USPS Withdraws From ECOMPRO for Priority Mail Int’l Shipments

The USPS issued the following notice without explaining why it was taking this action:

“This notice affects international shippers only. Effective immediately, USPS has withdrawn from participating in ECOMPRO for Priority Mail International shipments, making the list of participating ECOMPRO countries “null”. All Priority Mail International shipments (regardless of destination country) should be using a tracking barcode with prefix “C” only. All vendors and strategic partners are encouraged to make this change to their systems as soon as possible.

“This change will basically eliminate use of the “H” prefix barcode range, moving that volume to the shipper’s assigned “C” prefix range. This may result in the “C” prefix range being exhausted more quickly than expected. Vendors and their customers are advised to review current availability of their assigned Priority Mail International “C” prefix barcode range and the impact this change will have on their needs to ensure they do not run out of tracking numbers during peak.

“At this time, there are no plans to rejoin the ECOMPRO program in January 2022, however vendors are encouraged to retain the application logic should USPS decide to rejoin ECOMPRO or enter into country specific bi-lateral agreements at a future date.”