Commentary: As USPS Rate Increase Looms, So Does New FSS Mail Rules, and a Legal Challenge?

Just in the nick of time, the U.S. Postal Service filed price increases averaging nearly 2 percent late Thursday on most mail except Forever Stamps.

The Postal Regulatory Commission marked receipt of the filing as 4:07 p.m., less than an hour before closing. If USPS had waited until Friday morning, the December 2014 Consumer Price Index would have been factored into the calculation of the inflation-based cap on postage increases—perhaps lowering the cap because of plummeting gasoline prices that are leading to deflation.