A couple Postal updates came out today. The first from Ben Cooper at the Print Council:

Postmaster General Potter is expected to announce next week an additional delay in the implementation date of the new Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) until November 2009. Final rules are expected in the Federal Register soon.

The IMB is a major initiative for the Postal Service, part of its effort to further mechanize the processing of mail. It is also expected that the IMB will provide mailers with significantly more data than has previously been available, including service measurement. The real problem with the program is that mailers are still uncertain about what data will be provided, what discounts will be offered for using the full IMB program, and whether the cost of implementation can be recovered.

There are numerous technical questions surrounding the IMB, including the ability of mailing companies to consistently "hit the target" of the mailing label with the full IMB.

What is significant about the implementation of the IMB and several other USPS programs designed to automate and streamline mail handling is that the cost of these new systems---including the investment in new technology---is going to be borne by mailers.

The second from PIA/GATF Government Affairs:

Late last week, the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia held a hearing entitled, "The Three R's of the Postal Network Plan: Realignment, Right-Sizing, and Responsiveness" to examine the forward-looking plan submitted recently by the USPS to Congress. The Network Plan was mandated by the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL) chaired the hearing, which included four panels of witnesses offering perspectives on the topic. In addition to witnesses representing the USPS and postal labor unions, a panel of mailing industry witnesses representing Association of Postal Commerce (of which PIA is a member), Mailers Council, Direct Marketing Association and the Alliance of Non-Profit Mailers offered its endorsement of the plan. Industry witnesses stressed to Congress that in order for the plan to move forward, the USPS must have improved and increased two-way communication with industry so that the practical operations of the mailing industry can succeed in concert with the USPS' plan.