Mr. Thress is Chief Economist and Senior Director at RCF where he has major responsibilities in forecasting, econometric, and quantitative analysis activities. He heads RCF’s econometric demand analysis and volume and revenue forecasting activities for the U.S. Postal Service. He has developed and maintains highly technical models of the demand for all types of mail, including personal and business correspondence, direct-mail advertising, periodicals, and package delivery services. Mr. Thress has testified for the Postal Service before the Postal Regulatory Commission on ten occasions. Mr. Thress keeps up with latest developments in econometric techniques and communicates results to USPS upper management, including the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and members of the Postal Service Board of Governors. Results are used in justifying forecast results to the Postal Rate Commission, and in defending the results against lobbyists in postal rate proceedings.
In addition, Mr. Thress has participated in other projects such as estimating the effect of a proposed Chicago casino complex on horse racing in Illinois, integrating time series regression analysis with a survey of race track patrons.
Mr. Thress received an M.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Mathematics from Valparaiso University.
