Postal Service Not Raising Rates in January Due to Uncertainty Regarding the Exigent Price Increase

WASHINGTON, DC—October 2, 2014—The Postal Service Governors have decided to maintain current product and service prices and not seek a market dominant price change at this time.

Because the Postal Service has announced price change proposals in September and October for the past three years, mailing industry representatives and others have been waiting to hear whether a price change would take effect in January 2015.

"The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service have decided not to seek a price change for mail and shipping products and services in January," said U.S Postal Service spokesman Dave Partenheimer, "in part, because of the uncertainty regarding the exigent price increase. This means that the current pricing of postal products and services will remain in effect through the holiday season and early part of 2015. The Board will continue to evaluate pricing strategies and will communicate about any potential price change filings in early 2015. As always, the postal service will provide customers advance notice of any price changes."

Partenheimer added that current prices will remain in place and the exigent postage rate increase of 4.3 percent is still slated to expire in the second half of 2015, after it brings in $3.2 billion for the USPS.

Partenheimer also noted that the USPS continues to fight the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) ruling that the exigent rate increase will be cut off at $3.2 billion.

"Among other things, the postal service’s position is that the PRC improperly and artificially truncated the amount of relief to which the postal service was entitled as a result of the Great Recession," he pointed out.

Partenheimer said he doesn't know when the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will rule on the postal service's appeal of the PRC's order.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe reportedly announced during Wednesday's Association for Postal Commerce meeting, that March 2015 is the earliest an increase could happen, reported GrayHair Software.

In the meantime, FedEx is raising rates on package delivery in 2015 by 4.9 percent on Jan. 5. On Dec. 29, UPS will use "dimensional weight...to calculate the billable weight of all UPS Ground packages." USPS hasn't yet disclosed if it will increase prices on package delivery for FedEx and UPS.