Line of Travel can help you sort your output records in the sequence required by the USPS to obtain the basic enhanced carrier route rate. Line of Travel returns two kinds of alternate sequence codes that you can use when sorting your records prior to presorting your mailing using, for example, the Precisely MailStream Plus software.
The Alternate Sequence Code(s) are normally obtained by using the LOTOUT parameter. If you are using a call or EXITOP to get the Alternate Sequence Code(s), note that in order for Line of Travel to return the alternate sequence codes, you must present a 2-character DPC add-on as input. If you are accessing the program via the EXITOP parameter, you must also specify the location of the input record DPC add-on by completing positions 29-32 on the EXITOP parameter, and you must specify a location on the output record for one of the alternate sequence codes by completing positions 37-40 or 41-44 on the EXITOP parameter.
Line of Travel uses the DPC add-on and the eLOT sequence code, which is either "A" for ascending or "D" for descending, to determine the two alternate codes.
The alternate sequence code is a two-character code used to sort your file in ascending order only. It consists of an uppercase letter followed by a digit 0 through 9. Values range from "A0" (99 descending) through "J9" (00 descending), and "K0" (00 ascending) through "T9" (99 ascending).
The hexadecimal sequence code is a single-character code, and it also allows you to sort your file in ascending order only. There are 200 values ranging from 99 descending through 00 descending, then 00 ascending through 99 ascending.
If you choose to use one of these codes to sort your file, you must sort your eLOT-coded records in ascending order in the following sequence:
-
5-digit ZIP Code
-
4-byte Carrier Route Code
-
4-digit Line of Travel Code
Note: This includes only the numeric portion of the eLOT code. It does not include the eLOT sequence code. -
4-byte ZIP + 4 Code
-
2-byte Alternate Sequence Code or 1-character Hexadecimal Sequence Code