Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 225 / Friday, November 24, 2023 / Notices 82431 

1Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, Public Law 

117–108, 136 Stat. 1127, available at https://

www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ108/PLAW117publ108.pdf (PSRA). 

2Flats Operations Study Report, April 6, 2023 

(Flats Operations Study Report). 

3See Submission of the United States Postal 

Service Flats Plan Pursuant to Section 206 of the 

Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, October 6, 2023 

(Notice); see also Notice, Postal Service Flats Plan 

Pursuant to Section 206 of the Postal Service 

Reform Act of 2022, October 6, 2023 (Flats Plan). 

4Flats, or flat-shaped mail, refers to large 

envelopes, magazines, and other flexible, 

rectangular mail that meet certain criteria. See 

United States Postal Service, Publication 32, 

Glossary of Postal Terms, July 1, 2016, at 88, 

available at https://postalpro.usps.com/storages/ 

2016-04/pub32_glossary.pdf. 

5Flats Operations Study Report at 23 (citing 

Docket No. ACR2021, Annual Compliance 

Determination, March 29, 2022, at 31, 60). 

Employer name DBA City State/ 

terr. 

Award 

type 

Willis Mechanical, Inc ............................................ .............................................................................. Norcross ....................... GA SP 

Windstream Holdings ............................................. .............................................................................. Little Rock ..................... AR LP 

Women In Military Service For America Memorial 

Foundation, Inc.

Military Women’s Memorial ................................. Arlington ....................... VT SP 

Workforce Development Board of the Treasure 

Coast.

CareerSource Research Coast ........................... Port St. Lucie ................ FL SG 

Worldwide Counter Threat Solutions ..................... N/A ....................................................................... Fredericksburg .............. VT SG 

Wounded Warrior Project ...................................... .............................................................................. Jacksonville .................. FL LP 

WPS Labor, LLC .................................................... WPS Labor, LLC ................................................. Rogers .......................... AR SG 

WWC Global .......................................................... WWC Global ........................................................ Tampa .......................... FL MG 

Xcel Energy ........................................................... .............................................................................. Minneapolis .................. MN LG 

Xenith Solutions ..................................................... .............................................................................. Reston .......................... VT SP 

Your Recruiting Company Inc ............................... .............................................................................. Fairfax ........................... VT MG 

Zeido Technologies, LLC ....................................... .............................................................................. Gainesville .................... VT SG 

Zekiah Technologies, Inc ....................................... .............................................................................. La Plata ........................ MD SP 

ZENDEV & Co, LLC .............................................. ZENDEV .............................................................. Mesa ............................. AZ SP 

Zero Point, Incorporated ........................................ .............................................................................. Virginia Beach .............. VT MP 

Dated: November 14, 2023. 

James D. Rodriguez, 

Assistant Secretary, Veterans’ Employment 

and Training Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25563 Filed 11–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–79–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket No. SS2022–1; Order No. 6803] 

Special Study on Flats Operations 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is 

recognizing a recently filed Postal 

Service document with the Commission 

concerning its plan to remedy 

inefficiencies identified in the 

Commission’s flats study. This notice 

informs the public of the filing, invites 

public comment, and takes other 

administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: January 5, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Filing Online system at http://

www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit 

comments electronically should contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section by 

telephone for advice on filing 

alternatives. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 

202–789–6820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. Background 

III. Postal Service Flats Plan 

IV. Motions 

V. Commission Analysis 

VI. Notice and Comment 

VII. Ordering Paragraphs 

I. Introduction 

In accordance with the Postal Service 

Reform Act of 2022 (PSRA),1 the 

Commission submitted a report on the 

findings of its flats operations study on 

April 6, 2023.2 The PSRA also required 

the Postal Service to develop and 

implement a plan to remedy each 

inefficiency identified in the 

Commission’s flats study or provide an 

explanation why remedying such 

inefficiency is not practicable. PSRA 

section 206(b)(1). On October 6, 2023, 

the Postal Service submitted its plan to 

the Commission for approval.3

II. Background 

The Postal Service has faced 

significant challenges in processing and 

delivering flats 4 in a cost-effective 

manner. For years, in response to 

statutory requirements and Commission 

directives, the Postal Service has been 

designing and implementing operational 

and pricing initiatives to address these 

issues, but the Postal Service has been 

unable to either quantify the expected 

impact of those initiatives or isolate the 

impact to specific products.5

The PSRA required the Commission, 

in consultation with the Inspector 

General of the United States Postal 

Service (USPS OIG), to conduct a study 

evaluating the Postal Service’s flats 

operations. PSRA section 206(b)(2)(A). 

The statute also required the 

Commission to submit a report on the 

findings of the study no later than 1 year 

after enactment of the PSRA. Id. To 

carry out the study, the Commission 

collected and reviewed flats data 

provided by the Postal Service. Flats 

Operations Study Report at 1. 

