United States Postal Service

A new online survey found 54% of swing voters surveyed say they read political direct mail immediately upon receiving it.

The United States Postal Service has proposed price changes to take effect in January 2017.

With some parliamentary maneuvering, the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors has apparently avoided the need to raise postage rates sooner than it wanted.

As the board drew close to losing its quorum last week there was talk the governors were preparing rate hikes that would be announced this week and implemented in the spring. That appeared to be the last chance for the governors to raise rates until Congress got around to approving new governors.

But a Federal Register filing published yesterday revealed that the governors came up with another plan.

The U.S. Postal Service has reported its second quarter results of its 2014 fiscal year with a net loss of $1.9 billion. “The Postal Service is working diligently to improve its finances by streamlining our network to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs and increase revenue, which was up $379 million over the same period last year—the third straight quarter of revenue increase,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe.

In a letter disseminated to customers, Board of Governors Chairman Mickey Barnett described the “precarious financial condition” of the Postal Service and the “uncertain path toward enactment of postal reform legislation” as primary reasons for seeking price changes above the CPI increase.

Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe told Congress yesterday to include delivery flexibility as part of comprehensive postal reform legislation to help return the Postal Service to long-term financial stability and avoid the risk of becoming a significant burden to the American taxpayer.

Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe told Congress yesterday to include delivery flexibility as part of comprehensive postal reform legislation to help return the Postal Service to long-term financial stability and avoid the risk of becoming a significant burden to the American taxpayer.

The U.S. Postal Service desires to obtain U.S. domestic sources of information to serve as a market survey to aid in exploring opportunities to revise its stamp non-artistic design and manufacturing process. It is particularly interested in leveraging advanced or state-of-the-art design and printing technologies available. The deadline is April 30, 2013.

Quad/Graphics was recognized by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for excellence in driving technology innovation and supporting growth for the mailing industry. “Our collaboration with Quad/Graphics demonstrates how technology is making mail more powerful and transforming the mailing industry,” said Postmaster General and CEO, Patrick R. Donahoe.

At the National Postal Forum in San Francisco this week, Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe said that technology and changing consumer expectations are helping to transform mail into an even more powerful communications channel. “With imbedded QR codes and augmented reality, mail becomes much more functional and creative, creating an even more influential experience.”