A consumer industry group is protesting the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)’s latest proposed price hike for postage stamps, saying it far outpaces inflation and could drive further declines in mail volume.
Keep US Posted—a nonprofit advocacy group of consumers, nonprofits, newspapers, greeting card publishers, magazines, catalogs and small businesses—has called on the Postal Regulatory Commission to reject the price hike.
The USPS yesterday filed notice with the commission of mailing services price changes to take effect July 14, including a 5-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 68 cents to 73 cents.
“As changes in the mailing and shipping marketplace continue, these price adjustments are needed to achieve the financial stability sought by the organization’s “Delivering for America” 10-year plan. USPS prices remain among the most affordable in the world,” the agency said in a release.
However, Keep US Posted said that the proposed increase would raise postal service prices by approximately 7.8%, which is far higher than inflation. At its latest mark, the consumer price index (CPI) was up 3.5% in March compared to that month last year.
“The USPS consistently blames frequent postage hikes on inflation, but inflation is just a talking point, when rate increases are consistently far and above the Consumer Price Index,” said Kevin Yoder, former Republican Congressman from Kansas and executive director of Keep US Posted.
In the group’s view, making stamps more expensive discourages businesses from using USPS to send their goods, contributing to a long-term slump in the number of letters and hurting the postal service’s bottom line.
“Price hikes are driving disastrous declines in mail volume, which is still the biggest money-maker for the USPS,” Yoder said. “Fueled by mail volume losses of more than 9 percent, USPS posted a $6.5 billion loss for the fiscal year 2023 — the same year it was projected to break even under Postmaster General DeJoy’s Delivering for America plan. And buckle up for more losses if the USPS continues down this route, as the Board of Governors anticipates a $6.3 billion loss in 2024. It’s time for the Postal Regulatory Commission to hit the brakes on price increases — and for Congress to take a hard look at the numbers and how they affect the financial solvency of the U.S. Postal Service.”
