Magazines, Newspapers Brace for Exigent Postal Rate Hike

Magazines, newspapers and direct marketers are girding for the possibility that the U.S. Postal Service will pass an exigent rate increase on top of the annual postal rate that is capped by the consumer price index.

The increase, made possible by a 2006 law that gives the postal service the option to raise rates in case of extreme circumstances like a terrorist attack, could be as high as 10 percent across the board.

It couldn't come at a worse time for the media and marketing industries that depend on mail service.