Postal rate change goes into effect today
The bad news is that starting today it will cost three cents more to mail a first-class letter. The good news is the U.S. Postal Service says it won’t have to raise rates for at least two years.
“The new postal increase takes effect June 30,’ Tad Kelley, U.S. Postal Service communications program specialist, said.
The Postal Service, he added, “has not gotten a lot of feedback from the public. I think people understand we are in a tough situation right now.
“We can’t choose our markets and we are a pay-as-you-go-business. We don’t get tax subsidies to operate and we fulfill our mandate of providing universal service. We don’t have the privilege of cutting service when it’s not profitable. So, we are mandated to serve every address in America for the same 37 cent stamp,’ he said.
A $70 billion entity with 900,000 employees and more than 40,000 local branches, the Postal Service was hemorrhaging money even before last fall’s deadly anthrax cases.
The attacks forced officials to spend more on safety and security. They also accelerated the post office’s most serious long-term challenge: the failure of mail volume to grow fast enough to cover costs, Kelley said.
The Postal Rate Commission approved the 3-cent increase, the largest in a decade, in March.
Although the Postal Service is “mandated to break even over time, it is not generating sufficient revenues to cover both its operating expenses and capital needs,’ congressional auditors said in an Associated Press report.
Kelley said the postmaster general “reported to the National Press Club that he sees holding off any future increases for the next two years. That’s his goal and something all of the 40,000 postal facilities are committed to achieving through better service, reduction of costs and meeting customer needs.’
Meanwhile, a 3-cent “makeup’ stamp has been printed in the millions and all post offices should have an ample supply, Kelley said.
“It’s a blue star and our offices are well-supplied with those.’
Customers can also order stamps via the Web by visiting www.usps.com/shop “and we have stamps available toll-free by calling 1-800-stamp24, which signifies people can call us 24 hours a day,’ Kelley added.
First-class mailing rates are not the only ones going up.
Post card rates will rise from 21 to 23 cents; priority mail will rise from $3.50 to $3.85 per pound; express mail will go from $12.45 to $13.65 per half-pound; certified mail will rise from $2.10 to $2.30; insurance costs on mail will rise.
COD rates will remain the same and there will be no increase for first-class mail single piece additional ounce. It remains 23 cents.
Other rate changes can be viewed on the U.S. Postal Service Web site.