Mailing Services 2013_Price_Change_scripted_approved


Slide 1:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
Presented by:
(Name)
(Title)
(Office)
U.S. Postal Service 
(Date)
Prepared by Product Classification, U.S. Postal Service
End of text information. 

Notes:
Effective January 27, 2013, the Postal Service is implementing a price change for products in the market dominant (Mailing Services) category. 
End of Slide 1.


Slide 2:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013
The words included are:
Mailing Services 
(square bullet)First-Class Mail®
(square bullet)First-Class Mail International®
(square bullet)New! Global Forever® Stamp
(square bullet)New! First-Class Mail Intl Pkg to Competitive
(square bullet)Standard Mail®
(square bullet)Periodicals
(square bullet)Package Services
(square bullet)New! Single-piece Parcel Post® to Competitive
(square bullet)Extra Services 
End of text information.

Notes:
I will begin this presentation of the proposed January 2013 price change by presenting an overview of the price changes for our Mailing Services products. The domestic and international products and services under Mailing Services are listed on this slide. 

I’ll start with the timeline for this price change and then talk about the price cap that determines the maximum amount by which Mailing Services prices can change.

Then we will take a look at the specific changes related to each product category – First-Class Mail, Standard Mail. Periodicals, Package Services and Extra Services.  

And finally, I will discuss resources we have in place to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about our new prices. 
End of Slide 2.


Slide 3:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
Timeline
October 11 
Jan. 27, 2013 
There is a table.
Table:
Table has 2 Rows and 3 Columns: 

Row 1:
Column 1: (Header)Preparation 
Column 2: (Header)Public Notification 
Column 3: (Header)Implementation

Row 2:
Column 1: Price development 
Column 2: 34 days (per PRC commitment)   
Column 3: 76 days
End of table.
PRC Determination
Nov 15
End of text information.

Notes:
So, let’s look at the timeline.
The Mailing Services price change works a bit differently than the Shipping Services price change, however this year they are pretty much on the same schedule. 
On Oct. 11, we gave public notice that we intend to change the prices of our Mailing Services products.
The PRC approved the Mailing Services price change, except for Standard Mail Flats, which the PRC felt were priced too low. We submitted revised prices and heard back on December 11 that the revised prices were accepted.
And the new prices, once confirmed, take effect on Jan. 27, 2013.
End of Slide 3.


Slide 4:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013
The words included are:
The Price Cap
(square bullet)Based on Consumer Price Index 
(square bullet)PRC formula a moving average of CPI data
(square bullet)Current calculation of cap is 2.570%
End of text information.

Notes:
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006 established that the Postal Service’s Mailing Services price change cannot exceed the change in the Consumer Price Index, or CPI.

This CPI-based price cap is calculated using a Postal Regulatory Commission formula that looks at the most recent available 12-month period before the date that we file notice of our intention to increase prices.
The price cap for the changes we are discussing today is calculated at 2.570%, meaning that the overall average percentage change for each class of mail cannot exceed this level.

Because the cap calculation applies to each class of mail, rather than each product within a class, you will see that some products within a mail class have an increase that is higher (or lower) than the price cap.
End of Slide 4.


Slide 5:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013
The words included are:
First-Class Mail
(square bullet)2.570% overall increase
(square bullet)45-cent stamp price increases to $0.46
There is a table.
Table:
Table has 6 Rows and 2 Columns: 
Row 1:
Column 1: (Header)Product 
Column 2: (Header)% Change 

Row 2:
Column 1: (Header)Single-Piece Letters & Cards 
Column 2: 2.3

Row 3:
Column 1: (Header)Flats 
Column 2: 2.7 

Row 4:
Column 1:(Header)Parcels  
Column 2: 5.0

Row 5:
Column 1: (Header)Presort Letters & Cards 
Column 2: 2.6

Row 6:
Column 1: (Header)First-Class Mail International (includes letters, cards, and flats) 
Column 2: 7.9 
End of Table.
End of text information.

