Periodic Reporting
| Published date | 23 March 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 15449 |
| Record Number | 2021-05831 |
| Section | Proposed rules |
| Court | Postal Regulatory Commission |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 54 (Tuesday, March 23, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 23, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15449-15450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05831]
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POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
39 CFR Part 3050
[Docket No. RM2021-3; Order No. 5847]
Periodic Reporting
AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Commission is acknowledging a recent filing requesting the
Commission initiate a rulemaking proceeding to consider changes to
analytical principles relating to periodic reports (Proposal One). This
document informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and
takes other administrative steps.
DATES: Comments are due: May 3, 2021.
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.
[[Page 15450]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at
202-789-6820.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Proposal One
III. Notice and Comment
IV. Ordering Paragraphs
I. Introduction
On March 11, 2021, the Postal Service filed a petition pursuant to
39 CFR 3050.11 requesting that the Commission initiate a rulemaking
proceeding to consider changes to analytical principles relating to
periodic reports.\1\ The Petition identifies the proposed analytical
changes filed in this docket as Proposal One.
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\1\ Petition of the United States Postal Service for the
Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed Changes in
Analytical Principles (Proposal One), March 11, 2021 (Petition). The
Postal Service also filed a notice of non-public materials relating
to Proposal One. Notice of Filing of USPS-RM2021-3-NP1 and
Application for Nonpublic Treatment, March 11, 2021.
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II. Proposal One
Background. Proposal One is a request to change the methodology for
estimating revenue, pieces, and weight for domestic products reported
into the Revenue, Pieces, and Weight (RPW) Report. Petition at 2. The
Postal Service cites the introduction of numerous census system sources
over the last 10 years as reducing the need to rely on Origin-
Destination Information System--Revenue, Pieces, and Weight (ODIS-RPW)
sampling estimates. Id. The Postal Service states that its proposed
methodology would enable significant reductions in manual data
collection and the accompanying costs, while maintaining statistical
reliability. Id. The Postal Service additionally filed under-seal
materials related to RPW data for competitive products.\2\
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\2\ See Library Reference USPS-RM2021-3-NP1, March 11, 2021.
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Proposal. The Postal Service's proposal seeks to update its current
RPW system used to generate the RPW report filed quarterly with the
Commission in conformance with 39 CFR 3050.25. Petition at 2. The
current system relies on a variety of source systems, including the
ODIS-RPW probability sampling system.\3\ The Postal Service's proposed
methodology redesigns the non-digital sampling portion of ODIS-RPW and
makes minor changes to the digital portion, along with a two-thirds
(for non-digital) and one-third (for digital) reduction in sampling
size. Id at 12.
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\3\ Id. at 2-3. The Postal Service references Library References
USPS-LR-L-16 and USPS-LR-L-17 in Docket No. R2006-1 as the most
recent full documentation for the ODIS-RPW system. Id.
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The Postal Service notes that past reliance on ODIS-RPW for
business decisions has been replaced by the alternative disaggregated
data source Informed Visibility (IV), addressing the Commission's
previous concern that alternative disaggregated data sources be
developed prior to reducing the sampling size of ODIS-RPW. Id. at 11.
Similarly, the current Service Performance Measurement (SPM) system
does not rely on ODIS-RPW volumes, so service measurement would be
unaffected by the proposed changes to ODIS-RPW. See id. at 11-12.
The proposed updates to ODIS-RPW include consolidation of non-
digital sample areas from 189 to 10 to reduce the chance of the smaller
sampling size creating strata with no usable tests. Id. at 13. Mail
characteristic stratification are defined uniformly at the national
level, and sample data would be pooled across sample areas to ensure a
sufficient sample size for each of the twenty strata. Id. The Postal
Service additionally proposes using a ratio estimator for the non-
digital sample using total reference volume across letters, flats, and
parcels as the auxiliary variable to obtain national estimates from the
sampled data. See id. Updates to the digital sample areas are limited
to the same consolidation of sample areas, and an increase in the
number of stratum from five to six. Id. at 16.
Overall, the Postal Service proposes to reduce ODIS-RPW sample
sizes from approximately 31,000 to 18,000 tests per quarter. Id. at 17.
The Postal Service justifies this reduction by the proposed methodology
changes and the fact that much of the Postal Service's mail product
information, including RPW reporting, now comes from census source
systems. Id. The Postal Service would prefer to begin the reduced
sampling starting July 1, 2021. Id.
Rationale and impact. The Postal Service justifies the proposed
changes to ODIS-RPW as a comprehensive design that would ``reduce
sampling without compromising the integrity of the RPW program.'' Id.
at 18. The Postal Service states that estimates from ODIS-RPW, when
combined with census source RPW information, would provide reliable and
consistent information. Id. The Postal Service conducted simulation
studies of the impact of the proposed changes and compared the results
to census source data, and provides a table that shows the affected
lines of the RPW report. Id. at 18-20. The Postal Service states that
coefficients of variability impacted by the proposed change would grow
from 2.3 percent to 2.9 percent quarterly, and 1.2 percent to 1.4
percent annually, noting that there is no universal standard for
acceptable levels of variation. Id. at 20. The Postal Services states
that it does not view the potential minor increases in variability for
RPW reporting as a cause for concern, and further states that it sees
little or no practical impact of its proposal on the accuracy or
reliability of estimates generated for the RPW report. Id.
III. Notice and Comment
The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2021-3 for consideration of
matters raised by the Petition. More information on the Petition may be
accessed via the Commission's website at http://www.prc.gov. Interested
persons may submit comments on the Petition and Proposal One no later
than May 3, 2021. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Manon Boudreault is
designated as an officer of the Commission (Public Representative) to
represent the interests of the general public in this proceeding.
IV. Ordering Paragraphs
It is ordered:
1. The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2021-3 for consideration
of the matters raised by the Petition of the United States Postal
Service for the Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed Changes
in Analytical Principles (Proposal One), filed March 11, 2021.
2. Comments by interested persons in this proceeding are due no
later than May 3, 2021.\4\
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\4\ The Commission reminds interested persons that its revised
and reorganized Rules of Practice and Procedure became effective
April 20, 2020, and should be used in filings with the Commission
after April 20, 2020. The new rules are available on the
Commission's website and can be found in Order No. 5407. Docket No.
RM2019-13, Order Reorganizing Commission Regulations and Amending
Rules of Practice, January 16, 2020 (Order No. 5407).
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3. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints Manon
Boudreault to serve as an officer of the Commission (Public
Representative) to represent the interests of the general public in
this docket.
4. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this order in the
Federal Register.
By the Commission.
Erica A. Barker,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-05831 Filed 3-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P
