Officials at New Pig Corp. in Tipton are not excited about the postage rate increase that goes into effect Monday.
In addition to the first-class postage stamp increasing from 41 cents to 42 cents, the U.S. Postal Service is adjusting rates for other mailing services, such as standard mail, bulk mail, periodicals, package services and special services.
Bulk mailing rates will have the greatest impact on local businesses such as New Pig.
The bulk rate for letters up to 3.3 ounces mailed within the 166 ZIP code area will increase from 20.4 cents to 21.6 cents, said Elaine Jones, USPS business mail entry clerk. For letters mailed to addresses outside the 166 area, the rate increases from 25.5 cents to 25.8 cents.
‘‘We mail hundreds of thousands of catalogs; that is how we get our new customers. It takes money off the bottom line,’’ said Doug Hershey, executive vice president at New Pig. ‘‘If we are mailing out fewer catalogs, we are getting fewer new customers.’’
He said New Pig has made changes to cope with increasing postage rates. For example, the weight of the paper catalogs are printed on has been reduced to help save money, and the corporation is being more selective to whom they send mailings.
Tad Kelley, spokesman for the USPS Erie District, said postage rates will be evaluated each May.
‘‘The new rates will be more predictable and less in amount,’’ Kelley said. ‘‘For the mailer, this will mean predictable rate increases that they can better budget for.’’
The rate increase also affects Altoona Regional Health System. Lynn Johnnie, mail room supervisor, said the health system will spend an additional $400 to $500 a month on mailing costs.
The hospital’s biggest mailing is its free Healthy Living Club magazine, which is sent quarterly.
‘‘Every little bit hurts, but postal increases seem to come in such minimal increments so the increases we incur do not have much of an effect,’’ spokesman Dave Cuzzolina said.
‘‘The increase is not large enough to cut back on the free services [such as the magazine distribution],’’ Cuzzolina said.
The impact will be felt at Sheetz Inc., which mails about 40,000 pieces a month, primarily pay checks and business correspondence.
‘‘That adds up when you add a penny to each piece. We mail paychecks to over 12,000 people every other week,’’ said Sandy Illig, Sheetz office manager. ‘‘Things like our benefit packages are quite large to send out, so we are trying to hand deliver them at the corporate office when possible.’’
New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co. Inc. spends more than $100,000 a year on postage.
Tom Frye, office manager/
treasurer, said even when postage goes up a penny, it impacts what they are doing. He noted, though, that prices per ton of stone will not increase because those prices are locked in for the coming season.
‘‘We don’t adjust those prices when postage increases,’’ Frye said.
As companies prepared for the increase, it made for some busy days at North American Communications in Duncansville, one of the largest fully integrated mail manufacturers in the country.
‘‘We had an increase in the amount of mail right up until the date of the increase,” said Rob Herman, NAC president. A lot of companies put out a lot of the mail to try and beat the increase. After the increase kicks in, we will see a decrease in the amount of volume and it will go back to normal.’’
It also may affect bulk mail companies such as Labor Specialties Inc. in Tyrone, which expects to see an increase in business as the USPS costs, rules and regulations change.
‘‘Companies and organizations that do their own mail now will be looking for professional mailers that have the tools and knowledge to acquire the lowest possible postage,” said Jeff Kozak, general manager.
Kelley said businesses also can cope with rate changes by making sure their mailing lists are up to date and purging duplicate addresses in their databases.
Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 946-7467.
