Everyone felt a bit of relief on September 20 when the Postal Service announced it wouldn’t be raising rates next January. In the official quote included in the announcement, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stated that “Our strategies are working, and projected inflation is declining,” and that, as a result, eliminating the January increase was possible. While the elimination of the…
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Although everyone knows the Postal Service will implement its plans regardless of what the Postal Regulatory Commission advises, the USPS nonetheless is following the required process and seeking an advisory opinion from the PRC on its latest round of service reductions. Filed October 4, the request, styled editorially as Operational and Service Standards Changes to Meet Statutory Requirements for Reliable,…
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In an unexpected announcement late Friday, September 20, the Postal Service announced that it will not be increasing prices for market-dominant products next January as had been forecast. In its press release and concurrent Industry Alert, the agency stated: “A recommendation by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy not to raise prices in January 2025 for Market Dominant products, which includes First-Class…
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A widely-redacted audit report, titled Planning and Deployment of the Matrix Regional Sorter, issued September 5 by the USPS Office of Inspector General, focused on another example of the agency’s recent shoot-ready-aim behavior. Background and findings As the OIG described the machine: “ … The MaRS is a package sorting machine designed to increase package processing capacity and efficiency while…
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For Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the new Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center, 25 miles southwest of downtown, was to be a centerpiece example of how his 10-Year Plan would replace the “inefficient” network of “randomly” located processing centers with a matrix of “high-performing” facilities enabling “service excellence.” Six months after its February 24 activation, the Atlanta RPDC is anything…
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It’s not often that ratepayers and a postal union can find common ground, but the Postal Service’s proposal to again reduce service standards has provided one. The example was an August 23 statement by Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union: “The American Postal Workers Union is deeply concerned regarding the August 22nd announcement from postal management, with…
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Though spun to appear as improving service performance, the Postal Service has announced a proposal to further reduce service standards so it can eliminate afternoon collections nationally. The announcement preceded a planned webinar to discuss the proposal in advance of filing for an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission. Though the USPS is overtly committed to going through the…
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The popular perception may be that trackable mailpieces are scanned when deposited, during processing, and at delivery and that, in turn, the places, dates, and times reported by the Postal Service are accurate reflections of real events, including where and when they occurred. However, a situation reported by a Mailers Hub subscriber not only suggests that perception is incorrect, but…
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In speaking with our subscribers, a frequent and predictable topic is the price and service impacts of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan. At some point in such conversations comes the question of how and by whom implementation of his Plan can be slowed or stopped. The answer is simple: only two entities can do that, and neither is about…
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A bill introduced in the Senate last May, and last week in the House, would ban additional pricing authority for Periodicals unless the Postal Service can improve service for the class. S 4378, titled the Deliver for Democracy Act, was introduced May 21 by Senator Peter Welch (VT) with eight bipartisan cosponsors. The companion House bill was introduced July 23…
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