[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 26, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 74305-74307]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25712]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 111


Domestic Competitive Products Pricing and Mailing Standards 
Changes

AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Postal Service is amending Mailing Standards of the United 
States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]), to reflect 
changes to prices and mailing standards for competitive products.

DATES: Effective Date: January 22, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Key at (202) 268-7492 or Garry 
Rodriguez at (202) 268-7281.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule describes new prices and 
product features for competitive products, by class of mail, 
established by the Governors of the United States Postal 
Service[supreg]. New prices are available under Docket Number CP2017-20 
on the Postal Regulatory Commission's (PRC) Web site at http://www.prc.gov, and also located on the Postal Explorer[supreg] Web site 
at http://pe.usps.com.
    The Postal Service will revise Mailing Standards of the United 
States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), to reflect changes 
to prices and mailing standards for the following competitive products:
     Priority Mail Express[supreg].
     Priority Mail[supreg].
     First-Class Package Service[supreg].
     Parcel Select[supreg].
     USPS Retail GroundTM.
     Extra Services.
     Return Services.
     Mailer Services.
     Recipient Services.
    Competitive product prices and changes are identified by product as 
follows:

Priority Mail Express

Prices

    Overall, Priority Mail Express prices will increase 3.3 percent. 
Priority Mail Express will continue to offer zoned Retail, Commercial 
BaseTM, and Commercial PlusTM pricing tiers.
    Retail prices will increase an average of 3.7 percent. The Flat 
Rate Envelope price will increase to $23.75, the Legal Flat Rate 
Envelope will increase to $23.95, and the Padded Flat Rate Envelope 
will increase to $24.45.
    Commercial Base prices offer lower prices to customers who use 
authorized postage payment methods. Commercial Base prices will 
increase an average of 2.4 percent. Commercial Base pricing offers a 
flat 11.2 percent discount off retail prices.
    Commercial Plus prices were matched to the Commercial Base prices 
in 2016 and will continue to be matched in 2017.

Priority Mail

Prices

    Overall, Priority Mail prices will increase 3.9 percent. Priority 
Mail will continue to offer zoned Retail, Commercial Base, and 
Commercial Plus pricing tiers.
    Retail prices will increase an average of 3.3 percent. The Flat 
Rate Envelope price will increase to $6.65, the Legal Flat Rate 
Envelope will increase to $6.95, and the Padded Flat Rate Envelope will 
increase to $7.20. The Small Flat Rate Box price will increase to $7.15 
and the Medium Flat Rate Boxes will increase to $13.60. The Large Flat 
Rate Box will increase to $18.85 and the APO/FPO/DPO Large Flat Rate 
Box will increase to $17.35.
    Commercial Base prices offer lower prices to customers who use 
authorized postage payment methods. Commercial Base prices will 
increase an average of 4.1 percent. Commercial Base pricing offers an 
average 13.6 percent discount off retail prices.
    The Commercial Plus price category offers price incentives to large 
volume customers. Commercial Plus prices will increase an average of 
4.5 percent. Commercial Plus pricing offers an average 16.8 percent 
discount off retail prices.

First-Class Package Service

Prices

    Overall, First-Class Package Service prices will increase 4.1 
percent.

[[Page 74306]]

First-Class Package Service Optional ADC Presort

    The Postal Service will offer an optional Area Distribution Center 
(ADC) presort for First-Class Package Service (FCPS) parcels to improve 
service for mailers. As a result, a new optional FCPS ADC labeling 
list, L015, will be added.

Parcel Select

Prices

    Overall Parcel Select non-lightweight prices will increase an 
average of 3.5 percent. The average price increase for Parcel Select 
Destination Entry is 4.9 percent. Parcel Select GroundTM 
prices will increase an average of 2.7 percent. The prices for Parcel 
Select Lightweight[supreg] (PSLW) will increase an average of 8.0 
percent.

USPS Retail Ground

    Overall, USPS Retail Ground prices will increase an average of 3.8 
percent.

