Matrix recently attended the United States Postal Service (USPS) National Postal Forum to connect with mail industry leaders, the USPS and to get a pulse on the mailing industry.
USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy had strong opening remarks, re-establishing mail as the core USPS product. He also made it clear that even with the recent Postal Reform’s debt relief, the USPS still has a major debt load. He laid out his Delivering for America plan and reviewed the ways that debt will be reduced over the next 10 years. It will take a combination of increased postage rates, logistics/transportation/administrative efficiencies and increased package volume.
The Postmaster talked about the $40 Billion in investments, which include new postal trucks, improvements to existing facilities and building a more efficient logistics/transportation system.
For mailers, a better delivery system is good news. However, almost half of the debt relief is by way of raised postage rates – which means mailers can expect increased postage rates two times a year for the foreseeable future.
In other USPS officer-led sessions, the Post Office was keen to show off their recent re-organizations, new services like USPS Connect (a local package mail option) and the success of existing services like Informed Delivery. The USPS was proud of its 2021 Holiday performance after the 2020 Holiday season challenges. It reinforced its goal of 95% on-time delivery and laid out many plans designed to meet that goal.
In Industry-led sessions, mailers and vendors showcased how they are leveraging the USPS to add value to their customers and offered tips, tricks and best practices.
The Vendor Hall was buzzing with activity, many people reconnecting after a two-year hiatus from in-person forums.
Overall, the Postal Forum was well attended, with many new participants, which showed the strength of the mailing industry even during these challenging times. If you would like to know more about the Delivering for America plan and how it may affect your business, email [email protected].
