Английская Википедия:History of United States postage rates
The system for mail delivery in the United States has developed with the nation. Rates were based on the distance between sender and receiver in the early years of the nation. In the middle of the 19th century, rates stabilized to one price regardless of distance. Rates were relatively unchanged until 1968, when the price was increased every few years by a small amount. Comparing the increases with a price index, the price of a first class stamp has been steady. The seal of the Post Office Department showed a man on a running horse, even as railroads and, later, motorized trucks and airplanes moved mail. In 1971, the Post Office became the United States Postal Service, with rates set by the Postal Regulatory Commission, with some oversight by Congress. Air mail became standard in 1975. In the 21st century, prices were segmented to match the sorting machinery in use; non-standard letters required slightly higher postage.
Postal rates to 1847
Initial United States postage rates were set by Congress as part of the Postal Service Act signed into law by President George Washington on February 20, 1792. The postal rate varied according to "distance zone", the distance a letter was to be carried from the post office where it entered the mail to its final destination. Rates were adopted in 1847 for mail to or from the Pacific Coast and in 1848 for mail sent from one place in the west to another place in the west. There were double and triple rates as a letter's size increased. There were ship fees which were also added (i.e. mail to Hawaii). The ship fee, including the ship rate on letters for delivery at the port of entry, were on a per letter basis, rather than weight. The United States issued its first postage stamps in 1847. Before that time, the rates, dates and origin of the letter were written by hand or sometimes in combination with a handstamp device.[1]
United States Postal Service
Since enactment of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, postage rates have been set by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Historical rates
Date Introduced | Letters Шаблон:Small |
Packages Шаблон:Small |
Additional Шаблон:Small |
Postcard rate[2] | International rate (letters) | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
July 1, 1863 | .06 Шаблон:Small |
.06 | .06 Шаблон:Small |
.06 | .02 per half ounce in drop boxes[3][4] | |
October 1, 1883 | .04 Шаблон:Small |
.04 | .04 Шаблон:Small |
.04 | [4] | |
July 1, 1885 | .02 | .02 | .02 | .02 | [4] | |
July 1, 1898 | .02 | .02 | .02 | .01 | [5] | |
November 2, 1917 | .03 | .03 | .03 | .02 | Wartime Emergency Rate | |
July 1, 1919 | .02 | .02 | .02 | .01 | Dropped back by Congress | |
April 15, 1925 | .02 | .02 | .02 | .01 (stamped cards) .02 (postcards) |
||
July 1, 1928 | .02 | .02 | .02 | .01 | ||
July 6, 1932 | .03 | .03 | .03 | .01 | ||
January 1, 1952 | .03 | .03 | .03 | .02 | ||
August 1, 1958 | .04 | .04 | .04 | .03 | ||
January 7, 1963 | .05 | .05 | .05 | .04 | ||
January 7, 1968 | .06 | .06 | .06 | .05 | ||
May 16, 1971 | .08 | .08 | .08 | .06 | ||
March 2, 1974 | .10 | .10 | .10 | .08 | ||
September 14, 1975 | .10 | .10 | .09 | .07 | Last surface mail rate | |
December 31, 1975 | .13 | .13 | .11 | .09 | All domestic first class & postcards by airmail | |
May 29, 1978 | .15 | .15 | .13 | .10 | A Stamp Used | |
March 22, 1981 | .18 | .18 | .17 | .12 | B Stamp Used | |
November 1, 1981 | .20 | .20 | .17 | .13 | C Stamp Used | |
February 17, 1985 | .22 | .22 | .17 | .14 | D Stamp Used | |
April 3, 1988[6] | .25 | .25 | .20 | .15 | E Stamp Used | |
February 3, 1991 | .29 | .29 | .23 | .19 | F Stamp Used (also 4 cent F makeup rate stamp) | |
January 1, 1995 | .32 | .32 | .23 | .20 | G Stamp Used (also 3 cent G makeup rate stamp) | |
January 10, 1999 | .33 | .33 | .22 | .20 | H Stamp Used (also 1 cent H makeup rate stamp) | |
January 7, 2001 | .34 | .34 | .21 | .20 | Nondenominated Stamps Used | |
July 1, 2001 | .34 | .34 | .23 | .21 | Nondenominated Stamps Used | |
June 30, 2002 | .37 | .37 | .23 | .23 | Flag and Antique Toy Stamps Used | |
January 8, 2006 | .39 | .39 | .24 | .24 | Lady Liberty Flag Stamp Used | |
May 14, 2007 | .41 | 1.13 | .17 | .26 | .69 (Can & Mex) .90 (rest of world)[7] |
Shape-based postage pricing introduced; international surface rates were terminated.[7] Forever stamps introduced; different prices for letters and packages for the first time |
May 12, 2008 | .42 | 1.17 | .17 | .27 | .72 (Can & Mex) .94 (rest of world)[7] |
Price change announced February 11, 2008 |
May 11, 2009 | .44 | 1.22 | .17 | .28 | .75 (Canada) .79 (Mexico) .98 (rest of world)[7] |
Price change announced February 10, 2009 |
April 17, 2011 | .44 | 1.71 (3 oz) | .20 (letters) .17 (packages) |
.29 | .80 (Can & Mex) .98 (rest of world)[7] |
[8] |
January 22, 2012 | .45 | 1.95 (3 oz) | .20 (letters) .17 (packages) |
.32 | .85 (Can & Mex) 1.05 (rest of world)[7] |
|
January 27, 2013 | .46 | 2.07 (3 oz) | .20 (letters) .17 (packages) |
.33 | 1.10[7] | Price change announced October 11, 2012 Canada & Mexico pay the same rate as the rest of the world |
January 26, 2014 | .49 | 2.32 (3 oz) | .21 (letters) .17 (packages) |
.34 | 1.15[9] | Price change announced September 25, 2013[9] |
May 31, 2015 | .49 | 2.54 (3 oz) | .22 (letters) .20 (packages) |
