Standard Mail Rates to Rise by an Average 3.8%

Standard Mail and standard nonprofit rates will increase an average of 3.8% in May, in keeping with legal limits established under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006.

The new rates take effect May 11.

Catalog or flat rates will rise by 2.5%. But some Standard increases are going to exceed the 3.8% average.

“It looks like standard rate parcels went up an average of 16%,” said Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president of government affairs for the Direct Marketing Association. “So I guess our initial response is that it’s just going to depress volume more so it’s unfortunate that were raising rates on May 11.”

Standard rate parcels are parcels under one pound and would apply to mailers like music clubs, he said.

“This could have some devastating effects on some catalogers” in terms of fulfillment, Cerasale added, noting that some firms use this rate to fulfill small orders of apparel and other products.

In the nonprofit arena, nonflat machineables and standard parcels are going up in the 15% to18% range.

“The primary reason as I understand it is that they are substantially under cost for the postal service,” said Tony Conway, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers.

The 2.5 flat rate hike appears to be good news for catalogers. In the 2007 rate increase, the last allowed under old law before the passages of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, catalog or standard mail flat rates rose by as much as 41%.

Similarly, nonprofit standard flat rates will rise in the 2.5% range.

“I think this reflects the postal service’s sensitivity to want to keep catalogs in the system after the drastic rate increase a couple of years ago,” said Conway.

“Generally speaking, nonprofit letters are right about at the average,” says Conway,

“I’m just looking at them, I really haven’t had a chance to look at the nonprofit standard mail rates,” said Conway. “One thing I have seen is that they have taken the periodicals pretty much as far as they can-almost the full 4% which was expected.”

In addition:

*Standard mail regular automation letters with five digit Zip codes that weigh 3.3 ounces or less will cost 23.33 cents to mail.

*Standard mail regular automation letters with three digit Zip codes will cost 25.1 cents to mail.

First class rates will rise to 44 cents from the current 42, said he USPS.

The postal service will release its full price increases at a press conference Wednesday morning.