USPS Proposes 2017 Rate Change

by Stephen Lett

The United States Postal Service (USPS) filed for its next postage rate adjustment to take effect at midnight on January 22, 2017. This rate increase is pending approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). Standard Flats are proposed to increase by 2.5% on average. The postal piece weight for Standard Flats is being increased from 3.3 to 4.0 ounces which is good news. This means page counts can increase with no increase in postage costs (up to 4.0 ozs.). As the ACMA speculated last month, Flats Sequencing System (FSS)-specific rates for flats will be eliminated, allowing catalogers to claim the rate for the distribution density their books qualify for, regardless of whether it is in an FSS zone or not. The change largely reflected ACMA's hard work with postal officials, including considerable input from our members. Read the full USPS filing with the PRC: http://www.prc.gov/docs/97/97431/NOTICE-FINAL.pdf