Three Key Takeaways from the 2020 USPS Postal Rate Announcement

October 15, 2019
Author: Caroline McManus
  

Prepare your business and find out what rates are changing in the New Year 

Great news for mailers! The USPS® is keeping stamp prices the same this year. However, you will see increases to Priority Mail® and Priority Mail Express®. Read below for all three significant takeaways!    

 

This past week, on October 9, the USPS announced proposed changes to their mailing and shipping rates. If approved by the Postal Regulatory Committee (PRC), These changes will go into effect on January 26, 2020. 

 

What Is Rate Change? 

If you are unfamiliar with rate change or have just forgotten from last year, here is a quick refresher: 

  • Every year the United States Postal Service (USPS) files proposed changes to their mailing and shipping rates with the PRC.

  • These changes usually go into effect in January of the new year

  • These rates are not arbitrary, mailing rate increases are based on the Consumer Price Index, and shipping rate increases are adjusted according to market conditions, aka to compete with other carriers such as UPS and FedEx. 

 

What Are 3 Things I Should Know? 

We know you are busy, so here are three key things to know about this rate change: 

1. The First-Class Mail® rates are staying the same 

Rate change will be a breeze for mailers this year. Most of the First-Class Mail® prices will be staying the same, including letters, metered letters, postcards, and flats. We've listed below the top items people are sending and how they are changing - and staying the same!

The proposed mailing service price changes

Letters (1 oz.) - 55 cents (2019) - 55 cents (2020)

Letters additional ounces - 15 cents (2019) - 15 cents (2020) 

Letters (metered 1 oz.) - 50 cents (2019) - 50 cents (2020) 

Flats (1 oz.) - $1 (2019) - $1 (2020) 

Domestic Postcards - 35 cents (2019) - 35 cents (2020) 

2. Priority Mail® rates are going up by 4.1%

The most popular USPS service is increasing slightly more than last year's average 3.9% increase. These prices are adjusted to market conditions and are meant to compete with the UPS®, FedEx®, and others. Priority Mail is still a great value to shippers, and one of the main reasons is that the Postal Service does not add surcharges for fuel, residential delivery, or regular Saturday or holiday season delivery. We've highlighted some of the main changes below to flat-rate Priority Mail Boxes.  

The proposed Priority Mail service price changes

Small Flat-Rate Box - $7.90 (2019) - $8.30 (2020) 

Medium Flat-Rate Box - $14.35 (2019) - $15.05 (2020) 

Large Flat-Rate Box - $19.95 (2019) - $21.10 (2020) 

APO/FPO Large Flat-Rate Box - $18.45 (2019) - $19.60 (2020) 

Regular Flat-Rate Envelope - $7.35 (2019) - $7.75 (2020) 

Legal Flat-Rate Envelope - $7.65 (2019) - $8.05 (2020) 

Padded Flat-Rate Envelope - $8.00 (2019) - $8.40 (2020) 

3. Priority Mail Express® rates are increasing by 3.5%

Priority Mail Express guarantees delivery of your packages 365 days a year. Like Priority Mail, you can send items in flat rate boxes or your packaging. This service is increasing a bit this upcoming year, but it still is one of the most affordable express services with prices that will start at $26.35. 

The proposed Priority Mail Express service price changes

Flat Rate Envelope - $22.68 (2019) - $26.35 (2020) 

Legal Flat-Rate Envelope - $22.80 (2019) - $26.50 (2020)

Padded Flat-Rate Envelope - $23.18 (2019) - $26.95 (2020) 

 

For the full and complete list of the proposed changes, you can visit the USPS resource center. If you have any rate change questions, please contact your Quadient representative or write your questions below in the comments section! 