Image Information:
At the far right corner is an image of four stamps with the American Flag and they are as follows:
Image 1:
Freedom Forever Stamp
Image 2:
Liberty Forever Stamp
Image 3:
Equality Forever Stamp
Image 4:
Justice Forever Stamp
End of Image information. 

Notes:
The First-Class Mail one-ounce stamp price will increase by one penny to 46 cents. 

Forever Stamps can still be used no matter how prices may change in the future—these stamps can always be used to mail a domestic one-ounce First-Class Mail letter without additional postage.

On this slide, I also have listed the percentage change for each First-Class Mail product category. 
End of Slide 5.


Slide 6:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
First-Class Mail Single-Piece
(square bullet)Letters
(square bullet)Additional ounce stays at $0.20
(square bullet)New! First-Class Mail International® Global Forever Stamp $1.10
(square bullet)Postcards
(square bullet)Postcard stamps increase by 1 cent to $0.33
(square bullet)Flats 
(square bullet)One-ounce price increases by 2 cents to $0.92
(square bullet)Parcels (retail)
(square bullet)Increase on average 5.0 percent 
End of text information.

Notes:
Let’s take a closer look at single-piece First-Class Mail. 
The additional ounce price will stay at 20 cents again this year.
For First-Class Mail International letters, we are introducing a First-Class Mail International Global Forever Stamp with a single price for letters or postcards to any country in the world. The price for the January 2013 price change will be $1.10. For Canada only, the First-Class Mail International letter price up to 2 ounces is the same as the 1-ounce price.

The domestic postcard stamp price will increase by one cent to 33 cents. 
The one-ounce price for First-Class Mail flats increases to 92 cents.
Retail parcels will experience a higher than average increase  –- on average 5.0 percent –- designed to help improve cost coverage.
End of Slide 6.


Slide 7:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
First-Class Mail Presort
(square bullet)Letters
(square bullet)Most 1-ounce prices increase in a per piece range of 0.1 cent to 1.0 cent
(square bullet)Letters up to 2 ounces charged the 1-ounce price
(square bullet)New! Uniform price for residual single-piece letters up to 2 ounces
End of text information. 

Notes:
Moving on to First-Class Mail presort, most one-ounce letter price increases fall within the 0.1 cent to 1.0 cent per piece range.  

We continue the “Second Ounce Free” program, with First-Class Mail Presort letters weighing up to two ounces only being charged the one ounce price. Mailers can get more value for their customers by adding more information into the mailpiece for the same price. 

This incentive encourages volume retention.

In the January 2012 price change, the Postal Service proposed a uniform price for all Presort and Automation letters weighing up to 2 ounces. However, this wasn’t fully achieved because residual pieces still had different prices for 1-ounce and 2-ounce pieces. Separating the pieces by weight was expensive and time-consuming for mailers. With this January 2013 price change, there will be a uniform price of 48 cents for these pieces, making it easier for our customers to do business with the Postal Service.
End of Slide 7.


Slide 8:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
First-Class Mail International 
(square bullet)New! Global Forever Stamp
(square bullet)Single price for any First-Class Mail International 1-ounce letter or postcard to any country in the world – $1.10  

Image information:
Bottom center is a snapshot of the Draft stamp design.
End of Image information.
(Draft stamp design subject to change)
End of text information.

Notes:
We are introducing a Global Forever stamp, with a single price for any First-Class Mail International 1-ounce letter to any country in the world, improving the profitability of First-Class Mail International while at the same time offering a simpler, more convenient price structure to customers. 

The Global Forever stamp will ease the transition during price changes, and will always be sold at the price of a single-piece First-Class Mail International 1-ounce machinable letter and will have a postage value equivalent to the price of a single-piece First-Class Mail International 1-ounce machinable letter in effect at the time of mailing. 

To help distinguish between the domestic and international Forever stamps, the international version will always be round and will always bear the words “Global Forever.” The initial offering of the Global Forever stamp features a picture of the globe.

