[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 9, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61307-61308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24706]
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POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
39 CFR Part 3001
[Docket No. RM2012-8; Order No. 1488]
New Postal Product
AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a recently-filed Postal Service
petition to initiate an informal rulemaking proceeding to consider
changes in analytical principles (Proposals Eight and Nine) used in
periodic reporting. This notice provides an opportunity for the public
to comment on the potential changes.
DATES: Comments are due: October 29, 2012. Reply Comments are due:
November 8, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing
Online system at http:ww.prc.gov. Commenters who cannot submit their
views electronically should contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT portion of the preamble for advice on
alternatives to electronic filings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
at 202-789-6824.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 28, 2012, the Postal Service
filed a petition pursuant to 39 CFR 3050.11 requesting that the
Commission initiate an informal rulemaking proceeding to consider
changes in the analytical methods approved for use in periodic
reporting.\1\ The Postal Service also requests that the Commission
complete action on the petition by December 1, 2012, so that the
proposed changes can be incorporated into the Annual Compliance Report
(ACR) for FY 2012. Petition at 1.
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\1\ Petition of the United States Postal Service for the
Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed Changes in
Analytical Principles (Proposals Eight and Nine), September 28, 2012
(Petition).
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Proposal Eight: Transfer Mail Processing Cost Model for Machinable
and Irregular Standard Mail Parcels to the Mail Processing Cost Model
for Parcel Select/Parcel Return Service. The Postal Service proposes to
move the machinable and irregular cost worksheets contained in the
Standard Mail parcel mail processing cost model to the Parcel Select/
Parcel Return Service mail processing cost model and to relabel the
worksheets as ``Lightweight Parcel Select.'' Id. at 3. The Commission,
in Docket No. MC2010-36, conditionally approved the transfer of the
commercial Standard machinable and irregular parcel price categories
from the market dominant product list to the competitive product list
as ``Lightweight Parcel Select,'' a subcategory of Parcel Select.\2\
The transfer became effective with the implementation of new prices in
January 2012.\3\ The Postal Service states that costs reported for FY
2012 should reflect the incorporation of Lightweight Parcel Select into
Parcel Select. Petition at 4.
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\2\ Docket No. MC2010-36, Order Conditionally Granting Request
to Transfer Commercial Standard Mail Parcels to the Competitive
Product List, March 2, 2011 (Order No. 689). The Commission imposed
``the following conditions: (1) The Postal Service files a notice of
competitive price adjustment for Parcel Select rates, including
Lightweight Parcel Select parcels, that demonstrates such rates
satisfy 39 U.S.C. 3633(a) and 39 CFR part 3015; (2) the Commission
issues an order finding that the Parcel Select rates in (1) above
satisfy 39 U.S.C. 3633(a) and 39 CFR part 3015; and (3) the Standard
Mail Parcels transfer authorized by this Order is not effective
until the effective date of prices authorized in (b), above.'' Id.
at 19.
\3\ In Docket No. CP2012-2, the Commission approved an 8.9
percent rate increase for Lightweight Parcel Select and found that
the Postal Service had met the conditions set out in Order No. 689.
Docket No. CP2012-2, Order No. 1062, Order Approving Changes in
Rates of General Applicability for Competitive Products, at 4, 10-
13, December 21, 2011.
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The Postal Service states that the proposed changes are solely
mechanical in nature because the number of machinable and irregular
price categories, as well as the presort level and destination entry
point for each price category, have not changed as a result of the
commercial Standard Mail parcel price categories being moved to the
competitive products list. Id. at 3. The Postal Service also proposes
that the Parcel Select and Lightweight Parcel Select model cost
estimates be used to
[[Page 61308]]
de-average the mail processing cost by shape estimate for all Parcel
Select in the FY 2012 ACR. Id.
Proposal Nine: Modify First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, and
Periodicals Flats Cost Models. The Postal Service proposes to make
eight modifications to the Periodicals Flats model. The Postal Service
also proposes to apply four of the modifications to the First-Class
Mail and Standard Mail Flats models. Id. at 5. The Postal Service
states that the model for each class is contained in library reference
USPS-LR-RM2012-8/1, with the proposed modifications incorporated (via
toggle switches).\4\ Some of the modifications are straightforward.
Others, however, involve significant changes, particularly for
Periodicals.
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\4\ Id. According to the Postal Service, the impact of
individual modifications can be estimated by manipulating the toggle
switches. The Postal Service has not provided explicit estimates of
the impact of individual modifications in Proposal Nine, nor has it
provided an estimate of aggregate impact.
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The first proposed modification removes the ability to isolate (via
toggle switches) the effect of individual changes proposed in Docket
No. RM2012-2. Id. Those changes were approved by the Commission. The
Postal Service considers the switches to be superfluous. Id. This
modification affects the models for all three classes.
The second modification corrects what the Postal Service describes
as ``cell referencing errors'' in the Periodicals model. Id.
The third modification accounts for more sources of rejects and
adjusts some reject rates to make them consistent with Management
Operating Data System (MODS) estimates. Id. at 6-8. This modification
affects the models for all three classes.
The fourth modification accounts for changes in allied operations
resulting from the introduction of the AFSM 100 and FSS. The
modifications only apply to the Periodicals model. Id. at 9-10.
The fifth modification creates class-specific FSS coverage factors.
Each coverage factor is the ratio of MODS FSS total pieces fed (by
class) to volume as reported in the Revenue, Pieces, and Weight report.
Id. at 10-11. This modification affects the models for all three
classes.
The sixth modification removes the costs of sorting mail to post
office boxes from all three flats models and designates these costs as
``non-modeled.'' Id. at 11.
The seventh modification updates the estimates of the average
number of cross-dock movements by container type by entry facility for
Periodicals. The update relies on Mail.dat files by publication and a
Postal Service database of individual transportation routes. The Postal
Service states that the new estimates are generally similar to those
provided in Docket No. R2006-1. Id. at 11-15.
The eighth modification uses the results of the seventh
modification to simplify the development of costs by container type by
entry facility for Periodicals. According to the Postal Service, simply
having the number of facilities that a container passes through before
it reaches the destination facility is sufficient to calculate the
number of times the average container incurs each process. Id. at 15-
18.
It is ordered:
1. The Petition of the United States Postal Service Requesting
Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed Changes in Analytical
Principles (Proposals Eight and Nine), filed September 28, 2012, is
granted.
2. The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2012-8 to consider the
matters raised by the Postal Service's Petition.
3. Interested persons may submit comments on Proposals Eight and
Nine no later than October 29, 2012.
4. Reply comments are due no later than November 8, 2012.
5. Lawrence Fenster is appointed to serve as the Public
Representative to represent the interests of the general public in this
proceeding.
6. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this notice in
the Federal Register.
By the Commission.
Shoshana M. Grove,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-24706 Filed 10-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P