Association for Postal Commerce
"Representing those who use or support the use of mail for Business Communication and Commerce"
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Postal News and Information from Around the World

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

September 4, 2010

According to 11Alive, "Are you inadvertantly putting your health and well-being at risk? You just might be if you aren't careful about prescription drugs that are mailed to your home. If your medications sit for hours in your mailbox before you are able to actually bring them inside your house, the integrity of your medicine could be severely compromised since many prescription drugs can degrade after being exposed to high temperatures."

WZVN has reported that "Workers at the Cape Coral Post Office say their manager baked them a dessert that looked like something you'd find in a toilet. The attempt at bathroom humor backfired in a big way. Workers at the Cape Coral Post Office were not amused by the cake crafted by the post office manager. The manager made the cake to look like poop because the office received a bad score from a mystery shopper." [EdNote: You know . . . . You just can't make this stuff up.]

September 3, 2010


New reports have been posted today on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General website (http://www.uspsoig.gov/).  If you have additional questions concerning a report, please contact Wally Olihovik at 703.248. 2201, or Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286.

Dead Tree Edition has told its readers that "Thanks to its own witnesses, the Postal Service has blown its chances for getting exigent rate increases approved, a postal expert wrote this week."

speaker Now hear this: "This Week In Postal".........the latest podcast posted now!

The Magill Report has noted that "Job prospects for out-of-work direct marketers have taken a sharp turn for the worse in the last 12 months, according to a study released earlier today by Bernhart Associates Executive Search. Nearly one third of the 448 respondents—who are all unemployed—said they have been looking for work for more than 18 months, according to Bernhart. Moreover, the median length of unemployment among direct marketers is 12 months, significantly up from 6.5 months in a similar study Bernhart conducted a year ago.

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

  • The Association for Postal Commerce has told the Postal Regulatory Commission that "changes to products, including changes in conditions of eligibility and the modification of rate relationships, are outside the scope of a filing under §3622(d)(1)(E). Whether advanced by the Postal Service itself or by a third party, they must be dismissed."
  • The Affordable Mail Alliance told the Postal Regulatory Commission that "[t]o find that . . . business-as-usual incrementalism satisfies the statutory requirement of "honest, efficient and economical management" would make the $115 billion loss projection a self-fulfilling prophecy. For many reasons, "the Postal Service's Request should be denied in its entirety."
  • Anthony Vegliante, the U.S. Postal Service Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Vice President, spoke about the contract negotiations that begun this week with two of the four unions, including the largest, the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (APWU).
  • According to postal commentator Gene Del Polito, "Mail is still today an important part of our nation's economic infrastructure. Its purpose, more so now than ever before, is to facilitate the transaction of business communication and commerce. The Postal Regulatory Commission plays a key role in determining whether the postal infrastructure facilitates or impedes those vital business transactions. This, more than any consideration of Postal Service grand plans, political strategies, or inside-the-beltway gamesmanship, should be foremost in the minds of the Commissioners."
  • The USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) this week released an August 30, 2010, audit report on business mail verification procedures at specific Business Mail Entry Units (BMEUs) in the Triboro District. The OIG audit concluded that business mail verification procedures were in place and effective at some of the audited BMEU sites, but not at others. Deficiencies included acceptance employees not performing the required in-depth presort verification procedures in some cases, and not correctly following procedures in selecting sample trays for verification.
  • The Courier, Express, and Postal Observer has noted that "Third Sector reported the results of a TNT Post announced the results of a survey that it conducted in Great Britain on the effectiveness of mail for gaining contributions by mail. The results illustrate not only why mail is an effective marketing tool for non-profits but also how postal operators in competitive markets work to expand sales."
  • According to the Courier, Express, and Postal Observer, "the GDP numbers released last week were disappointing. Yet, the numbers for the Postal Service and advertising in general were not that bad. Why is that? It is simply that sales to domestic purchasers -- which include consumers, businesses and the government -- rose 4.3%. An industry that depends on its ability to grow the sales of firms that sell products and services to consumers and business, having customers whose business is growing faster than the economy is good news."
  • PSA and DMA ask PRC for information request. Young consumers trust offline pitches more than online - Epsilon. Mail still preferred. Amazon wants to go head-to-head with Netflix. Is this a threat?
  • An update on DMM Advisories issues by the U.S. Postal Service.
  • An update on postal rules and notices published in the Federal Register.
  • An update from the USPS Office of Inspector General.
  • A review of postal news from around the world.
  • Postal previews.
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The Affordable Mail Alliance – a growing coalition of non-profits, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, major trade associations, consumer groups, and citizens representing the vast majority of the mail sent in the United States – filed comments urging the Postal Regulatory Commission to help rein in the USPS’s excessive costs by denying the proposed rate hike. “The Post Office needs to reevaluate their approach,” said Jerry Cerasale, Affordable Mail Alliance Spokesperson and Senior Vice President of the Direct Marketing Association. “Instead of trying to keep things afloat with a giant tax on consumers, the USPS should focus on improving management and controlling costs to get out of this mess. To do otherwise is just bad business.”

