United States Postal Service (USPS) Announces Rate Increase Effective May 12, 2008

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Please be advised of the following announcement from Penn Mail Services. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced that it will adjust prices for the following mailing services as of May 12, 2008: First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services, and Special Services. The USPS will also announce new prices for shipping services, including Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Select, and International Mail, sometime in March.

While the charge for the first ounce of a first-class letter will rise to $0.42, the price of each additional ounce will remain at $0.17; therefore, the postage for a two-ounce letter will increase by one penny to $0.59.

Some highlights of the upcoming increase include:

• No change in the First-Class Mail single-piece additional-ounce price.
• Lower additional-ounce price for presorted First-Class Mail letters.
• Lower pound price for Standard Mail saturation and high-density flats.
• Shape-based pricing for First-Class Mail International letters, flats, and parcels.
• First-Class Mail International price groups expand from five to nine groups.

Summary of Select New Rates

Mail Type	New Rate Effective 5/12/08
First-Class Mail letter (1 oz.)	$0.42
First-Class Mail letter (2 oz.)	$0.59
Postcard	$0.27
First-Class Mail large envelope (2 oz.)	$1.00
Certified Mail	$2.70
First-Class Mail International to Canada and Mexico (1 oz.)	$0.72
First-Class Mail International to all other countries (1 oz.)	$0.94

As a result of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act that was signed into law on December 20, 2006, the USPS is allowed to increase rates with 45 days notice, as long as increases fall within the rate of inflation for the previous 12 months. Consistent with the Act, the USPS plans to adjust prices for mailing services each May. Despite the 45 day requirement, the USPS plans to provide 90 days' notice of their new prices each year in order to help mailers prepare for the change. The Postal Regulatory Commission calculated the rate of inflation at 2.9 percent through January, limiting the first-class rate to an increase of just over a penny. As a result, the average increase per category does not exceed the Consumer Price Index. First-Class mail will increase by 2.889%, Standard Mail by 2.875%, Periodicals by 2.710%, Package Services by 2.876% and Special Services by 2.848%.

The new detailed rate charts are available on the USPS website.