We’re counting down the days until this year’s National Postal Forum taking place at the Convention Center in downtown Baltimore from May 21^st – 24^th!

This year, MailSmart Logistics is exhibiting! It will be great to see all the mailers, lettershops, nonprofits and mailing industry pros at the Forum.

The three-day event features over 130 workshops, including:

• Targeted Budget-Friendly Marketing
• Where Does Direct Mail Fit Into Those Increasingly Digital Tactics?
• Leveraging Shipping Data Across All Your E‐Commerce Operations
• 10 Hot New Logistics Trends that will Keep Customers Coming Back for More
• What’s Mail Got to do With it?

There will also be USPS official certification courses available for Certified Direct Mail Professional, Executive Mail Center Manager, and Mailpiece Design Professional.

We look forward to seeing you there. Let your nose lead you straight to Booth #825 – we’ll be serving up popcorn. Stop by and grab a bag to nibble on while you explore the exhibit hall.

Proposed 2017 changes for the next structural update announced by the USPS seem to be pointing to some reduced fees for mailers. There are numerous proposed revisions to mailing regulations that impact first class, standard class, parcels and permit administration.

There are three (3) USPS proposed changes that we’re keeping an eye on for our clients.

1.  End of the Qualified Basic Reply Mail (QBRM) Fees

The USPS is attempting to eliminate the annual permit fee for Qualified Basic Reply Mail. Nonprofit and commercial mailers alike will benefit if this revision is approved.

2. Eliminate permit imprint and application fees

This proposed change will reduce annual expenses for PME, PM, FCPS, Parcel Select, PSLW, Library Mail, Media Mail and BPM.

3. Name change for Standard Mail

What used to be Bulk Mail and is now Standard Mail may soon be called USPS Marketing Mail.

All of these would go into effect in January 2017 but need to be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

We fully expect there to be an increase in postage rates in 2017 as the USPS has already announced a CPI (Consumer Price Index) increase on January 22, 2017. At the minimum, we suggest adding 1% to allow for the CPI increase which has been hovering a little under 1%.

In early 2016, as you know, postage rates went down as the exigent rate increase was removed. A committee in the House of Representatives introduced a postal reform bill earlier this year that, if passed by both the House and the Senate, could roll back half of the 4.3% decrease. This would result in an increase of 2.15% in addition to the CPI increase.

While it’s impossible to know what Congress will do during the Lame Duck session in December and what the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) will approve or deny, adjusting your postal budgets for anywhere from 1% to 3.15% will add a layer of security so that there are no surprises.

Postage Rates Rollback on April 10, 2016

We’re happy to share news from the USPS. They recently announced that rates will rollback to the Consumer Price Index-capped levels on Sunday, April 10th. This will remove the 4.3% exigent rate which was a surcharge added to compensate for the losses the USPS experienced during the recession.

We’re busy creating our 2016 Postal Rate chart and will share it when it’s done (we know so many post it on the bulletin board and in job folders) but thought you’d want this news as you’re looking at budgets and future mailing volume.

We’re always here to answer questions about rates or how you can best protect your postal budget. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. You can call us directly at 443.539.2640.