Politico has noted that "The U.S. economy added a better than expected 67,000 private sector jobs in August. The unemployment rate increased from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent."

According to the National Review, "If your business is down and you want to keep the customers you have left and start making a profit again, you have to cut costs. There is no way around it. It’s adapt or die. Well, the [postal] union doesn’t see it this way. As is often the case, it seems that the union is under the impression that the USPS’s job is to hire unionized employees, not to deliver mail."

Logistics Manager has reported that "Regenersis, the mobile phone repair and recycling specialist, has joined forces with DHL Supply Chain in a four year multi-million pound deal to offer a rapid repair and return service. The operation will be based at DHL’s Normanton site. Regenersis will provide the expert repair and refurbishment of mobile devices, as well as the systems to drive down service costs. It will make use of DHL’s expertise in reverse logistics to reduce inventory levels."

The Toronto Sun has reported that "Hawks mercilessly strafing posties have halted mail delivery to a southwest neighbourhood. Adult hawks apparently protective of their offspring have made life intolerable for mail-carriers serving homes around Bay View Dr. S.W., said Canada Post spokeswoman Teresa Williams. "The hawks had been attacking carriers since June," said Williams."

The BBC has reported that "The Royal Mail has launched the world's first "intelligent" stamp, the first to work with image recognition technology. The stamp, part of the Royal Mail's latest Great British Railways edition, will launch online content via an iPhone or Android smartphone. Users place the camera over the stamp, which then launches the online content. The Royal Mail said intelligent stamps "mark the next step in the evolution of our stamps, bringing them firmly into the 21st Century."

According to India Blooms, "The Department of Post is in the process of drafting a new regulation for the postal sector. This is a necessity since the present act regulating the sector – the Indian Post Office Act 1898 - is outdated. In fact, the earlier attempt to make an amendment to the Act of 1898 received significant criticism from the courier companies, various ministries and industry associations. Private companies opposed various provisions of the amendment including use of a weight and price multiple to define a reserved area for India Post in letter and express mail services segments, asking larger companies to contribute to USO funding, proposing a roll-back of the FDI from 100% to 49% and suggesting a regulator for this sector. While many of these issues are likely to be better addressed in the new regulation the need and the role of the regulator is still a bone of contention."

The Detroit News has reported that "Mail service will be restored as early as today to a senior citizen apartment high-rise with a bedbug problem, a postal official said. A pregnant letter carrier last week stopped delivering mail to the Warren West Apartments after encountering exterminators in hazmat gear spraying the building for bedbugs."

The Contra Costa Times has reported that "San Rafael residents and businesses say recent postal route changes have severed years-long relationships with their letter carriers and resulted in unreliable mail delivery."

The BBC has reported that "Plans to modernise postal services in Kent could lead to 400 job cuts and the closure of four sorting offices. Royal Mail wants to build a "super sorting office" on a derelict site in Strood which would be big enough to take new technology to sort mail. If the plans go ahead, Royal Mail centres would close in Canterbury, Maidstone, Dartford and Tonbridge. Dave Banbury, from the Kent branch of the postal workers' union, the CWU, said the plans were bad for morale."

September 2, 2010

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:

  • The Association for Postal Commerce has told the Postal Regulatory Commission that "changes to products, including changes in conditions of eligibility and the modification of rate relationships, are outside the scope of a filing under §3622(d)(1)(E). Whether advanced by the Postal Service itself or by a third party, they must be dismissed.
  • The Affordable Mail Alliance told the Postal Regulatory Commission that "[t]o find that . . . business-as-usual incrementalism satisfies the statutory requirement of "honest, efficient and economical management" would make the $115 billion loss projection a self-fulfilling prophecy. For many reasons, "the Postal Service's Request should be denied in its entirety."
  • All other reply comments can be found on the Postal Regulatory Commission web site under the Daily Listing for September 2, 2010.

