Tag: North America

USPS Governors approve majority of Postal Regulatory Commission's price recommendations, including forever stamp

Posted by | Mar 19, 2007 | |

The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service approved an increase in the price of a First-Class stamp to 41 cents, authorized the issuance of the Forever Stamp, approved shape-based pricing, and set May 14 as the date for implementation of these changes. However, they delayed implementation of new prices for periodicals and requested reconsideration for some mail classes.

USPS proposed new rates on May 3, 2006, and the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issued its recommendation on Feb. 26, 2007. The Governors spent considerable time deliberating the PRC’s recommendations — meeting six times and rewriting several drafts of their decision over the past 22 days.
The Governors approved the Forever Stamp, which will sell at the new 41-cent First-Class Mail one-ounce letter rate. The value on these stamps will always be the one-ounce letter rate and can be used for any future one-ounce letter mailing without extra postage.

The new prices also reflect differences in the costs of handling letters, large envelopes (flats), and packages. Mailers are encouraged to consider options available to reduce postage costs. For example, if the contents of a First-Class large envelope are folded and placed in a letter-sized envelope, mailers can reduce postage by as much as 39 cents per piece.
The Governors, however, requested reconsideration of the PRC’s rate recommendations for Standard Mail flats (catalogs), the Non-machinable Surcharge for First-Class Mail letters, and the Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box.

The Board of Governors also delayed until July 15, 2007, implementation of the new prices for Periodicals (magazines and newspapers) to allow time for the publishing industry to update computer software and adjust to the complexity of the PRC-recommended rate structure for periodicals. USPS had proposed a single container charge for periodicals to encourage efficiency, but the PRC recommended 55 different prices based on container type, entry point, and level of sortation.

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DHL (USA) completes hub automation at Riverside facility

Posted by | Mar 19, 2007 | |

DHL has completed the automation of its West Coast Distribution Facility in Riverside, Calif. The auto sort system upgrades now in place will allow DHL to increase letter-and-package throughput and provide customers with greater track-and-trace capabilities.

Key customer benefits of the automation effort include greater letter-and-package visibility through the auto sort system’s track-and-trace features as well as increased speed in the handling and processing of shipments. With the transition to auto sort functions, package throughput will increase by 28 percent. Letter-handling capabilities will improve by 67 percent.

The automation of the 262,000-sq.-ft. facility is part of DHL’s comprehensive USD 160 million hub investment program. The state-of-the-art equipment at the facility includes shoe-sort and tilt-tray systems, loaders, unloaders, singulators, dimensional and image scanners, scan tunnels and video coding.

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USPS partners with eBay

Posted by | Mar 17, 2007 | |

The U.S. Postal Service, which has lost many customers to cyber communication, is increasing online appeal by strengthening its eBay association.
More than 75 area eBayers attended seminars Friday at the Gary main post office on Martin Luther King Drive, learning how they could use the post office to ship CDs, books, antiques and other wares.
Cynthia Norfolk, USPS customer relations head for Gary said three seminars drew occasional sellers as well as online business runners: “Our attendees were seniors, young people, first-time buyers and sellers … some with some experience. We’re really pleased. This is the first one here in Gary.”
Norfolk said catering to the eBay segment has become a national trend for the company, which has actual eBay teams.
While people can relay messages via texting or e-mail, Norfolk said the U.S. Postal Service intends to remain a leader of delivering goods bartered online.
They, of course, contend with FedEx and UPS competition, but “We’re easier. We have delivery stops everyday. We have carrier pickup and free shipping materials,” she said.

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Spring Global Mail reaches agreement with Pitney Bowes in the USA

Posted by | Mar 16, 2007 | |

Spring Global Mail announced that it has reached an agreement with Pitney Bowes who will assume responsibility for all future business for all Spring Global Mail’s customers and limited capital assets in the United States of America. Spring Global Mail will no longer operate its present business in the USA. Also part of this transaction is a Global Distribution Agreement that grants Pitney Bowes access to the Spring Global Mail network outside the USA.
Spring Global Mail is pleased that its customers will in future be served by Pitney Bowes. Furthermore, this agreement will allow Spring Global Mail to invest in other areas of its business and to strengthen its operations in Europe and Asia.

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Postal Regulatory Commission chairman seeks mailer feedback

Posted by | Mar 14, 2007 | |

The chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission is asking mailers for their input as it begins developing and implementing a modern system of rate regulation now that the postal reform bill has been signed into law.
Dan G. Blair, the new PRC chairman, said the PRC issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in late February asking for written comments by April 6 and responses to those opinions by May 6. The comments are supposed to be published on the PRC’s Web site at www.prc.gov. However, Mr. Blair said that the PRC has not yet received any feedback.
“I hope our conversation today will generate innovative thinking on a system of rate regulation that will best serve the needs of the postal service, the mailing community and the entire nation,” he told delegates at a U.S. Postal Service/PRC summit called “Meeting Customer Needs in a Changing Regulatory Environment.”
Later this summer the USPS will consult the PRC to develop and establish new service standards for all classes of mail, Mr. Blair said. In preparation, the agency has invited the PRC to observe Mailer Technical Advisory Committee meetings at which customer service requirements are being explored.

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