Postal Service May 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule provides the revisions to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) that we will adopt to support the new Periodicals prices effective on July 15, 2007. The new prices enhance efficiency, offer more choices, and better ensure that all types of Periodicals mail cover their costs. Periodicals mailers have new incentives to use efficient containers and bundles, and copalletization becomes a permanent offering to encourage more publishers to combine mailings. We also add new prices for the nonadvertising portion of a mailing to give mailers of high-editorial- content publications access to lower destination entry rates.

This proposed rule provides revisions to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) that we will adopt no earlier than 18 months from the publication date of this notice. Move Update, the process for updating names and addresses, is currently required for mailers to obtain discounted rates for First- Class Mail. All address records used on pieces in discounted-rate mailings of First-Class Mail must be matched with customer-filed change-of-address orders received and maintained by the USPS using a USPS-approved method within 185 days of the date of mailing. Our proposal includes the following changes related to move update processing: (1) Extending the Move Update requirement to all Standard Mail and (2) reducing the window for move update processing of names and addresses used for mailings of discounted First-Class Mail from 185 days to 95 days prior to mailing. The revised timeframe would apply to all pieces in Standard Mail mailings.

The Postal Service will adopt new mailing standards and prices on May 14, 2007, to support most of the pricing change recommended by the Postal Regulatory Commission and approved by the Governors of the United States Postal Service. After a reconsideration by the Postal Regulatory Commission, we are lowering the price for the Priority Mail flat-rate box to $8.95 from the previously recommended $9.15, and extending the $0.17 nonmachinable surcharge to all nonmachinable single-piece and presorted First-Class Mail letters, regardless of weight.