Postal Service Files 5-Day Delivery Plan With Postal Regulatory Commission

(from www.usps.com)

WASHINGTON — The Postal Service today took its case for five-day delivery to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

The Postal Service is required by law to seek an advisory opinion from the PRC any time a nationwide change in service is proposed. Today’s filing begins the PRC review.

A report accompanying the request notes, “The Postal Service does not take this change lightly and would not propose it if six-day mail service could be supported by current volumes. There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

The five-day delivery proposal is part of comprehensive plan announced March 2, “Delivering the Future,” a roadmap intended to bring certainty to a viable Postal Service well into the future and to help it recover from dramatic losses in volume resulting from electronic diversion and exacerbated by the economic recession.

The five-day report notes, “Ten years ago, the average household received five pieces of mail every day. Today, it receives four pieces and by 2020, that number will fall to three. Reducing street delivery to five days will help rebalance postal operations with the needs of today’s customers. It also will save more than $3 billion a year, including reductions in energy use and carbon emissions.”

Postmaster General John E. Potter said it was important to stress that the proposal dealt only with Saturday street delivery and that Post Offices will be open on Saturdays, access to P.O. boxes would continue, Express Mail would be delivered seven days a week and incoming mail would still be processed.

“It’s five days of delivery, six days of service and Express Mail seven days a week,” Potter noted adding that postal processing operations would continue on a seven-day schedule.

In addition to a review by the PRC, it’s also necessary for Congress to refrain from enacting legislation that would require the Postal Service to generally deliver mail six days a week after the end of fiscal year 2010.

The Postal Service report can be found at http://www.usps.com/communications/five-daydelivery and the request for the advisory opinion can be accessed at prc.gov.

Postal Service Updates Station and Branch Consolidation Initiative

(from www.usps.com)

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Postal Service today updated the list of retail stations and branches that remain under review for possible consolidation, with only 241 offices still under review.

Unlike most federal agencies, America’s national mail system receives no tax subsidy for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. The Postal Service reported a loss of $3.8 billion at the end of its 2009 fiscal year in October.

“To shore up its finances, the Postal Service is looking at every aspect of its business to economize. Reducing over-capacity in retail and delivery operations is a smart business move. Every effort is being made to maintain and improve customer access to postal services,” said Steven J. Forte, senior vice president, Operations.

Today’s announcement updates a review process begun earlier this summer that initially examined about 3,300 stations and branches in urban and suburban areas across the country, focusing on facilities in relatively close proximity to one another. The process is to determine where consolidations might be feasible without compromising customer access to postal services.

With over 36,000 Post Offices, stations, branches, contract and community post offices, the Postal Service has the largest retail network in the United States. An additional 56,000 locations such as supermarkets, drug stores, and other retailers sell postage and selected postal services. Nearly 18,000 ATMs dispense sheets of stamps. But customers do not have to visit a physical building to purchase products and services; postage can be bought at usps.com and printed on personal computers.

As part of this process, the Postal Service has filed periodic updates with the Postal Regulatory Commission, identifying the retail stations and branches that remain under consideration. The filing does not represent a final decision on consolidation. To date, no facility-specific final decisions have been made as a result of this initiative.

New initiatives also are being undertaken to build revenue, including Flat Rate Priority Mail pricing. If it fits in the box, it ships for one low price regardless of U.S. destination or weight. Another recent revenue building initiative introduced greeting cards to 500 select Post Offices.

U.S. Postal Service Continues Review of Stations and Branches

(from www.usps.com)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service announced today that 371 retail stations and branches remain under consideration for possible consolidation.

Today’s announcement updates a review process begun earlier this summer that examined approximately 3,600 stations and branches in urban and suburban areas across the country, focusing on facilities in relatively close proximity to one another, to determine where consolidations might be feasible, while maintaining customer access to postal services.

With nearly 37,000 Post Offices, stations, branches, contract and community post offices, the Postal Service has the largest retail network in the United States. An additional 56,000 locations such as supermarkets, drug stores, and other retailers sell postage and selected postal services. Nearly 18,000 ATMs also dispense sheets of stamps. But customers do not have to visit a physical building to purchase products and services; postage can be bought at usps.com and printed on personal computers.

The only provider of mail service to every home and business address in the country, the Postal Service is committed to providing reliable, secure, affordable service with convenient access. Unlike most federal agencies, America’s national mail system receives no tax subsidy for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Additional efficiency initiatives are continuing. Reducing over-capacity in retail and delivery operations is a good business move. Every effort will be made to maintain and improve customer access to postal services.

Today’s announcement is part of the Station and Branch Optimization and Consolidation initiative that is currently being reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission. As part of this proceeding, the Postal Service has filed periodic updates identifying the retail stations and branches that remain under consideration.

The filing does not represent a final decision on consolidation. To date, no facility-specific final decisions have been made as a result of this initiative.

Click here for the list of stations and branches currently being reviewed.

Transfer of Wilkes-Barre operations to Scranton and Lehigh Valley begins

(from Central PA uspsnewsbreak)

The U.S. Postal Service is shifting operations in a continuing effort to improve productivity and increase efficiency.  The transfer of mail processing operations and equipment from the Wilkes-Barre Processing and Distribution Facility (P&DF) to the Scranton Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) and to the Lehigh Valley Processing and Distribution Center will tentatively begin in October, Central PA District Manager Edward B. Burke said.

The initial move will involve the 182 ZIP Codes shifting to the Lehigh Valley P&DC in Allentown which will be followed by the movement of 186 and 187 ZIP Codes to the Scranton P&DF.

Some affected career employees may be reassigned to the Scranton P&DC, Lehigh Valley P&DC or to other vacant positions.  This move will not have a negative effect on our customers.  Service levels will not be affected.  In fact, for a small number of customers, service will improve as some two-day service standards move to overnight.

This change is necessary in order to optimize our mail processing network and achieve the significant productivity and efficiency improvements expected with this consolidation.

For business mailers, the Wilkes-Barre Business Mail Entry Unit will continue to operate at the Wilkes-Barre facility.