Due to significantly increased costs, Deutsche Post is considering initiating a procedure to increase letter postage early. It is checked whether certain parameters are met and then a decision will be made, said Post board member Tobias Meyer on Wednesday in Bonn. “Of course we will take a close look at the possibilities.”
However, the hurdles for the corresponding administrative act are “not low”, he pointed out. Swiss Post is not allowed to determine the postage itself. Instead, the Federal Network Agency, as the competent authority, makes specifications that Swiss Post can use to turn the price screw.
Normally this happens every three years. The current postage has been in effect since the beginning of 2022, when standard domestic letters rose from 80 to 85 cents. Other types of letters also became more expensive. The current postage is scheduled to expire at the end of 2024.
It was set at a time when inflation was still very low. Meyer is critical of the fact that the regulatory authority assumed that inflation would remain very low when it calculated the price increase corridor. “It didn’t work well the last time the process assumed far too low inflation.”
The Bonn logistician argues that the costs of operating the letter mailing network have risen sharply since then. As a so-called universal service provider, the Post is the only company that has to deliver letters everywhere in Germany – not just in cities, where delivery costs are relatively low, but also in rural areas. In addition, she must fulfill obligations regarding the branch network, the availability of mailboxes and the speed at which letters are sent.
