POSTAL RATE CASE UPDATE: Catalogers Must Take Immediate Action on USPS-PRC Rate Diferences, Vendors Say

Among several catalogers and printers who last week uncovered a sizable difference among rate increases that the U.S. Postal Service had requested in its original R2006 rate case and those that the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on Feb. 26 recommended, was Don Landis, vice president of postal affairs for printer Arandell Corp.

“This increase will have a serious, adverse effect on the catalog industry,” he says, referring to the rates for some catalog categories if implemented per the PRC’s recommendations. “It has the potential of moving catalogers to different media, which is the very thing the USPS didn’t want to happen.”

(See the bottom of this article for what action you can take. Bottom line: Have your letter in the hands of the USPS Board of Governors by this Thursday, March 8.)

Big Differences

Among the most noteworthy differences in the rates for Standard Mail pieces under the break weight of 3.3 oz. proposed by the USPS compared to those recommended by the PRC include many newly-created flats categories. Landis shared those and other rate discrepancies with Catalog Success:

* The USPS called for a $0.391 cent rate for mixed area distribution center (MXD ADC) automatable flats, the PRC recommended a rate of $0.477;

* The USPS called for a $0.431 rate for MXD ADC non-automatable flats, the PRC recommended $0.515;

* The USPS called for a $0.354 rate for ADC automatable flats, the PRC recommended $0.424;

* The USPS called for a $0.328 rate for 3-digit automatable flats, the PRC recommended $0.392;

* The USPS called for a $0.401 rate for ADC non-automatable flats, the PRC recommended $0.461;

* The USPS called for a $0.378 rate for 3-digit non-automatable flats, the PRC recommended $0.427;

* The USPS called for a $0.300 rate for 5-digit automatable flats, the PRC recommended $0.335;