GCA, USPS, Differ Over Information Request

In an August 14 filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Greeting Card Association moved for the issuance of an official information request as part of the Public Inquiry on Changes Associated with the Delivering For America Plan (Docket No. PI2023-4). Motion and opposition The GCA explained the reasons for its motion: “The DfA plan depends pervasively on certain projections.…

Read More

Mixed Messages from the USPS About Cost Reductions

Anyone familiar with the Postmaster General’s 10-Year Plan knows that part of the strategy to balance the agency’s books includes not only price increases but cost reductions from improved efficiency in USPS operations.  Many readers, particularly noting the changes now underway in the Postal Service’s processing, transportation, and delivery networks, conclude that some of the forecasted efficiency and savings will…

Read More

Industry Group Challenges Economics of the PMG’s Plan

(Correction: In the recent issue of Mailers Hub News, Issue #181, former Congressman Kevin Yoder was incorrectly identified as Dennis Yoder.) In a recently publicized May 17 letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, former Congressman Kevin Yoder, now Executive Director of Keep Us Posted, questioned the economic assumptions…

Read More

Along for the Ride

Nearly three years into the reign of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General, many in the commercial mail production business have conceded that their irrelevance to Postal Service leadership is now nearly total.  Accordingly, what they think or need matters virtually not at all at L’Enfant Plaza, and, as a result, we’re all just along for the ride. Where that ride…

Read More

PMG Comments Foretell Continued Price Increases – Analysis

When the comments of an organization’s top executive to its board of directors are published in a press release after they’ve met, it’s likely that such a statement is less intended to report on the meeting’s proceedings than to provide curated information for public and media consumption.  Any candid discussions among the organization’s leadership are kept confidential. The Postal Service’s…

Read More

In His Own Words

It’s hardly news that hard-copy mail volume is shrinking – it has been for fifteen years as the uptake of electronic messaging has accelerated.  However, the diversion to electronic media that may work in some applications – personal emails and texts in place of written letters and cards – doesn’t mean all messages translate well.  Many individuals still prefer paper bills and…

Read More

Caveat Emptor: Buyer Beware – Commentary

Attention members of the commercial mail production community: You’re being pitched. After nineteen months in office, and ten months after issuing his 10-year Plan, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is getting out of his office at USPS HQ and taking his sales pitch to the people. Actually, his Selling the Plan tour began last year; he appeared at selected USPS facilities, at…

Read More

USPS Service Claims Require Readers’ Scrutiny

For the last seven months of 2021, the Postal Service’s public relations office has issued weekly releases touting service performance improvements.  However, a closer look at those releases suggests that, while the authors’ purpose seems to be to create a perception of improvement, that scenario isn’t supported by their own data, and shows a trend that actually isn’t as impressive as they…

Read More