Anyone in the mail industry is concerned about the decline in paper based communications. This French television commercial illustrates better than anything I can write, how far the image of the printed documents has fallen. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to speak French to understand the message.) Read more »
USPS Falling Behind Transit Agencies in Providing Banking Services
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is about to introduce a new branded payment card that will allow transit riders to have paychecks directly deposited to the transit card. The cards will be comparable to any other debit card and will have the ability to pay bills on-line, make payments at merchants in addition to pay transit fares. The SEPTA branded debit card is designed to serve un-banked and under-banked in Southeastern Pennsylvania, many of whom are regular transit riders. The card will compete with similar cards offered by Walmart, eBay’s Paypal, and Greendot. If SEPTA’s branded debit cards are a success, one would expect that other transit [...] Read more »
Valassis indicates that Going to 5-day Delivery Will Have Little Impact for Them
When asked about the impact of Postal Service restructuring including the elimination of Saturday delivery, Valassis CEO Robert A. Mason clearly indicated that these change would have minimal impact on Valassis’s mail delivered advertising. Bethany Caster, Stock Analyst, Raymond James Can you talk about how the USPS’ decision to stop Saturday delivery impact you, if at all? Robert A. Mason - Chief Executive Officer, President and Director, Valassis Very little. Today, we distribute less than 0.30% of a percent of our total weekly Shared Mail volume on Saturday. I would tell you, we actually applaud Postmaster Donahoe’s effort to try and streamline the USPS and their operations. We have been in very [...] Read more »
Macy’s Overall Sales Grow from a Rapid Increase in On-line Sales
Macy’s released its same store sales for January today which included the clearest indication that the future of Macy’s on line. In the fourth quarter, 59% of Macy’s overall sales growth came from growing online sales. For the full year, 89% of sales growth came from its online sales. Macy’s does not break out sales from stores and online channels but based on information provided Macy’s appears to have generated 14% of all revenue from on line sales in 2012 as compared to around 10.5% in 2011. The following paragraphs highlight the relevant information from Macy’s press release. For the 14-week fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, Macy’s, Inc.’s [...] Read more »
In Past Decade, Congress Has Made Naming Post Offices a Top Priority
In the decade that the long-term financial problems of the Postal Service have been discussed openly, Post Office naming bills have become a focus of Congress. In each of the past five Congresses over 15% of all bills passed and signed into law named a Post Office. The increase in interest in naming Post Offices began in the Congress that served when 9/11 occurred. As such, it is likely that most of those honored by having a Post Office named after them died in the terrorist attacks in the United States, or served their country in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that followed. If Congress expected that [...] Read more »
Senator Carper and Representative Issa Issue Joint Statement Pledging The’ll Work Together on Postal Reform
On the first day of the 113th Congress Senator Tom Carper and Representative Darrel Issa issed a joint statement indicating their willingness to work together on postal reform. “The Postal Service has a presence in every community in our nation. Since its establishment, we’ve taken it for granted that our mail would arrive and that important business and personal correspondence would reach its destination. In addition, businesses large and small have come to rely on the mail to reach new customers and communicate effectively with existing customers. Although the 112th Congress did not come to a consensus around a package of reforms that can update the Postal Service’s network and [...] Read more »
The House Fiscal Cliff Vote and Postal Reform
Last night the House of Representatives voted 257-167 voted to approve legislation that prevented the United States from going over the fiscal cliff. While the substance of the legislation approved had nothing to do with the Postal Service, the vote itself illustrated why postal reform died in the 112th Congress. The 257 yea votes included 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans. The list of Republicans that voted for the deal to avoid the fiscal cliff includes many Republicans that have either expressed opposition to H.R. 2309, the approach promoted by Congressmen Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross or expressed support for the approaches similar to what passed in the Senate. So [...] Read more »
Top 10 Transportation Stories of 2012 and How They Affect the Courier Express and Parcel Industry
Dan Goodwill, the President of Dan Goodwill & Associates, a leading provider of freight management consulting services to shippers, carriers and 3PL’s throughout North America has just posted his list of the top 10 transportation stories of 2012. While a nearly all of them affect the U.S. and Canadian competitors in the courier express and postal (CEP) industry, the following are likely to have the biggest impact on impact on the industry in 2013 and beyond. Same Day Deliveries in the Retail Sector Mr. Goodwill notes that: The internet has transformed a number of industries such as books, electronics and music. Each year, many consumers are increasing their online purchases of a [...] Read more »
Republican Supporter of 6-day Delivery, Jo Ann Emerson Will Resign from the House
Southeast Missourian has reported that Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson announced that she will resign from the House of Representatives at the end of February. Congresswoman Emerson has been an outspoken proponent of 6-day delivery and keeping rural post offices open. She served as Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government in the 212th Congress. In that position she was responsible for keeping the language that requires the Postal Service to provide 6-days of delivery in the Appropriations bill for Financial Services and General Government that passed the full Appropriations Committee. Besides her influence on postal issues in the Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Emerson was a member of the Congressional Rural Caucus which has focused on limiting the [...] Read more »
Congress Acts on Meaningful Postal Legislation (Just Kidding)
This week the House of Representatives passed six bills renaming Post Offices. These ceremonial bills were all passed under suspension of the rules. Maybe its time for a member of Congress to object to suspension of the rules on each bill that renames of Post Office until the House of Representatives acts on postal reform. It may not move legislation forward faster, but it would raise public awareness as to the failure of the House of Representatives to act. H.R. 5788 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 103 Center Street West in Eatonville, Washington, as the “National Park Ranger Margaret Anderson Post Office” (Sponsored [...] Read more »