That Megan Brennan has decided to retire from the Postal Service after five years as Postmaster General should not come as a surprise; to many observers, it was only a matter of time when she would make the announcement.

After a 33-year career, rising up through the ranks to the agency’s top position, after becoming its first female CEO, and after years of dealing with the political and media spotlight that comes with the job, Megan Brennan had nothing left to prove, and no higher rung on the ladder to reach.

In a letter sent today to top Postal Service executives, Postmaster General Megan Brennan announced she will be retiring effective January 31, 2020. She's served as PMG since February 1, 2015, succeeding Pat Donahoe. In her announcement, Brennan stated that, when appointed, she committed to serving as PMG for five years, and she will have fulfilled her commitment. More details in the next issue of Mailers Hub News.

People often ask about price changes – why they’re when and what they are, and why the USPS can’t simply reduce its costs. It’s really not that simple.

The Postal Service has filed new prices for market-dominant mail that, if approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, will take effect on January 26, 2020.  The average increase for the market-dominant classes of mail is 1.9%, in line with the CPI-based cap; First-Class Mail will increase, on average, by 1.919%, and Marketing Mail prices will rise by an average of 1.891%.  Barring problems during the PRC’s review of the filing, a decision should be expected by mid-November.

New prices for competitive products, set by the Governor of the Postal Service, also were announced.  They will be reviewed for statutory compliance by the PRC and, barring problems, also will be effective January 26.

An audit report by the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General revealed that changes the USPS has instituted in its processing operations have failed to produce savings at a pace commensurate with the overall decline in mail volume. Released September 9, the report (NO-AR-19-006, US Postal Service Processing Network Optimization) evaluated “trends and practices the U.S. Postal Service uses to optimize its processing network.”

Summary

Don't miss our upcoming FREE Webinar on October 20, 2019; Looking Over the Horizon – Possible Changes to Postal Prices and Discounts.  Yes, rates will change next year, but the question is by what degree, and will those be accompanied by changes to the rate structure, discounts, and fees?  Will there be classification changes, new products and services?  What’s the timeline?  Learn about what is likely to be happening so you can better inform your clients and build your company’s value.

Click Here to Register Now

The Postal Service has developed an offload plan for mail headed to Houston.

There is still time to make the 2019 Mailers Conference.

Contributed by Summer Gould, President, Eye/Com

Before we really get started let’s define what personalization in direct mail is. It is more than just putting the name and address on the piece. In 2019, even just adding dear name or just a name is no longer the best way to personalize your direct mail. Don’t get me wrong, you still need to have the name, but you can get so much more creative than that now. So don’t just stop there, get more personal with offers, images, landing pages and more.

Commentary, by Leo Raymond

Any publication on any topic occasionally finds itself in the situation of knowing newsworthy events lie ahead but about which an article cannot be yet written; they just have to wait. Such is the situation in which we – and colleagues with their own newsletters – find ourselves.

A June article in the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers’ Report dug into the current trend of USPS costs outrunning USPS revenues. The report’s findings revealed that the Postal Service may be doing things that an institution with financial challenges like those facing the USPS shouldn’t do.
The following extracts from the Alliance’s report are provided with their permission.
The Alliance found four areas where costs seem ripe for further examination:

A June article in the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers’ Report dug into the current trend of USPS costs outrunning USPS revenues. The report’s findings revealed that the Postal Service may be doing things that an institution with financial challenges like those facing the USPS shouldn’t do.
The following extracts from the Alliance’s report are provided with their permission.
The Alliance found four areas where costs seem ripe for further examination:

A June article in the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers’ Report dug into the current trend of USPS costs outrunning USPS revenues. The report’s findings revealed that the Postal Service may be doing things that an institution with financial challenges like those facing the USPS shouldn’t do.
The following extracts from the Alliance’s report are provided with their permission.
The Alliance found four areas where costs seem ripe for further examination:

A June article in the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers’ Report dug into the current trend of USPS costs outrunning USPS revenues. The report’s findings revealed that the Postal Service may be doing things that an institution with financial challenges like those facing the USPS shouldn’t do.
The following extracts from the Alliance’s report are provided with their permission.
The Alliance found four areas where costs seem ripe for further examination:

Our speaker will be Jason DeChambeau, Manager, Processing Operations at USPS HQ.

Excerpted from the latest issue of Mailers Hub News

Although there were plenty of skeptics when the program was being developed, as well as after it was introduced on a limited basis in 2014, since it went nationwide in 2017 Informed Delivery has become very popular – perhaps more popular than even the USPS expected.

Excerpted from the May 27, 2019 issue of Mailers Hub News. Subscribers click here to access the full version.

When I spoke recently at an industry gathering, one of the questions I got (after reviewing the PQ II service scores) was what the USPS could do about its service performance. Why is service so poor in some places? What can be done to improve it, especially in the chronically low-performing districts? What actions can management take?

A very brief and narrowly-focused bill filed April 29 by Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR 4th) would do one thing: eliminate the statutory provision (in the 2006 postal reform law) that requires the Postal Service to fully prefund future retiree health care costs.

As filed, the operative section of HR 2382, the USPS Fairness Act, states:

Excerpted from the May 13 edition of Mailers Hub News. Subscribers can find the full edition and archived issues here. 
(Not a subscriber? Contact us.)

In case there’s any member of the hard-copy messaging industry who’s not noticed, the traditional distinction between a “printer” and a “mailer” has been blurred – sometimes erased – in recent years as printing companies add mailing capability and mail producers buy digital printing equipment.
(Of course, both are also adding agency, marketing, fulfillment, and other services.)\

Excerpted from the February 18, 2019 edition of the Mailers Hub News.

As was observed late last year when the Postal Service reported its volume and revenue figures for October, the first month of fiscal 2019 and the month that benefitted from pre-election mailing activity, it needs more months like that. That assessment was reinforced earlier this month when the less impressive results for the other two months of the first quarter were added and reported on the agency’s PQ I/FY 2019 Form 10-Q.