Inflation-based US postal price cap "showing signs of strain"
The inflation-based price cap on US postal rates is “showing signs of strain”, the USPS Office of the Inspector General said yesterday.
Read MoreTag: Postcom
Mail industry calls on Congress to give USPS time to right-size
Key US mailing industry groups have called on US lawmakers to act to stabilise the finances of the US Postal Service, and give it time to right-size its network in the face of declining mail volumes.
Read MoreThe Postal Service and What the May 11 Rate Increases Mean to You
Know the opportunities available to mitigate the impact of these rate increases while improving the shopping experience of customers By Kevin Brow.
Read MoreUSPS supports price incentives for full-service IMB
In response to concerns from the mailing community, the US Postal Service said that it will support an additional price incentive for mailers who adopt the full service Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB) option.
“Postcom was very pleased to hear that the Postal Service reconsidered their position on IMB after receiving input from MTAC [Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee] members,” said Jim O’Brien, chairman of Postcom and VP of distribution and postal affairs for Time Inc.
In an August 8 letter to MTAC members, Stephen M. Kearney, SVP of customer relations at the USPS, wrote that the Postmaster General would recommend to the USPS Board of Governors that full-service IMB prices be lower than basic IMB and POSTNET prices.
As planned, the USPS will be ready for full-service IMBs in May of 2009, Kearney said. A Federal Register notice with additional details related to IMB implementation will be published in the near future, he added.
Kearney’s letter followed concerns voiced at this week’s MTAC meeting in Washington. According to a post on the Association for Postal Commerce Web site, Postmaster General John Potter told meeting attendees that the USPS intended to implement the IMB program without providing cost incentives for mailers adopting the full-service IMB option.
The full-service option will require mailers to use unique IMBs on mail pieces as well as trays and containers. Mailers will also have to electronically submit postage statements and mailing documentation before mailings are inducted, among other requirements.
Read MorePostcomm chief slams union greed (UK)
Postcomm Chairman Nigel Stapleton has hit back at union claims that the regulator is incompetent, arguing that the Communications Workers Union is “undeservedly” reaping all the cost savings Royal Mail has made.
Stapleton counters: “The CWU has been extremely competent in making sure that all the savings Royal Mail has made – through single daily delivery – has gone to its members and not Royal Mail’s customers.
“Second delivery was 4 per cent of Royal Mail’s volume and 20 per cent of its costs. Everyone thought that the savings would be passed on to the customer but in fact they went on higher wages, a five day week instead of six and higher pensions – the customer hasn’t got anything.”
The move follows CWU general secretary Billy Hayes’ public broadside last week that Postcomm was ‘draconian’ and ‘incompetent’ and was to blame for Royal Mail’s demise.
He also claimed Postcomm was stifling Royal Mail and creating a financial crisis for the UK’s biggest mail carrier.
But Stapleton argues that both the CWU and Royal Mail have their heads stuck in the sand, claiming that neither has reacted swiftly enough to the rise of digital marketing.
Stapleton also blames Royal Mail’s lack of new product development.
even test marketed anything since last August.
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