January 2010 Rate Change

Rates effective Monday, January 4, 2010

United States Postal Service to Change Prices on Monday, January 4, 2010

The United States Postal Service has announced that prices for its domestic and international shipping services – Priority Mail, Express Mail, and Parcel Select – will change effective Monday, January 4, 2010.

While no price adjustment is scheduled for letters sent by First-Class Mail or Standard Mail, this January shipping services update is important even if you do not typically send expedited mail, packages, flat-rate envelopes or flat-rate boxes by Priority Mail and Express Mail.

Mailers who process flats and letters over 13 ounces may require updated rates to correctly calculate and meter postage. While shape-based pricing requirements already require flats and letters that exceed at least one of the size dimensions or weigh more than 13 ounces to post at Priority Mail rates, the new postal rates now base such pricing on distance to destination. Rate software updates from Neopost support the new postal zone rates.

Didn't the Postmaster General announce in October that there would be no price increase in 2010?

The Postmaster General Potter did announce in October that the Postal Service will not raise rates for market-dominant products like First-Class Mail and Standard Mail in 2010.

The Postmaster noted that a decision about whether there would be price changes for competitive products would be made in November. Competitive products include those like Priority Mail and Express Mail that compete with delivery services from carrier and courier shippers like UPS and FedEx. The price increases scheduled to take effect on January 4, 2009 are the ones decided upon in November, 2009.

Does this mean that there will be no further Postal Service™ rate changes in 2010?

Not necessarily. The press release accompanying the Postmaster's announcement specifically noted that the freeze to rates "will not prevent the USPS from making structure changes or other possible changes" in 2010. Such product and service level changes may still require our customers without rate protection coverage to purchase individual updates in 2010.

You may find additional information about the change to Postal Service rates, a complete listing of new prices, and links to downloadable pricing files at http://www.usps.com/prices/pricechanges.htm