FILE PHOTO: A United States Postal Service (USPS) truck is seen in the rain in Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York, U.S., April 13, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
For over 6 months, mailing industry professionals – through their associations and as individuals – have expressed their concerns about a second postage rate increase in 2021. Through group calls with the US Postal Service (USPS) leadership, meetings with the postmaster general, and many articles and blog posts, the message has been clear – a second rate increase in 2021 will cause harm. Annual budgets have been set, printers and mailers are just beginning to recover from the pandemic, and USPS service levels will be lowered in September.
Their efforts were for naught.
On Monday, July 19th, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) approved the higher postage rates that will go into effect on August 29, 2021, The bulk of the rate adjustment comes from the new PRC rules that allow for increases over the rate of inflation due to changes in mail density. From a 5% increase for First-Class Mail stamps, to over 10% for flats, the rates negatively impact every mailer of every size.