Postal Service Price Adjustment, 55075-55076 [E9-25750]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 205 / Monday, October 26, 2009 / Notices POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. R2010–1; Order No. 318] Postal Service Price Adjustment Postal Regulatory Commission. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a recently-filed Postal Service request to establish a Move Update assessment charge for First-Class Mail. This notice addresses procedural steps associated with this filing. DATES: Comments are due November 4, 2009. ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission’s Filing Online system at https:// www.prc.gov. Commenters who cannot submit their views electronically should contact the person identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by telephone for advice on alternatives to electronic filing. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel, 202–789–6820 and stephen.sharfman@prc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Overview II. Postal Service Filing III. Commission Action IV. Ordering Paragraphs mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES I. Overview On October 15, 2009, the Postal Service filed with the Commission a notice announcing its intention, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3622 and 39 CFR part 3010, to establish a Move Update assessment charge for First-Class Mail.1 The Notice describes related pricing and classification information specifying how the Move Update assessment will be applied to First-Class Mail. The Notice also announces classification changes which revise the way the Move Update assessment will be applied to Standard Mail. The Postal Service intends to implement these changes on January 4, 2010. Id. at 1. The Notice addresses plans for public notice; a description of the price and classification changes; price cap compliance; the statutory objectives and factors; workshare discounts; and preferred rates. The changes described in the Notice are supported by Appendix A (hard copy), and Appendices B1, B2, and B3 (electronic format). Appendix A specifies proposed Mail Classification Schedule (MCS) language. The B appendices provide the 1 United States Postal Service Notice of Market Dominant Price Adjustment and Classification Changes, October 15, 2009 (Notice). VerDate Nov<24>2008 15:19 Oct 23, 2009 Jkt 220001 following information: B1—Calculation of Percentage of Mail Expected to Pay a Move Update Assessment, B2— Calculation of Revenue Estimate for First Class Mail, and B3—Calculation of Revenue Estimate for Standard Mail. The Notice and all appendices are available for review on the Commission’s Web site at https:// www.prc.gov. II. Postal Service Filing Background. In Docket No. R2009–2, Notice of Market Dominant Price Adjustment, filed February 10, 2009, the Postal Service provided notice that, at acceptance, Standard Mail mailings that fail a Move Update verification would be assessed an additional 7 cents per piece for each piece in the mailing. First-Class Mail mailings that fail a Move Update verification would be charged the single-piece rate on all pieces in the mailing. In March 2009, the Postal Service notified the Commission of its decision to delay the implementation of the Standard Mail Move Update assessment until January 2010. Id. at 2–3. Price and classification description. In this docket, the Postal Service proposes to revise Move Update assessments at acceptance. First, the Postal Service indicates that the 7-cent per-piece Move Update assessment will be applicable to First-Class Mail.2 Id. at 3. Second, for both First-Class Mail and Standard Mail, the Postal Service intends to apply the Move Update assessment to a smaller percentage of a mailing (above an established tolerance) than was previously proposed in Docket No. R2009–2. At acceptance, a sample of mail will be used to calculate the ratio of addresses that the mailer failed to update based on customer-supplied Change of Address orders, to the number of Change of Address orders on record. If the ratio is above the specified tolerance, an assessment would apply based on the percentage of the sample above this tolerance. Initially, the Postal Service will use a tolerance of 30 percent which is equivalent to a threshold of 70 percent. This tolerance will be reduced over time after providing appropriate public notice. Id. at 3–4. Revenue. The Postal Service estimates that 0.096 percent of Standard Mail volume will be subject to the 2 These assessments are applicable only to customers who certify that their mail meets Move Update requirements. Customers who do not certify that their mail meets Move Update requirements or are determined not to have met the requirements are subject to single-piece First-Class Mail prices on all pieces in the mailing. PO 00000 Frm 00126 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 55075 assessment. This would result in an estimated $4.6 million in additional Standard Mail revenue. This estimate is a downward revision from the $7 million estimate revenue provided in Docket No. R2009–2. Id. at 4. The Postal Service estimates that 0.136 percent of presorted First-Class Mail volume will be subject to the assessment. This would result in an estimated $4.4 million in presorted First-Class Mail revenue. This is less than what currently is paid given that the mailpieces otherwise would have to pay the full single-piece rate. Id. at 4– 5. Mail Classification Schedule. The Postal Service proposes Mail Classification Schedule language to add the 7-cent per-piece assessment to the appropriate First-Class Mail sections. New to the First-Class Mail sections and as a change to the Standard Mail sections, the Postal Service changes the name of the assessment from ‘‘Move Update Noncompliance Charge’’ to ‘‘Move Update Assessment Charge.’’ This reflects the fact that Performance Based Verification by itself does not establish compliance or noncompliance with Move Update standards. Finally, language changes are proposed to indicate that the application of the assessment is only to a percentage of the pieces that fail a Move Update verification. Id. at 5. Conformance with public notice and other requirements. In conformance with rule 3010.14(a)(3), the Postal Service certifies that it will inform customers of the planned price adjustments in numerous ways. Id. at 1– 2. In addition to the formal Notice filed with the Commission, these include notice via https://www.USPS.com, the Postal Explorer Web site, the DMM Advisory, the P&C Weekly, and the RIBBS Web site. Id. at 1–2. The Postal Service identifies Don O’Hara as the official contact for Commission queries. Id. at 2. Impact on the price cap. The Postal Service asserts that the proposed adjustments have no impact on price cap issues. Therefore, it has made no calculation of cap or price changes described by rule 3010.14(b)(1) through (4). For First-Class Mail, the Postal Service explains that the new price represents a price decrease. Previously, First-Class Mail that failed a Performance Based Verification would pay the First-Class Mail single-piece rate