Postal Operations Library (Members)
Post Ops Updates (Members)
Postal Issues Briefs
(Members)
Postal Policy Report (Members)
About PostCom
Articles & Other Papers
PostCom News Archive
(Members)
The Mail Marketing Glossary
Postal Acronyms & Abbreviations
Intelligent Mail Glossary (Members)
The PostCom Staff
The PostCom Board of Directors
PostCom Annual Report
Contact PostCom

HAVE YOU HAD IT WITH
"DO NOT MAIL" MANIA?
Then be sure to read:

* The Environmental Impacts of the Mail: Initial Life Cycle Inventory Model and Analysis (USPS study)
* Informing The Dialogue: Facts About Mail And The Environment (SLS Study) 
* Informing The Dialogue: Facts About Mail And The Environment (SLS Study) 
* The many documents that serve as backup  (SLS Study) 
* How To Deal With "Do Not Mail" Mania (PostCom) 
* What You Need to Know About
Mail, the Economy, and Society
(PostCom) 
* U.S. Constitution, Article 1
Section 8:
"The  Congress 
[not the States] shall have power...To establish post offices and post roads."

Muth Communications
"a comprehensive editorial services company"


 
This Day in Postal History

Things You Should Know

Postal Facts
Contacting the President of the U.S.
Contacting U. S. Senators
Contacting U. S. Representatives
Contacts via FirstGov
How a Bill Becomes a Law 
Getting Your Voice Heard
Tips on Emailing Congress
Working With The Media
Other Key Public Affairs Links

Postal Rates & Codes Worldwide


Government Postal Sites

U.S. PostalService
USPS News Releases
USPS Financials
USPS RIBBS web site
MTAC
Postal Bulletin
Postal Explorer
Postal Regulatory Commission
General Accountability Office
GAO on the USPS 2001-2005
USPS Inspector General
Department of State (UPU)

Report of Commission on USPS

Postal Unions

Ntl. Assn. Of Letter Carriers
Ntl. Rural Letter Carriers Assn.
APWU

Postal Management Groups

Ntl. Assn. Of Postmasters of the U.S.
National Assn. Of Postal Supervisors
National League of Postmasters

Other Postal News Sources

CEP News
Courier, Express and Postal Observer
Intellisent Postal Affairs Blog
PostalNews.Com
PostInsight
Postal Mag.Com
Postal Employee Network
PostalReporter.com

Letter Carrier Network
Hellmail (U.K.)

Industry News

Catalog Success
Multichannel Merchant
Direct's "News Line"
DM News
Mailing Systems Technology
Direct Marketing News
Catalog News
Paper Industry News
Printing Industry News
Trucking/Transportation News

Page Two (The Entire Month's Entries) | Page Three (Prior Month's Entries) | Page Four (And the Month Before That)