Mail and parcel deliveries from and to Japan are still severely impacted by the devastatingearthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan last Friday.
International and local express, parcel and postal operators have partly resumed theiroperations in Japan while delivery in more affected areas of the country has been suspended. Thedeepening nuclear crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant could result in macro-economic lossesof up to $200 billion, international media predicted.
As for the integrators, TNT Express has resumed operations in Japan, including all air exportand import services, clinical express services, and ground deliveries in the area of Tokyo andOsaka. Almost all of TNT’s Japanese staff were at work yesterday and nearly all of TNT’s pickup anddelivery vehicles are operational, the company said. The international gateways of Tokyo Narita,Tokyo Haneda and Osaka/Kansai are open.
However, power outages, queues at gas stations, and long travelling times hampered TNT Japan tofunction at full capacity. TNT stressed it is doing its utmost to ensure packages reach their finaldestinations as rapidly as possible. But service in Northern, Eastern and parts of Central Japanhas been suspended because of infrastructure damage.
FedEx Express has also resumed service to Narita and now accepts inbound shipments to easternJapan, Guam, Okinawa and Saipan, with the exception of perishables, inbound FedEx InternationalExpress Freight (IXF), FedEx Airport-to-Airport (ATA) and FedEx International Premium (IP1)services. Customers, however, may experience service delays. In the areas of Koriyama-Shi andSendai-Shi, Miyagino-Ku in eastern Japan, no pick-up and delivery services will be available.
“We are working to restore normal service commitments across eastern Japan as soon as ispracticable. Pick-up and delivery services in western Japan are normal,” the company added.
FedEx reiterated it will work with its long-standing partners among humanitarian organisationsincluding American Red Cross, Heart to Heart International, Water Missions and Direct ReliefInternational to bring critical medical and other emergency supplies required for the recoveryefforts currently under way.
Services of UPS Japan are still suspended in parts of northern and central Japan with expectedservice delays northern, eastern and central parts of the country. Its service guarantee has beensuspended in those areas.
Like the other integrators, DHL Express is taking all possible measures to restore operationsacross Eastern Japan. However, its pick-up and delivery services in the Tohoku Area remainsuspended temporarily while pick-up and delivery service has resumed in some areas of IbarakiPrefecture. In the Kanto area as well as western Japan, the company’s pick-up and delivery serviceis operating normally.
The Middle East express operator Aramex announced that all pickups and deliveries will sufferdelays of 2-3 days, especially in north-eastern Japan.
Among local operators, Japan Post has declared ‘force majeure’ with inevitable mail servicedelays. Japanese parcel operator Yamato expressed its commitment to the resumption of normalservices depending also on the reconstruction of affected areas. Sagawa Express also announceddelays in delivery with pick-up service suspended in Aomori, Akita, Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi,Yamagata, Fukushima and other areas.
Mail deliveries to and from Japan by international postal operators have been widely disruptedacross the globe. The US postal operator USPS still operates its exchange offices for internationalmail service to Japan but will not deliver mail from or to in many areas of the country includingHokkaido, Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima and Ibaraki. Postal delays also mayoccur in other areas due to diverted flights and worsening domestic traffic situations.
In Australia, there will be delays to mail deliveries to and from Japan. Australia Postannounced that all international mail items sent to Australia from areas affected by the earthquakein Japan will be delayed. The affected areas include Hokkaido, Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Miyagi,Yamagata, Fukushima and Ibaragi.
As for outgoing mail from Australia, Japan Post will accept only medical and emergency equipmentbut not any freight or mail coming into the country. “We ask customers to please be aware thatuntil this restriction has been lifted, any items posted to Japan will be delayed,” Australia Postsaid.
In Europe, the Finnish postal operator Itella confirmed that mail is delivered between Finlandand Japan as usual but there are delays to deliveries across Japan.