which is greater than the newly proposed 7 cent per-piece assessment. Furthermore, the Postal Service contends that this adjustment is outside of the annual CPI-cap price change and that Commission’s price cap rules do E:\FR\FM\26OCN1.SGM 26OCN1 mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES 55076 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 205 / Monday, October 26, 2009 / Notices not specifically address the case of a price decrease. No price change is proposed for Standard Mail. Thus, for Standard Mail the Postal Service argues that cap compliance calculations are even less appropriate. Id. at 5–7. Statutory objectives and factors. The Notice further provides, in compliance with rules 3010.14(b)(5) through 3010.14(b)(8), the Postal Service’s assessment of how the planned program helps achieve the objectives of 39 U.S.C. 3622(b) and properly takes into account the factors of 39 U.S.C. 3622(c). See generally id. at 8–12. With respect to statutory objectives, the Postal Service concludes that the price adjustment and classification changes do not substantially alter the degree to which First-Class Mail and Standard Mail prices already address the statutory objectives, or how they are addressed by the design of the system itself. It argues that by mitigating the assessments, the proposed changes reflect the Postal Service’s use of pricing flexibility (Objective 4) to address mailer concerns, and at most, only cause a slight decrease in revenue while still providing proper incentives (Objective 5). The Postal Service argues that high quality service will improve by encouraging use of Move Update (Objective 3). Finally, parallel assessment of 7 cents per piece for both First-Class Mail and Standard Mail is transparent and keeps administration of the assessment simple (Objective 6). Id. at 9. In terms of statutory factors, the Postal Service asserts that, as with the objectives, the price and classification changes do not substantially alter the degree to which First-Class Mail and Standard Mail address the factors of 39 U.S.C. 3622(c). The Postal Service asserts that the Move Update adjustments will encourage mailers to adopt Move Update while reasonably taking the impact of price changes into account (factors 3 and 7). The Postal Service uses the adjustments as an example of enhancing operational efficiency by reducing undeliverable-asaddressed mail through the use of customer supplied Change of Address orders (factors 7 and 12). Finally, the Postal Service contends that the adjustments should not materially affect the cost coverage of either First-Class Mail or Standard Mail (factor 2). Id. at 12. Workshare discounts. The Postal Service asserts that the Move Update assessment revisions do not constitute a change to workshare discounts. The Postal Service states that all passthrough values should be similar to those VerDate Nov<24>2008 15:19 Oct 23, 2009 Jkt 220001 reviewed in Docket No. R2009–2. Id. at 12–13. Preferred rates. The Postal Service contends that the program will have no impact on preferred rates in Standard Mail, and is not expected to affect the 60 percent ratio between nonprofit and commercial Standard Mail prices. Id. at 13. III. Commission Action Establishment of docket; comments. The Commission establishes Docket No. R2010–1 to consider all matters related to the Notice. 39 CFR 3010.13(a). It also issues the instant order to provide notice of the Postal Service’s filing. Interested persons may express views and offer comments on whether the planned price adjustments and classification changes are consistent with the policies of 39 U.S.C. 3622 and with applicable requirements of 39 CFR part 3010. Consistent with the Commission’s rules, 39 CFR 3010.13(a)(5), comments are due no later than November 4, 2009. Public representative. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints Jeremy L. Simmons to serve as the Public Representative to represent the interests of the general public in this docket. IV. Ordering Paragraphs It is ordered: 1. The Commission establishes Docket No. R2010–1 to consider matters related to the Postal Service’s October 15, 2009 filing. 2. Interested persons may submit comments on the planned classification changes and price adjustments. Comments are due November 4, 2009. 3. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints Jeremy L. Simmons to represent the interests of the general public in this proceeding. 4. The Commission directs the Secretary of the Commission to arrange for publication of this document in the Federal Register. By the Commission. Shoshana M. Grove, Secretary. [FR Doc. E9–25750 Filed 10–23–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Data Collection Available for Public Comments and Recommendations ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this PO 00000 Frm 00127 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 notice announces the Small Business Administration’s intentions to request approval on a new and/or currently approved information collection. DATES: Submit comments on or before December 28, 2009. ADDRESSES: Send all comments regarding whether this information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency, whether the burden estimates are accurate, and if there are ways to minimize the estimated burden and enhance the quality of the collection, to Sandra Johnston, Program Analyst, Office of Financial Assistance, Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20416. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandra Johnston, Program Analyst, Office of Financial Assistance, 202– 205–7528 sandra.johnston@sba.gov; Curtis B. Rich, Management Analyst, 202–205–7030 curtis.rich@sba.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SBA regulations requires that we determine that a participating Certified Development Company’s, Non-Bank Lender Institutions, or Micro lenders management, ownership, etc., is of ‘‘good character’’. To do so requires the information requested on the Form 1081. This form also provides data used to determine the qualifications and capabilities of the lenders key personnel. Title: Statement of Personal History. Description of Respondents: Small Business Lending Companies. Form Number: SBA Form 1081. Annual Responses: 243. Annual Burden: 122. ADDRESSES: Send all comments regarding whether this information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency, whether the burden estimates are accurate, and if there are ways to minimize the estimated burden and enhance the quality of the collection, to Brenda Washington, Senior Program Analyst, Office of HUBZone Programs, Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20416. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenda Washington, Senior Program Analyst, Office of HUBZone Programs, 202–205–7663 brenda.washington@sba.gov; Curtis B. Rich, Management Analyst, 202–205– 7030 curtis.rich@sba.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The requested information regarding updates to the financial information and employment levels supplied at the time of initial application for HUBZone E:\FR\FM\26OCN1.SGM 26OCN1