Commission staff also visited Postal 

Service facilities over a period of several 

months, visited mailers’ facilities, 

contracted with an operations expert, 

and consulted with the USPS OIG. Id. 

On April 6, 2023, the Commission 

submitted its report on the findings of 

the study to Congress and the 

Postmaster General. 

In its Flats Operations Study Report, 

the Commission identified multiple 

causes of inefficiencies in the collection, 

sorting, transportation, and delivery of 

flats. Flats Operations Study Report at 

23–133. In addition, the Commission 

quantified the effects of the volume 

trends, certain investment decisions, 

excess capacity, and operational 

inefficiencies of the Postal Service on 

costs that are attributable to flats. Id. at 

134–209. At the conclusion of the Flats 

Operations Study Report, the 

Commission provided eight suggestions 

to the Postal Service for consideration as 

the Postal Service develops its plan. Id. 

at 210. 

In response to the report, the Postal 

Service was required to develop and 

implement a plan to remedy each 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
82432 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 225 / Friday, November 24, 2023 / Notices 

6See Notice of Availability of Draft Plan for FlatShaped Mail, 88 FR 55740 (August 16, 2023); see 

also Postal Service Flats Plan Pursuant to Section 

206 of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, 

August 15, 2023, available at https://

about.usps.com/psra-flats-study/usps-flats-plan.pdf 

(Draft Flats Plan). Interested parties were invited to 

submit written comments during a 30-day period, 

terminating on September 15, 2023. Notice at 2. 

7 Id. at 1–2 (referring to United States Postal 

Service, Delivering for America, Second-Year 

Progress Report (April 2023), available at https://

about.usps.com/what/strategic-plans/delivering-foramerica/assets/usps-dfa-two-year-report.pdf). 

8Motion for Acceptance of Comments, October 

16, 2023 (NMA Motion); Motion for Leave to File 

Comments, October 18, 2023 (PostCom Motion). 

9Comments of the News/Media Alliance on the 

Postal Service’s Flats Plan, October 16, 2023, at 1 

(NMA Comments). 

10Comments of the Association for Postal 

Commerce, October 18, 2023, at 1 (PostCom 

Comments). 

inefficiency identified in the 

Commission’s flats study or provide an 

explanation why remedying such 

inefficiency is not practicable. PSRA 

section 206(b)(1). Prior to implementing 

the plan, the Postal Service must give 

the public an opportunity to comment 

on the plan and the Commission must 

approve the plan. Id. On August 16, 

2023, the Postal Service published a 

draft plan and sought public comments 

on the plan.6 On October 6, 2023, the 

Postal Service submitted its Flats Plan 

to the Commission for approval. 

III. Postal Service Flats Plan 

The Postal Service asserts that its plan 

conforms to the relevant statutory 

requirements and should be approved 

by the Commission. Notice at 2. In 

addition to considering public 

comments, the Postal Service states that 

it considered the Commission’s 

suggestions, and the findings that 

inform those suggestions. Id. It notes 

that the Flats Plan incorporates the 

majority of the Commission’s 

recommendations. Id. The Postal 

Service asserts that where it was unable 

to accept a Commission 

recommendation fully, the Flats Plan 

details how such recommendations may 

in the future become practicable. Id. 

At the beginning of its Flats Plan, the 

Postal Service describes how the 

implementation of the Delivering for 

America (DFA) plan will enable it to 

increase revenue from flats, while also 

reducing costs by addressing the 

inefficiencies that currently exist in the 

processing, transporting, and delivery of 

flats. Flats Plan at 2. The Postal Service 

claims that since enactment of the DFA 

Plan in March 2021, it has made 

significant progress.7 In addressing the 

Commission’s suggestions from the Flats 

Operations Study Report, the Postal 

Service discusses specific initiatives 

relating to flats, and explains that these 

initiatives are part of the DFA plan. 

Flats Plan at 2–3. The initiatives include 

pricing to increase flats revenue, 

redesigning the network, improving the 

data quality, and pursuing initiatives to 

reduce bundle breakage. Id. at 4–17. The 

Postal Service also addresses the 

relationship between mail volume and 

productivity, and provides analysis to 

support its view that productivity 

declines and therefore increased costs, 

are due in part to volume declines. Id. 

at 17–24. Finally, the Postal Service 

addresses comments from the public 

received on its Draft Flats Plan, and 

‘‘clarif[ies] certain aspects of the flats 

plan in response to those comments.’’ 

Id. at 24–27. 

