It’s doubtful that anyone doesn’t know the meaning of the analogy that something is “like putting lipstick on a pig.” With no offense intended to pigs, it simply means that the fundamental nature of something isn’t changed or improved by the addition of superficial or cosmetic devices. The analogy applies to the recent press release (and accompanying Industry Alert and…
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In a three-and-a-half page letter sent March 13 to the leadership of the House and Senate and the respective committees with USPS oversight, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy recited – again – the many faults he found with the agency when he arrived, and listed seven areas in which his 10-year Plan has led to “impactful” accomplishments. The task list In…
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A report this evening by the Washington Post indicated that the White House was planning an executive order to take direct control of the Postal Service. The article, based on informed sources, stated that the administration plans to fire the governors and move the USPS under the control of the Commerce Department. The report added that, in response, the governors…
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Very few – if any – regular readers of Mailers Hub News may include in their daily routine monitoring the Federal Register or the docket postings on the Postal Regulatory Commission’s website. Those who do, however, likely have noticed the dozens – hundreds – of Postal Service negotiated service agreements that have been filed and approved in recent months. Paperwork…
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At the November 14 meeting of its Board of Governors, the Postal Service reported a loss of $9.5 billion for its 2024 fiscal year (October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024). That amount is $3 billion larger than the loss reported for fiscal 2023, far different from the projected $1.7 billion surplus anticipated in Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan.…
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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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In an order issued July 2, the Postal Regulatory Commission opened a rulemaking to evaluate the Postal Service’s service performance measurement system. As is reported regularly in Mailers Hub News, the current system does not measure service on a significant portion of the mailstream. In PQII/FY2024 (January-March), for example, only 63.81% of First-Class Mail (all commercial rate), 72.37% of Marketing…
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If Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is displeased by observations about his 10-Year Plan that are not complimentary, he surely will be piqued by an audit report released June 21 by the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General. In the report, State of the US Postal Service Financial Condition, the OIG sought “to evaluate the financial performance of the Postal Service…
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Congressional politicians continue to signal their displeasure over aspects of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10 Year Plan insofar as it impacts processing facilities. The latest example is the statement of the House Committee on Appropriations contained in its report on the Financial Services And General Government Appropriations Bill, 2025, approved by the committee on June 13. Some were local issues…
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