WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Postal Service has teamed with one of the nation’s leading companies producing decorative and commercial products to sell the 2011 White House Holiday Ornament at approximately 7,000 Post Offices across the country.

ChemArt of Lincoln, RI, has been the sole manufacturer of the annual White House Christmas ornament since the program inception in 1981, and was given exclusive retail distribution rights by the White House Historical Association. ChemArt and the association are proud to present the 36th ornament in the association’s series, which recalls the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt, his wife Edith and the couple’s young family when they called the White House home from 1901 until 1909.

"We anticipate that the ornament will be very popular — especially among collectors," said Steven Mills, manager, USPS Retail Products. "Our vast retail presence will enable the product to reach a broader audience than ever before."

The 2011 White House Holiday Christmas Ornament is now available at select Post Offices until Christmas Day for $24.99.

Also, under a licensing agreement, ChemArt will manufacture and sell holiday ornaments in 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Postal Service’s Letters to Santa program. In 2013, under the agreement, ChemArt will introduce licensed Holiday ornaments based on more than 50 years of Postal Service holiday stamp images.

"All of the ornaments will be made in the USA and will be sold in Post Offices and commercial retail channels," said Gary Thuro, manager, USPS Licensing. "We are pleased to bring quality products to our customers and generate revenue for the Postal Service."

Customers can view an image of the collectible envelope on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

For 30 years, ChemArt has served as the premiere designer and manufacturer of photo-chemically etched decorative ornaments and collectibles in the United States. Since its inception in 1976, ChemArt has been a fully integrated company combining multiple technologies – etching, plating, screen printing – under one roof to control the quality of the decorative and commercial products they make. Their designers develop custom products for decoration and industry; and take pride in the fact that they are 100% handmade in America. Whether as a thank you gift, fundraising vehicle, precision part or commemorative piece, ChemArt understands what it means to have heart at the core of your organization.

via United States Postal Service to Sell 2011 White House Ornament — WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –.

FedEx expects December 12 to be the busiest day in the company’s history, with over 17 million shipments. The company projects a ten percent increase from a year ago, driven by its SmartPost product, which uses the US Postal Service to deliver the shipments to customers’ homes:

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 24, 2011 – FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) expects to move more than 17 million shipments – almost double its daily average volume – through its global networks on December 12, the projected busiest day in company history. The 10 percent year-over-year increase will be driven by FedEx SmartPost, a residential shipping service designed for online and catalog retailers, as well as expected increased volume at FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, FedEx forecasts more than 260 million shipments to move through its worldwide shipping networks. This is a 12 percent increase for the holiday season over last year when 232 million shipments were processed.

“As e-commerce continues to grow and demand increases with more customers shopping and conducting their business online, FedEx SmartPost is poised to handle the increase in shipments,” said Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx Corp. “More than 290,000 FedEx team members also stand ready to deliver the holidays and enable commerce around the globe.”

Retail inventory such as apparel, personal consumer electronics and luxury goods as well as books and other items from large, internet retailers will account for a large portion of FedEx holiday volumes.

FedEx will increase its workforce by approximately 20,000 with seasonal positions to help handle the surge in holiday shipments at FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx SmartPost.

The impact of the expected higher volumes was included in the company’s earnings guidance issued in September.

The Holiday Retail Outlook

Holiday sales are expected to grow 2.8 percent during November and December to $465.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). This is higher than the average increase of 2.6 percent over the last ten years.

The NRF also reports that nearly half of shoppers (46.7%) will buy online as compared to 43.9% in 2010. According to eMarketer, holiday online shopping will increase by 12 percent during the 2011 season.

Poised for E-commerce . . . FedEx SmartPost

The FedEx SmartPost network is designed for online retailers and cataloguers who ship high volumes of low-weight shipments to residential customers. FedEx SmartPost has an integrated national network that picks up, sorts and delivers packages directly to U.S. Postal Service facilities for final delivery to residences.

The service continues to experience significant growth. As reported in first quarter earnings ended August 31, FedEx SmartPost average daily volume increased 29 percent due to growth in e-commerce and gains in market share.

WASHINGTON — In anticipation of a busy holiday shipping season, the United States Postal Service is announcing recommended holiday mailing dates and a discounted, flat rate price of $12.95 on packages sent to military service personnel worldwide. The price includes a $2.00 per box discount on Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes for military mail being sent to APO/FPO (Air/Army Post Office, Fleet Post Office) destinations worldwide. In addition to a lower cost per package, customers can be assured that shipping with the Postal Service will provide reliable, trusted and secure delivery to military personnel stationed worldwide.

To ensure timely delivery of holiday wishes by Dec. 25th, cards and packages to military APO/FPO addresses overseas should be sent no later than the mailing dates listed below.

Mailing date chart footnotes:
1 Express Mail Military Service (EMMS) is available at select military Post Offices. Check with your local Post Office to determine if this service is available to an APO/FPO address.
2 Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) provides air transportation for parcels on a space-available basis. It is available for Parcel Post items not exceeding 30 pounds in weight or 60 inches in length and girth combined. The applicable PAL fee must be paid in addition to the regular surface rate of postage for each addressed piece sent by PAL service.
3 Space Available Mail (SAM) parcels are paid at Parcel Post prices with maximum weight and size limits of 15 pounds and 60 inches in length and girth combined. SAM parcels are first transported domestically by surface and then to overseas destinations by air on a space-available basis.

The recommended last day to mail the most economical postage to overseas military destinations, including Iraq and Afghanistan, is Nov. 12.