IV. Motions 

After the Postal Service filed its Flats 

Plan, the Commission received motions 

for leave to provide comments on the 

Flats Plan from the News Media 

Alliance (NMA) and the Association for 

Postal Commerce (PostCom).8

NMA and PostCom both state that 

acceptance of their comments on the 

Flats Plan would be in the public 

interest and assist in the Commission’s 

decision whether to approve or reject 

the Flats Plan. NMA Motion at 1; 

PostCom Motion at 1. PostCom also 

provides examples of where the 

Commission has accepted pleadings in 

other dockets where such pleadings 

were not specifically authorized but 

would assist the Commission in its 

deliberations. PostCom Motion at 1. 

These motions are granted. 

In its comments, NMA states the Flats 

Plan ‘‘lacks the comprehensiveness, 

metrics, and accountability’’ needed to 

remedy well-established flats 

inefficiencies.9 NMA recommends that 

the Commission reject the plan and 

direct the Postal Service to address the 

deficiencies identified by NMA. NMA 

Comments at 1. 

PostCom also urges the Commission 

to reject the Flats Plan and direct the 

Postal Service to revise the plan to 

respond to PSRA directives.10 PostCom 

attaches its comments submitted to the 

Postal Service on the Draft Flats Plan, 

where PostCom asserts the draft plan 

lacked, among other things, targets 

toward cost coverage improvement, and 

did not consider the diseconomies of 

scale that result from declining flats 

volume. PostCom Comments at 1. 

PostCom states that despite its 

comments, the Postal Service submitted 

the final plan that is ‘‘essentially 

unchanged’’ from its draft plan. Id. 

V. Commission Analysis 

Upon consideration of the Flats Plan, 

the Commission finds that, as 

submitted, this plan presents a highlevel proposal that lacks both important 

details and analytical support needed to 

evaluate the plan and determine 

whether it sufficiently and effectively 

addresses the inefficiencies identified 

by the Commission and described in the 

Flats Operations Study Report. The 

Commission suggested in the Flats 

Operations Study Report that the Postal 

Service quantify the impact of any 

initiatives on cost to ensure its efforts 

are effective. Flats Operations Study 

Report at 3. While the Postal Service 

explains that there are processes to 

validate potential net financial benefits 

of initiatives and methodologies for 

calculating and tracking the results, it 

does not provide any quantifiable 

metrics for potential benefits or cost 

impact results as it describes the 

initiatives throughout the Flats Plan. 

See Flats Plan at 17. 

Furthermore, the Postal Service does 

not provide a clear timeline for 

implementing the initiatives, with some 

initiatives seemingly already 

implemented and others in various 

stages of implementation. See Flats Plan 

at 7, 9–14. Additionally, while some 

initiatives appear to have been 

implemented as early as FY 2021, there 

is no timeline for when quantifiable 

impacts of these initiatives will be 

available. 

In its response to public comments, 

the Postal Service references technology 

updates to the Automated Flats Sorting 

Machine. See id. at 26. This effort is 

well-advised and further details of these 

plans, including timelines, would 

improve the Commission’s ability to 

evaluate the plan. Similarly, it is 

important for the Commission to 

understand the plan and timeline for 

other technology improvements, 

including to the equipment used to 

process bundles as a means to reduce 

bundle breakage. 

In addition, to thoroughly evaluate 

the Flats Plan, it is important for the 

Commission to learn more about the 

improved data-collection tools 

developed to enhance the reporting and 

tracking of bundle irregularities and 

bundle breakage. See id. at 7–9. The 

discussion of these tools highlights their 

capability to link images and other 

evidence of mail irregularities to the 

Mailer Scorecard but does not clearly 

specify whether the tools also resolve 

the other bundle breakage data quality 

issues the Commission set out in the 

Flats Operations Study Report. Id.; see 

also Flats Operations Study Report at 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 225 / Friday, November 24, 2023 / Notices 82433 

1See Docket No. RM2018–3, Order Adopting 

Final Rules Relating to Non-Public Information, 

June 27, 2018, Attachment A at 19–22 (Order No. 

4679). 

85–87. These data quality issues include 

missing data in the bundle breakage 

dataset for bundles without a fullservice Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) 

and the lack of ability to identify where 

in the mail processing flow a bundle 

breakage occurs. See Flats Operations 

Study Report at 85–87. Addressing these 

additional issues would allow the Postal 

Service to identify trends and causes of 

bundle breakage within the handling 

and processing of bundles, which were 

previously lacking in the data. 

Accordingly, the Commission will seek 

more information from the Postal 

Service to enable evaluation of the Flats 

Plan prior to issuing its approval. The 

Commission also will invite comments 

from other interested persons on 

whether the Flats Plan is consistent 

with applicable statutory requirements. 

VI. Notice and Comment 

Interested persons may submit 

comments on the Flats Plan no later 

than January 5, 2024. Pursuant to 39 

U.S.C. 505, Manon A. Boudreault is 

designated as an officer of the 

Commission (Public Representative) to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in this proceeding. 

