The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched an investigation into past political fundraising efforts of Louis DeJoy, the embattled Postmaster General of the U.S. Postal Service, raising the volume of Democratic calls for his ouster even as he works to enact major postal reforms.
Yet another effort is underway in Congress to eliminate the costly prefunding of retiree healthcare benefits that have been an albatross for the U.S. Postal Service since a 2006 reform measure, and this time appears to have some more bipartisan momentum.
Parcel shipping services will be in high demand for peak holiday season as more consumers are shopping online in the midst of COVID. And a new wave of peak surcharges from major carriers poses a significant burden for ecommerce shippers – and they’ve already hit. Here are ways to mitigate the costs coming into peak season.
The House approved a $25 billion relief package for the beleaguered USPS, a measure not expected to pass muster in the GOP-led Senate, as new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is undergoing intense scrutiny in Washington over changes he is initiating. A second hearing before a House panel is scheduled for today.
USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy doubled down on the need for greater efficiency and performance, while enacting new measures. Also, the USPS reached an agreement in principle to receive a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the CARES act, and created for the first time a loyalty program.
What do major changes at USPS mean for thousands of businesses that rely on it daily for parcel delivery, as well as giants like UPS, FedEx and Amazon? How will these changes affect SLAs and CSAT? We discuss these issues with Cathy Roberson, founder and president of Logistics Trends and Insights on our latest MCM podcast.
International shippers are going to face increased postal rates on July 1 as a September agreement among member countries of the 192-member Universal Postal Union (UPU) takes effect, with the U.S.’s self-declared terminal dues rates going into effect for inbound letters and small parcels.
UPS, facing massive volumes akin to the holiday season due to COVID-19’s impact on ecommerce, is imposing surcharges on larger-volume shippers and those sending bulkier items as of May 31 to offset its costs, impacting companies already reeling from the crisis. Experts agree they expect to see FedEx follow suit shortly.
The USPS is asking Congress for $75B to avoid a liquidity crisis this fall, including $25 billion each for a cash infusion, for upgrades and modernization and for unrestricted borrowing authority, according to Government Executive. The USPS had already been in a bad position before the crisis, with even parcel growth falling off.
The Office of Inspector General at the USPS found the USPS isn’t threatened by the rise of same-day delivery, determining it is a niche, costly model appealing mostly to urban millennials and only represented 2% of all parcel deliveries in 2018. The IG report also recommended the USPS continue to focus on next-day delivery services.