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Member LoginJoining PostCom Board of DIrectors Staff News Postal/Industry National International PostCom Members News Resources Members Search Member LoginJoining PostCom Board of DIrectors Staff News Postal/Industry National International PostCom Members News Resources Members Latest News and Highlights Critique of USPS Elasticities Association for Postal Commerce and the Greeting Card Association recently commissioned a report conducted by NDP Analytics on USPS Price Elasticities. The report was released on March 19, 2024. The report warns USPS is underestimating how much these rate hikes on its monopoly mail — or market-dominant” — products are driving away some of its biggest customers. It’s continued rate increases put the USPS at risk of accelerating volume decline and losing revenue on these products” and the inability to accurately predict the impact of rate increases on market dominant products threatens the stability of the USPS’ volume and revenue base." Federal News Radio article: USPS mail price hikes driving away more customers than predicted, study finds PostCom News Effective January 1, PostCom President and CEO Michael Plunkett has been named President and Executive Director of the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) . With the full support of the PostCom Board of Directors, Mike has taken on the dual role of running both organizations. PostCom and ACMA have a track record of collaborating on important postal and policy issues and our Board is convinced that this move will strengthen both organizations and provide opportunities for more effective and efficient advocacy on behalf of all our members. U.S. Postal Service Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Results On May 9th, t he U.S. Postal Service today announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 (Jan. 1, 2024 - Mar. 31, 2024). The net loss for the quarter totaled $1.5 billion, compared to a net loss of $2.5 billion for the same quarter last year. Controllable loss for the quarter was $317 million, compared to a controllable loss of $498 million for the same quarter last year. These results were favorably impacted by increased revenue and lower transportation costs, partially offset by the continued effect of inflation on operating expenses. Total operating revenue was $19.7 billion for the quarter, an increase of $410 million, or 2.1 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. PRC Directs USPS to Provide its Justification for Not Requesting an Advisory Opinion on Certain Initiatives Associated with its DFA Plan On Friday, April 27, the Postal Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 7061 directing the Postal Service to either show cause within 20 days of the Commission’s order as to why an advisory opinion is not warranted for the recent initiatives being implemented under its Delivering for America Plan (DFA), or else file a request for an advisory opinion within 40 days of the order. Since the Commission’s last advisory opinion in 2022, the Postal Service has introduced and begun implementing new DFA initiatives, including an overhaul of its processing and delivery network, local transportation optimization, and logistics career insourcing. The show cause order noted a correlation between the DFA network changes and service problems in areas implementing the changes, such as Atlanta, GA, Houston, TX, and Richmond, VA. The Commission also noted that nationwide service performance has been declining. U.S. Postal Service Recommends New Prices for July 2024 On April 9, the U. S. Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission of mailing services price changes to take effect July 14, 2024. The new rates include a 5-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 68 cents to 73 cents. The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters increases from 24 cents to 28 cents. The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for Special Services products, including Certified Mail and money order fees. Notably, there will be no price increase for Post Office Box rental fees, and the Postal Service will apply a price reduction of 10 percent for postal insurance when mailing an item. PRC Issues Report Evaluating USPS Service Levels and Rates On March 28, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) i ssued its FY 2023 Annual Compliance Determination (ACD) assessing the Postal Service’s compliance with regulations regarding rates and service performance. Accompanying this year’s ACD are two dashboards related to rate authority and Negotiated Service Agreements (NSA). USPS and USPIS Continue Nationwide Campaign to Combat Postal Crime and Protect Postal Employees On March 12, the U.S Postal Service (USPS) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced an update on Project Safe Delivery, a joint initiative to protect postal employees and secure the nation’s mail and packages. Since the launch of Project Safe Delivery, Inspection Service personnel have conducted more than 5,500 mail theft, and violent crime prevention activities nationwide. For the 2024 Fiscal Year so far, the Postal Inspection Service has made 73% more arrests for letter carrier robberies over the same time period in the prior fiscal year. This increase is the direct result of the efforts made by the Postal Inspection Service and federal and local law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who rob our letter carriers and steal mail. The Inspection Service is conducting targeted law enforcement surges across the country including in Chicago, San Francisco, and cities across Ohio. Additional surges are planned for 2024 in other cities across the United States. Since May 2023, tens of thousands of hardened blue boxes and electronic locking mechanisms have been and will be strategically deployed in high postal crime areas. This includes 15,000 hardened blue boxes, with another 8,500 ordered to be installed, and 28,000 electronic locking mechanisms installed in mail receptacles . White House Announces Postal Board of Governor Nominee On February 29, President Biden nominated Marty Walsh, former labor secretary and Mayor of Boston and current Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association to be a Governor of the U.S. Postal Service. He will join the seven current Governors , leaving one remaining vacancy. PRC Outlines Activities in FY 2023 Annual Report to the President and Congress On February 21, Postal Regulatory Commission released its Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report to the President and Congress . Throughout the year, the Commission had several significant accomplishments that reflect its mission to provide transparency and accountability of Postal Service activities. In addition to reviewing and approving proposed rate changes for Market Dominant and Competitive products, new product proposals, and formal complaint adjudication, the Commission performed new activities as dictated by the Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA) and beyond. U.S. Postal Service Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Results On February 8, 2024, the USPS reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 (Oct. 1, 2023 - Dec. 31, 2023). The net loss for the quarter totaled $2.1 billion, compared to a net loss of $1.0 billion for the same quarter last year. Results for the quarter were negatively impacted primarily by non-cash workers’ compensation expenses due to actuarial revaluation and discount rate changes, the amortization of unfunded retiree pension liabilities, and the continued effect of inflation on operating expenses. Total operating revenue was $21.6 billion for the quarter, an increase of $115 million, or 0.5 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. First-Class Mail revenue increased $171 million , or 2.6 percent , on a volume decline of 704 million pieces, or 5.6 percent , compared to the same quarter last year. Marketing Mail revenue decreased $235 million , or 5.4 percent , on a volume decline...