Canada Post - Huge losses

GreyGhost said:
Not surprised. 95% chance there is no meaningful movement until just before the next strike/lockout. I expect another work stoppage.
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What's the solution? CP can't handle the situation at today's labour rates. I don't see the workers working Pro bono.

The feds have to pony up to fund a transformation to a modernized, realistic platform. There will be culling of the herd. Hopefully they get rid of a lot of the bull.
 
nobbie48 said:
What's the solution? CP can't handle the situation at today's labour rates. I don't see the workers working Pro bono.

The feds have to pony up to fund a transformation to a modernized, realistic platform. There will be culling of the herd. Hopefully they get rid of a lot of the bull.
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Just received a Dec 8 letter.

If people are PO'd about CP losing money then implement 100% community mailboxes wherever possible and then charge what it really costs for lettermail. CP's deficit in 2023 was $529M and lettermail volume was 2.2B. This implies that the deficit could be eliminated if postage was increased by $0.24 per letter. Yes, I know, this is a simplistic example, but it's not rocket science.

Per CP's web site................

For stamps purchased in a booklet, coil or pane, which represent most stamp sales, the rate increases by 25 cents, to $1.24 per stamp. The price of a single domestic stamp increases to $1.44, up from $1.15. For the last decade, Canada Post has kept regulated letter mail rate increases to a minimum.
So, maybe this increase will provide enough new revenue to CP to break even.

If it really costs $1.25 to deliver a letter then charge that. Politicians need to stop interfering in CP's operations to buy or keep votes. Volume will decrease, cost per unit will go up, stamp prices will increase again and people with continue to find other delivery alternatives, just like the market is supposed to do.

We purchased about 15 packs of permanent stamps a couple of months ago for elderly relatives who still use the mail a lot to avoid the then announced increase.
 
ReSTored said:
Just received a Dec 8 letter.

If people are PO'd about CP losing money then implement 100% community mailboxes wherever possible and then charge what it really costs for lettermail. CP's deficit in 2023 was $529M and lettermail volume was 2.2B. This implies that the deficit could be eliminated if postage was increased by $0.24 per letter. Yes, I know, this is a simplistic example, but it's not rocket science.

Per CP's web site................

For stamps purchased in a booklet, coil or pane, which represent most stamp sales, the rate increases by 25 cents, to $1.24 per stamp. The price of a single domestic stamp increases to $1.44, up from $1.15. For the last decade, Canada Post has kept regulated letter mail rate increases to a minimum.
So, maybe this increase will provide enough new revenue to CP to break even.

If it really costs $1.25 to deliver a letter then charge that. Politicians need to stop interfering in CP's operations to buy or keep votes. Volume will decrease, cost per unit will go up, stamp prices will increase again and people with continue to find other delivery alternatives, just like the market is supposed to do.

We purchased about 15 packs of permanent stamps a couple of months ago for elderly relatives who still use the mail a lot to avoid the then announced increase.
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The question ought to be why does it cost 1.25 to deliver a letter? I don’t think Canada Post problems stem from undercharging.

Price and volume are somewhat elastic, so raising prices because of a cost issue is a slippery slope- it kicks the loss problem down the road, but not for very long. Look at their package business… 10 years ago they were excellent value, the dominant market force, and profitable.

10 years ago the started jacking package prices instead of fixing the letter mail cost problem. Lost 1/2 their market share and enabled completion which has now built out their networks. Getting that share back is nearly impossible.

When lettermail crossed a dollar, big volume mailers invested heavily into email conversion. $1 was the breaking point. Switching the average bank customer to email saves $55/year in postage. In 2015 less than 10% chose email, banks offered incentives and drove that to >80%. For a bank with 10m consumer customers, that’s a lot of money gained by the bank, lost by CPC.

CPC needs to tackle cost problems or the discussion on monstrous losses will be back soon.
 
Mad Mike said:
CPC needs to tackle cost problems or the discussion on monstrous losses will be back soon.
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Given CP's history + its embedded labour contracts other than a few tweaks here and there I don't see any major restructuring at CP anytime soon.