As the Heritage Foundation has noted, "The U.S. Postal Service employs three times as many union members as the domestic auto industry."

European Voice has reported that "The European Court of Justice (ECJ) today ruled that Deutsche Post, Germany's national postal operator, does not have to repay €572 million in state aid to the German government. The ECJ rejected an appeal brought by the European Commission against a decision by the General Court in July 2008 annulling a Commission decision that the money was illegal state aid and should be repaid." See also Europolitics.

According to the Courier, Express, and Postal Observer, "The Washington Post reported the beginning of negotiations between the Postal Service and its four major unions today. The negotiations will take between six months and a year. If no agreement is negotiated it goes to arbitration. Given the differences between the Postal Service and its unions on major issues and the difficulty that union leadership would have in trying to convince the rank-and-file to accept any of the changes that the Postal Service is proposing, an arbitrated settlement appears likely."

DMM Advisory:  IMb™ Services Update. FAST® Release 15.0.0 will deploy on November 7, 2010. Updated FAST 15.0.0 Release Notes are available at http://ribbs.usps.gov/fast/documents/tech_guides/FASTRelease/. The key features of this release are:

  • Users now have the capability to choose to receive emails for stand-alone content association.
  • The FAST Web Services messaging will be updated to account for previous error messages.

Postal Technology International has reported that "Finnish operator Itella will be testing online newspaper delivery with the electronic iPad reading device at the end of the year. The test will be executed in cooperation with the Borgåbladet newspaper. In the test, the electronic version of the newspaper will be delivered to NetPosti, an electronic mailbox provided by Itella. The objective is to involve five to 10 mail recipient households who already participate in the experiment carried out in Anttila, Porvoo, concerning the electronic delivery of letter mail."

The Maritime Union of Australia has reported that "ITF campaign to get message of workers' rights across to global delivery firm UPS starts in Sydney and does the world rounds. The global Action Day was kicked-off in Oceania by members of the Australian Transport Unions Federation (RTBU, TWU and MUA) led by the ITF President Paddy Crumlin (MUA). The group of top union leaders and truck, train and maritime workers protested outside the UPS facility near Sydney Airport."

The Standard has reported that "Canada Post is promising to return mail delivery to some north St. Catharines residents — if the city installs a sidewalk in front of their homes. About 25 irate residents of the south side of Lakeshore Rd. between Vine and Geneva streets descended on St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra's office Wednesday morning to complain about Canada Post's sudden cancellation of their mail service."

The Detroit News has reported that "Rain, sleet, and snow can't stop postal carriers from completing their rounds -- but the fear of bedbugs has halted mail delivery to a senior citizen high-rise apartment building. The decision to stop delivering mail to the Warren West Apartments came last week, after a mail carrier encountered exterminators in the lobby, postal officials said. When the carrier was informed the building was being sprayed for bedbugs, she decided to stay away."

The Washington Post has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service, headed toward a loss of at least $7 billion this fiscal year, opened contract talks with its largest union Wednesday seeking cost cuts that could reshape the nation's mail-delivery system. In addition to concessions on wages, health benefits and working conditions, the Postal Service says it must pare its full-time workforce and expand the use of part-timers to stay afloat. Postal officials said that with declining workloads -- Americans have sent 20 percent fewer letters and packages since 2007 -- they can no longer guarantee eight-hour shifts for clerks, mail handlers, carriers and other workers. A shift to part-time and seasonal work will probably be just one sticking point in contract talks that could be the most acrimonious in years as the economic slump and the shift to the Internet continue to eat away at the Postal Service's core business. Union officials said that while they recognize the Postal Service's precarious finances, they will fight to preserve hard-won working conditions and benefits that include the most generous health-care package in the federal government. Negotiations could last six months to a year, Postal Service officials say. If arbitrators step in, the Postal Service could ask Congress to pass legislation that would require them to consider the agency's financial condition." See also GovExec.

