Category: Alliance Report

Nov 19, 2014 The USPS reported yesterday to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) that it collected $495.8 million in exigent surcharge revenue in Q4 of FY 2014, and $1.351 billion in cumulative surcharge revenue toward the $3.2 billion cap set by the PRC. They are 42% of the way there. The cumulative breakdown by class…

November 19, 2014 Anyway you cut it; the USPS had a great fiscal year 2014. Their announcement even had something positive in the headline, “U.S. Postal Service Reports Revenue Increase,” for the first time in recent memory. And though there was much positive to report, you can almost hear Pat Donahoe quote Butch Cassidy to…

November 19, 2014 Butch Cassidy said it. And now that the USPS Board of Governors (BoG) has chosen Megan Brennan to be the new PMG, we might ask that too. Indeed, Senator Tom Carper, the erstwhile Chairman of the Senate oversight committee, seemed to wonder about the process the BoG used in selecting Brennan: “Megan…

November 19, 2014 In additional to being a part of a line of outstanding operational leaders, Megan Brennan has known and worked with Pat Donahoe for much of her career. They both come from Pennsylvania and are both products of the Sloan Fellowship program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Here is her official…

November 19, 2014 The two most important functions of the Board of Governors (BoG) of the United States Postal Service (USPS) are to raise rates and pick a new Postmaster General. We all know that the BoG has been exercising its rate-raising muscles for some time, with annual Inflation-capped increases and the January 2014 exigent…

House hearing on USPS data security. Learn more » Several vying to be Chairman Issa’s replacement. Learn more » Alliance sponsor Quad Graphics explains USPS delivery performance. Learn more » A new Inspector General report on the USPS Universal Service Obligation. Learn more »  Sen. Jon Tester statement on New PMG Megan Brennan. Learn more »  PMG…

Esquire blog post says business at USPS should be booming. Learn more » Print magazines have a future, as CNET adds one to its online presence. Learn more »  Lame-duck postal reform prospects are not great. Learn more » Postal Sales VP Cliff Rucker discusses USPS package shipping competitive advantages. Learn more »  Joe Schick…

Last week lawyers representing the Alliance and seven other mailer groups submitted a white paper to the PRC. The full text is available here. The paper concerns the extent of the PRC’s authority with respect to the review the 2006 postal law directs it to perform in 2017, ten years after the enactment of the…

While reform legislation has a very low probability of happening, the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals about the exigent rate case definitely will be issued in the near future. It is now 57 days since the September 6 oral arguments and a decision could come any time, but almost certainly before Christmas. We…

Even though some have expressed hope for postal reform legislation during the lame-duck session that will take place before the new Congress starts in January, we continue to believe that it is highly unlikely. Senator Carper’s office expresses optimism and a burning need for legislation, and a group of business mailers who have teamed with…