For the January 27, 2013, price change, we propose to charge the same price for 1-ounce and 2-ounce letter-size mailpieces to Canada only. Consequently, for this price change, the Global Forever stamp may also be used to mail a 2-ounce letter-size mailpiece to Canada.    
End of Slide 8.


Slide 9:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are: 
Standard Mail 
(square bullet)2.570% overall increase 
There is a table.
Table:
Table has 7 Rows and 2 Columns: 
Row 1:
Column 1: (Header)Product 
Column 2: (Header)% Change 

Row 2:
Column 1: (Header)Letters
Column 2: 2.6

Row 3:
Column 1: (Header)Flats  
Column 2: 2.6 

Row 4:
Column 1:(Header)Carrier Route Letters, Flats, and Parcels 
Column 2: 3.1

Row 5:
Column 1: (Header)High Density / Saturation Letters 
Column 2: 2.2

Row 6:
Column 1: (Header)High Density / Saturation Flats and Parcels  
Column 2: 2.3 

Row 7:
Column 1: (Header)Parcels  
Column 2: 3.1 
End of Table.
End of text information.

Notes:
This slide shows the changes by percentage for Standard Mail. 
End of Slide 9.


Slide 10:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
Standard Mail 
(square bullet)Detached Address Labels (DALs) 
(square bullet)Price increases to 3.1 cents from 3.0 cents
(square bullet)New! High Density Plus price tier
(square bullet)Carrier Route pricing between High Density and Saturation
End of text information.

Image Information:
At the bottom is two images and they are as follows:
Image 1:
Waypoint - Living Spaces Catalog
Image 2:
Waypoint - Living Spaces Catalog printed paid postage
End of Image information.


Notes:
In Standard Mail, Detached Address Labels (DALs) used with flats will have a modest increase to 3.1 cents from the current 3.0 cents. DALs are separate postcard-like address cards used with flat-shaped Saturation mailings. They are a cheaper way for a printer to address a piece compared to a printed-on address. However, DALs used with flats are costly for the Postal Service to handle. 

High Density mail is used by customers who want to target advertising geographically. It is similar to advertising sent using Saturation Mail, except that while Saturation Mail is usually distributed solely through the mail, High Density advertising often consists of ads mailed by newspapers to nonsubscribers. 

The new High Density Plus price tier requires a minimum 300 pieces per carrier route (compared to 125 pieces per carrier route to qualify for High Density prices). The price range for High Density Plus letters is 15.6 cents to 19.9 cents and for flats from 17.2 cents to 22.4 cents, depending on where it’s entered.
End of Slide 10.


Slide 11:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are: 
Periodicals 
(square bullet)2.560 % overall increase 

There is a table.
Table:
Table has 3 Rows and 2 Columns: 
Row 1:
Column 1: (Header)Product 
Column 2: (Header)% Change 

Row 2:
Column 1: (Header)Outside County 
Column 2: 2.5% 

Row 3:
Column 1: (Header)Inside County 
Column 2: 2.9%  
End of Table. 
End of text information.

Notes:
Now, let’s take a look at Periodicals.

We are continuing to encourage more efficient mail preparation, encouraging entry closer to destination by increasing the price for pallets entered close to origin that must then be transported through our network. In addition, the prices encourage entry at plants that sort Periodicals on automation equipment rather than at delivery units where these pieces must be sorted manually.
End of Slide 11.


Slide 12:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
Package Services 
(square bullet)2.569% overall increase
(square bullet)New! Single Piece Parcel Post transferred to competitive
(square bullet)New! Prices established for Alaska Bypass mai
There is a table.
Table:
Table has 7 Rows and 2 Columns: 
Row 1:
Column 1: (Header)Product 
Column 2: (Header)% Change 

Row 2:
Column 1: (Header)Media Mail/Library Mail 
Column 2: Blank

Row 3:
Column 1: (Header)Media  Mail 
Column 2: 3.5%  

Row 4:
Column 1: (Header)Library Mail  
Column 2: 3.2%   

Row 5:
Column 1: (Header)Bound Printed Matter  
Column 2: Blank

Row 6:
Column 1: (Header)Flats 
Column 2: 0%   

Row 7:
Column 1: (Header)Parcels
Column 2: 3.4%   
End of Table.
End of text information. 

