PCI Introduces Strategies to Offset Impending USPS Rate Hike

WESTON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 15, 2024--

Postal Center International (PCI), an industry leader in mail solutions, is again proactively encouraging businesses to leverage its expertise to reduce the effects of the upcoming United States Postal Service (USPS) postage rate increase, which went into effect yesterday, July 14, 2024.

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Last adjusted on January 21 of this year, the rates, according to the USPS, will see a 7.8 percent uptick. The cost of a First-Class Forever Stamp will jump to 73 cents, up from 68 cents, while one-ounce metered letters are to be bumped up by five cents to cost 69 cents. International Postcards and one-ounce letters will be increased by 10 cents to cost $1.65.

Ismael Diaz, President & CEO of PCI, reaffirmed the company's commitment to supporting clients during these challenging times. “At PCI, we understand the challenges that new rates can bring to your business. We are fully committed to our client-centric values and are here to support you every step of the way. Our dedicated sales team is ready to offer a complimentary assessment, providing personalized strategies and innovative solutions to help ease the financial burden of these rate hikes. Together, we can optimize your mailing practices and uncover opportunities for cost savings, ensuring minimal disruption to your business.”

Tom Roberts, Senior Vice President of Client Experience at PCI, emphasized the company's cost-savings expertise in commingling, mail presort, and mail automation solutions. "PCI’s advanced commingling and mail presort solutions, coupled with our state-of-the-art automation technology, have consistently yielded significant savings for our clients. We are dedicated to continuing this strategy and helping businesses streamline their mailing operations in light of the new postal rates."

The July 14 rate hike will be the sixth under the United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy since 2022, who in November announced that the entity was set to lose $6.5 billion in 2023, underscoring the need for these adjustments. The rate hikes are part of the USPS’s ongoing 10-year Delivering for America plan to achieve financial sustainability and reduce its projected $160 billion in losses.

The USPS, an independent federal agency, serves every address in the United States, including protectorates and international military bases, ensuring the delivery of mail nationwide and beyond.

PCI remains steadfast in its mission to provide exceptional white-glove service and cost-effective solutions, ensuring that businesses can thrive despite rising postal costs. For more information on PCI’s solutions and how they can help offset the impact of the postal rate increase, please visit www.pcibrands.com or contact PCI’s sales team for a complimentary assessment on 800-430-7241.

About Postal Center International (PCI)

Postal Center International (PCI), a company deeply rooted in family values, was founded in 1984 by father-and-son entrepreneurs Luis and Arturo Echarte. Four years later, co-owner Susan Echarte joined the business, currently a leading print, mail, fulfillment, signs, and marketing solutions partner. Under the leadership of President & CEO Ismael Diaz since 2006, PCI has become renowned as one of the nation’s largest state-of-the-art transactional printing, postal, and mail processing solutions organizations. The company’s family of brands employs more than 560 associates, with annual sales of over $500 million, at its locations in the Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, and Midwest regions, with a footprint totaling 562K square feet. PCI delivers exceptional mail, print, signs, fulfillment, promotional, packaging, and marketing solutions for enterprise clients in industries such as banking, financial, healthcare, insurance, hospitality, and government nationwide. PCI is a HIPAA-compliant Certified Minority Owned Diverse Supplier at the state and national levels. It holds multiple security, sustainability, and quality certifications, including HITRUST CSF ®, TruSight, FDR, PCI DSS, SOC 2 (Type 2), FSC, SFI, PEFC, and G7.

Postal Center International (PCI) processes millions of mail pieces every day, supporting clients across the country from its facilities in the Southeast, Southwest, Northeast and Midwest. (Photo: Business Wire)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are drifting near their records Monday as Wall Street gears up for the most anticipated meeting of the Federal Reserve in years.

The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in afternoon trading after flitting between gains and losses earlier in the morning. It's sitting just 0.8% below its all-time high set in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 134 points, or 0.3%, as of 12:51 p.m. Eastern time, after climbing above its record closing high earlier in the day. The Nasdaq composite was down 0.9%.

Oracle rose 6.2% to help lead the market, continuing a strong run that began last week with a better-than-expected profit report. Alcoa also jumped 8% after saying it would sell its ownership stake in a Saudi Arabian joint venture to Saudi Arabian Mining Co. for $950 million in stock and $150 million in cash. But drops for some influential Big Tech stocks dragged on indexes, including declines of 3.1% for Apple and 2.5% for Nvidia.

Treasury yields eased in the bond market ahead of what’s expected to be the week’s main event. On Wednesday, the widespread expectation is for the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years to deliver some relief to the economy.

The only question is by how much the Fed will cut. Traders are shifting more bets toward a larger-than-usual move of half a percentage point, according to data from CME Group. They’re anticipating a 59% chance the Fed will go beyond the more traditional cut of a quarter of a percentage point. That’s up from 50% on Friday and just 30% a week ago.

The difference between a half-point cut and a quarter may sound academic, but it can have far-ranging effects. While lowering rates relieves pressure on the economy, it can also give inflation more fuel.

The Federal Reserve has been keeping its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing the economy enough to stifle high inflation. With inflation having eased substantially from its peak two summers ago, the Fed has said it can turn more focus to bolstering the slowing job market and economy. Some critics say it may be moving too late, increasing the risk of a possible recession.

A Fed cut of half a percentage point would likely be the best case for the stock market in the very short term, according to Michael Wilson and other strategists at Morgan Stanley. But that's only if the Fed can convince investors it's not getting forced into a bigger-than-usual cut because of worries about a recession, among other factors.

Still, the more important thing for where stocks are heading over the next three to six months will be how well the job market holds up, according to Wilson. If employment weakens, stocks could fall regardless of whether the Fed cuts by half or a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 3.63% from 3.66% late Friday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, eased to 3.55% from 3.59%.

That was despite a report in the morning showing manufacturing in New York state returned to growth in September. That surprised economists, who were expecting another month of contraction for an area of the economy that’s been hit hard by high interest rates.

On Wall Street, Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprises rose 8.5% after it said a U.S. judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the company, one based on allegations by a research firm that looks for financial irregularities and tries to profit when the stock prices fall.

Fertilizer producer Mosaic fell 4.9% after it said electrical equipment failures at mines and Hurricane Francine will reduce its production of potash and phosphate in the current quarter.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest movements across Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3% after data released over the weekend showed China’s economy slowed further in August.

Markets in Japan, mainland China and South Korea were closed for holidays.

AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

FILE - The American flag hangs from the front of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)