The Postal Service Governors decided today to delay the implementation of new market-dominant and competitive rates and classification changes until all of the proposed market-dominant changes are approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission (“PRC”). This decision was primarily motivated by a desire to eliminate potential adverse impacts on postal customers that might result from a staggered implementation of our new prices. After considering the complexity of the required programming changes in view of the remand of some of the proposed changes by the Postal Regulatory Committee, the specific complications that customers might face; the potential cost to the supply chain as a whole of a staggered implementation, the Postal Service has decided to delay implementation until all of the proposed rates and classification changes can be implemented at one time.
While proposed prices for First Class Mail, Special Services and Competitive Products have all been approved by the PRC, prices for the Standard Mail, Periodicals and Package Services classes have twice been remanded back to the Postal Service by the PRC for a wide array of technical and other concerns that are primarily related to the complexities of the price cap and the manner in which it is calculated. Rather than subject customers to a piecemeal implementation of the new prices, the Postal Service has decided that the best course of action would be to wait until their complete price proposal is approved by their regulator. The Postal Service has no desire to saddle their valued customers with the additional costs and burdens of a staggered implementation while they work with the PRC to obtain final approval of the remaining prices. The Postal Service will set a new implementation date when they propose new prices for Standard Mail, Periodicals, and Package Services in response to the PRC’s March 18th remand order.