According to Modern Materials Handling, "When it comes to versatility and cost, wood, plastic and steel pallets are still the kings of the hill when it comes to the materials used for pallet construction. Together, they account for more than 90% of the pallets on the market. Still, increasing freight costs, new export regulations, and growing concerns over product contamination have pallet users looking for alternatives to traditional pallets."

Online Media Daily has reported that "Coupon Clippers Flocking To Online Deals. The majority -- 54% -- of U.S. coupon users now get their fill of deals online. Still, 80% of U.S. respondents report receiving their coupons in newspapers, and 69% said they prefer receiving coupons by mail."

September 1, 2010

Bloomberg Business Week has reported that "Amazon.com Inc. has approached media companies including Time Warner Inc. with plans to start an online video subscription service to rival Netflix Inc., said three people with knowledge of the talks."

The Postalnews Blog has reported that "In comments filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) this week, Netflix has accused Gamefly, the game rentals-by-mail company, of attempting “to manipulate the Postal Service, through the PRC, into offering it favorable mailing rates.” Netflix also issued a warning that a decision in GameFly’s favor could “result in reduced DVD shipment growth from Netflix as well as accelerate the ultimate decline of DVD shipments as Netflix would shift more resource to the digital delivery of content”. The PRC is in the process of investigating claims by Gamefly that the USPS gives Netflix a better deal than it offers Gamefly for mailing DVDs."


The following reports were posted today on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General website (http://www.uspsoig.gov/).  If you have additional questions concerning a report, please contact Wally Olihovik at 703.248. 2201, or Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286.

The Daily Mail has reported that "Royal Mail workers fiddled figures for nearly four years to try to make the performance of First Class post look more impressive, it was revealed today. An 18-month investigation by the regulator Postcomm today uncovered 'irrefutable evidence' of the 'deliberate and organised' activity. In a devastating analysis, it described how a 'large number' of postmen, including their managers, tried to cheat key performance statistics. Royal Mail has a target that 93 per cent of First Class letters must arrive the next working day after being posted."

As Folio has noted about the business of magazine publishing, "Normally, making a profit is accomplished by one or a combination of two options: reduce expenses and/or raise revenues. Unfortunately for the USPS—outside of work-sharing programs—it can only raise revenues, and exorbitantly so, as in the recent USPS exigent request to raise rates for magazines by 8 percent! This—if continued unabated—could easily close the doors for many printed magazines where a digital alternative is not as effective. Why can’t the USPS reduce its expenses sufficiently to avoid raising rates so much? Union obligations and particularly their retirement benefits. In my opinion, the solution is three-fold: Publishers have aligned themselves with other mailers (overall about 1,000 mailers and associations including the Magazine Publishers Association of America) to form the Affordable Mail Alliance to fight the latest proposed postal rates."


PostCom Members! A special postal issues update on the Postal Service's labor contract negotiations has been posted on this site.

The U.S. Postal Service begins contract negotiations today with the largest of its four unions, the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (APWU). The APWU represents employees who work as clerks, mechanics, vehicle drivers, custodians and some administrative positions. The current contract expires midnight, Nov. 20. Three other unions represent most other postal employees. Employees represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO (NALC) deliver in metropolitan areas; National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) employees deliver primarily in rural and suburban areas; and, employees represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO (NPMHU) work in mail processing plants and Post Offices. Contract negotiations for the NRLCA begin September 13. The NALC and NPMHU begin negotiations next year approximately 90-days prior to the contract expiration date.

American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus told his members that "Every contract negotiation brings special challenges, and this will be no different," APWU President William Burrus said at the opening session. "Mail volume is depressed and revenue is down, but we have faced similar circumstances before. "The history of the Postal Service is replete with forecasts of doom and gloom, but such dire predictions have not prevented us from exploring every opportunity to achieve agreement." "Once again naysayers warn of the imminent demise of the Postal Service," he said. "They demand wholesale changes to the foundation we have built over our 40-year history, ignoring the fact that each provision in the expiring contract has a history of give-and-take, the basic element of contract negotiations." "The road will be difficult and the outcome uncertain, but there are components of an agreement awaiting our discovery. I pledge the best efforts of the American Postal Workers Union to find a way to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. "

Bloomberg has noted that "The U.S. Postal Service, which lost $5.1 billion in the first half of this year, will seek to cut costs by paring the size of its full-time workforce in contract talks with its largest labor union that start today. “Labor cost is a big piece of our success or not success because it affects prices,” Anthony Vegliante, the service’s chief human resources officer, told reporters in Washington, without discussing bargaining strategies. “We have to look forward and adjust things.” See also the Washington Post.

