Complete Story
06/09/2021
Postal Rate Increase
Source: Quadient, June 2, 2021
Attention Mailers: The USPS® Plans to Raise Postage Rates Beginning August 29
Late last week, the USPS applied for postage rate increases for first-class letters, postcards, newspapers, Certified Mail and a few other important services with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). If approved, the rate changes are scheduled to take effect on August 29, 2021. The PRC has 30 days to approve or deny the notice, so we can expect to have the final word in late June 2021.
Key Takeaways on the USPS Price Increases...
The U.S. Postal Service updates its pricing every year. This year it issued a second round of proposed rate changes, and some can have a big impact on your business. Let's start with First-Class Mail®. These rates will see an increase of more than 6 percent. Stamped letters will see a 3 cent increase, from 55 cents to 58 cents. The cost to send metered letters will also rise, but only a 2 cent increase per letter, from 51 cents to 53 cents. That’s good news for meter users! You’ll still be saving 5 cents per letter when you use a postage meter for your mailing. Certified Mail users will also be affected. The Certified Mail fee and cost of Return Receipt are both subject to substantial increases. Certified Mail is increasing 15 cents, from $3.60 to $3.75, while Return Receipt will increase 20 cents to $3.05.
Source: The Washington Post, May 28, 2021
DeJoy’s 10-year “Delivering for America” plan, announced in March, calls for longer delivery windows, shorter post office hours and fewer staff.
Also Friday, the agency sent out “reduction in force,” or layoff, notices to hundreds of management-level employees. An agency spokesman could not say how many workers were involved.
Brian Wagner, president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, said Friday that he had not been informed of the number. But many of those people could move into open positions or accept demotions to stay with the Postal Service.
Experts worry the price increases and layoffs could derail a tenuous agreement in Congress on legislation to reform the Postal Service’s finances and relieve it of annual $5 billion payments on retiree health-care benefits. The Postal Service Reform Act has bipartisan support in both chambers, but Democrats and Republicans have expressed concern to postal officials about making the mail more expensive.
