The Postal Rate Commission, which is considering a U.S. Postal Service rate increase, last week recommended the approval of a two-year experiment that will permit catalogs weighing up to 3.3 ounces to ride along with polybagged magazines for ten cents.
Noting that all postage rates-including those for magazines and catalogs-will more than likely go up midway through the experimental period, the PRC said on Feb. 3 that it was recommending the postal service’s Board of Governors authorize its implementation based on the unanimous support of magazine publishers and catalog industry representatives.
Postal governors are expected to act on the recommendation at their March meeting.
The Association for Postal Commerce, formerly known as the Advertising Mail Marketing Association, along with the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, American Business Press, Association of American Publishers, Classroom Publishers Association, Cox Consumer Sampling, Cox Target Media Inc., Magazine Publishers Association, McGraw-Hill Cos., the National Newspaper Association and Time Warner Inc. were among the companies and industry associations to support the experiment.
The PRC stressed in its recommendation that the pending rate case had “no impact” on its decision “although [the] underlying Periodicals class and Standard Mail (A) postage is expected to change” mid-way through the test period.
Last month the USPS asked the PRC to endorse a January 2001 rate increase, that while averaging 6.4% would hike postage rates for magazine and catalogs by as much as 18%. A PRC recommendation on that request is expected to be filed with postal governors early next October.
The experiment, which is expected to net the USPS $4.8 million in new revenue based on a projected gross of $10.2 million, is expected to start in mid to late spring.
The USPS would shave between 5 cents and 20 cents off the base price of a 3.3 ounce catalog normally sent by Standard A Mail, depending on the machinability of the host mailing and the mailer’s level of sortation during the test.
It will not permit the ride-along catalog to change shape or processing category of the host periodical.
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