Published in the Jan/Feb 2019 Issue of Mailing Systems Technology.
What we learned from the USPS® Task Force Report is that in order to stay solvent, we will have larger rate increases. We see the evidence of this in the new rates going into effect on January 27, 2019. There are some very significant increases that will impact mailers greatly. The bright side is the more automation, technology and weight added to your items, the lower the increase will be.
For the past 19 years, I have been creating comparison charts for our clients that go over the changes in rates to show how it will affect budgets. The reason that I do this is that when the USPS® talks about a 2.5% increase, this is overall. Based on the type of mail you send, the increase could be higher or lower. You need to look at the class, weight, zone, density and special services required to see the true impact. Also, when you look at the new rate charts provided by the USPS, they typically will not show the level of detail needed (Previous and new rates, side by side) to see these differences.
The remainder of this article will look at the main classes of mail to break down the specific increases and decreases. Hopefully this will help you budget by seeing the impact of the most common services that you use today.