[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1521-1523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-164]
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POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. ACR2011; Order No. 1095]
FY 2010 Annual Compliance Report; Comment Request
AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Postal Service has filed an Annual Compliance Report on
the costs, revenues, rates, and quality of service associated with its
products in fiscal year 2011. Within 90 days, the Commission must
evaluate that information and issue its determination
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as to whether rates were in compliance with title 39, chapter 36 and
whether service standards in effect were met. To assist in this, the
Commission seeks public comments on the Postal Service's Annual
Compliance Report.
DATES: Comments are due: February 3, 2012.
Reply comments are due: February 17, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing
Online system at http://www.prc.gov. Commenters who cannot submit their
views electronically should contact the person identified in FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by telephone for advice on alternatives to
electronic filing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
[email protected] or (202) 789-6820.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Overview of the Postal Service's FY 2011 ACR
III. Procedural Steps
IV. Ordering Paragraphs
On December 29, 2011, the United States Postal Service (Postal
Service) filed with the Commission, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3652, its
Annual Compliance Report (ACR) for fiscal year (FY) 2011.\1\ Section
3652 requires submission of data and information on the costs,
revenues, rates, and quality of service associated with postal products
within 90 days of the closing of each fiscal year. In conformance with
other statutory provisions and Commission rules, the ACR includes the
Postal Service's FY 2011 Comprehensive Statement, its FY 2011 annual
report to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Competitive Products
Fund, and certain related Competitive Products Fund material. See,
respectively, 39 U.S.C. 3652(g), 39 U.S.C. 2011(i), and 39 CFR 3060.20-
23. In line with past practice, some of the material in the FY 2011 ACR
appears in non-public annexes.
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\1\ United States Postal Service FY 2011 Annual Compliance
Report, December 29, 2011 (FY 2011 ACR). Public portions of the
Postal Service's filing are available at the Commission's Web site,
http://www.prc.gov.
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The filing begins a review process that results in an Annual
Compliance Determination (ACD) issued by the Commission to determine
whether Postal Service products offered during FY 2011 are in
compliance with applicable title 39 requirements.
II. Overview of the Postal Service's FY 2011 ACR
Contents of the filing. The Postal Service's FY 2011 ACR consists
of a 72-page narrative; extensive additional material appended as
separate folders and identified in Attachment One; and an application
for non-public treatment of certain materials, along with a supporting
rationale filed as Attachment Two. The filing also includes the
Comprehensive Statement, Report to the Secretary of the Treasury, and
information on the Competitive Products Fund filed in response to
Commission rules. This material has been filed electronically with the
Commission, and some also has been filed in hard-copy form.
Scope of filing. The material appended to the narrative consists of
(1) domestic product costing material filed on an annual basis,
summarized in the Cost and Revenue Analysis (CRA); (2) comparable
international costing material, summarized in the International Cost
and Revenue Analysis (ICRA); (3) worksharing-related cost studies; and
(4) billing determinant information for both domestic and international
mail. Id. at 2. Inclusion of these four data sets is consistent with
the Postal Service's past ACR practices. As with past ACRs, the Postal
Service has split certain materials into public and non-public
versions. Id. at 3.
``Roadmap'' document. A roadmap to the FY 2011 ACR appears in the
form of library reference USPS-FY11-9. This document provides brief
descriptions of the materials submitted, as well as the flow of inputs
and outputs among them; a discussion of differences in methodology
relative to Commission methodologies in last year's ACD; a list of
special studies; and, as required by Commission rule 3050.2, a
discussion of obsolescence. Id. at 3-4.
Methodology. The Postal Service says the scope of new methodologies
has been minimized because it has placed heavy reliance on replicating
the methodologies used most recently by the Commission. However, it
observes that postal operations and data collection are not entirely
static, so there are some minor changes. These are identified and
discussed in a separate section of the roadmap document and in the
prefaces to each of the appended materials. Id. at 5.
Proposals for which the Postal Service has filed to change
analytical principles since the filing of the FY 2010 ACR are
identified and summarized in a table. Id. at 4-6. Generally, with
respect to proposed changes that were pending resolution as of the date
of the filing, the Postal Service prepared two versions of the
materials for its ACR. Id. at 6.\2\
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\2\ The three exceptions to this practice are with respect to
Proposals Ten, Eleven, and Eighteen. Id. at 6-7. The Postal Service
also identifies the reasons why it did not prepare two versions for
these proposals in its ACR and requests that the Commission waive
the requirements of 39 CFR 3050.10 with respect to these three
proposals. Id. at 7.
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Market dominant product-by-product costs, revenues, and volumes.
With one exception, costs, revenues, and volumes for all market
dominant products of general applicability are shown directly in the FY
2011 CRA or ICRA. The one exception is International Reply Coupon
Service. Id. at 8.
Market dominant negotiated service agreements. The FY 2011 ACR
presents information on market dominant negotiated service agreements
(NSAs) in two ways. Id. at 9. First, on a fiscal year basis, it
extracts revenue, cost, and volume data from the relevant CRA lines.