Extra Services

Adult Signature Service

    Adult Signature Required and Adult Signature Restricted Delivery 
service prices are increasing 3.5 and 3.4 percent respectively. The 
price for Adult Signature Required will increase to $5.90 and Adult 
Signature Restricted Delivery will increase to $6.15.

Return Services

Parcel Return Service

    Overall, Parcel Return Service (PRS) prices will increase an 
average of 5.5 percent.
    Return Sectional Center Facility (RSCF) prices will increase an 
average of 5.8 percent and Return Delivery Unit (RDU) prices will 
increase an average of 5.2 percent.
    Information on the Parcel Return Service annual permit fee and 
annual account maintenance fee can be found in the ``Other'' section 
below and in the Domestic Mailing Services Federal Register Notice.

Mailer Services

Premium Forwarding Service

    Premium Forwarding Service[supreg] (PFS[supreg]) prices will 
increase an average of 3.8 percent. The enrollment fee paid at the 
retail counter will increase to $19.35 and the residential and 
commercial enrollment fee paid online will increase to $17.75 per 
application. The price of the weekly reshipment charge for PFS-
Residential will increase to $19.35.

Premium Forwarding Service Commercial

    The Postal Service will add 1-foot and 2-foot managed mail tray box 
flat rate pricing as an option to the current shipment containers for 
Premium Forwarding Service Commercial[supreg] dispatches.

USPS Package Intercept

    The USPS Package InterceptTM fee will increase 3.2 
percent to $12.95.

Pickup on Demand Service

    The Pickup on Demand[supreg] service daily fee will increase 10.0 
percent to $22.00.

Recipient Services

Post Office Box Service

    The competitive Post Office BoxTM service prices will 
increase an average of 6.5 percent within the existing price ranges.

Enterprise Post Office Box Online Fee Payment

    The Postal Service is providing customers using the Enterprise PO 
Box Online (EPOBOL) system the option to prorate semi-annual fees one 
time to align payment periods for multiple boxes. The prorated fee for 
each such box will be based on the number of months between the 
expiration of the current fee and the month of the payment alignment. 
Additional information on prorating of the semi-annual EPOBOL fees can 
be found in the Domestic Mailing Services Federal Register Notice.

Other

Address Enhancement Service

    Address Enhancement Service competitive product prices will be 
increasing between 1.9 and 7.9 percent.

Topological Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (Tiger/
ZIP+4)

    The Postal Service is retiring Topological Integrated Geographic 
Encoding and Referencing (Tiger/ZIP+4) service.

Annual Mailing and Account Maintenance Fees

    The Postal Service is eliminating the payment of annual mailing 
fees for Parcel Select and Parcel Select Lightweight. The annual return 
service permit fee and annual account maintenance fee for Parcel Return 
Service will also be eliminated. Additional information on the 
elimination of annual mailing and account maintenance fees can be found 
in the Domestic Mailing Services Federal Register Notice.

Permit Imprint Application Fee

    The Postal Service is eliminating the payment of permit imprint 
application fees for Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class 
Package Service, Parcel Select, and Parcel Select Lightweight 
competitive products. Additional information on the elimination of the 
permit imprint application fee can be found in the Domestic Mailing 
Services Federal Register Notice.

Resources

    The Postal Service provides additional resources to assist 
customers with this price change for competitive products. These tools 
include price lists, downloadable price files, and Federal Register 
Notices, which may be found on the Postal Explorer[supreg] Web site at 
http://pe.usps.com.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111

    Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.

    The Postal Service adopts the following changes to Mailing 
Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 
(DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. 
See 39 CFR 111.1.
    Accordingly, 39 CFR part 111 is amended as follows:

PART 111--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 13 U.S.C. 301-307; 18 U.S.C. 1692-
1737; 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 414, 416, 3001-3011, 3201-3219, 
3403-3406, 3621, 3622, 3626, 3632, 3633, and 5001.


