Postal Service Not Raising Rates in January

Mailing industry representatives have been wondering what type of price changes to expect from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) next year. Now, they finally have an answer. The Board of Governors have decided to maintain current product and service prices and not seek a market dominant price change at this time.

"The governors of the USPS have decided not to seek a price change for mail and shipping products and services in January, in part, because of the uncertainty regarding the exigent price increase," said USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer. "This means that the current pricing of postal products and services will remain in effect through the holiday season and early part of 2015. The Board will continue to evaluate pricing strategies and will communicate about any potential price change filings in early 2015. As always, the postal service will provide customers advance notice of any price changes."

Partenheimer added that current prices will remain in place and the exigent postage rate increase of 4.3 percent is still slated to expire in the second half of 2015, after it brings in $3.2 billion for the USPS.

Partenheimer also noted that the USPS continues to fight the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) ruling that the exigent rate increase will be cut off at $3.2 billion.

"Among other things, the postal service's position is that the PRC improperly and artificially truncated the amount of relief to which the postal service was entitled as a result of the Great Recession," he pointed out.

Partenheimer said he doesn't know when the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will rule on the postal service's appeal of the PRC's order.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe reportedly announced during last Wednesday's Association for Postal Commerce meeting, that March 2015 is the earliest an increase could happen, according to GrayHair Software.

In the meantime, FedEx is raising rates on package delivery in 2015 by 4.9 percent on Jan. 5. On Dec. 29, UPS will use "dimensional weight...to calculate the billable weight of all UPS Ground packages." USPS hasn't yet disclosed if it will increase prices on package delivery for FedEx and UPS.