Postage increases start April 17
The first U.S. Postal Service mailing services price change in two years will have minimal impact on retail customers who will continue to pay only 44 cents for a stamp. The new prices take effect on Sunday, April 17. According to the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, mailing services prices can increase no more than the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.
Price changes of note for retail customers include the following:
— First-Class Mail letters (1 oz.) remain unchanged at 44 cents,
— First-Class Mail additional ounces increase to 20 cents,
— Postcard postage increases to 29 cents,
— Stamped postcards will increase to 32 cents,
— Letters to Canada or Mexico (1 oz.) increase to 80 cents, and
— Letters to other international destinations will remain unchanged at 98 cents.
Forever stamps don t have a denomination and are honored whenever they are used. The current price of the Forever stamp is 44 cents. All new First-Class Mail commemorative stamps to be issued will be Forever stamps.
The Postal Service is aggressive about cutting its costs responsibly. Like many other businesses, the Postal Service cannot fully make up for the increase in its expenses by cutting costs. Many costs are influenced by outside factors such as transportation and economic conditions. For each of the past several years, the Postal Service has taken more than a billion dollars in costs out of the postal system.
As regional tensions and political uncertainty in Northern Africa and the Middle East continue to increase, so too do crude oil prices and the cost of gasoline. The nationwide average for a gallon of gasoline continues to rise. Many Americans are able to modify their driving habits; this is not so for the Postal Service.
USPS each day is committed to serving more than 150 million delivery points, along more than 230,000 routes, 6 days a week. To collect, transport and dispatch the mail, the USPS fleet of more than 215,000 owned vehicles logs some 4 million miles per day. In fiscal year 2010, the USPS fuel bill for all transportation street, highway and air totaled $1.7 billion, for 650 million gallons of fuel.
For more information about purchasing stamps, stamps by mail, postal regulations, a free subscription to USA Philatelic magazine, Post Office events, the location of the nearest postal store or contract unit, or for answers to your specific Postal Service questions, contact USPS at 1-800-275-8777, or visit www.usps.com‘>www.usps.com. To schedule a presentation for your community, club or group on how the Postal Service brings the Post Office to your home or office computer, call 239-573-9638.
Mr. Zip s Tip: A one-cent rise in fuel prices increases Postal Service costs by $6.5 million annually, or $540,000 a month. If gasoline prices were to rise 57 cents, from current levels to their July 2008 all-time high average of $4.11, USPS fuel costs would increase by almost $31 million per month.
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.