Green Light for Revised USPS Standard Mail Flats Rate Rise

U.S. postal regulators have finally approved controversial new Standard Mail Flats prices for the U.S. Postal Service. As approved, Standard Mail Flats rates will increase by an average of 2.617 percent as of Jan. 27, 2013. The Postal Regulatory Commission rejected last month’s original proposal for a 2.57-percent increase because it said the Postal Service did not demonstrate it was making progress towards completely covering the costs of the loss-making service.

Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway criticized USPS for its “reluctance” to adopt Standard Mail Flats rates in line with the commission’s 2010 order. She said...mailers now had less time to prepare