The U.S. Postal Service Board of GovernorsThe Postal Service Giveth, and the Paper Market Taketh Away

Because of announcements made on Wednesday, publishers can scratch the usual January postage rate increase from their 2015 budgets but should probably count on price increases for coated paper.

The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors announced it would not raises prices on "market-dominant" mail classes early next year, contrary to its usual practice of implementing inflation-based price hikes in January.

The bad news came from Verso Paper, which is closing its Bucksport, ME, coated paper mill. That, coupled with the recent closure of the FutureMark mill in Illinois, could mean an end to rock-bottom prices for magazine-quality paper in 2015.