The Bureau of Labor Statistics March 14 release of the Consumer Price Index for February supplied the final figure needed to calculate the CPI-based portion of the pricing authority that will be available to the Postal Service for its anticipated April filing: 3.406%. Part one The agency’s CPI-based rate authority resets to zero after every price filing, so the size…
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The USPS filed its latest rate case on Monday, April 10, 2023. How will this next round of rate hikes affect you and your customers? Leo Raymond will be joined by Sharon Owens, USPS VP, Pricing & Costing to expand on the changes, explain how they’ll affect you, and answer your questions. Registration is FREE to all! (Recording access available…
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In an order issued January 25, the Postal Regulatory Commission gave each side of an ongoing argument a little of what it wanted. Accounting The issue at hand is simple: how the USPS should account for the $59.6 billion in “prefunding” obligations forgiven by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 enacted last April. The answer to that question would…
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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…
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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…
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Anyone who’s been in or around the Postal Service long enough begins to see annual cycles in service, volume and revenue, and official pronouncements for any and all of it. At this time of year, the agency usually is finishing its ramp-up to the holiday shipping season. This year, the mid-term elections are also underway, meaning the usual high level…
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A proposed rule published by the Postal Regulatory Commission in the September 30 Federal Register seeks to enhance the information provided by the Postal Service’s periodic reports about service performance. Background In an earlier advance notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the May 2 Federal Register, the PRC proposed “… revisions to existing annual and periodic service performance reporting requirements for the Postal Service’s market-dominant…
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Presented by Sharon Owens, VP Pricing and Costing
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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…
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In the latest example of how Postmaster General Louis DeJoy defines “prudent and judicious,” he won Board of Governors support to seek the second price increase on market-dominant products in less than a year. As in the prior rate hike, effective last August 29, DeJoy opted to use nearly all available rate authority. If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission,…
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