Agencies

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 205 (Monday, October 26, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55075-55076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25750]



[[Page 55075]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. R2010-1; Order No. 318]


Postal Service Price Adjustment

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a recently-filed Postal Service 
request to establish a Move Update assessment charge for First-Class 
Mail. This notice addresses procedural steps associated with this 
filing.

DATES: Comments are due November 4, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing 
Online system at https://www.prc.gov. Commenters who cannot submit their 
views electronically should contact the person identified in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by telephone for advice on alternatives to 
electronic filing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel, 
202-789-6820 and stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview
II. Postal Service Filing
III. Commission Action
IV. Ordering Paragraphs

I. Overview

    On October 15, 2009, the Postal Service filed with the Commission a 
notice announcing its intention, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3622 and 39 CFR 
part 3010, to establish a Move Update assessment charge for First-Class 
Mail.\1\ The Notice describes related pricing and classification 
information specifying how the Move Update assessment will be applied 
to First-Class Mail. The Notice also announces classification changes 
which revise the way the Move Update assessment will be applied to 
Standard Mail. The Postal Service intends to implement these changes on 
January 4, 2010. Id. at 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ United States Postal Service Notice of Market Dominant Price 
Adjustment and Classification Changes, October 15, 2009 (Notice).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Notice addresses plans for public notice; a description of the 
price and classification changes; price cap compliance; the statutory 
objectives and factors; workshare discounts; and preferred rates. The 
changes described in the Notice are supported by Appendix A (hard 
copy), and Appendices B1, B2, and B3 (electronic format). Appendix A 
specifies proposed Mail Classification Schedule (MCS) language. The B 
appendices provide the following information: B1--Calculation of 
Percentage of Mail Expected to Pay a Move Update Assessment, B2--
Calculation of Revenue Estimate for First Class Mail, and B3--
Calculation of Revenue Estimate for Standard Mail. The Notice and all 
appendices are available for review on the Commission's Web site at 
https://www.prc.gov.

