As has become its custom, the Postal Service coordinates price changes for market-dominant and competitive products so both can be implemented on the same day; the price change implemented yesterday was no exception.
What was different – in both – was that the Postal Regulatory Commission did not silently go through the motions of checking compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and issuing aa approving decision.
Rather, as was reported in the June 3 issue of Mailers Hub News regarding the market-dominant price change, and as was the case in its July 9 order about the competitive price change, the commission was outspoken in questioning the Postal Service’s decisions.
In its May 10 notice to the PRC, the Postal Service stated
“The price changes proposed in this filing are limited to the Parcel Select product. No other competitive product prices are changing for July 2024. … Parcel Select prices as a whole will increase 25.0 percent on average in July 2024”
By statute, the PRC’s authority over competitive price changes – which can be established by the Governors of the USPS on their own authority – is more limited than for market-dominant price changes. As the commission stated in its July 9 order:
“Despite significant concerns with the potential impacts of the proposed price changes, the Commission recognizes that its role in reviewing proposed Competitive product rate changes is limited by law. The Commission acknowledges the proposed price changes to be consistent with applicable law and finds that it lacks a legal basis to reject the proposed price changes.”
As noted above, however, that was not all the commission had to say. Expressing its concerns openly, it added:
“However, the Commission’s approval is not an endorsement of the proposal. Indeed, the Commission is concerned that the Postal Service’s proposal may have a negative and disruptive impact on the affected markets, to include the individual consumer. The concerns expressed in the record by stakeholders merit full consideration. The Commission has several specific concerns with the Postal Service’s proposal and approach in this proceeding … . The Commission is concerned that the absence of thorough data and complete analysis may lead to unintended consequences.
“The Commission also recognizes that the concerns raised by commenters may call into question whether the Parcel Select product (both as a whole product and its subordinate units) is correctly classified as Competitive pursuant to [statute]. As a result, the Commission intends to establish a new proceeding addressing that issue as well as the legal standard for classifying Postal Service products as Market Dominant or Competitive pursuant to [that statute].”
After discussing the input of commenters and the legal boundaries of its authority, the commission stated at the end of its 33-page order that it “acknowledges the proposed price changes to be consistent with applicable law.”
Since it was established in 2006 as a reformation of the Postal Rate Commission, the Postal Regulatory Commission usually did little more than assure legal compliance.
However, whether in reaction to persistent criticism from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy – or from industry observers who urged the PRC to be more assertive – the commission has found its voice more consistently in recent decisions. In three recent orders –on March 22 regarding the “Zone 10” price structure, on May 30 approving market-dominant price changes, and July 9 for Parcel Select – the PRC has not simply issued a legal ruling, but rather has expressed its reservations to the governors about the Postal Service’s pricing decisions, the adequacy of the Postal Service’s data, and the potential impact of the price changes on the marketplace.
Given the information bubble in which the Postal Service sequesters the governors from external sources, it’s likely that any apparent criticism of DeJoy’s pricing policies was explained away by the HQ spinmeisters. If their actions are any indication, they remain under the PMG’s spell.
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