President agrees with USPS changes
AMPC
Tucked away in the President's jobs message is the administration's plan to address the financial situation of Postal Service.More

Board could take over Postal Service's finances under new bill
Federal Times
A divided House subcommittee has approved legislation aimed at forcing a major downsizing of the U.S. Postal Service's workforce and its network of 32,000 post offices and processing plants. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Dennis Ross, R-Fla., would create a five-member board to take control of the Postal Service's finances if the agency misses any payment — such as the $5.5 billion retiree health care payment due at the end of each September — to the federal government.More

Postal Service update
AMPC
The Postal Service says the next price adjustment for all products will be Jan. 22, 2012. Although the infamous "exigency case" is still pending at the PRC after being returned by a Federal court for more consideration, the word from the Postal Service is that no matter how the PRC decides it, the January 2012 price increase for market dominant products will be a normal "price cap" adjustment. The new prices for market dominant products will be announced around Oct. 22, with an average increase in the 2.1-2.3 percent rangeMore

White House proposes ending Saturday mail delivery
Federal Times
The White House is endorsing the U.S. Postal Service's call to end Saturday delivery as part of a plan to rescue the struggling mail service. The White House also is calling for refunding to the Postal Service $6.9 billion in surplus pension contributions over two years.More

FedEx to hike US shipping rates as slow economy hits results
Post & Parcel
FedEx has announced plans to increase shipping rates for FedEx Express services in the U.S. by a net average of 3.9 percent starting Jan. 2, 2012. The rate rise for domestic shipping, export and import services in the U.S. involves a 5.9 percent price increase partially offset by a 2 percent reduction in fuel surcharges. The company said pricing changes for its FedEx Ground and FedEx SmartPost services would be announced later this year.More

Business owners who depend on 'snail mail' would be hard hit by delivery cuts and rate increases
The Trenton Times
Many billions of dollars in debt and counting, the United States Postal Service has been painted as the picture of inefficiency lately, hemorrhaging money and jobs. But a rescue plan that may involve cutting Saturday delivery and establishing a one-time rate increase of 5.6 percent could adversely affect the many businesses that still profitably use the Postal Service. More

Postal service publishes proposal for service standard reductions
Federal Register
The Postal Service seeks public comment on a proposal to revise the service standard regulations contained in 39 CFR part 121. Among other things, the proposal involves eliminating the expectation of overnight service for first-class mail and periodicals and, for each of these classes, narrowing the two-day delivery range and enlarging the three-day delivery range. One major effect of the proposal would be to facilitate a significant consolidation of the Postal Service's processing and transportation networks.More

USPS direct marketing service expands via UPS Store network
Post & Parcel
The UPS Store is teaming up with USPS to offer its 4,700 outlets as part of the new Every Door Direct Mail service. The service was launched by USPS back in April, and has so far proved popular according to Postal Service figures. It allows businesses and non-profits to select certain local delivery routes and send saturation mail to every property on that route without having to track down the individual names and addresses.More

FedEx makes big gains on ground
Journal of Commerce
Strong performances by its package delivery and industrial trucking divisions gave FedEx a lift lacking in its international air operations in the last quarter. In the quarter that ended Aug. 31, FedEx Ground increased revenue 16 percent to $2.3 billion, while its operating profit soared 42 percent to $407 million.More