April 6, 2006 A report from the United States Postal Forum. KISSIMMEE, FL — Address quality, always a major topic for business mailers and the U.S. Postal Service, dominated the discussion yesterday at the 2006 National Postal Forum here. "We have wrestled with [the issue of undeliverable-as-addressed mail] for years," Postmaster General John E. Potter told attendees in his keynote speech. "It adds costs to mailers, several billion dollars a year by some estimates, and costs us more than $1 billion a year in wasted productivity." Potter advised mailers to use the tools like NCOALink just before a mailing. NCOALink is a data set of address changes from the USPS. It lets companies update mailing lists with new addresses from individuals, families and businesses that moved so mailers can qualify for First-Class automation and presort discounts.
KISSIMMEE, FL — The U.S. Postal Service cannot continue to absorb high fuel costs, Postmaster General John E. Potter said yesterday, and the agency plans to file its next rate case as soon as this month. Also, smaller, annual increases could begin in 2009, he said. Since the USPS raised rates in 2002, "fuel has risen more than $1 a gallon, costing the postal service over $1 billion a year for the gasoline we purchase directly," Potter said in his keynote speech at the 2006 National Postal Forum. Fuel and energy-related costs are major drivers of the Consumer Price Index, he said, but unlike most businesses, "the postal service still has CPI-based [cost of living adjustments] in our collective bargaining agreements, which in turn have driven our cost per work hour up 9 percent since 2002. That means this year's salaries and benefits are $4.5 billion more than they were four years ago." However, the USPS never added a fuel surcharge, he said, absorbing all of the costs. Healthcare is another cost driver for the USPS. "Despite the reduction in employees, our annual health benefits costs have grown some $2 billion—or 36 percent—since 2002," Potter said. And given the effects of inflation, he said, "there is a need for another rate adjustment. When? Sometime in 2007." He added that, "management and the Board of Governors have been reviewing our finances and discussing the alternatives for some time now." The filing with the Postal Rate Commission could come as soon as this month, he said. Insiders here expect it April 17, with implementation next spring.”
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