PRC Approves Postal Rate Increase for All Market Dominant Classes

As expected in our most recent postal update in June, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has approved the postal rate increase that was proposed by the USPS.

The PRC spent about a month reviewing the USPS’s proposal before formally announcing its approval on Monday, July 19th. Per the PRC, it confirmed that the planned price adjustments for all market dominant classes, including workshare discounts, are consistent with applicable regulations and applicable Commission directives and orders. The PRC also concluded that the planned classification changes, with some minor revisions described in the PRC Order, are consistent with applicable law.

The new postal rates will become effective August 29th, and our analysis of numerous postage estimates shows that postage increases for Marketing Mail to be averaging about 8.6% for Flats and 6.6% for Letters.

Mailings with in-home dates up to September 13th will pay current postage rates, with postage being paid on August 27th.

This postal rate increase is unprecedented, with the PRC sanctioning and approving the USPS to increase rates higher than the 12-month rolling consumer price index (CPI). In effect, these rates will be about 4 times higher than the current CPI and are contrary to the rate increase guidelines laid out in the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

For members of the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA), a report was released on their website this afternoon that breaks down all the recent developments from this year. We highly recommend ACMA members check out the article here: https://catalogmailers.org/acma-member-exclusive-summary-of-recent-postal-matters-of-interest-to-you/

These postal developments once again highlight the importance of membership with mailer advocacy organizations such as the ACMA, The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers and The Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom), who all fight on behalf of mailers in Washington D.C.

Arandell will continue to keep its key stakeholders informed of any additional postal affairs updates and postal rate increases as they continue to progress.
https://arandell.com/2021/07/26/prc-approves-postal-rate-increase-for-all-market-dominant-classes/

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