Baynet.com has reported that "Gilbert Ennis, age 56, of Lanham, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to stealing $59,958.21 in postal stamps from the Marbury Post Office in Charles County where he was the postmaster. As part of his plea agreement, Ennis has agreed to resign from the U.S. Postal Service and pay restitution of $59,958.21 from his federal retirement account."

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

’The post’s results have grown considerably more than expected’. Bernard Delpit, La Poste’s CFO, had really good news last week. La Poste’s turnover rose by 3.1% to 10.59bn euros, while the operating result soared by 50% to 678m euros.
TNT’s subsidiary Belgische Distributiedienst (BD) is obviously up for sale. According to unanimous media reports TNT intends to divest Belgium’s leading catalogue delivery service. BD (turnover 2009: 91.6m euros, profit: 8.6m euros) has 27 regional depots in Belgium. Altogether the company dispatches 4bn unaddressed items with its 3,000 self-employed deliverers per year. BD has a market share of 75% in this segment.
Swiss Post’s profit soared while turnover grew moderately in the first half year.
Posten Norden, the merger of Post Denmark and Posten AB, increased its profit despite a decline in turnover in the first half of the year.
Like in the first quarter Posten Norge’s profit significantly increased despite a 2.2% decline in turnover.
In October Deutsche Post will start the Security Cup to eliminate errors in its E-Postbrief service. Teams which want to take part in the search for errors must register themselves and will be seeded with 3,000 euros. The teams have to use their own tools and equipment and must agree to not touch any private data they come across during their work.
More than one million candidates applied for one of the 6,565 jobs at Brazilian Correios in the last weeks.
Deutsche Post could save up to 140m euros annually by outsourcing the entire parcel delivery in Germany.
Qantas Freight will offer its courier and express services under the brand name Qantas Courier in the future.
Belgian La Poste’s rebranding takes shape. In September the new name and logo of bpost will be made popular as part of a media campaign promoting the slogan ’The post is bpost - ready for tomorrow’.
State owned investment trust Khazanah Nasional will decide about the disposal of its 32% stake in Pos Malaysia until the end of this year
Finnish post Itella is testing the digitalisation of letters and subsequent transmission by email since March.
After the difficult business year 2009, GLS Netherlands now records significantly rising parcel volumes.
James Arinaitwe, managing director of Posta Uganda, and some of his executives might stand trial. An investigation which was sanctioned by the parliament comes to the conclusion that Arinaitwe and several managers are guilty of ’abuse of office, influence peddling and nepotism’.
Red faces at Royal Mail. Several thousand households in Scotland unsolicitedly received a porn catalogue. It is still unclear how the brochure, where one may chose from 350 different titles (e.g. ’The Horny Handyman’), could be legally sent through the post.

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.)

Multichannel Merchant has told its readers that "Transportation is a huge expense in distribution, so shaving costs in this area is often an operations priority. Simply comparing parcel shipping rates is not enough, however: You need to evaluate all of the associated and trickle-down costs that drive your total transportation spend, including the cleanliness of your customer address data. Your success in controlling costs and providing a positive service experience may directly relate to how well your customer address file is managed and updated. The financial and inventory losses tied to packages that are undeliverable due to bad addresses can be as much as 4% of a marketer’s address file. And with address correction fees costing as much as $10 per incident through some carriers, total costs to support these losses can be debilitating--not to mention the negative effect on the customer shopping experience."

People's Daily has reported that "Private mail will face higher duties under new customs regulations that take effect today, a move widely expected to hamper haiwai daigou, or representative overseas shopping services. The General Administration of Customs will collect duties if the import duty payable on individual mail items is worth more than 50 yuan ($7.34). Previously, the duty on personal mail to and from Hong Kong and Macao was exempt if the value did not exceed 400 yuan ($58.75), and for those to and from other areas, the exemption amount was 500 yuan ($73.44). The change is aimed at fixing loopholes in the tariff system and cracking down on tax evasion through mail, said the announcement."

FoxBusiness has reported that "Dutch postal and express group TNT NV said Wednesday it will increase its rates for sending mail within the Netherlands and to destinations in Europe."