“We suggest using the Postal Service’s Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes for sending all your military packages overseas this holiday season,” said Giselle Valera, vice president and managing director, Global Business. “There’s no shipping service that’s a better value, more reliable, or easier to use than our Flat Rate program. And, those familiar red and white boxes emblazoned with the ‘America Supports You’ logo are sure to remind those away from home, of a bit of home.”

For online ordering of the large Priority Mail APO/FPO Flat Rate Boxes featuring the “America Supports You” logo and information about mailing letters and packages to military destinations, visit Priority Mail APO/FPO Boxes under “Order Free Boxes.”

The Postal Service also offers free military care kits, designed specifically for military families sending packages overseas. Each kit includes two “America Supports You” large Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, four medium-sized Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, six Priority Mail labels, one roll of Priority Mail tape and six customs forms with envelopes. The mailing kits can be ordered by requesting them at 800-610-8734.

Additional savings are available for customers printing Priority Mail postage labels online at Click-N-Ship where additional discounts can be obtained for preparing your military mailing online.

Mail addressed to military Post Offices overseas is subject to certain conditions or restrictions regarding content, preparation and handling. APO/FPO addresses generally require customs forms. To see an online table of updated APO and FPO addresses and mailing restrictions by individual APO/FPO ZIP codes, click on APO/FPO Addresses, select “Pull-Out Information” and click on “Other Information.”

via Spread the Joy … Forever.

Note: It’s a bit ironic that the photo accompanying this FedEx press release shows a FedEx delivery truck, since FedEx SmartPost items are delivered by the US Postal Service…

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 11, 2010 – FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) expects to see its busiest day in company history when it moves almost 16 million shipments around the world on December 13. This is a more than 12 percent increase from last year’s busiest day when the company handled 14.2 million shipments.

For the overall holiday season, FedEx is expecting a total volume increase of approximately 11 percent compared to 2009. FedEx forecasts more than 223.3 million shipments will move through its global networks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

More than half of the holiday season volume increase will be from FedEx SmartPost shipments. FedEx SmartPost volume is largely driven by online retailers and cataloguers who ship high volumes of lighter shipments to residential customers. FedEx SmartPost has a completely integrated national network that picks up, sorts and delivers packages directly to U.S. Postal Service facilities for final delivery to residences. The affordable rate structure allows retailers to offer discounted shipping to customers during the holidays and beyond.

During the week of December 13, also the busiest week of the year for FedEx, the company expects to move more than 63.1 million shipments compared to last year’s busiest week of 57.5 million shipments. Items such as books from large internet retailers and retail inventory such as apparel, personal consumer electronics and luxury goods will drive FedEx holiday volumes.

“Once again, the FedEx work force of more than 285,000 team members will make the holidays happen for millions of FedEx customers across the globe,” said Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx Corp. “We are optimistic about the volumes during the holiday shipping season and expect growth to be driven mainly by FedEx SmartPost with U.S. domestic ground packages and global air express shipments contributing to volumes as well.”

On average, more than 8 million packages move through the FedEx systems daily.

The FedEx Outlook

FedEx is encouraged by the anticipated increase in holiday volume. The impact of the expected higher volumes was included in the company’s earnings guidance issued in September.

The Holiday Retail Outlook

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), holiday sales are expected to increase a moderate 2.3 percent this year to $447.1 billion. This growth is slightly lower than the ten-year average holiday sales increase of 2.5 percent. In 2009, sales increased 0.4 percent. NRF also found that retailers will continue to focus on supply-chain efficiencies and inventory control.

Online holiday sales are forecast to climb 15 percent compared to last year according to the research and consulting firm Deloitte.

FedEx Ground . . . For the Holidays and Beyond

Year over year, FedEx Ground volumes on its busiest day are expected to increase by 1.8 million packages. Approximately 50 percent of this increase is due to volume growth at FedEx SmartPost.

Retailers, cataloguers and other customers are increasingly discovering the unique value proposition available for high volume, lightweight residential packages offered by FedEx SmartPost.

“All three of our ground services continue to grow and attract new customers based on our outstanding overall service and unique attributes,” said David Rebholz, president and CEO of FedEx Ground. “One major factor is speed, as FedEx Ground is faster to more overall locations and FedEx Home Delivery is faster to more residential locations than UPS Ground.”

FedEx Ground continues its nationwide network expansion to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the reliability, speed and service capabilities of its network.

The network enhancements have resulted in accelerating ground service delivery by one day or more in approximately two-thirds of the United States since 2003. FedEx Ground now delivers more than 61 percent of packages in two days or less and more than 82 percent of packages in three days or less.

FedEx Busiest Day of the Year . . . A History of Growth

FedEx has experienced steady growth in holiday volumes over the last several years. A historical breakdown of busiest day volumes follows:

• Dec. 12, 2005 – 9.8 million shipments

• Dec. 18, 2006 – 10.6 million shipments
• Dec. 17, 2007 – 11.5 million shipments
• Dec. 15, 2008 – 12.0 million shipments
• Dec. 14, 2009 – 14.2 million shipments
• Dec. 13, 2010 – 16.0 million shipments projected

Hendrik Hertzberg was being facetious sarcastic in the New Yorker piece we linked to yesterday when he suggested that Fox News look into the “War on Washington’s Birthday“, but apparently the Manchester Union-Leader takes the whole thing seriously! The Union-Leader, one of the few news organizations that is actually further to the right than Fox News (and only slightly to the left of say, Benito Mussolini), ties President’s Day in with the “secularization of Christmas” and the general decline of Western Civilization.

The bottom line seems to be that holidays are not supposed to be enjoyable- we’re apparently supposed to spend them in quiet reflection on the contributions of the person being honored, rather than skiing, shopping, or other Un-American Activities.

What can you say to someone like that?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!