II. Postal Service Filing

    Background. In Docket No. R2009-2, Notice of Market Dominant Price 
Adjustment, filed February 10, 2009, the Postal Service provided notice 
that, at acceptance, Standard Mail mailings that fail a Move Update 
verification would be assessed an additional 7 cents per piece for each 
piece in the mailing. First-Class Mail mailings that fail a Move Update 
verification would be charged the single-piece rate on all pieces in 
the mailing. In March 2009, the Postal Service notified the Commission 
of its decision to delay the implementation of the Standard Mail Move 
Update assessment until January 2010. Id. at 2-3.
    Price and classification description. In this docket, the Postal 
Service proposes to revise Move Update assessments at acceptance. 
First, the Postal Service indicates that the 7-cent per-piece Move 
Update assessment will be applicable to First-Class Mail.\2\ Id. at 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ These assessments are applicable only to customers who 
certify that their mail meets Move Update requirements. Customers 
who do not certify that their mail meets Move Update requirements or 
are determined not to have met the requirements are subject to 
single-piece First-Class Mail prices on all pieces in the mailing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Second, for both First-Class Mail and Standard Mail, the Postal 
Service intends to apply the Move Update assessment to a smaller 
percentage of a mailing (above an established tolerance) than was 
previously proposed in Docket No. R2009-2. At acceptance, a sample of 
mail will be used to calculate the ratio of addresses that the mailer 
failed to update based on customer-supplied Change of Address orders, 
to the number of Change of Address orders on record. If the ratio is 
above the specified tolerance, an assessment would apply based on the 
percentage of the sample above this tolerance. Initially, the Postal 
Service will use a tolerance of 30 percent which is equivalent to a 
threshold of 70 percent. This tolerance will be reduced over time after 
providing appropriate public notice. Id. at 3-4.
    Revenue. The Postal Service estimates that 0.096 percent of 
Standard Mail volume will be subject to the assessment. This would 
result in an estimated $4.6 million in additional Standard Mail 
revenue. This estimate is a downward revision from the $7 million 
estimate revenue provided in Docket No. R2009-2. Id. at 4.
    The Postal Service estimates that 0.136 percent of presorted First-
Class Mail volume will be subject to the assessment. This would result 
in an estimated $4.4 million in presorted First-Class Mail revenue. 
This is less than what currently is paid given that the mailpieces 
otherwise would have to pay the full single-piece rate. Id. at 4-5.
    Mail Classification Schedule. The Postal Service proposes Mail 
Classification Schedule language to add the 7-cent per-piece assessment 
to the appropriate First-Class Mail sections. New to the First-Class 
Mail sections and as a change to the Standard Mail sections, the Postal 
Service changes the name of the assessment from ``Move Update 
Noncompliance Charge'' to ``Move Update Assessment Charge.'' This 
reflects the fact that Performance Based Verification by itself does 
not establish compliance or noncompliance with Move Update standards. 
Finally, language changes are proposed to indicate that the application 
of the assessment is only to a percentage of the pieces that fail a 
Move Update verification. Id. at 5.
    Conformance with public notice and other requirements. In 
conformance with rule 3010.14(a)(3), the Postal Service certifies that 
it will inform customers of the planned price adjustments in numerous 
ways. Id. at 1-2. In addition to the formal Notice filed with the 
Commission, these include notice via https://www.USPS.com, the Postal 
Explorer Web site, the DMM Advisory, the P&C Weekly, and the RIBBS Web 
site. Id. at 1-2. The Postal Service identifies Don O'Hara as the 
official contact for Commission queries. Id. at 2.
    Impact on the price cap. The Postal Service asserts that the 
proposed adjustments have no impact on price cap issues. Therefore, it 
has made no calculation of cap or price changes described by rule 
3010.14(b)(1) through (4). For First-Class Mail, the Postal Service 
explains that the new price represents a price decrease. Previously, 
First-Class Mail that failed a Performance Based Verification would pay 
the First-Class Mail single-piece rate which is greater than the newly 
proposed 7 cent per-piece assessment. Furthermore, the Postal Service 
contends that this adjustment is outside of the annual CPI-cap price 
change and that Commission's price cap rules do

