Following directly on the heels of its approval for CPI increases in market dominant postal products, the Postal Regulatory Commission yesterday approved USPS requests for increases in competitive products. The PRC order puts these changes into effect on April 26:
Parcel Select rates increase an average of 9.4%. Lightweight Parcel Select goes up 9.8%. Destination entry parcels rise by 7.3% and non-destination entry parcels by 8.7%.
Parcel Return Service increases by an average of 4.8%. The new rates add 5.7% to packages retrieved from a Network Distribution Center, 5% from a Sectional Center Facility, and 4.7% from return delivery units. The Postal Service proposed the elimination of Parcel Return Service-Full Network due to insufficient volumes.
First Class Package Service rises 5.1%. Pending is a request by USPS to transfer First Class Mail Retail parcels to the competitive product list. Should PRC approve it, rates in that category will increase by 22%.
Standard Post will go up an average of 11.3%. Mailers shipping in Zones 1 to 4 will continue to align with Retail Priority Mail prices and will default to Standard Posts service only for packages containing materials not cleared for air transportation.
Priority Mail International increases by 5.5% and First Class Package International goes up 7.2%.
No changes were requested by the Postal Service for Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express. Also still pending is a USPS request to have Round-Trip Mailers moved to the competitive product list. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act passed in 2006 requires that rates for competitive products produce sufficient revenue to cover costs.
