(Direct) The Coalition of Catalog Mailers (CCM) filed a motion with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on Thursday to delay implementation of the new Standard Mail flat rates.
“CCM seeks to supplement the record with testimony on the inability of catalogers to adjust quickly to the unexpectedly steep rate increases,” the coalition said in its filing. “If the Commission reopens the record, CCM will submit evidence that much of the potential damage from these rate changes and the resulting economic waste can be avoided by allowing catalogers time to prepare for the changes.”
On March 19, the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors approved most of the PRC’s recommended postage rate hikes but asked the commission to reconsider its decisions on Standard Mail flat rates—some of which are scheduled to go up by more than 40%–and set April 12 the deadline for comments on these rates. The rates are currently scheduled to go into effect May 14.