Post Office Faces Cash Shortage By End Of Year

The U.S. Postal Service told the House Oversight Committee they need immediate relief from Congress to avoid defaulting on advance payments to its retiree health funds and they also need more flexibility to cut costs. Click here to view the hearing. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned that unless Congress provides some relief, the agency will reach its borrowing limit and will default on its $5.5 billion obligation to the retiree health benefits fund due Sept. 30. "We will pay employees and deliver mail," said Donahoe. "The thing we will not do is be able to pay the federal government." Lawmakers and federal officials are at odds over how to help return the Postal Service to financial stability, however. USPS has been pushing for changes outlined in its 10-year strategic plan, such as relief from its pre-funding requirements, as well as the flexibility to close post offices for economic reasons and reduce the number of weekly mail delivery days from six to five.

Source: Government Executive

Diesel Jump Is Biggest in Almost Two Years

Diesel fuel jumped 14.3 cents to $3.716 a gallon, its 13th straight weekly gain, while gasoline soared 19.4 cents to $3.383, according to the Department of Energy. The diesel increase — the biggest since a 14.6-cent spike on June 8, 2009 — leaves trucking’s fuel 85.5 cents over the same week last year, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations. Diesel is its highest level since October 2008 when it was in retreat from its record high of $4.764 a gallon, set on July 14, 2008. Gas is now 68.1 cents over the same week a year ago and also at its highest level since October 2008. Its jump was the highest since its record 45.9-cent spike on Sept. 5, 2005.

Source: Transport Topics

Postal Detector Vans

Michael Ravnitzky, chief counsel to the chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) puts forward a novel suggestion for maximizing the use of postal delivery vehicles - by converting them into environmental data gathering machines. He proposes that mobile sensors mounted on postal trucks could collect and aggregate a variety of important data as a byproduct of postal delivery, taking advantage of efficiencies of scope and scale. The data collected might include, among others, air pollution levels, weather data, sensing of chemical and biological agents, and areas of weak cell phone service. Critics of the Big Brother society may not warm to it immediately but he does have a valid point here. Postal delivery veicles do have national access and it may be another way to help fund the growing losses experienced by postal operators in the digital age.

Source: Hellmail

USPS Faces Financial Crisis, GAO Warns

The Government Accountability Office warns that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is reaching a “tipping point” unless it can stop its rapidly deteriorating financial condition. The problem is not complex: the post office is not taking in enough money to cover its expenses. But the solution may not be all that simple. The GAO, a non-partisan Congressional agency, says the USPS needs to take swift action to modernize and restructure its operations. Mail volumes, USPS's main revenue source, have generally been decreasing as customers have shifted to electronic alternatives, GAO noted. “This trend exposes weaknesses in USPS's business model, which has relied on mail volume growth to help cover costs.”

Source: ConsumerAffairs.com

OIG Survey

The USPS Office of Inspector General is performing an audit on the Effects USPS Compliance Rules Have on Mailers. In order to gain an understanding of mailers’ concerns regarding a variety of items, they prepared an on-line survey. If you pay postage let your voice be heard. Click here to participate.