[[Page 55076]]

not specifically address the case of a price decrease. No price change 
is proposed for Standard Mail. Thus, for Standard Mail the Postal 
Service argues that cap compliance calculations are even less 
appropriate. Id. at 5-7.
    Statutory objectives and factors. The Notice further provides, in 
compliance with rules 3010.14(b)(5) through 3010.14(b)(8), the Postal 
Service's assessment of how the planned program helps achieve the 
objectives of 39 U.S.C. 3622(b) and properly takes into account the 
factors of 39 U.S.C. 3622(c). See generally id. at 8-12.
    With respect to statutory objectives, the Postal Service concludes 
that the price adjustment and classification changes do not 
substantially alter the degree to which First-Class Mail and Standard 
Mail prices already address the statutory objectives, or how they are 
addressed by the design of the system itself. It argues that by 
mitigating the assessments, the proposed changes reflect the Postal 
Service's use of pricing flexibility (Objective 4) to address mailer 
concerns, and at most, only cause a slight decrease in revenue while 
still providing proper incentives (Objective 5). The Postal Service 
argues that high quality service will improve by encouraging use of 
Move Update (Objective 3). Finally, parallel assessment of 7 cents per 
piece for both First-Class Mail and Standard Mail is transparent and 
keeps administration of the assessment simple (Objective 6). Id. at 9.
    In terms of statutory factors, the Postal Service asserts that, as 
with the objectives, the price and classification changes do not 
substantially alter the degree to which First-Class Mail and Standard 
Mail address the factors of 39 U.S.C. 3622(c). The Postal Service 
asserts that the Move Update adjustments will encourage mailers to 
adopt Move Update while reasonably taking the impact of price changes 
into account (factors 3 and 7). The Postal Service uses the adjustments 
as an example of enhancing operational efficiency by reducing 
undeliverable-as-addressed mail through the use of customer supplied 
Change of Address orders (factors 7 and 12). Finally, the Postal 
Service contends that the adjustments should not materially affect the 
cost coverage of either First-Class Mail or Standard Mail (factor 2). 
Id. at 12.
    Workshare discounts. The Postal Service asserts that the Move 
Update assessment revisions do not constitute a change to workshare 
discounts. The Postal Service states that all passthrough values should 
be similar to those reviewed in Docket No. R2009-2. Id. at 12-13.
    Preferred rates. The Postal Service contends that the program will 
have no impact on preferred rates in Standard Mail, and is not expected 
to affect the 60 percent ratio between nonprofit and commercial 
Standard Mail prices. Id. at 13.

III. Commission Action

    Establishment of docket; comments. The Commission establishes 
Docket No. R2010-1 to consider all matters related to the Notice. 39 
CFR 3010.13(a). It also issues the instant order to provide notice of 
the Postal Service's filing. Interested persons may express views and 
offer comments on whether the planned price adjustments and 
classification changes are consistent with the policies of 39 U.S.C. 
3622 and with applicable requirements of 39 CFR part 3010. Consistent 
with the Commission's rules, 39 CFR 3010.13(a)(5), comments are due no 
later than November 4, 2009.
    Public representative. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the Commission 
appoints Jeremy L. Simmons to serve as the Public Representative to 
represent the interests of the general public in this docket.

IV. Ordering Paragraphs

    It is ordered:
    1. The Commission establishes Docket No. R2010-1 to consider 
matters related to the Postal Service's October 15, 2009 filing.
    2. Interested persons may submit comments on the planned 
classification changes and price adjustments. Comments are due November 
4, 2009.
    3. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints Jeremy L. 
Simmons to represent the interests of the general public in this 
proceeding.
    4. The Commission directs the Secretary of the Commission to 
arrange for publication of this document in the Federal Register.

    By the Commission.
Shoshana M. Grove,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-25750 Filed 10-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.