The US Postal Service has announced several rate increases to its First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Special Services. The increases will take effect on May 12. In the Standard Mail category, parcels and not-flat machinables will see the largest percentage cost increase, at 9.66%.

While the US Postal Service re­vealed a 3% drop in mail volume for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, is­sues of improved efficiency took center stage at last week's Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee Meeting in Wash­ington, DC.

As retailers hunker down and pray that consumers use their tax rebates for shopping sprees rather than socking them away, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we are headed toward a recessionary climate. Few retailers are bullish present­ly, and headlines of cost-cutting, job-pruning and consolidation have spread across a whole range of retail sectors.

According to preliminary financial results, the US Postal Service's mail volume is down by 3% for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. The decrease is "very, very troubling," said Glen Walker, chief financial officer and EVP for the USPS, at the Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee Meeting on January 30.

The US Postal Service announced this week that its Premium Forwarding Service will now be available to domestic residents on a permanent basis. The service enables US residents who temporarily relocate to another address within the country, such as a summer home, to have all their mail — including magazines and catalogs — forwarded to them.

John Ward, President of Mail Services at Pitney Bowes, and Michael Gauthier, President and CEO of MarketShare Inc., discuss how the USPS can improve its service.

In its annual report for fiscal year 2007, the US Postal Service reports that it had a net loss of $5.1 billion, largely because of the impact of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006.

Q: How would you describe the PRC's role in relation to the USPS?

The US Postal Service has implemented new standards to recover the cost of handling undeliverable-as-addressed items posted from abroad with a US return address. The change took place January 14.

The recent shift to shape-based postage has made padded mailers an expensive way to reach clients. Under the old pricing system, these mailers represented an eco­nomic packaging option by protecting con­tents without requiring box assembly.