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Additional FAQs can be found at usps.com/ratecase
General
Where can mailers find the most up-to-date information about the proposed rates?
Go to usps.com/ratecase.
Why are rates going up again?
The costs of doing business — for things like fuel, transportation, utilities, and health care benefits — have continued to increase. Without an increase to keep up with rising costs, we face significant losses. Many people do not know that postal operations are not subsidized by tax dollars. We rely on the sale of postal products and services to cover our operating costs.
The USPS just raised prices January 8, why another increase so soon?
The January 8 across the-board price increase was to meet an escrow payment mandated by Public Law (PL) 108-18. This is the first time since 2001 that we have proposed any restructuring to our prices. A lot has happened since then. As part of our Transformation Plan, we’ve made extensive changes to our operations and increased our efficiency, but our pricing incentives have remained unchanged. And the market has changed too. We’re using this opportunity to reflect changes in operations, and respond to market changes. We’ll do that by re-aligning our classifications, or product descriptions, and their prices. And, we need to ensure our prices for our products cover their costs.
What is this Forever Stamp that I'm hearing about?
The Postal Service is proposing a Forever Stamp that should help reduce the inconvenience that mailers may experience in acquiring new-rate postage or "make-up" stamps, such as 2-cent and 3-cent stamps prior to implementation of new prices. The postage value of the Forever Stamp would be the First-Class Mail single-piece first-ounce letter rate on the date of purchase. Once a Forever Stamp is purchased it would be valid on a 1-ounce letter at any time in the future without the addition of extra postage.
If approved, the Forever Stamp would not be available until implementation of the new prices. Mailers would still need to prepare for this upcoming price change as they have for previous price adjustments.
How much would the Forever Stamp cost?
It would be the same price as a 1-ounce First-Class Mail single-piece letter, in this case 42 cents if approved.
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When would new prices take effect?
New prices would take effect no earlier than May 2007.
Will there be related changes to mail preparation with this rate filing?
Yes. Proposed mail preparation changes will appear in a Federal Register notice-for-comment, to be published in several months. Upon publication, a link to the Federal Register notice will appear on usps.com/ratecase.
First-Class Mail
Are the single-piece and Presorted nonmachinable surcharges increasing?
Separate nonmachinable surcharges would be discontinued; however, regardless of weight, letters that do not meet aspect ratio or that have any nonmachinable characteristics would not qualify for letter rates.
Would flat-size pieces weighing 1 ounce or less be subject to a nonmachinable surcharge?
Separate nonmachinable surcharges would be discontinued, however flats would have their own price structure, and would be priced higher than letters.
Why do all the proposed rates for letters only go up to 4 ounces?
Actually, letters can only weigh up to 3.5 ounces (letters weighing over three ounces would fall into the 4-ounce increment, so the price charts show 4 ounces.) Above 3.5 ounces, letter-shaped pieces would pay the prices for flats.
Is there still a "heavy-piece" discount for automation and Presorted mail weighing more than 2 ounces?
No. Separate price schedules by shape make the heavy-piece discount unnecessary. Incidentally, as part of our shape-based initiative, we have proposed lower additional ounce rates. The additional ounce rate would decrease from 23.7 to 20 cents for all flats, and from 23.7 to 15.5 cents for automation letters.
Will the rate structure and related mail preparation standards for automation letters change?
Aside from the proposed elimination of automation carrier route rates, we are not proposing any other changes to the automation letters rate structure or the existing 150-piece minimums associated with the 5-digit, 3-digit, and AADC rates.
Why are separate prices for Presorted Parcels being proposed?
Our costs for processing parcel-shaped pieces are significantly higher than processing letter- and flat-shaped pieces. The current price structure does not recognize these differences or offer appropriate workshare prices. Creating prices specifically for Presorted Parcels helps cover the costs of processing parcels, but also allows for more significant worksharing opportunities. |