So what you say should be done might be right, but it isn't going to happen.
 
ReSTored said:
Given CP's history + its embedded labour contracts other than a few tweaks here and there I don't see any major restructuring at CP anytime soon.

So what you say should be done might be right, but it isn't going to happen.
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Without a grenade, I agree. For taxpayers that will be stuck with the bill, tossing in a grenade asap is probably the best approach. Reincarnation could be public or private but it is freed from legacy weight and inflexibility. It will also degrade over time but hopefully has at least a decade before it becomes a disaster again.
 
GreyGhost said:
Without a grenade, I agree. For taxpayers that will be stuck with the bill, tossing in a grenade asap is probably the best approach. Reincarnation could be public or private but it is freed from legacy weight and inflexibility. It will also degrade over time but hopefully has at least a decade before it becomes a disaster again.
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JT's 2015 revamp of Canada Post stopped cost-saving measures adopted under the Harper government as one of his vote buying schemes. The Conservatives converted 840,000 households' door-to-door service, plan was to convert five million addresses at a savings of $150 in 2013 when it started, and over $200/maibox today.

Had CPC completed Harper's conversion, they would have earned a profit of at least $450M in 2024. Probably more as they wouldn't have jacked rates and lost half their package business.

Getting back on track seems easy to me. Finish the home delivery conversion, then rightsize the workforce using fair industry standards for productivity.
 
Mad Mike said:
JT's 2015 revamp of Canada Post stopped cost-saving measures adopted under the Harper government as one of his vote buying schemes. The Conservatives converted 840,000 households' door-to-door service, plan was to convert five million addresses at a savings of $150 in 2013 when it started, and over $200/maibox today.

Had CPC completed Harper's conversion, they would have earned a profit of at least $450M in 2024. Probably more as they wouldn't have jacked rates and lost half their package business.

Getting back on track seems easy to me. Finish the home delivery conversion, then rightsize the workforce using fair industry standards for productivity.
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The path may not be complicated too make large strides. Actually accomplishing it with unions and fat/lazy supervisors by the droves resisting at every opportunity is where the issue lies.
 
mimico_polak said:
What's another billion b/w friends?

www.thestar.com

Ottawa hands Canada Post $1B to help floundering Crown corporation stay afloat

Canada Post’s CEO says in a memo the shakeup will “enhance decision-making by reducing layers and bringing new, strategic perspectives to the table.”
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com
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The memo should have read "We have funds available to assist in fixing the problems long term. Come to us with a detailed, agreed upon, joint plan with a budget and time frame and we'll respond with compensation as considerate as your joint plan."

Planning venue: Motel Six, catering by Swiss Chalet. Transportation by Uber.
 
nobbie48 said:
The memo should have read "We have funds available to assist in fixing the problems long term. Come to us with a detailed, agreed upon, joint plan with a budget and time frame and we'll respond with compensation as considerate as your joint plan."

Planning venue: Motel Six, catering by Swiss Chalet. Transportation by Uber.
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That's another $25 for every single person in Canada lit on fire. Why fix anything when we can just burn money to keep us warm?

I send less than ten letters a year. I receive less than ten useful addressed letters a year. Those numbers are decreasing over time.
 
mimico_polak said:
What's another billion b/w friends?

www.thestar.com

Ottawa hands Canada Post $1B to help floundering Crown corporation stay afloat

Canada Post’s CEO says in a memo the shakeup will “enhance decision-making by reducing layers and bringing new, strategic perspectives to the table.”
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com
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This really pisses me off. Canada Post should have been allowed to crash and burn before another bailout was promised. All this will do is prolong the inevitable and cost taxpayers yet another billion dollars. The entire operation needs to be completely torn down and rebuilt from the ground up.

BTW, I'd also like to see Canadian tax money stop funding the CBC and Air Canada. If those corporations cannot stand on their own, let them fail and save us more billions.
 
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