Congress Needs to Act on USPS Reform –Michelson

Unfortunately, printers and mailers find themselves in a precarious position, as noted by Quad/Graphics CEO Joel Quadracci, who testified at a Senate committee hearing on Capitol Hill last month about the Postal Service's importance to the $1.3 trillion mailing industry that employs 8.4 million Americans. "It may be tempting to address the Postal Service's financial situation by simply raising postage rates to 'cover the costs,' but I cannot stress enough how damaging postal rate increases are to our industry," he told the panel. "There is a direct negative correlation between rate increases and volume. Our customers demand predictability and affordability and, if prices suddenly increase more than expected, they react by reducing their volume to cover the extra postage or they move away from print altogether."