Marketwatch has reported that "Harte-Hanks, Inc. has announced that it had acquired Information Arts (UK) Limited yesterday, August 31, 2010. Information Arts, based in High Wycombe in the United Kingdom, is a provider of data-driven marketing insight to business-to-business marketers across Europe -- and increasingly across the globe. The company delivers a compelling road map of how data insight will dramatically improve multichannel marketing effectiveness and retention programs. This insight is derived from profiling, segmentation, modeling and other analytics, and drives engagements that include marketing data management, data hygiene, data acquisition and data planning."

In response to the wildfires in Russia, local DHL employees have provided their active support in delivering essential goods such as clothes, food, household items and stationery to the affected people. The pro-bono initiative by DHL Express Russia also included the collection of goods as well as a fund raising activity to support the purchase fire fighting equipment and protective clothing for volunteers helping to fight the fires.

Hellmail has reported that:

  • IT company Postcode Anywhere will take business stateside next month, as part of a UK Trade and Investment initiative to foster links between British and American companies.

  • Swiss Post described its half-year profit as 'pleasing'. In the first half of 2010, Swiss Post generated Group profit of 484 million Swiss francs - an increase of 35 percent on the same period last year. Swiss Post posted good results in all four markets.

  • The UK postal regulator Postcomm, today announced that an investigation into Royal Mail’s monitoring of quality of service performance has concluded that the company failed to comply with Licence Conditions 4.8 (a) (ii) and (iii) which relate to independent monitoring of performance. However, the investigation found that the actual quality of service figures had not been affected in any material way, that Royal Mail had not benefitted financially from the conduct investigated and that there was no adverse impact on Royal Mail’s customers.

The Phoenix Business Journal has reported that "The U.S. Postal Service is looking for local retailers to provide services on its behalf. Specifically, the USPS is looking for businesses in the following ZIP Codes: 85016, 85026, 85201, 85224, 85255, 85257, 85258, 85260, 85308 and 85374. Those cover portions of Phoenix, Chandler, Glendale, Mesa, Scottsdale, Sun City and Surprise."

August 31, 2010

The Postalnews blog has reported that "Jerry D. Lane, the former USPS Vice President for the Capitol Metro Area, was found guilty on misdemeanor assault charges in Loudoun County, Virginia District Court on Thursday, and was fined $300."

WNEM has reported that "U.S. Postal Service employees in Saginaw plan to organize an informational picket on Thursday. The demonstration is aimed at informing the public of the benefits of keeping a six-day mail week. According to the Saginaw News, the chief steward for the postal worker's union said federal officials are considering moving all operations out of the city."

The Estonian Free Press has reported that "Estonian Minister of Economics Juhan Parts announced that the partial sale of state-owned Eesti Post will not take place happen before March 2011, when the national Elections for the Parliament are due to take place, Bloomberg reports. There is an absence of unity around the issue from the government according to Parts, who also supported the selling postponement to let the future administration take the decision."

From Online PR News: "Shippers searching for shipping options for are discovering Newgistics. Newgistics has a solid reputation for delivering industry leading results. Shippers' reputations ride on how they deliver. In shipping results are critical. For years Newgistics has supplied competitive shipping options for shippers. If you are looking for a shipping partner, Newgistics is the logical choice. Newgistics is known for quality shipping solutions that reflect well on the reputations of their shippers. For additional information retailers are invited to visit the company web site at http://www.newgistics.com."

From PR Newswire: "Americans hitting the road this Labor Day weekend should consider some advice from the U.S. Postal Service. According to the National Safety Council, nearly 5,900 postal employees have achieved a unique distinction most of us never approach in a lifetime — driving more than 1 million, accident-free miles. No other business comes close."

DMM Advisory: IMb™ Services Update. WEBINARS – MIGRATING TO IMb:  To date, mailers have deposited more than 50 billion mailpieces with Intelligent Mail® barcodes (IMb). If you haven’t already come onboard, we’d like to remind you that beginning in May 2011, to be eligible for automation discounts on your letter-size and flat-size mailpieces, you’ll need to start using the IMb in place of the POSTNET™ barcode. In May 2011, the POSTNET barcode will be ineligible for automation prices and the IMb must be used to claim automation prices with either the Full-Service option or the Basic option.

