Release No. 06-5                                    August 24, 2006

Contact:   Robert E. McLean

                bmclean@mailers.org

                703-418-0390

Mailers Council Asks USPS to Implement a Standard Rate Implementation Period

WASHINGTON, DC, August 24, 2006— The Mailers Council, the largest coalition of mailers and mailing associations, has released a new research paper outlining the benefits of a standard implementation period of at least 90 days, longer in more complicated cases, when the Postal Service raises postage rates.

Currently there is no law or postal regulation mandating the minimum number of days between completion of a rate case and the date when the Postal Service implements new rates. Historically, implementation periods have ranged from 30 to 60 days. As the paper explains in detail, having sufficient time to plan for new rates is important to both mailers and postal employees, especially in cases like the current one that include substantial rules changes so they can update their systems.

Inadequate implementation time exposes mailers and the Postal Service to additional costs from accumulated overtime. It raises the risk of errors and system flaws that add millions of dollars in administrative costs for both mailers and the Postal Service. Exceptions may help avoid postage costs, but most mailers believe the system is inherently unfair, and it generates hundreds of hours of administrative work. The cost to the Postal Service in terms of its customer relations is needlessly high.

To make rate cases less difficult, litigious, and costly for both the Postal Service and its customers, the Mailers Council recommends that the Postal Service adopt the following new implementation dates for rate cases:

• Allow 90 days for simple changes to rate cells.
• Allow at least 120 days for structural changes.
• Continue the recent practice of implementing international rate increases at the same time as domestic rate increases.
• Raise rates sometime between March and August and avoid January 1 rate increases.

The Mailers Council is a coalition of corporations, nonprofit organizations and major mailing associations. Collectively the Council accounts for 70 percent of the nation's mail volume. The Mailers Council believes that the USPS can be operated more efficiently, supports efforts aimed at lowering postal costs, and has the ultimate objective of containing postal rates without compromising service.

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