The Postmaster General’s Mailer’s Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meets four times a year at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. (Sometimes referred to as the “Pink Palace.”) It is a meeting of representatives from the largest mailing organizations and associations, and senior management from the Postal Service. The quarterly meeting generally kicks off with an address from the Postmaster General, and then begins discussions of very detailed issues of interest to the mailing industry. Whee!
Usually, one can glean the Postal Service’s future plans from these meetings, so we shall do some gleaning for you. We are delighted that our own Lisa Bowes participates (Representing Mailers Hub), and she was at the meeting just completed. Here are a few of the highlights:
- The 2024 mail growth incentive programs were discussed in detail, said details being included in the other article in this month’s newsletter.
- The Postmaster General indicated that he had no plans of discontinuing the twice-a-year postage increases we have seen for the last three years. He appeared quite pleased with the progress made on his 10-year plan.
- The January 2024 increase has already been submitted to the PRC for what is essentially a rubber stamp. Overall, it will be about 2%. Sharon Owens, who oversees pricing policy for USPS, indicated that she expects the July 2024 increase to be much more significant. Because of retirement funding and the density adjustment, she expects an increase of at least 7%. (Depending on the CPI increase in the next few months, we expect an increase of up to 10%).
- The future of promotion programs was also discussed. USPS appears dedicated to continuing these programs, although the Mobile Shopping promotion, now a part of the Advanced Technology promotion, is expected to be retired in 2025. It will be available next year, 2024, but not after that.
- Network changes continue in accordance with the ten-year plan. Most facility installations have gone smoothly, although there have been staffing and training issues, as might be expected.
So, that’s not bad insight for a meeting – growth incentives, rate insights, promotions, and the network. As always, we will do our best to keep you one step ahead of what might happen next at USPS.