Some MTACs are just more exciting than others, and July’s was a doozy, if I may use technical terms. This meeting included the introduction of a new Postmaster General, a view into future rates, startling information on address changes, and so much more. Buckle in – it’s going to be a wild ride!
SnailWorks was well represented at MTAC with Lisa Bowes, our Director of Postal Affairs and Product Insights, and Jordan Jolly, a SnailWorks Project Manager who has been participating in the USPS Leaders Connect initiative as a mentee – what a great experience she has had!
New PMG
Early in the meeting, there was a surprise address from the new Postmaster General, David Steiner, who received a standing ovation simply for not being the former PMG. In his remarks, he reiterated his belief that the Postal Service should not be privatized and that he intended to learn from the mailing industry and other stakeholders about mail and how to make the organization better. His tone was congenial and open. It’s a good starting point.
PRC Proposals
Some Postal Regulatory proposals were rolled out regarding frequency of rate increases – to be limited to no more than one increase per fiscal year – and workshare discounts that would not be set further away from their avoided costs. These are both good news for mailers, and though they are still proposals, they are expected to be adopted. This doesn’t take away from the Postal Service’s rate authority, but one increase per year is much easier to manage for both industry and the Postal Service.
Coming Rate Increases
Projected rate increases for 2026 and 2027 were shared under current law, and they were encouraging as well. The retirement funding provision has been completed, so the upcoming increases now seem much less burdensome – although the density death spiral remains a significant factor.
There were some peculiar changes proposed in terms of mail preparation and entry. ADC/AADC presort containers will no longer be used, which, it seems, would create more work for the Postal Service. These containers would now essentially become SCF and Mixed containers. Discounts may be applied at the bundle level, so mixed containers could have different discounts on a single pallet. Labeling lists will be simplified based on shape and will be reduced to three lists for letters, flats, and packages.
The Postal Service is still proposing Zone-Based pricing for Marketing Mail and Periodicals. There will be four zones, and postage rates will depend on which zone the mail is entered in. Every entry point will have its own zone structure. There will still be SCF and DDU entry discounts as well, so figuring out postage could be very complicated. For example, if you truck mail to a facility local to delivery, all the mail should be priced as Zone 1, although you may have some priced at Zone 1 – origin entry, and some as Zone 1 SCF entry, depending on how many SCFs there are in a zone. Confused? Yeah, us too.
NCOALink Versus ACS
One fascinating presentation concerned a study done by USPS with a large mailer on the accuracy of NCOALink processing. It was not a measure of whether or not NCOA data is good, but rather the impact of timing and other factors on the completeness and effectiveness of NCOA data. NCOALink processing is typically done by mailers as a matter of compliance – the Move Update requirement of automated mail. After NCOALink processing, the mailing was sent out, and still a significant portion of the mailing returned Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA). The chief reasons were the timing of the NCOA update and other factors caught by ACS that would often be missed by NCOA, such as vacant homes and invalid secondary information, such as apartment numbers.
By using an NCOA database that was three weeks old, many of the addresses had been changed in the interim. The moral of the story: Best practices dictate that you NCOA as close to the mail date as possible and always use ACS. You will always catch address errors.
Mailers use NCOALink as a move update compliance tool. Marketers care about how much of the mail is delivered as intended.
There’s Always More
These are just some quick notes from highlights of the MTAC meeting. Stay tuned for details in the coming months. Questions? Need some postal wisdom? Contact us – we have a passel of postal experts ready to help!