In brief: Postmaster General (PMG) David Steiner confirmed that there will be no price increase for Market Dominant mail this January. Quad visited with Steiner to present our perspective on the challenges mailers face. Plant closings and price increases continue in the paper industry. Freight markets are relatively calm, but several package shipping price increases are in the works.
Built on our roots as a printer, mail industry partner and logistics leader, Quad is a marketing experience (MX) company focused on delivering streamlined solutions at scale to our clients. As the largest USPS customer, we are uniquely positioned to provide clients with best practices and insights on the latest postal, paper and logistics topics. If you have any questions or concerns during these challenging times for our industry, contact your Quad representative. We’ll tap our in-house experts to investigate and get you the answers you need.
No price increase for Market Dominant Mail in January
The mailing industry heaved a sigh of relief on Sept. 24 when PMG Steiner announced that Market Dominant mail would not see any rate hikes at the start of 2026.
The Market Dominant category includes First-Class Mail (so, no rise in the price of a stamp), Marketing Mail, Bound Printed Matter and Periodicals.
Explaining the decision, Steiner said: “We continually strive to balance our pricing approach both to meet the revenue needs of the Postal Service and to deliver affordable offerings that reflect market conditions. We have therefore decided at this time to forgo a price change for First-Class Mail postage and other Market Dominant services until mid-year 2026.”
There was no word on whether the prices for Competitive products would increase in January 2026. However, January is the month USPS competitors typically raise prices. The USPS usually announces proposed January rate changes in October.
The new PMG is listening
PMG Steiner has shown that he is willing to engage with the mailing industry. Quad CEO Joel Quadracci and members of the Quad postal team met with him at USPS headquarters earlier this month.
It was a good meeting in which Quad presented data that showed specific impacts on commercial mailers of previous actions taken by the USPS under the Delivering for America plan, particularly the twice-a-year price increases. Joel discussed the challenges of operating in a declining market like commercial mailing, especially the importance of taking costs out of operations — for both businesses and the USPS — to remain on a strong financial footing.
The next day, a smaller group led by Don McKenna, Quad Executive VP and Chief Administrative Officer, met with Sharon Owens, USPS VP of Pricing & Costing, and Finona Machado, USPS Director of Pricing & Costing Strategy Support, to review the same presentation Quad made the previous day and discuss more specific technical topics. The discussion and information were helpful, according to the USPS team in attendance. However, no immediate decisions came out of the meeting.
Miscellaneous updates
USPS delivery performance
Below are the average in-home curves for our Marketing Mail clients who tracked their mail with Quad’s IMsight application over the five weeks specified. There has been a slight shift in the curves since Labor Day — basically a flattening of the curves, with more mail delivered in-home one day past the target window. We believe this is due to increased volume.
| Week of 8/11 | Week of 8/18 | Week of 8/25 | Week of 9/1 | Week of 9/8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early | 34% | 29% | 28% | 20% | 19% |
| Day 1 | 56% | 53% | 56% | 48% | 37% |
| Day 2 | 71% | 73% | 76% | 68% | 57% |
| Day 3 | 84% | 85% | 88% | 81% | 74% |
| Day 4 | 93% | 92% | 96% | 88% | 89% |
| 1 Day Late | 95% | 93% | 97% | 95% | 92% |
Sixty-five Sectional Center Facilities (SCFs) have struggled with processing Flat mail for the last month, averaging less than 70% in-home by Service Standard. This explains why we are seeing flattening in-home curves. Here are the most-delayed facilities:
| Entry type | City | In-home by Service Standard |
|---|---|---|
| SCF | Syracuse, N.Y. | 32% |
| SCF | Tacoma, Wash. | 41% |
| SCF | Omaha, Neb. | 41% |
| SCF | St. Louis | 44% |
| SCF | Birmingham, Ala. | 44% |
| SCF | Buffalo, N.Y. | 45% |
| SCF | Pittsburgh | 45% |
| SCF | Spokane, Wash. | 47% |
| SCF | Albany, N.Y. | 49% |
| SCF | New York City | 49% |
USPS volume
| Mail volume for the week ended September 13, compared to last year |
||
|---|---|---|
| Total Mail Volume | Down 7.4% |
▼ |
| Packages | Down 8.8% |
▼ |
| Single Piece | Down 17.8% |
▼ |
| Presort First Class | Down 8.2% |
▼ |
| Marketing Mail | Down 9.5% |
▼ |
| Periodicals | Down 16.5% |
▼ |
| Mail volume for the week ended September 6, compared to last year |
||
|---|---|---|
| Total Mail Volume | Down 6.4% |
▼ |
| Packages | Down 7.7% |
▼ |
| Single Piece | Down 17.9% |
▼ |
| Presort First Class | Down 2.9% |
▼ |
| Marketing Mail | Down 13.4% |
▼ |
| Periodicals | Down 4.5% |
▼ |
| Mail volume for the week ended August 30, compared to last year |
||
|---|---|---|
| Total Mail Volume | Up 9.2% |
▲ |
| Packages | Down 6.0% |
▼ |
| Single Piece | Down 11.6% |
▼ |
| Presort First Class | Down 3.1% |
▼ |
| Marketing Mail | Down 4.4% |
▼ |
| Periodicals | Down 21.2% |
▼ |
| Mail volume for the week ended August 23, compared to last year |
||
|---|---|---|
| Total Mail Volume | Down 5.5% |
▼ |
| Packages | Down 5.8% |
▼ |
| Single Piece | Down 9.1% |
▼ |
| Presort First Class | Down 4.1% |
▼ |
| Marketing Mail | Down 11.8% |
▼ |
| Periodicals | Up 1.8% |
▲ |
*The USPS said the discrepancy between increased total mail volume and decreased category volumes was due to “flash volumes.”
Paper market
New developments in the paper industry this month include:
Logistics
The freight market remains relatively stable, though there are several price increases that will affect shippers in the next few months, including:
As always, your Quad representative will work diligently to find you the lowest rates with the most efficient transportation available.
