| February 22, 2006 |
 page 30 of 37 
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ANNEX ONE
GLOBAL BULK ECONOMY (GBE) SERVICE
MAIL PREPARATION
Global Bulk Economy (GBE) service provides lower cost international delivery of letter-post items. Mailings are entered by the mailer at either the New Jersey International and Bulk Mail Center (NJIBMC), Oakland International Service Facility (OISF), or Chicago Bulk Mail Center (BMC) and then dispatched by the Postal Service via surface transportation to destination countries.
Mailers are provided with dispatch schedule information to each destination country and the corresponding critical entry day/time by which a mailing must be entered (not applicable for mailings entered at the Chicago BMC). Once the mailing is entered, the Postal Service will make its best effort to include it in the next scheduled dispatch.
Letter-post mail as defined in IMM 241 that meets all applicable mailing standards may be sent in this service. Items do not have to be of the same size and weight to qualify. There is a minimum volume requirement of 100 pounds per mailing. Mail must be prepared in direct country sacks. The minimum weight per sack is 11 pounds.
Exception: If a mailer has less than 11 pounds of mail for a particular country, such mail may be prepared into a direct country "skin" sack, as long as the total weight of the mail presented in direct country "skin" sacks does not exceed 10% of the total weight of the mail presented in the entire mailing.
GBE service is available from the New Jersey International and Bulk Mail Center and the Chicago Bulk Mail Center to the countries listed in Exhibit A, and from the Oakland International Service Facility to the countries listed in Exhibit B.
The mailer must tender the mail at one of the following locations:
New Jersey International and Bulk Mail Center
80 County Road
Jersey City, NJ 07097
Oakland International Service Facility
500 85th Avenue
Oakland, CA 94622
Chicago Bulk Mail Center
7500 W Roosevelt Road
Forest Park, IL 60130-2296
The mailer must establish an advance deposit account or obtain a postage meter license issued by the Oakland, CA, Post Office for mailings entered at OISF, and/or by the Newark, NJ, Post Office for mailings entered at NJIBMC, and/or by the Chicago, IL, Post Office for mailings entered at Chicago BMC. As an alternative, mailers who are participating in a PVDS program (see DMM 705) may have the mail verified, accepted, and paid for at the mailer's plant or at the origin post office serving the mailer's plant if authorized under DMM 705.15.2.2. Plant-verified drop shipment mail must be transported by the mailer to the drop shipment location, accompanied by PS Form 8125, Drop Shipment Clearance Document.
The following are base rates from which percentage volume discounts are applied. The GBE percentage volume discount is equal to the IPA/ISAL percentage volume discount for which the mailer qualifies, as specified in the ICM Agreement.
The per-piece rate applies to each piece regardless of its weight. The per-pound rate applies to the net weight (gross weight minus tare weight of mailing equipment) of the mail for the specific rate group. Fractions of a pound are rounded to the next whole pound for postage calculation.
Base rates for mail tendered at the New Jersey International and Bulk Mail Center and the Oakland International Service Facility:
|
Rate Group |
Per-Piece |
+ |
Per-Pound |
|
1 |
$0.21 |
+ |
$2.15 |
|
2 |
$0.21 |
+ |
$2.28 |
|
3 |
$0.13 |
+ |
$3.54 |
Base rates for mail tendered at the Chicago Bulk Mail Center:
|
Rate Group |
Per-Piece |
+ |
Per-Pound |
|
1 |
$0.21 |
+ |
$2.25 |
|
2 |
$0.21 |
+ |
$2.38 |
|
3 |
$0.13 |
+ |
$3.64 |
The United States Postal Service reserves the right to change the Global Bulk Economy Base Rates subject to a sixty (60) day notification to the Mailer.
When presenting a mailing to the Postal Service, the mailer must physically separate the sacks and /or pallets by rate group (i.e. 1, 2, 3) and specify the rate group on the back of PS Tag 181 for direct country sacks and/or on the front of direct country pallet placards (when applicable). Within each rate group, direct country "skin" sacks (weighing less than 11 pounds) must also be physically separated from other direct country sacks. Direct country "skin" sacks must be further identified with the letter "S" on the back of PS Tag 181.
Postage is calculated by multiplying the number of pieces in the mailing by the applicable per-piece base rate, multiplying the net weight (in whole pounds) of the entire mailing by the applicable per-pound base rate, and then adding the two totals together.
GBE is subject to a per-piece rate plus a per-pound rate. Postage must be paid by postage meter, permit imprint, mailer-precanceled stamp or a combination thereof. For non-identical pieces, the applicable per-piece postage must be affixed to each piece by meter or mailer-pre-canceled stamp. For identical weight pieces, each piece may bear a permit imprint or postage meter postage for the per-piece rate portion. Postage for the per-pound rate portion may be paid from an advance deposit account or meter postage attached to the postage statement.
When postage is paid from an advance deposit account, any of the permit imprints shown in IMM Exhibit 152.3 for letter-post are acceptable. As an alternative to these formats, the following optional formats may be used:
|
GLOBAL BULK ECONOMY U.S. POSTAGE PAID JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 PERMIT NO. XXX |
|
GLOBAL BULK ECONOMY U.S. POSTAGE PAID OAKLAND, CA 94622 PERMIT NO. XXX |
|
GLOBAL BULK ECONOMY U.S. POSTAGE PAID CHICAGO, IL 60130 PERMIT NO. XXX |
Note: Mailers may use permit imprint with non-identical weight pieces if authorized to use postage mailing systems under DMM 705.2, 705.3, or 705.4.
