@dutchman48 wrote:
In other words, dump registered which is safe so they can charge more for other services which are less reliable. They don't even track registered from other countries now other than a delivery scan. I get many and don't even have to sign for them.
When do you think, if ever, will Canada Post level the playing field and stop subsidizing other countries at it's own countries expense.
If Canada Post dumps light packet which I am sure they will, and possibly even small packet, or raise rates as ridiculously as in the past, they will kill many small retail sellers that rely on the mail, and even more so if they enforce letter mail and oversize letter mail rules.
Eventually they will force even more to go through the US. It is absurd that an item can be mailed to one of the US mailing couriers and shipped from the US at a total cheaper cost than Canada post will mail it.
Is CP and the Union so stupid that they think price increases will give them more business if they keep jacking rates.
This country will become so uncompetetive in the international market that maybe the government should stick their nose into this whole postal situation instead of just doing what they want which in general is 0 to help the tax payers.
It is less about dumping one system then it is about getting everyone on board with the same systems, especially as it pertains to data interchange, and aligning terminal dues so that what are in effect parcels containing goods are charged appropriately. The concern is using a system intended for lettermail to deliver parcels, and the implications of the accompanying terminal dues. The terminal dues govern what level of reimbursement the postal service receives from the originating country so they are key. They are also trying to align data interchange for transmission of customs related data ahead of time to customs services as well as general exchanges of data on package status/details/etc.
With respect to lightweight packages, the UPU realizes that there needs to be a lower cost option for ecommerce. In terms of what they classify as "letter-post items" (versus parcel services) they are carving out a service intended for goods up to 2kg as part of this documents vs goods shakeup. What isn't clear is what form that will take, whether in pricing or included features. Where that sits alongside the Post Expres program remains to be seen as they are targeting the same market.
USPS offers us a hint of this as they offer a separate lower cost e-packet program available through postal wholesalers (some of the providers tout savings of 30-50%) that performs the same role, but it is largely inaccessible to the average consumer and you need to have a base level of volume for it to make sense as you need to mail your packages in bundles to a third party provider at one of several international terminals. Many of the countries participating in the Post Expres program are eligible destinations for e-packet (there are more e-packet eligible countries than Post Expres in fact) so that makes you wonder. My concern is that such a service is going to be made inaccessible for the average mailer that needs to send a smaller number of packages. I am interested to see how this new service and Post Expres are differentiated. For the moment select countries have very cheap e-packet rates to send into North America so it would be nice to see some rebalancing.
With respect to Canada Post, my gut feel is that light packet will be gone for 2018 or rebranded with new restrictions as a documents only service. It lies precisely in the 0-500 gram letter-post "packet" class that the UPU will no longer allow to be utilized for physical goods. Small packet will likely remain as is or be rebranded as part of this new 0-2kg service that is being carved out. There is no way they can eliminate it given how incredibly uncompetitive the pricing is for the Post Expres (tracked packet) implementation. It has been a couple of years since I was last involved in any talks regarding contracted Canada Post rates, but at the time they were desperate for as much international outbound volume they could get since they were losing a fortune on inbound. Even with Canada Post slashing the US parcel rates we found it substantially cheaper to have Fedex or UPS import parcel volumes in bulk into the US to one of their DC's then send out from there.
With the carriers I have spoken to, one of the major issues the union has is with the current pay structure which sees carriers that are paid by route working unpaid hours delivering parcels from abroad. One could make the argument that pay structure exists partially due to the fact that Canada Post is losing money processing these parcels and forced unpaid overtime is the only stop-gap solution. Part of the UPU realigning services is so that countries can't play the sending goods at lettermail rates game. The current situation is an absolute mess, a country can pay a terminal due that is supposed to represent the cost of forwarding a letter (a process which is largely automated) and send 2kg worth of goods which requires more cost and handling to deliver. The net result is this is Canadians have to pay more for their mailing to shore up their losses.
Here is a good comparison that illustrates this issue. Canada Post and USPS both utilize the Post Expres program for sending parcels internationally that require delivery confirmation. This program has terminal dues that are reflective of the cost of parcel delivery. I'm not privy to what either pays as terminal dues but given how they are classified by the UPU their terminal dues should not be too dissimilar, certainly not enough to justify the difference in pricing. Canada Post rebrands Post Expres as Tracked Packet International and USPS as First Class Package international. The price comparison below has been adjusted for the average USD to CAD exchange rate for 2017 (1.3239 based on the BOC rates). Note that there is some variance as the grams/ounces weight brackets don't exactly line up the same for both countries (ie in one weight bracket Canada Post allows up to 2.2lb where as the US allows up to 2lb before the next rate), but for our purposes they allow sufficient comparison. Canada Post prices are solutions for small business rates, USPS prices are commercial base prices available through postal resellers such as stamps/endicia/etc, ebay rates are a bit lower.
Up to 250g CP - $35.58 USPS - $16.99
Over 250g up to 500g CP - $45.98 USPS - $28.30
Over 500g up to 1kg CP - $56.31 USPS - $28.30
Over 1kg up to 1.5kg CP - $62.50 USPS - $43.40
Over 1.5kg up to 2kg CP - $69.41 USPS - $62.26
In order for the playing field to be levelled, terminal dues need to be set realistically, which is one of the intended outcomes of the UPU's changes. Canada Post is not unique in losing money on inbound international packages. I would however argue Canada Post has backed itself into a poor position. Domestic mailing volumes are low relative to other countries with better rate structures. In order to compete with the likes of UPS and shore up domestic volumes they are giving away the farm on contract rates to large retailers while fleecing the public. The spirit of the UPU changes are heading in the right direction, but it remains to be seen how this plays out in terms of available services and pricing as that is left to the member countries to implement at their discretion as the above example shows.