VII. Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered: 

1. The News Media Alliance’s Motion 

for Acceptance of Comments, filed 

October 16, 2023, is granted. 

2. The Association for Postal 

Commerce’s Motion for Leave to File 

Comments, filed October 18, 2023, is 

granted. 

3. Comments on the Flats Plan are due 

no later than January 5, 2024. 

4. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Manon 

A. Boudreault is appointed to serve as 

an officer of the Commission (Public 

Representative) to represent the 

interests of the general public in this 

proceeding. 

5. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Erica A. Barker, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25914 Filed 11–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. MC2024–55 and CP2024–56; 

MC2024–56 and CP2024–57; MC2024–57 

and CP2024–58; MC2024–58 and CP2024– 

59; MC2024–59 and CP2024–60; MC2024– 

60 and CP2024–61; MC2024–61 and 

CP2024–62; MC2024–62 and CP2024–63; 

MC2024–63 and CP2024–64; MC2024–64 

and CP2024–65; MC2024–65 and CP2024– 

66] 

New Postal Products 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a 

recent Postal Service filing for the 

Commission’s consideration concerning 

a negotiated service agreement. This 

notice informs the public of the filing, 

invites public comment, and takes other 

administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: November 

29, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Filing Online system at http://

www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit 

comments electronically should contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section by 

telephone for advice on filing 

alternatives. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 

202–789–6820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. Docketed Proceeding(s) 

I. Introduction 

The Commission gives notice that the 

Postal Service filed request(s) for the 

Commission to consider matters related 

to negotiated service agreement(s). The 

request(s) may propose the addition or 

removal of a negotiated service 

agreement from the Market Dominant or 

the Competitive product list, or the 

modification of an existing product 

currently appearing on the Market 

Dominant or the Competitive product 

list. 

Section II identifies the docket 

number(s) associated with each Postal 

Service request, the title of each Postal 

Service request, the request’s acceptance 

date, and the authority cited by the 

Postal Service for each request. For each 

request, the Commission appoints an 

officer of the Commission to represent 

the interests of the general public in the 

proceeding, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505 

(Public Representative). Section II also 

establishes comment deadline(s) 

pertaining to each request. 

The public portions of the Postal 

Service’s request(s) can be accessed via 

the Commission’s website (http://

www.prc.gov). Non-public portions of 

the Postal Service’s request(s), if any, 

can be accessed through compliance 

with the requirements of 39 CFR 

3011.301.1

The Commission invites comments on 

whether the Postal Service’s request(s) 

in the captioned docket(s) are consistent 

with the policies of title 39. For 

request(s) that the Postal Service states 

concern Market Dominant product(s), 

applicable statutory and regulatory 

requirements include 39 U.S.C. 3622, 39 

U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR part 3030, and 39 

CFR part 3040, subpart B. For request(s) 

that the Postal Service states concern 

Competitive product(s), applicable 

statutory and regulatory requirements 

include 39 U.S.C. 3632, 39 U.S.C. 3633, 

39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR part 3035, and 

39 CFR part 3040, subpart B. Comment 

deadline(s) for each request appear in 

section II. 

II. Docketed Proceeding(s) 

1. Docket No(s).: MC2024–55 and 

CP2024–56; Filing Title: USPS Request 

to Add Priority Mail & USPS Ground 

Advantage Contract 108 to Competitive 

Product List and Notice of Filing 

Materials Under Seal; Filing Acceptance 

Date: November 17, 2023; Filing 

Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR 

3040.130 through 3040.135, and 39 CFR 

3035.105; Public Representative: 

Jennaca D. Upperman; Comments Due: 

November 29, 2023. 

2. Docket No(s).: MC2024–56 and 

CP2024–57; Filing Title: USPS Request 

to Add Priority Mail Express, Priority 

Mail & USPS Ground Advantage 

Contract 14 to Competitive Product List 

and Notice of Filing Materials Under 

Seal; Filing Acceptance Date: November 

17, 2023; Filing Authority: 39 U.S.C. 

3642, 39 CFR 3040.130 through 

3040.135, and 39 CFR 3035.105; Public 

Representative: Gregory S. Stanton; 

Comments Due: November 29, 2023. 

3. Docket No(s).: MC2024–57 and 

CP2024–58; Filing Title: USPS Request 

to Add Priority Mail Express, Priority 

Mail & USPS Ground Advantage 

Contract 15 to Competitive Product List 

and Notice of Filing Materials Under 

Seal; Filing Acceptance Date: November 

17, 2023; Filing Authority: 39 U.S.C. 

3642, 39 CFR 3040.130 through 

3040.135, and 39 CFR 3035.105; Public 

Representative: Gregory S. Stanton; 

Comments Due: November 29, 2023. 


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