2017 USPS Rate Increases
by Jillian Voege
A new year, a new increase in shipping.
The USPS filed notice with the the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to raise prices on almost all of their flat-rate shipping packages. As a general rate increase (GRI), the USPS will be raising prices by 3.9% for Priority Mail and 3.3% for Priority Mail Retail. Elsewhere, UPS and FedEx both have a GRI of 4.9% once the 2016 holidays end.
While this might be an unwelcome hike in prices for some, we still believe USPS to be the best bang-for-buck option when it comes to bulk shipping due to their low flat-rate prices. Below, we've included the price increases for all applicable USPS flat-rate packages (as well as highlighted the total price increase in italics):
Current | New | |
|---|---|---|
Small flat-rate box | $6.80 | $7.15 (+0.35) |
Medium flat-rate box | $13.45 | $13.60 (+0.15) |
Large flat-rate box | $18.75 | $18.85 (+0.10) |
Large APO/FPO flat-rate box | $16.75 | $17.35 (+0.60) |
Regular flat-rate envelope | $6.45 | $6.65 (+0.20) |
Legal flat-rate envelope | $6.45 | $6.95 (+0.50) |
Padded flat-rate envelope | $6.80 | $7.20 (+0.40) |
The USPS also requested an increase of First-Class Mail postage prices from 47 cents to 49 cents. Additional ounce, international mailing, and postcard prices and fees will remain the same.
The rate increases are still subject to review from the PRC. Still, these numbers are solid enough to plan around for your 2017 models. If and when the PRC approves these rate increases, they'll take effect on January 22, 2017. For USPS's price filing for all shipping services, take a look at the PRC Daily Listing's section at http://www.prc.gov/dockets/daily.