0
2. Revise the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, 
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) as follows:

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail 
Manual (DMM)

* * * * *

200 Commercial Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels

* * * * *

250 Parcel Select

253 Prices and Eligibility

* * * * *
    [Delete 1.3, Annual Mailing Fee, in its entirety and renumber 
current 1.4 as new 1.3.]
* * * * *

4.0 Price Eligibility for Parcel Select and Parcel Select Lightweight

* * * * *

[[Page 74307]]

4.3 Parcel Select Lightweight

* * * * *

4.3.1 General Eligibility

    Parcel Select Lightweight parcels are presorted machinable or 
irregular parcels.
    The following also applies:
* * * * *
    [Revise the text of item c to read as follows:]
    c. Postage must be paid under 254.1.1.2.
* * * * *

254 Postage Payment and Documentation

1.0 Basic Standards for Postage Payment

1.1 Postage Payment Options

    [Renumber the text of 1.1 as new 1.1.1 and revise the introductory 
text of 1.1.1 to read as follows:]

1.1.1 Parcel Select

    Parcel Select postage may be paid with:
* * * * *
    [Add new 1.1.2 to read as follows:]

1.1.2 Parcel Select Lightweight

    Parcel Select Lightweight postage may be paid with permit imprint.
* * * * *

280 First-Class Package Service

* * * * *

285 Mail Preparation

* * * * *
    [Add new 2.0 to read as follows:]

2.0 Optional ADC Presort

    Each optional ADC presorted First-Class Package Service mailing 
must meet the applicable standards in 280 and must be labeled as 
follows:
    a. Line 1: L015.
    b. Line 2: ``FC PKG ADC.''
* * * * *

500 Additional Mailing Services

* * * * *

505 Return Services

* * * * *

4.0 Parcel Return Service

4.1 Prices and Fees

    [Revise the heading and text of 4.1.1 to read as follows:]

4.1.1 Permit

    The participant must obtain a permit and pay postage at the Post 
Office where the permit is held through an advance deposit account (see 
Notice 123--Price List).
* * * * *

4.2 Basic Standards

* * * * *

4.2.2 Conditions for Mailing

    Parcels may be mailed as PRS when all of the following conditions 
apply:
* * * * *
    [Revise the text of item c to read as follows:]
    c. Parcels show the permit number.
* * * * *

4.2.7 Reapplying After Cancellation

    To receive a new PRS permit after cancellation under 5.1, the 
mailer must:
* * * * *
    [Delete item b and renumber current items c and d as new items b 
and c.]
* * * * *

507 Mailer Services

* * * * *

3.0 Premium Forwarding Service

* * * * *

3.3 Premium Forwarding Service Commercial

* * * * *

3.3.3 Conditions

    * * * PFS-Commercial service is subject to these conditions:
* * * * *
    c. The postage is charged per shipment container as follows:
    [Revise the text of item c1 to read as follows:]
    1. A sack and its contents are considered one piece for calculation 
of the price of postage and must not exceed 70 pounds. Postage is 
calculated by the weight of the sack and the zone, based on the ZIP 
Code of the servicing Post Office and the delivery address for the 
shipment, minus the tare weight.
    [Renumber item c2 as new item c3 and add new item c2 as follows:]
    2. A 1-foot managed mail (MM) tray box or 2-foot MM tray box are 
considered one piece for the applicable Premium Forwarding Service 
Commercial branded flat rate tray box price.
* * * * *

509 Other Services

1.0 Address Information System Services

1.1 General Information

    [Revise the second sentence of 1.1 to read as follows:]
    * * * These services are described in 1.2 through 1.34. * * *
* * * * *
    [Delete 1.29, Topological Integrated Geographic Encoding and 
Referencing, in its entirety and renumber current 1.30 through 1.35 as 
new 1.29 through 1.34.]
* * * * *
    We will publish an appropriate amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to 
reflect these changes.

Stanley F. Mires,
Attorney, Federal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2016-25712 Filed 10-25-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P