On Friday, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) partially approved the new postage rates requested by the US Postal Service (USPS) in April. Earlier, the USPS had filed a request with the PRC to eliminate Bound Printed Matter (BPM). In April, The USPS filed two sets of a new rates, one with the “status quo”, and one with BPM being eliminated. The PRC approved the “status quo” rates and has not yet ruled on the BPM filing.
The new rates will go into effect on Sunday, July 13, 2025. For First-Class Mail, the average rate increase is 7.385%. Most of the burden will fall on commercial mailers, with presort rates increasing an average of 7.55%. Organizations that sort automated mail to either the AADC or 5-Digit level will see increases of 8.1% and 8.8%, respectively.
USPS Marketing Mail is also seeing an average rate increase of 7.385%. Those increases are spread over multiple products that have different rates for how mail is entered. In general, Letters will increase by 8.5%, Flats by 9.6% and Parcels by 12.2%.
Did you know that there were over 6,000 dog attacks on postal employees last year? This statistic is just one of the reasons the USPS launches their annual National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign beginning June 1. This year’s theme is “Secure Your Dog, Keep Deliveries on Track.” Spread news of the campaign with the hashtag #dogbiteawareness.
The USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released a white paper on Package Theft in the United States. Fragmented reporting on “porch piracy” makes it difficult to accurately determine the problem, but it is estimated that 58 million packages were stolen in 2024. Losses impact the recipient, retailers and delivery companies.
Too often, the theft occurs even earlier in the supply chain. Cargo theft and fraud disrupt intermodal freight supply chains, organized criminal enterprises are hijacking rail and truck shipments. The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) has been introduced in both the House and Senate. Similar legislation has been introduced in the past, however was not passed.
On Wednesday, Canada Post presented their “final offer” to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. However, the union has stated that there is no substantial changes from the last offer, and is maintaining the “no overtime” action. Both sides have said they will return to the bargaining table.
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