• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, 10 hours ago

The unfair postage hikes being foisted on publishers in July, bigger than those for Marketing Mail and First Class, deserve a challenge. And they are getting one. 

“At a time when the publishing industry is facing soaring costs due to tariffs, digital competition, physical threats against journalists, and a difficult advertising market, the Postal Service is once again imposing the maximum rate increase allowed on Periodicals mail,” the News/Media Alliance (NM/A) writes in comments filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission last week.

The N/MA adds, “The average class increase is 6.803 percent, with increases for Outside County of 6.562 percent but 9.325 percent for In-County Periodicals, with some publications reporting 11 to nearly 50 percent increases, well above what they budgeted for.” 

The potential damage goes beyond what these percentages might indicate.

“When implemented, these increases will result in compounded increases of nearly 73 percent for Periodicals mail since the current rate system took effect in August 2021,” the NMA continues. “Because a service reduction is tantamount to a rate increase, the effective rate increase is even higher after considering the repeatedly reduced service standards and subpar service quality provided to many Periodicals mailers. In short, the Postal Service demanding publishers pay more in postage while receiving less in service.” 

How could the rate hike  be softened? Here’s one suggestion.  

“N/MA is disappointed that the Postal Service did not make more of an effort to mitigate the price increases and reduce costs by setting higher passthroughs for the new SCF Pallet and Delivery Sort containerization preparation discounts,” the N/MA explains.

"Mailers’ use of  SCF pallet and delivery sort containers reduce the Postal Service’s costs of handling Outside County mail, as the Postal Service acknowledges, it adds. "Yet the Postal Service is setting passthroughs of about only 85% for both prices.”

Don’t expect much to come of this. But the N/MA deserves credit for fighting this hike.