The latest issue of Postal Technology International is now available online.

The Courier, Express, and Postal Observer has reported that "Based on what is happening in Great Britain, competition in the mail business in the United States could make it easier for advertisers that are hesitant to use mail or other forms of delivery of printed advertising to manage the process. Clearly having multiple delivery companies marketing services could help expand the market. The largest mailers will likely not need the services similar to those that TNT Post and Royal Mail are offering and continue to use the large printers to manage their needs."

From PR Web: "To educate mailers and the postal industry as a whole about the critical changes happening with the United States Postal Service®, Window Book, Inc. has released an informative, 29-page white paper titled, “Intelligent Mail Full-Service: Critical Steps to Understanding and Implementing.”

The Sentinel Source has reported that "Three Republicans are competing for a chance to challenge Democrat John Shea of Nelson for the District 2 seat on the state’s Executive Council. Among them: James Adams. He is retired from the U.S. Postal Service, where he acted as the chief of staff to three postmasters general. He says that while in that role he was able to cut $14 billion from the budget by eliminating redundant high-level positions. Adams says state spending can be reduced by eliminating redundancy and requiring contractors to bid competitively for state contracts. [EdNote: Go get 'em, Jim.]

Post & Parcel has noted that "Posten Norden has announced that it has improved its operating earnings through long-term cost adjustments during the first half of 2010."

Postal news from Hellmail:

  • This week sees a further step forward in a complete rebranding of Belgium's main postal provider (formerly La Poste) to bpost NV.

  • Pitney Bowes will reveal innovative ways to automate mail delivery for both public and private Posts at Post Expo, the world’s leading annual event for the international postal, express and mailing industry. At the Copenhagen event, Pitney Bowes will unveil the newest addition to its sorting hardware portfolio designed to automate more offline mail handling processes faster and more accurately. Specific details will be announced at the show on Wednesday, October 6, 2010.

  • Hybrid mail provider CFH Docmail has extended its range of on-line mailing services with the introduction of personalised colour postcards. Whether for appointment reminders, invitations, promotional material or other company messages, Docmail’s postcards can be compiled quickly and easily via the online portal at www.cfhdocmail.com.

From the Federal Register: Postal Regulatory Commission   RULES New Postal Products , 53216–53218 [2010–21694] [TEXT]  [PDF] NOTICES New Postal Products , 53353–53355 [2010–21693] [TEXT]  [PDF]

August 30, 2010

The Associated Press has reported that "For a decade, West Africa's main connection to the Internet has been a single fiber-optic cable in the Atlantic, a tenuous and expensive link for one of the poorest areas of the planet. But this summer, a second cable snaked along the West African coastline, ending at Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos. It has more than five times the capacity of the old one and is set to bring competition to a market where wholesale Internet access costs nearly 500 times as much as it does in the U.S. It's the first of a new wave of investment that the U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union says will vastly raise the bandwidth available in West Africa by mid-2012."

From Media-Newswire: "Ronald R. Bassak, and his construction company, Meccon, Inc. admitted in United States District Court today that he and his company paid a U.S. Postal Service contracting officer approximately $100,000 in bribes in order to secure contracts for his company. During the investigation, the contracting officer committed suicide at his Westerville home."

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General invites you to comment on this week’s “Pushing the Envelope” blog topic: (Postal Employees) Having Problems with Your Time and Attendance Records? The OIG Wants to Hear From You. The OIG’s Human Resources and Security Team is interested in hearing from Postal Service employees who might be experiencing problems with their time and attendance records. Take the OIG’s survey and share your comments here. The following reports also have been posted today on the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General website (http://www.uspsoig.gov/). If you have additional questions concerning a report, please contact Wally Olihovik at 703.248. 2201, or Agapi Doulaveris at 703.248.2286.

DM News has reported that "Young consumers may live their lives online, but they trust offline marketing pitches more than web-based ones, according to a survey. The poll also found privacy is a concern for all age groups. Thirty-six percent of US households and 38% of Canadians said mail information is more private than e-mail, compared to 29% of US respondents and 35% of Canadians in 2008. However, the study noted that only 25% of respondents are getting more postal mail now than a year ago, while 72% of US households and 66% of Canadians say they're getting more e-mail."

