Finally, some good news! The House passed the Postal Reform Act of 2022 on Tuesday. This bill addresses the finances and operations of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). It requires the Office of Personnel Management to establish the Postal Service Health Benefits Program for USPS employees and retirees and provides for coordinated enrollment of retirees […]
Houston, TX— Happy New Year, from all of us at Business Extension Bureau! Like most of us, 2021 was fraught with challenges that we would not have thought possible a few years ago. In the Houston area, a winter storm in February, brought the longest number of consecutive days with freezing temperatures since 1940. Over […]
Seven-in-ten Facebook users say they visit site daily. Despite the ever-changing relationship with its consumers, Facebook users remain loyal and active to the platform. 70% of Facebook users say they visit the site daily, including 49% who say they visit several times a day. (These figures are statistically unchanged from those reported in the Center’s […]
In a pattern consistent with past studies on social media use, there are some stark age differences. Some 84% of adults ages 18 to 29 say they use social media sites, which is similar to the share of those ages 30 to 49 who say this (81%). By comparison, a somewhat smaller share of those […]
The Pew Research Center surveyed 1,502 US adults between January 25 and February 28 and found that 81% use the social media platform, YouTube. YouTube and Reddit were the only 2 social sites that measured statistically significant growth since 2019, (Up 10% in just 2 years). YouTube saw increases across the board on all age […]
Amazon has gone into the digital advertising business and now represents one of their fastest-growing and most profitable sectors. Initially, the mighty merchant frowned on this type of advertising fearing it may clutter their site and alienate shoppers. However, they own 10.7% of the $191 billion US digital ad market today. More and more people […]
U.S. Postal Service Announces Proposed Temporary Rate Adjustments for 2021 Peak Holiday Season WASHINGTON – The United States Postal Service filed notice the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) regarding a temporary price adjustment for key package products for the 2021 peak holiday season. This temporary rate adjustment , which was approved by the Board of Governors […]
The paper market is getting tight. Coated paper producers are already over-sold into September. Price increases from the mills have continued across the board on all grades of paper, and some mills are refusing additional paper orders for the balance of the year. Coated paper is particularly hard to come by and mills are becoming […]
On July 28, 2021, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) approved increasing the size limit for a Presorted First-Class Mail (FCM) Postcard. The new 9″ by 6″ maximum size card has a slightly different minimum thickness of .009″ compared to the previous maximum size dimensions of 6″ by 4.25″ with a minimum thickness of .007″. (The […]
The package market has experienced unprecedented growth and is projected to continue for years to come. It is estimated that the U.S. parcel market to grow 6% to 11% annually from 2020 to 2025. Consumers demand shorter shipping windows as online sales are surging. It was reported that during 2020, shipping customers selected 1-2 day […]