USPS Service Performance Improvements Continue Across All Mail Categories

Like a post-holiday hangover that just won’t go away, many retailers are struggling with unsold products even after holding New Year sales. According to a new survey of 500 U.S. retailers from e-commerce inventory planning software provider Inventory Planner, 50% of respondents still have goods they cannot sell after post-Christmas and January discounting. Close to half (46%) of respondents say this is a “major concern.” More than half of U.S. retailers (53%) told Inventory Planner there would be ‘dangerous ramifications’ for their business if they failed to sell excess stock.

The Postal Regulatory Commission has opened an inquiry into the Postal Service’s internal Service Performance Measurement (SPM) system for Market Dominant mail products. The Commission’s goal in this proceeding is to address concerns that the SPM may not accurately represent customer experience in the current environment. The Commission intends to carefully examine how measurements reported by the SPM are derived and whether the SPM is currently producing accurate, reliable, and representative results as the law requires. If the Commission’s review reveals that the SPM is not producing accurate, reliable, and representative results, the Commission would identify changes to the SPM to align it with legal requirements.

The New York Times Company announced first quarter 2023 diluted earnings per share of $.13 compared with $.03 in the same period of 2022. Operating profit increased to $27.9 million in the first quarter of 2023 from $6.3 million in the same period of 2022 as the impact of acquisition-related charges taken in the prior year and higher digital subscription and other revenues were partially offset by higher operating costs and lower advertising revenues.