Utica – As a result of a study begun in January, the U.S. Postal Service will consolidate its mail processing operations in the Utica Processing and Distribution Facility, on Pitcher Street, into the Syracuse Processing and Distribution Center.

Albany District Manager Edward F. Phelan, Jr. said, “Given the drastic 20 percent decline in mail volume the Postal Service has experienced since 2007, we must take action to reduce the size of our mail processing network. Consolidating operations and placing our people where we need them is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation.”

“I understand our employees’ concern over this move,” Phelan added, “but the consolidation makes sense given the fiscal realities. The Syracuse plant has the capacity to handle the additional workload and we can realize significant savings by shifting operations there.”

The transition is expected to be completed by the middle of 2012. Employee placement issues will be handled within the collective bargaining agreements and with appropriate union notification.

“This move will not cause any changes in local mail delivery,” said Phelan. “Letters mailed to local addresses will be delivered the next day, the same as before. I am confident the transition will be smooth and our customers will continue to receive the same excellent service they always have.”

According to postal officials, there will be no change in service standards for 96.4 percent of first class mail and 98.2 percent of Priority Mail; there is no change to 100 percent of our package mail services. A total of 117 First-Class 3-Digit pairs – representing the first three digits of individual ZIP Codes in an area, such as 133 or 134 -- will be upgraded from 3-day to 2-day. A total of 45 First-Class 3-Digit pairs will be downgraded from Overnight to 2-day.

“The significant cost savings and productivity gains expected from this consolidation were deciding factors in making this very difficult decision,” said Phelan.

Full retail services will still be available at the Utica Main Post Office, located at 100 Pitcher Street. This includes post office box services, deposits of mail and the sales of postal products and services.

Officials also reported that:

• Single-piece First-Class Mail stamped and metered mail will still be able to be deposited in collection boxes or at the retail counter at the Utica Retail locations.


• While stamped items will now indicate Syracuse P&DC, instead of Utica P&DC in the postmark, postage meter customers will not need to change their imprints.


• The Utica Business Mail Entry Unit will remain open for deposit of discounted or permit imprint mail. Customers will not be required to move or open up new permits at the Syracuse Processing and Distribution Center.

Larger mailers will also be advised that:

• There will be no change in the “SCF entry rate” for discounted mail [e.g. Standard Mail or Periodicals]. An SCF rate represents the three-digits of a ZIP Code, such as 133 or 134 used by addresses in the region.


• All drop shipments at the SCF rate need to be deposited at the Syracuse P&DC. Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) drop shipments will continue to be accepted at the Utica Post Office. This is mail that is trucked, by a mailer, to the post offices of destination for that mailing.

Retail service for purchasing stamps and other postal products will continue to be available at Butterfield Station (500 Seneca Street) and Kernan Station (1759 Genesee Street) as well as at contracted postal units inside Parkway Drugs. Stamp purchases are also available at other outlets like Price Chopper, Byrne Dairy and Kinney Drugs.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.