Every year in its annual report, the Postal Regulatory Commission provides its estimate of the value of the Postal Service’s monopolies over the delivery of some hard-copy mail and access to the mailbox. At the same time, the PRC estimates the cost to the USPS for its Universal Service Obligation. Both figures are for the prior full fiscal year. On…
Read MoreMonth: February 2024
“Pilot Test” Continues Adrift
Usually, when the Postal Regulatory Commission allows the Postal Service to conduct a test of a potential new product or service, there’s a finite arc of related events, such as a proposal by the USPS, review by the PRC, and establishment of a test with reporting requirements and specific start and end dates. Over the test period, results are reported…
Read MoreFinger-pointing Follows Withdrawal of PCH NSA
As the saying goes, “Success has many parents while failure is an orphan.” To a degree, this may apply to the stillborn negotiated service agreement with Publishers Clearing House that the Postal Service had filed last August 11. That filing was different from other NSAs in that it was for market-dominant mail, not competitive products. As the USPS stated in…
Read MoreNew Year’s Legal Greetings: Coming Attractions
We thought it important to ring in the New Year by highlighting three legal developments early enough in the year so as to permit enough time to strategically mitigate the risks of failing to comply with these new laws. (We will go into more detail about these developments during our Webinar at 1 pm on February 13, 2024.) CTA First…
Read MoreUSPS Greenwashes its Network Changes – Analysis
In an unabashed example of creative reinterpretation, the Postal Service has reframed the ongoing changes to its processing and transportation networks as initiatives designed to reduce its carbon footprint. In a lengthy Industry Alert issued February 6, the agency asserted that the environmental benefits flow from elements of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan, repeating some of his stock criticisms…
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