DMA Urges USPS to Drop Exigent Rate Hike Plea

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), Association for Postal Commerce, Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, and MPA-The Association of Magazine Media, have joined to ask the Postmaster General to withdraw the Postal Service (USPS) request for a $2.3 billion exigent (above inflation) postage increase. This increase would be over and above the announced inflation-capped postage increases scheduled for Jan. 22, 2012. The DMA warns that just the possibility of an exigent rate hike casts a "pall of uncertainty" over mailing plans that can lead to cuts in mail volume and thus USPS revenue. The USPS just ended fiscal 2011 with a smaller net loss of $5.1 billion, down from $8.5 billion in 2010. While first-class volume fell, shipping service and standard mail volume climbed. For the DMA release, see http://technews.tmcnet.com/news/2011/12/06/5974718.htm