Notes:
As discussed in the Shipping Services section of this presentation, Single Piece Parcel Post has been transferred to the competitive price list, while Alaska Bypass mail remains on the market dominant price list. In years past, Alaska Bypass prices were linked to the 70-pound Single Piece Parcel Post prices; with the transfer of Single Piece Parcel Post, prices had to be established for Alaska Bypass mail.

The prices of Media Mail and Library Mail are linked by law. The prices for Media Mail will increase an average 3.5 percent while the prices for Library Mail will increase an average of 3.2 percent.

Within Bound Printed Matter there are two shape groupings: Flats, which are primarily heavy catalogs, and Parcels, which are primarily for thicker, heavier catalogs and books. The average price for Bound Printed Matter Flats will be unchanged while Bound Printed Matter Parcels will increase 3.4 percent. 
End of Slide 12.


Slide 13:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
Extra Services 
(square bullet)2.850% overall increase
(square bullet)New! Delivery Confirmation™ fees for retail Priority Mail and Parcel Post = $0.00 
There is a table.
Table:
Table has 8 Rows and 2 Columns: 
Row 1:
Column 1: (Header)Product 
Column 2: (Header)% Change 

Row 2:
Column 1: (Header)PO Boxes™ 
Column 2: 6.0 

Row 3:
Column 1: (Header)Certified Mail® 
Column 2: 5.1  

Row 4:
Column 1: (Header)Return Receipt  
Column 2: 7.5

Row 5:
Column 1: (Header)Registered Mail™ 
Column 2: 3.1 

Row 6:
Column 1: (Header)Insurance 
Column 2: 4.9

Row 7:
Column 1: (Header)COD 
Column 2: 9.2 

Row 8:
Column 1: (Header)All Other 
Column 2: 6.2
End of Table.
End of text information.

Notes:
On this slide, I’ve listed a few examples of price changes for Extra Services. 

The fee for Delivery Confirmation with retail Priority Mail and Parcel Post (excluding Alaska Bypass) has been set to $0.00…USPS Tracking/Delivery Confirmation is now included in the price of those products.

Another extra service, the $1.00 fee for credit card authentications, has been expanded to apply to all credit card authentications, not just those for filing Change-of-Address requests. The Postal Service uses credit card authentication to verify that a particular addressee, or a credit card tied an address, is actually the one requesting a service.
End of Slide 13.


Slide 14:
United States Postal Service Logo in the far left top corner.
Has the heading: Mailing Services Price Change Effective Jan. 27, 2013 
The words included are:
Resources 
(square bullet)Online
(square bullet)Postal Explorer® - pe.usps.com
(square bullet)Current and new prices
(square bullet)Including downloadable price files
(square bullet)Federal Register notices
(square bullet)Domestic Mail Manual & International Mail Manual
(square bullet)DMM® Advisory - e-mail updates for customers
(square bullet)Subscribe: dmmadvisory@usps.com
(square bullet)P&C Weekly - e-mail updates for employees
(square bullet)Subscribe: pandcweekly@usps.com 
(square bullet)MailPro - magazine
(square bullet)Subscribe and view online: about.usps.com/mailpro/ 
End of text information. 

Notes:
Finally, I’ve listed some resources with the most up-to-date information about prices and mailing standards, including information related to the January 27, 2013 Mailing Services price change.

(Mention what is found at each resource)


Presenter note: For DMM Advisory and P&C Weekly, show only the applicable subscription email address – DMM Advisory for customers or P&C Weekly for employees.

Optional, if Mailins Services presentation given as a standalone presentation:
Now, who has the first question.
End of Slide 14.