October 19, 2006

Pricing Proposal Insights

We are beginning a new series of articles to further explain the elements in our pricing proposal. The first article is on the Periodicals container rate. We hope these articles help you better understand the changes and prepare for the new prices. Just look for the “Pricing Proposal Insights” banner in upcoming DMM Advisory releases.

Periodicals Container Rate

Our pricing proposal for Periodicals mail would end the copalletization experiments, allowing more mailers to take advantage of copalletization opportunities. Mailers who prepare Periodicals on pallets and drop ship them closer to their destinations would pay some of the lowest postage rates we offer.

The proposal includes a new 85˘ container rate to encourage efficiency for Outside-County Periodicals mail. The 85˘ container rate applies to all pallets, sacks, and trays that contain Outside-County pieces. For bundles of flats and irregular parcels on pallets, the container charge is based on the number of pallets prepared. For letters or flats in trays on pallets, the charge is based on the number of pallets prepared. If not on a pallet, or if in sacks on a pallet, the container charge is based on the number of sacks or trays prepared. For Periodicals carrier route bundles entered at destination delivery units (DDUs) under DMM 707.23.4.2, the container charge is based on the number of 5-digit ZIP Codes or 5-digit schemes serviced by the DDU.

If preparing mail on pallets is not an option, we encourage you to use the fewest number of sacks to minimize the per container rate.