 

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Comments

October 21, 2019 at 11:53 am
Kathy
Is there a way to make the prices printable and include the certified mail increase as well ??
October 31, 2019 at 9:00 am
Caroline
Hi Kathy, Yes. We've made this page printer-friendly and we have a new article on the certified mail changes that can be found here: https://www.quadientdirect.com/blog/post/how-much-will-it-cost-to-send-certified-mail Thank you,
October 18, 2019 at 12:37 pm
KATHRYN
WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH CERTIFIED MAIL RATES?
October 31, 2019 at 9:02 am
Caroline
Hi Kathryn, Certified Mail will be going up 5 cents from $3.50 to $3.55. Return Receipt is also going up from $2.80 to $2.85 for hard copy and $1.60 to $1.70 for electronic Return Receipt. It sounds like you do Certified Mail with hard copy Return Receipt which is currently $3.50 + $2.80 + .50 (the price for metered first-class postage)= $6.80. Next year the cost will be $3.55 + $2.85 + .50 = $6.90. You can find more information in our Certified Mail article: https://www.quadientdirect.com/blog/post/how-much-will-it-cost-to-send-certified-mail Thank you,
October 17, 2019 at 12:59 pm
Camille Ornelas
Hello, I am new to the forum. Will our meters automatically update with new first class rates?
October 17, 2019 at 1:37 pm
Caroline
Hi Camille, Great question! We will walk you through the process of updating your postage meter when the rates are ready to be loaded. This will happen in December. Let us know if you have any other questions!
October 17, 2019 at 8:23 am
Sara Guerrero
Great Info. need it in a printer friendly format So I can Post it for my notes
October 17, 2019 at 8:37 am
Caroline
Hi Sara, Great idea! All of our blog posts, including this one, should have a printer-friendly option by the beginning of next week. Thank you,
October 17, 2019 at 8:12 am
Sarah
Good Morning! I was wondering about certified letters... will that postage be going up as well? Because I think right now a certified letter starts around 6.80ish? Thanks in advance!
October 17, 2019 at 1:32 pm
Caroline
Hi Sarah, Yes! Certified Mail will be going up 5 cents from $3.50 to $3.55. Return Receipt is also going up from $2.80 to $2.85 for hard copy and $1.60 to $1.70 for electronic Return Receipt. It sounds like you do Certified Mail with hard copy Return Receipt which is currently $3.50 + $2.80 + .50 (the price for metered first-class postage)= $6.80. Next year the cost will be $3.55 + $2.85 + .50 = $6.90. You can find the full listing here under "Extra Services" https://pe.usps.com/resources/PriceChange/January 2020 - Notice123.pdf
October 17, 2019 at 7:48 am
Carmen Goodman
Will this increase effect the certified mail?
October 17, 2019 at 1:28 pm
Caroline
Hi Carmen, Yes! Certified Mail will be going up 5 cents from $3.50 to $3.55. Return Receipt is also going up from $2.80 to $2.85 for hard copy and $1.60 to $1.70 for electronic Return Receipt. You can find the full listing here under "Extra Services" https://pe.usps.com/resources/PriceChange/January 2020 - Notice123.pdf
October 16, 2019 at 6:28 pm
DAVID MANUS
Did anyone proofread this post? According to the rates you have listed, Priority Mail is not going up by4.1%, but by an average of 5.37%. The lowest increase is 4.88% and the largest is 6.23%, with the rest 5+%. Priority Mail Express seems to be going up a uniform 16.2%, not 3.5%. Please check your work.
October 17, 2019 at 8:26 am
Caroline
Hi David, Thank you for your comment! The rates that are listed are only for Priority Mail flat rate boxes and Priority Mail Express flat rate boxes. The Priority Mail service does not just do flat rate boxes, you can ship items not in flat rate boxes and then you pay based on weight and distance. When you include all Priority Mail prices they are going up by an average of 4.1% and Priority Mail Express is going up 3.5%. You can find the full listing of all Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express prices here: https://pe.usps.com/resources/PriceChange/January 2020 - Notice123.pdf
October 16, 2019 at 3:12 pm
Sharon Carder
How about offering a printer-friendly format of notifications such as this one?
October 16, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Caroline
Hi Sharon, Great idea! Our blog posts, including this one, should have a printer-friendly option by the beginning of next week. Thank you for the suggestion.
Comments are closed for this article.
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