Talks to raise the price of some of the U.S. Postal Service's operations were brought up in 2013, but it appears that the increase will occur later this month.
Typically, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), the entity that votes on fee hikes, allows these price changes to stay in line with the consumer price index, but voted in December to override such to make up for a loss of revenue during the recession of 2008 and 2009. Instead of sticking to its usual 1.7 percent increase, fees will go up about 6 percent in 2014.
"The Postal Service will be reimbursed for exigent losses that can be reasonably quantified. We have determined that amount to be $2.8 billion to cover the 25.3 billion pieces of volume lost between 2008 and 2011," PRC Chairman Ruth Goldway said in the news release. "The funds will come from a rate surcharge that will last just long enough to recover the loss."
In order to ensure that the total revenue will total the estimated $2.8 billion loss, USPS will send quarterly reports to the PRC. This is a list of the services expected to increase on January 26, 2014.
- Postcards – 1 cent increase to 34 cents
- Letters, one ounce – 3 cent increase to 49 cents, additional ounces will cost 21 cents per ounce.
- International letters – $1.15
Recently, the USPS was recognized for its shipping and mailing services during the holiday season, while its private competitors experienced significant delays.
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