NEMOA | News Detail
Paul Miller's ACMA Journal: Is There a Silver Lining in the PRC Decision? The Silver Lining in the Postal Exigent Rate Increase Decision (if there's one to be had) The Silver Lining in the Postal Exigent Rate Increase Decision (if there's one to be had) Dear Industry Member: When the Postal Regulatory Commission dropped its little Christmas bomb on mailers last Tuesday of the full 4.3% exigent postage increase, Hamilton Davison and I had a lengthy “now what?” discussion. We both expressed a few words (unprintable here) and are still seething, as I’m sure you are. But having had a few days to settle down and at least partially absorb the full 219-page PRC order, there are at least a few positives we can take away from what’s otherwise an utter abomination. With The Decision having come out during an on-and-off holiday week such as last week, we're still working out our options to respond, and if practical how we will fight further. We’ve begun a dialogue with the ACMA Board of Directors as well as our coalition partners at the Affordable Mail Alliance (AMA), and will keep you posted as we evaluate our next moves. For now at least, I’d like to evaluate the extent to which catalog mailers got screwed – and where we may have dodged a few additional bullets.
So Now What? None of these points takes away from the fact that you’ll now have to budget for a little over 6% more in postage (the 4.3% plus the annual CPI-capped increase). We’re going to evaluate every alternative we have to overturn this ruinous decision, although by design it’s hard to overcome a regulatory decision in appeals court. But we won’t go down without a fight and will notify the industry once we have news to report. The rate increase is set to take effect at midnight, January 26th (in case you’ve been wondering, that’s the very beginning of Monday, the 27th). Best, Paul Miller Vice President & Deputy Director American Catalog Mailers Association www.catalogmailers.org 914-669-8391 pmiller@catalogmailers.org ### © 2013 American Catalog Mailers Association, Inc. You may pass this message on to others in the catalog industry. Published: 12/30/13 |