Postal Bulletin 22144 - December 23, 2004 - USPS.com

POSTAL BULLETIN 22144 (12-23-04)
IMM REVISION
Alternative Mail Sacks for International Mail
Effective December 23, 2004, International Mail Manual
(IMM) 292.451a, 292.452a, 292.453a, 292.455b, 293.942a,
293.943a, 294.44b, and 295.45b are revised to reflect that
the United States Postal Service no longer requires that
items for specific international mail classes be in specific
colored plastic disposable sacks. Instead, mailers and
Postal Service personnel may use a plastic disposable
sack of any color for any class of international mail (although
the Postal Service prefers that they still use the previously
designated sack colors if available). The class of
the international mail in the sack will still be identifiable by
the tag attached to the sack.
Previously, the color of the sack indicated the international
mail class of the contents — i.e., a gray sack for International
Surface Air Lift (ISAL) service, an orange sack
for Priority Mail service, and an orange and blue sack for
Global Express Mail service (EMS).
However, the Postal Service is in the process of converting
all of its plastic disposable sacks to a universal white
plastic disposable sack. The Postal Service will use these
sacks for both international mailings (air and surface products)
as well as for domestic mailings. Until the conversion
is complete, mailers and Postal Service personnel may use
any available plastic disposable sack for any class of international
mail.
We will incorporate these revisions into the printed version
of IMM 31 and also into the online version of the IMM,
available via Postal Explorer at http://pe.usps.gov.
International Mail Manual (IMM)
* * * * *
2 Conditions for Mailing
* * * * *
290 Commercial Services
* * * * *
292 International Priority Airmail Service
* * * * *
292.4 Preparation Requirements for Individual
Items
* * * * *
292.45 Sacking Requirements
292.451 Direct Country Sack (11 Pounds or More)
[Revise the first sentence of item 292.451a by removing the
word “blue” in the phrase “in blue international airmail
81
sacks” (in bold here only for emphasis) so that the item in
its entirety reads as follows:]
a. General. When there are 11 or more pounds of mail
addressed to the same country (including Great
Britain), the mail must be packaged and enclosed in
international airmail sacks and labeled to the country
with PS Tag 178, Airmail Bag Label LC
(CN 35/AV 8) (white). All types of mail, including letter-size
packages, flat-size packages, and loose
items, can be commingled in the same sack for each
destination and counted toward the 11-pound
minimum.
* * * * *
292.452 Mixed Direct Country Package Sacks
[Revise the first sentence of item 292.452a by removing the
word “orange” in the phrase “in orange Priority Mail sacks”
(in bold here only for emphasis) so that the item in its
entirety reads as follows:]
a. General. The direct country packages containing 10
or more pieces or 1 pound or more of mail destined to
a specific country that cannot be made up in direct
country sacks must be enclosed in Priority Mail
sacks unless other equipment is specified by the acceptance
office.
* * * * *
292.453 Worldwide Nonpresort Mail Sacks
[Revise the first sentence of item 292.453a by removing the
word “orange” in the phrase “in orange Priority Mail sacks”
(in bold here only for emphasis) so that the item in its
entirety reads as follows:]
a. General. The working packages of mixed country
mail and loose items must be enclosed in Priority
Mail sacks unless other equipment is specified by
the acceptance office. Nonpresorted letter-size mail
may be presented in trays if authorized by the acceptance
office.
Note: Working packages of mixed country mail cannot
be enclosed in mixed direct country package
sacks.
* * * * *
292.455 Preparation Requirements for Canada
* * * * *
[Revise the first sentence of item 292.455b by removing the
word “blue” in the phrase “in blue airmail sacks” (in bold