Weight and Size Limits
A. Weight
The weight limit for regular letter-post items is 4 pounds. The weight limit for letter-post items containing books is 11 pounds.
B. Size
1. Envelopes and Packages
a. Minimum length and height: 5-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches
b. Minimum depth: .007 inch
c. Maximum length: 24 inches
d. Maximum length, height, depth (thickness) combined: 36 inches
2. Rolls
a. Minimum length: 4 inches
b. Minimum length plus twice the diameter combined: 6-3/4 inches
c. Maximum length: 36 inches
d. Maximum length plus twice the diameter combined: 42 inches
Preparation Requirements
A. Addressing
Global Bulk Economy is subject to the addressing requirements contained in IMM 122.
Exception: Global Bulk Economy is not subject to the interline addressing requirement that is specified in IMM 122.1d. At the sender's risk, the English translation of the destination post office or city name may be omitted from printed addresses that are in Russian, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, Japanese, or Chinese characters. An English translation of the country name (e.g. Japan) is still required on the individual mail pieces.
B. Marking and Packaging
Global Bulk Economy is subject to the marking and packaging requirements contained in IMM 244.
C. Makeup
• All mail must be prepared in packages (bundles) within sacks. Packages must contain at least 10 items.
• Packages of letter-size mail items must be no thicker than approximately a handful of mail (4 to 6 inches). Packages of flat-size mail items may be thicker than 6 inches but must not weigh more than 11 pounds.
• All items in a package must be "faced" in the same direction (i.e. arranged so that the addresses read in the same direction, with an address visible on the top piece).
• Items that cannot be bundled because of their physical characteristics (i.e. tubes) may be placed loose in the sack.
• Each package must be securely tied. Placing rubber bands around the length and then the girth is the preferred method of securing packages of letter-size mail. Plastic strapping placed around the length and then the girth is the preferred method of securing packages of flat-size mail.
D. Sacking and Labeling
Packages of mail must be prepared into direct country sacks. The minimum weight per sack is 11 pounds, except for direct country "skin" sacks for which there is no individual minimum sack weight. The maximum weight per sack is 66 pounds. PS Tag 181, available from OISF and NJIBMC, must be affixed to each sack and completed as follows:
Front of Tag:
To: Enter the three-letter code of the destination exchange office and the country name.
Date: Enter the same date that appears on the Statement of Mailing.
Kg: Enter the combined weight of the sack and its contents in kilograms.
The other blocks on the tag are reserved for USPS use and must remain blank.
Back of Tag:
Enter the appropriate country rate group. For direct country "skin" sacks (weighing less than 11 pounds), also enter the letter "S."
Examples (front of tag):
|
From:
Mail No:
Date: OCTOBER 1, 2005 |
To |
|
Receptacle No.:
Class:
Kg: 27.2
|
Via: |
Note: Destination exchange office codes and country rate groups are listed in Exhibit A.
E. Palletizing (optional)
To expedite handling, country pallets may be optionally prepared when there is a minimum of 100 pounds of mail to one country. If this option is used, the mailer must first prepare direct country sacks as described above. Direct country sacks must then be placed within pallet boxes (often referred to as Gaylords) and placed on pallets. Pallets must be capped, shrink-wrapped and banded to insure their integrity during transit. A pallet label (placard) must be placed on all four sides. The pallet label (placard) formats appear below.
The following guidelines must be used when preparing pallets:
Minimum height: 20 inches
Maximum height: 57 inches
Minimum weight: 100 pounds
Maximum weight: 2, 205 pounds (1,000 kg.)
Note: The Postal Service provides pallets free of charge for use with GBE mailings.
U.S. MAIL
TO:____________________
FROM: NJI & BMC
JERSEY CITY NJ 07097
CONTENTS:
GLOBAL BULK ECONOMY
PALLET WT. (KG)________
DATE:___________________
RATE GROUP:____________
U.S. MAIL
U.S. MAIL
TO:______________________
FROM: OAKLAND ISF
OAKLAND CA 94622
CONTENTS:
GLOBAL BULK ECONOMY
PALLET WT. (KG)________
DATE:___________________
RATE GROUP:____________
U.S. MAIL
F. Special Sacking, Labeling, Palletizing Requirements for Mailings Entered at Chicago Bulk Mail Center
The mailer must first prepare direct country sacks as described above. Direct country sacks must be made up into direct country pallets when there is a minimum of 100 pounds of mail to one country. If there is less than 100 pounds of mail to one country, direct country sacks must be made up into mixed country pallets which contain direct country sacks for more than one country. A separate mixed country pallet must be prepared for each rate group. Pallets must be capped, shrink-wrapped and banded to insure their integrity during transit. Pallet boxes must be used, except when their use would not enhance the integrity of the pallet (such as when the pallet is minimally loaded).
Each direct country pallet must have two pallet labels (placards) affixed on each of all four sides:
1. Pallet label (placard) shown in section E above (NJI&BMC version)
2. Pallet label (placard) shown below
Each mixed country pallet must have only the pallet label (placard) shown below affixed on each of all four sides. The pallet label (placard) in section E above must not be affixed to mixed country pallets.
Note concerning the pallet label (placard) shown below: For direct country pallets, the destination country name must be entered in the "Country" block. For mixed country pallets, the word "MIXED" must be entered in the "Country" block.
DATE:__________________
To:
NJ Intl Ctr
Via
NJ BMC
CONTENTS:
Global Bulk Economy (GBE)
for:
Country:_________________________
ORIGIN: Chicago BMC
via Trip______________
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