U.S. Postal Service temporarily suspended Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) service to Egypt

Keep this in mind if youare planning on shipping or receiving anything from Egypt:

Egypt Post has advised Universal Postal Union member countries that it has not been able to provide postal services since Jan. 25. This situation will continue until security conditions have returned to normal. Egypt Post will assume no liability during this period regarding damages or inquiries concerning mail items in the UPU international network (parcels, letters and EMS). Egypt Post will inform other UPU designated operators when the situation returns to normal.

Then today this was received:

WASHINGTON — On Feb. 3, the U.S. Postal Service temporarily suspended acceptance of Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) service to Egypt due to the lack of GXG transportation service to Egypt.
Post Offices are continuing to accept international letter mail and other package services destined to Egypt.

Currently, this international mail is being temporarily held by the Postal Service until international mail transportation service to Egypt resumes.

Any GXG items currently in the U.S. mailstream destined for Egypt are being returned to the sender, and postage fees will be refunded upon request. GXG items enroute to Egypt are being held at international airports.

Updated information regarding acceptance and movement of international mail to Egypt will be posted online at http://www.usps.com/communications/news/serviceupdates.htm.

Postmaster Announces Price Increases

Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe signaled a new direction in continuing to improve customer relations within the mailing industry by consulting with industry representatives on the effective date for new prices and by relaxing some guidelines on implementing Intelligent Mail services.

"Working together as an industry we can address continuing economic challenges in a way that allows the postal service to generate much-needed revenue while being more responsive to ongoing customer needs," Donahoe said.

The Postal Service filed new mailing service prices with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). Price increases are limited to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) cap of 1.7 percent, consistent with the Postal Law of 2006. Actual percentage price increases for various products and services will vary. It has been nearly two years since the last increase.

After consulting with key industry association representatives, the new prices would become effective on April 17, giving the mailing community more than 90 days to make the necessary technology and system changes to accurately handle the new prices.

"We heard concerns that we were moving too fast on discontinuing POSTNET coding, and we will continue to offer the automation prices for mail with POSTNET barcodes beyond May 2011," Donahoe said.

Donahoe emphasized the value of the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) to mailers and reiterating the Postal Service commitment to implementing the IMb. To date, more than 41 billion pieces of mail have been processed using the IMb.

Recognizing ongoing industry concerns with challenges associated with implementing the IMb, Donahoe announced that mailers can continue to use POSTNET barcodes to qualify for automation discounts. The POSTNET code was to sunset this May to enable broad adoption and use of the IMb. There will be no Full Service Address Change Service (ACS) charges.

Single-piece, 1 oz. First Class letters will remain 44 cents with additional ounces increased to 20 cents. The price for mailing a postcard will increase one cent. The overall increase is capped at 1.741 percent-at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. More detailed pricing information is available at www.usps.com/pricesOpens in a new window. This does not affect Express Mail and Priority Mail prices.

Prices for other mailing services, including Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Extra Services, also will change. Business mailers will see price increases in a variety of categories.

The proposed price changes are expected to generate $340 million for the balance of the fiscal year and $720 million if implemented for a 12-month period.

For more information, visit www.usps.com

For more information see also: Postal Service Price Adjustments Set for April 17 (Friday, February 18, 2011)

U.S. Postal Service to Expand Simplified Addressing for Businesses

Helping Small Businesses Grow, Millions in Postal Revenue Expected

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a move that is expected to help businesses grow — especially small businesses who currently don't use the mail because they can't afford it