From the Courier, Express, and Postal Observer:

  • The GDP numbers released last week were disappointing. Yet, the numbers for the Postal Service and advertising in general were not that bad. Why is that? It is simply that sales to domestic purchasers -- which include consumers, businesses and the government -- rose 4.3%. An an industry that depends on its ability to grow the sales of firms that sell products and services to consumers and business, having customers whose business is growing faster than the economy is good news. So why does the economy seem to be slowing down? The reason is four fold.
  • This weekend, the publisher of Oxford English Dictionary announced that the next edition will be published in digital format only.

At the Postal Regulatory Commission:  September 01, 2010 - Notice: Public hearings in Docket C2009-1 are scheduled for Wednesday, September 1 and Thursday, September 2. Both hearings will begin at 9:30 a.m. Links to the audio will be posted here approximately 10 minutes prior to the broadcasts.

August 29, 2010

Veterans Today has asked: "President Obama: Why Are You Allowing Your Postmaster General to Run a Plantation?"

CBC has reported that "Staffing decisions by Canada Post have resulted in unacceptable delays in mail delivery, the union representing letter carriers in British Columbia says. Canada Post hasn't been backfilling employees who become ill or take leave, Ken Mooney of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers told CBC News. "The non-delivery has a ramification on the community, of course, because people depend on GST cheques and family allowance cheques and various other correspondence, and they depend on Canada Post for that service," Mooney said."

"USA Today, the nation's second largest newspaper, announced this week a major restructuring effort designed to address a drop in advertising and circulation and bring it up to speed in today's new world of smartphones and tablets." [EdNote: And the Postal Service is doing . . . . what?]

Zawya has noted that "The services of Empost, the national courier company, are now available at main post offices across the UAE."

From PR Web: "She was the only woman, as of 2010, who rose from a clerk in the Georgia Southern College Post Office to Deputy Postmaster General in the United States Postal Service. In an inspiring memoir, MS. DEPUTY POSTMASTER GENERAL, author Jackie A. Strange shares with readers her remarkable achievements and how trusted leadership, courage, and innovations impacted the postal service. Under physical and mental duress, she achieved unprecedented records and saved billions of dollars for the postal service—the largest non-military job in the world with 800,000 employees and a $32 billion (in 1983 dollars) budget—through innovative programs."

August 28, 2010

Reuters has reported that "Deutsche Post, the successor to the German federal postal service, will offer bounties for bugs researchers find in its E-Postbrief secure message service, the company announced this week. The firm, which also operates the DHL overnight delivery service, will kick off a contest in October after it pre-approves research teams that apply for what it's calling the Deutsche Post Security Cup. Each team will be seeded with ?3,000 ($3,800), but must use their own tools and agree to not touch any private data they come across during their work. The teams must also keep quiet about any vulnerabilities they find until December, when Deutsche Post will award prizes and reveal the bugs it's patched."

From the Federal Register: Postal Regulatory Commission   NOTICES New Postal Products , 53002–53003 [2010–21423] [TEXT]  [PDF] Product List Transfer , 53003–53004 [2010–21438] [TEXT]  [PDF]

Long-time newspaper postal advocate, Max Heath, wrote in the Georgetown News that "Members of the National Newspaper Association, which publish about 2,000 community newspapers across America, do the same. I serve as its long-time Postal Committee chairman. That’s why I want to respond on behalf of them and other mailing industries in Kentucky to the recent opinion piece printed in many state newspapers by Ellen Williams of Kentucky, member of the United States Postal Service Board of Governors. The United States Postal Service has decided to place an unnecessary burden on Kentucky’s families, workers and businesses by proposing a major price increase. Fortunately, Gov. Williams can help stop this, and that’s what citizens in Kentucky should be asking her to do, instead of rubber-stamping postal management decisions."

The Daily Camera has reported that "The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of $1,000 for information related to the recent destruction of mailboxes in Boulder. Police believe the mailboxes were damaged with homemade explosive devices. Read more: U.S. Postal Services offers reward for information about destroyed Boulder mailboxes."

Hellmail has reported that "Norway Post achieved earnings before non-recurring items and write-downs of NOK 511 million in the first half of 2010 - an increase of NOK 130 million compared to the same period last year, although addressed mail volume fell by 7.4 per cent. The improvement in earnings was achieved despite the half year being affected by declining volumes in the mail and logistics segments, a lower level of activity in the IT market and a strike in the transport sector."

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

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