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Postal
Regulatory |
Postal
Regulatory Commission |
Phone:
202-789-6800 Fax:
202-789-6886 |
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Commission |
www.prc.gov |
Contact: Nanci
Langley Nanci.Langley@prc.gov |
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Press
Release
Washington, DC – May 25, 2007— The Postal
Regulatory Commission (PRC) today offered interim rate relief for Standard
Regular flats and catalog mailers in response to the Governors of the U.S.
Postal Service (USPS) who requested reconsideration of the recommended rates in
March.
The
Commission’s Second Opinion and
Recommended Decision on Reconsideration recommends a transitional temporary
rate reduction of three cents ($0.03) for all Standard Mail Regular flats and
two cents ($0.02) for Standard Regular nonprofit flats. By law, the average revenue per piece
for nonprofit mail is only 60 percent of the average revenue for commercial
mail. No other rate changes were
recommended by the Commission.
If
the Governors accept the Commission’s recommendation, there should be minimal
administrative or transaction costs since the savings could be easily measured
at the end of the transition period or at the time of mailing. Mailers would not need to reprogram
computer hardware or software to accommodate this temporary change. Mailers could simply multiply the number
of flats mailed by $0.03 to calculate their savings in this transition
period. Nonprofit mailers could
multiply the number of flats mailed by $0.02.
Today’s PRC action responds to the last of three issues
returned to the Commission by the Governors in relation to Docket No.
R2006-1. The Commission’s decision
may be found on the PRC website: www.prc.gov
under Daily Listing,
Commission
chairman Dan G. Blair issued the following statement:
The
Commission’s proposal gives the USPS Governors the ability to make a temporary
rate reduction for catalog and flats mailers. We believe this option responds to the
concerns expressed by the Governors and all of the many participants who
submitted comments. It leaves
Standard letter rates untouched, protects the Postal Service’s financial
standing, allows USPS projected revenues to meet expected costs, and does not
reduce the Contingency Fund.
Our
recommendation does not involve shifting the financial burden associated with
lowering catalog and flats rates to other mailers. If the Governors accept our
recommendation, commercial and nonprofit flats mailers could expect to achieve
savings of $0.03 and $0.02, respectively, and the Postal Service would still
break even if the temporary transitional rate relief for Standard Regular flats
mailers ends on
The
Commission recognizes that the dates for implementation of all rate changes are
determined by the Governors who must balance the needs of mailers and the Postal
Service. We believe our
recommendation appropriately acknowledges the recent passage of the Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act that underscores the potential benefits of
providing the Postal Service with additional pricing
flexibility.
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The
Postal Regulatory Commission is an independent federal agency comprised of five
Presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed Commissioners, each serving terms
of six years. The Chairman is
designated by the President. In
addition to Chairman Blair, the other four Commissioners are Mark Acton, Ruth
Goldway, Tony Hammond, and Dawn Tisdale.