The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors approved a negotiated service agreement late Tuesday that would provide discounted rates to HSBC North America Holdings in exchange for increased use of First-Class mail.
Under the three-year deal, HSBC will get discounted rates of 2.5 cents to 5 cents per piece for shifting mail from Standard to First Class and reaching certain First-Class volume targets. HSBC also agreed to accept electronic address corrections for First-Class solicitations and forgo the physical return of undeliverable mail.
The USPS said it expected to save $7 million over the life of the NSA. Other companies with which the USPS has such agreements include Capital One, JPMorgan Chase and Discover Financial Services.
In other news, the governors:
· Approved the purchase of 1,406 tractors and 382 spotters to replace older vehicles. The new vehicles will be equipped with the Fleet Management System, which will aid the USPS in tracking their use.
· Approved the purchase of 3,120 left-hand-drive carrier route vehicles for use in city deliveries, replacing right-hand-drive route vehicles that will be redeployed to rural deliveries. The USPS has been making such redeployments since 2003 to aid the safety of rural carriers who need to reach curb-line mailboxes while staying in their vehicles.
Scott Hovanyetz covers telemarketing, production and printing and direct response TV marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
