The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has issued a procedural schedule for the U.S. Postal Service’s rate case reconsideration of three categories – Priority Mail Flat Rate Box, the nonmachinable surcharge for First Class Mail letters, and Standard Mail flats. Initial comments on the categories are due by April 12, and reply comments are expected by April 15.
The PRC is also accepting motions to reopen the record—in other words, to accept additional testimony regarding the effect of the rate hikes in those three categories. Motions are due no later than April 4.
To contact the PRC regarding the impact of the rate increases on your business, fax your letters to:
The Honorable Dan G. Blair
Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission
202-789-6886
The PRC’s mailing address is:
901 New York Ave. NW
Suite 200
Washington DC
20268-0001
In the March 29 notice of the PRC’s procedural schedule, the USPS Board of Governors (BOG), expressed concern that the rates recommended by the PRC for Standard Mail flats “may be too high relative to those proposed by the Postal Service and may result in some dislocation, particularly within the catalog industry.” Although it had approved the PRC’s recommendation rate case decisions on March 19, the BOG requested that the PRC reconsider “whether some rebalancing between Standard Mail letter and flat rates might be appropriate.”
The BOG has set May 14 as the implementation date for changes in rates and fees, with the exception of periodicals, which take effect July 15. There is no guarantee that the PRC will alter its decision by May 14, the date the rates are to go into effect. If it isn’t resolved by May 14, the pending rate hike for flats will become effective.
To find out how you can prepare for the rate increase, click here