US Postal Service governors have approved increases in postage prices which include a 12.8% hike inthe flat rate for express mail envelopes, from $14.40 to $16.25, and 13.9% for one-pound packages,
from $3.95 to $4.50.First class stamps face a hike of two cents, over 5%, from 39 to 41 cents when the new ratesare introduced on 14 May. Priority mail flat-rate envelopes increase by over 13.5% from $4.05 to$4.60 and postcards from 24 to 26 cents. USPS is also introducing a “forever” stamp at 41 cents,which can be used beyond any future price changes at no extra cost.
The governors have, however, asked the US Postal Regulatory Commission to reconsider itsrecommendation that priority mail flat-rate boxes are increased by $1.05 to $9.15, an increase ofalmost 13%, given the package’s popularity with consumers and businesses. “A rate below $9 would bemore appropriate,” the governors said in a statement.
They also want a review of PRC-proposed increases for standard mail “flats” (catalogues),which “may impose an unnecessary degree of ‘rate shock’ on the catalog industry, particularly smallbusinesses,” they said. “The recommended increase for some catalog mailers is as much as 40%, whichis more than double what the postal service had proposed.”
The board also sent back the recommendation for a non-machinable surcharge – saying itcurrently does not distinguish between two-ounce and three-ounce machinable and non-machinableletters, and it delayed the implementation of new prices for periodicals until 15 July to allowtime for the newspaper and magazine industry to update computer software and adjust to newcomplexities.
The increases reflect differences in the costs of handling letters, large envelopes (flats)and packages in a new “shape-based” pricing system that is designed to encourage mailers to reducepostage costs.
For example, if the contents of a first-class large envelope are folded and placed in aletter-sized envelope, USPS says, mailers can reduce postage by as much as 39 cents per piece.
