FedEx Is Again USPS’s Largest Supplier For 8th Straight Year
FedEx transports Express, Priority and First Class Mail, and earned postal revenues of $1.373 billion (corrected) in fiscal 2010. While at the top of the list, FedEx’s postal revenues declined from a high point of over $1.6 billion. Another postal competitor, United Parcel Service (UPS) , is the Postal Service’s 12th (corrected) largest postal supplier, earning $95 million in revenue – a $12 million increase from last year.
Husch Blackwell’s Postal Service Contracting practice group today released its list of the top 150 U.S. Postal Service suppliers for fiscal year 2010, and for the eighth straight year FedEx claimed the No. 1 spot with Northrop Grumman jumping from fourth to second. The list is compiled by David P. Hendel, a partner in the firm who has served clients’ postal contracting needs for 29 years. This is the 15th year for the list.
First-place FedEx transports Express, Priority and First Class Mail, and earned postal revenues of $1.373 billion in fiscal 2010 – falling slightly from the $1.4 billion it earned in fiscal 2009. Another postal competitor, United Parcel Service, is the Postal Service’s 12th largest postal supplier, earning $95 million in revenue – a $12 million increase from last year.
“Once again, transportation and technology providers stand atop the list of the Postal Service’s largest suppliers,” said Hendel, who compiles the list from information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. “But unlike last year, in fiscal 2010 more top suppliers had declines rather than gains in postal revenues.” The sharp decline seen in postal spending over the previous several years has stabilized; spending in FY 2010 totaled $12 billion, a 1 percent decrease over FY 2009. By contrast, postal spending in FY 2009 declined more 19 percent from FY 2008.
Second-place automation supplier Northrop Grumman earned $494 million in postal revenues. Northrop Grumman provides automation design, equipment fabrication, field deployment and logistics support to the Postal Service.
Other companies in the top 10 include third-ranked Kalitta Air, an air transportation and mail distribution service for military mail bound for Iraq and Afghanistan; trucking contractor Pat Salmon & Sons, Inc. in fourth place; systems manufacturer Siemens in fifth; computer company Hewlett-Packard in sixth; transportation company Wheeler Bros., Inc. in seventh; advertising agency Campbell-Ewald in eighth; consulting company Accenture in ninth; and the number 10 spot was secured by technology company IBM.
“Opportunities for facility contractors continue to decline in 2011 as the agency is unlikely to build many new facilities in a time of decreasing mail volume,” Hendel said. “But opportunities do exist for modifying existing facilities and retrofitting facilities for energy conservation purposes.”
Other trends identified in FY 2010 figures:
* Increased spending on ground transportation – up 5.3 percent from FY 2009
* Decreased spending on domestic air transportation – down 2 percent
* Decreased spending on international air transportation – down 26 percent
* Spending on supplies and services remained stable
The firm’s Postal Service Contracting group assists clients in contracting with the U.S. Postal Service, and its members are knowledgeable regarding the needs specific to the postal industry. Hendel has developed and presented several training courses on postal contracting. He also writes a monthly column on postal contracting issues for the National Star Route Mail Contractors Association. He has represented hundreds of postal contractors on a wide range of issues.
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Top 12 USPS Suppliers for 2010
Federal Express Corporation
$1,373,140,689
Northrop Grumman*
$494,601,395
Kalitta Air LLC*
$371,823,791
Pat Salmon & Sons Inc*
$142,869,164
Siemens*
$134,774,653
Hewlett Packard Co*
$133,240,521
Wheeler Bros Inc
$124,868,868
Campbell-Ewald (includes payments to 3rd parties)
$121,573,393
Accenture
$115,091,627
International Business Machines
$114,588,310
Mail Contractors of Arkansas Inc*
$104,668,098
United Parcel Service Co*
$95,068,821
Top 150 USPS suppliers for Fiscal Year 2010
FedEx Is Again USPS’s Largest Supplier For Seventh Straight Year
Top U.S. Postal Service Contractors for FY 2009
Washington, D.C. – Husch Blackwell Sanders’ Government Contracts Practice Group today released its list of the top 10 U.S. Postal Service suppliers for fiscal year 2009, compiled from information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. David P. Hendel, a partner in the firm whose practice focuses on postal contracting matters, has compiled the list of the top 150 postal suppliers for the past 14 years.
For the seventh straight year, FedEx is the Postal Service’s top supplier. FedEx transports Express, Priority, and First Class Mail, and earned postal revenues of $1.4 billion in fiscal 2009 – more than triple the amount of the next largest supplier. While at the top of the list, FedEx’s postal revenues declined from a high point of over $1.6 billion. Another postal competitor, United Parcel Service, is also one of the Postal Service’s top suppliers, netting $83 million in revenue and holding the 18th spot.
The second-ranked USPS supplier, Kalitta Air, LLC, earned $423 million in postal revenues. Kalitta provides air transportation and mail distribution services, a large portion of which is military mail bound for overseas. The third-ranked supplier, EnergyUnited, provides utility auditing services, therefore much of its revenues are actually pass-throughs to other utilities.
Other transportation providers in the top 10 include Wheeler Bros. Inc, which transports mail by ground, and American Airlines, which transports mail by air. American Airlines, as with the other major airlines, saw reductions in postal revenues from reduced volumes of mail.
Providers of computer equipment, services, and software are well-represented on this year’s top 10 list. Hewlett-Packard claims the number five spot with $232 million in revenues, a $70 million increase from last year. Accenture, which provides consulting and technical services on a variety of postal initiatives and helped re-design the agency’s website, ranked sixth with $164 million in revenues. Accenture had the largest growth of any contractor on the list, capturing $84 million in additional revenues. IBM Corp. moves up from the tenth to the seventh spot with $143 million in revenues.
Only one automation supplier makes the top 10 this year. Northrop Grumman, occupying the number four spot with $331 million in revenue, has been providing automation design, equipment fabrication, field deployment and logistics support to the Postal Service for almost two decades. Just three years ago, two other automation contractors — Siemens and Lockheed Martin — were the second and third ranked suppliers, respectively. This year, they rank 16th and 32nd.
“Transportation and technology providers once again stand atop the list of the Postal Service’s largest suppliers,” noted David Hendel, who has worked on postal contracting matters for the past 28 years. “With some notable exceptions, the biggest USPS suppliers earned more revenue than last year, even in a down year for the agency overall. This is consistent with the Postal Service’s desire to consolidate its purchasing among its top suppliers. While new suppliers may find the Postal Service a difficult nut to crack, once established as a postal supplier, the opportunities for obtaining additional work are easier to capture.” Opportunities for facility contractors will continue to decline, however, as the agency is unlikely to build many new facilities in a time of decreasing mail volume. But opportunities do exist for modifying existing facilities and retrofitting facilities for energy conservation purposes.
The firm’s Government Contract Practice is involved in all phases of government contracting, including bid protests, contract administration, change orders, audits, claims and disputes, and compliance programs. A special focus of this practice is providing advice to Postal Service contractors. David Hendel, the partner who leads this effort, developed two popular training courses on postal contracting, writes a monthly column on postal contracting issues for the National Star Route Mail Contractors Association, and has represented hundreds of postal contractors on a wide range of issues.
Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP is a litigation and business services law firm with approximately 625 attorneys. The firm has offices in Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and Jefferson City, Missouri; Overland Park, Kansas; Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska; Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee; Chicago and Peoria, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; Washington, D.C., and London, U.K.
Top USPS Suppliers of 2009http://www.huschblackwell.com/pdf/USPS2009.pdf