These data are further disaggregated by individual NSA in library
reference USPS-FY11-30. Second, library reference USPS-FY11-30 also
presents similar data for the NSAs by contract year. Id. This latter
method is required by 39 CFR 3020.21(1) to allow net benefit
calculations for NSAs that have discounts based on volume thresholds
reached during a contract year. Id. Such net benefit calculations also
appear in library reference USPS-FY11-30.\3\
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\3\ The Postal Service notes that there is a distinction between
the ``net benefit calculations'' and the data reported in the CRA
line item for NSAs. The net benefit calculations are intended to
isolate the incremental benefit of the NSA while the CRA reports the
entire volume to the NSA, regardless of whether it is deemed
``incremental.'' Id. at 9.
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Service performance. The Postal Service notes that the Commission
issued rules on periodic reporting of service performance measurement
and customer satisfaction in FY 2011. Responsive information appears in
library reference USPS-FY11-29. Id. at 10-11. The Postal Service says
it set aggressive on-time targets of 90 percent or above for all market
dominant products and, overall, has been successful in continuously
improving these scores. It asserts that its targets have already been
met or exceeded for some products and in some districts, but says there
are several instances where target scores have not yet been met at the
national level. Specific reasons for these results are discussed in
library reference USPS-FY11-29. Id. at 12.
Customer satisfaction. The FY 2011 ACR discusses the Postal
Service's new approach for measuring customer experience and
satisfaction; describes the new methodology and other
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changes; presents a table with survey results; and compares the results
from FY 2010 to FY 2011. Id. at 10-13.
Product analysis and other information. The FY 2011 ACR includes a
detailed analysis of each market dominant product, including domestic
NSAs in effect during FY 2011. Id. at 14-48. It also presents
information responsive to 39 U.S.C. 3652(b) on worksharing discounts.
Id. at 50-60.
Competitive products. The FY 2011 ACR provides costs, revenues, and
volumes for competitive products of general applicability in the FY
2011 CRA (or ICRA). For competitive products not of general
applicability, data are provided in non-public library references USPS-
FY11-NP2 and USPS-FY11-NP27. The FY 2011 ACR also addresses the
competitive product pricing standards of 39 U.S.C. 3633. Id. at 60-64.
Market tests; nonpostal services. The Postal Service also addresses
the three market dominant market tests conducted during FY 2011, the
two competitive market tests conducted during FY 2011, and nonpostal
services. Id. at 64-68. With respect to the latter, it notes that in
the last ACD, the Commission linked further reporting on nonpostal
services to the approval of classification language in Docket No.
MC2010-24, and that docket was still pending as of the end of FY 2011.
The Postal Service states that it has attempted to improve its
nonpostal services reporting in this ACR, but it considers the
information it is providing as generally comparable to what it
previously provided. Id. at 67.
III. Procedural Steps
Statutory requirements. Section 3653 of title 39 requires the
Commission to provide interested persons with an opportunity to comment
on the ACR and to appoint a Public Representative to represent the
interests of the general public. The Commission hereby solicits public
comment on the Postal Service's FY 2011 ACR and on whether any rates or
fees in effect during FY 2011 (for products individually or
collectively) were not in compliance with applicable provisions of
chapter 36 of title 39 (or regulations promulgated thereunder).
Commenters addressing market dominant products are referred in
particular to the applicable requirements (39 U.S.C. 3622(d) and (e)
and 3626); objectives (39 U.S.C. 3622(b)); and factors (39 U.S.C.
3622(c)). Commenters addressing competitive products are referred to in
39 U.S.C. 3633.
The Commission also invites public comment on the cost coverage
matters the Postal Service addresses in its filing; service performance
results; levels of customer satisfaction achieved; progress toward
goals established in the annual Comprehensive Statement; and such other
matters that may be relevant to the Commission's review. Comments on
these topics will, inter alia, assist the Commission in developing
appropriate recommendations to the Postal Service related to the
protection or promotion of the public policy objectives of title 39.
Access to filing. The Commission has posted the publicly available
portions of the FY 2011 ACR on its Web site, http://www.prc.doc.
Comment deadlines. Comments by interested persons are due on or
before February 3, 2012. Reply comments are due on or before February
17, 2012. The Commission, upon completion of its review of the FY 2011
ACR, public comments, and other data and information submitted in this
proceeding, will issue its ACD. Those needing assistance filing
electronically may contact the Docket Section supervisor at (202) 789-
6846 or via email at [email protected]. Inquiries about access to
non-public materials should also be directed to the Docket Section.
Public representative. Kenneth E. Richardson is designated to serve
as the Public Representative to represent the interests of the general
public in this proceeding, assisted by Lawrence Fenster and Elena
Patel. Neither the Public Representative nor any additional persons
assigned to assist him shall participate in or advise as to any
Commission decision in this proceeding other than in their designated
capacity.
IV. Ordering Paragraphs
It is ordered:
1. The Commission establishes Docket No. ACR2011 to consider
matters raised by the United States Postal Service's FY 2011 Annual
Compliance Report.
2. Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints Kenneth E.
Richardson as officer of the Commission (Public Representative) in this
proceeding to represent the interests of the general public.
3. Comments on the United States Postal Service's FY 2011 Annual
Compliance Report to the Commission, including the Comprehensive
Statement of Postal Operations and other reports, are due on or before
February 3, 2012.
4. Reply comments are due on or before February 17, 2012.
5. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this order in the
Federal Register.
By the Commission.
Shoshana M. Grove,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-164 Filed 1-9-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P