.35 | 1.20[10] | |
April 10, 2016 | .47[10] | 2.54 (3 oz) | .21 (letters) .20 (packages) |
.34 | 1.15[10] | Price change announced February 25, 2016 |
January 22, 2017 | .49[11] | 2.67 (3 oz)[12] | .21 (letters) .18 (packages) |
.34 | 1.15[11] | Price change announced October 12, 2016 |
January 21, 2018 | .50[13] | 3.50 (4 oz)[12] | .21 (letters) .35 (packages)[14] |
.35 | 1.15[13] | Price change announced October 6, 2017 |
January 27, 2019 | .55 | .15 (letters) | .35 | 1.15 | Price change announced October 19, 2018 | |
January 26, 2020[15] | .55 | .15 (letters) | .35 | 1.20[16] | ||
January 24, 2021[17] | .55 | .20 | .36 | 1.20 | Price change announced October 9, 2020 | |
August 29, 2021[18] | .58 | .20 | .40 | 1.30 | USPS notice post-dated September 16, 2021[18] after effective increase date. | |
July 10, 2022[19] | .60 | .24 (letters) | .44 | 1.40[20] | Price change announced April 6, 2022 | |
January 22, 2023[21] | .63 | 4.75-5.25 (zone-based) | .24 (letters) | .48 | 1.45 | Price change announced October 7, 2022; new non-machinable surcharge: 40 cents |
July 9, 2023[22] | .66 | .24 (letters) | .51 | 1.50 | Price change announced April 10, 2023 | |
January 24, 2024[23] | .68 | .24 (letters) | .53 | 1.55 | Price change announced October 6, 2023 |
Historical trend
Plotting the data in the previous table yields the adjacent graph. The dark area shows the actual price of the stamp, while the light area shows the price adjusted for inflation, in 2019 U.S. cents.
This plot shows that, despite the nominal rise in the cost of a first-class stamp, the adjusted cost of a stamp has stayed relatively stable. Since at least the early 1980s, the price of a stamp has closely followed the consumer price index. The large jumps in the early 1900s are because a change by a single penny was large compared to the cost of the stamp. For example, the price increase from $0.02 to $0.03 on July 6, 1932, was a 50% increase in cost.
Historical notes
Domestic parcel post service was adopted in 1913, 25 years after the Post Office had agreed to deliver international parcel post packages pursuant to the Universal Postal Union treaty and various bilateral agreements with other nations:[24] Шаблон:Quote
Initially, few if any postal regulations governed packages mailed by parcel post. For example, to construct a bank in Vernal, Utah, in 1916, a Salt Lake City company ascertained that the cheapest way to send Шаблон:Convert of bricks to the building was by parcel post, and the company proceeded to do so. For another example, Charlotte May Pierstorff, then a Шаблон:Convert five-year-old, was mailed via parcel post in 1914; she survived, but the regulations were clarified to prohibit the use of parcel post for human transport.[25]
Bulk postal rates were restructured in 1996:Шаблон:Citation needed
- Second Class became Periodicals
- Third and Fourth Class Mail became Standard Mail (A) and (B)
- Special Fourth Class Mail was renamed Special Standard Mail
In 2007, First Class Mail was restructured to include variable pricing based on size, not just on weight. Shape-based postage pricing is a form of dimensional weight. Also at that time, International Parcel Post air service was re-branded as Priority Mail International, and Parcel Post surface service was discontinued for international destinations.[26]
Regular Air Mail service began in 1918 and over the years rates varied considerably depending on distance and technology. Domestic Air Mail, as a class of service, officially ended May 1, 1977. By that time all domestic First Class Mail was being dispatched by the most expeditious means, surface or air, whether or not the Air Mail postage had been paid.Шаблон:Citation needed
Additional charges for Special Delivery existed from 1885 to 2001. Today, Express Mail Overnight is the most similar service level.Шаблон:Citation needed
During the summer of 2010 the USPS requested the Postal Regulatory Commission to raise the price of a first class stamp by 2 cents, from 44 cents to 46 cents, to take effect January 2, 2011. On September 30, 2010, the PRC formally denied the request, but the USPS filed an appeal with the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington DC.[27][28]
On September 25, 2013, the USPS announced a 3 cent increase in the First Class postal rate, to be effective January 26, 2014, increasing the price of a stamp to 49 cents. Bulk mail, periodicals, and package service rates were also increased by 6 percent. A loss of US$5 billion during the 2013 fiscal year was the reason given for the increase.[29]
The legislation which set the price to 49 cents was enacted as a temporary measure and as an "exigent surcharge for mailing products and services".[30] However, this legislation was set to expire in April 2016. As a result, the Post Office retained one cent of the price change as a previously allotted adjustment for inflation, but the price of a first class stamp became 47 cents: for the first time in 97 years (and for the third time in the agency's history) the price of a stamp decreased.[31]
See also
Unions of the U.S. Postal Service:
- American Postal Workers Union
- National Association of Letter Carriers
- National Postal Mail Handlers Union
- National Rural Letter Carriers' Association
History:
- Post Office Murals
- American Letter Mail Company
- Postage stamps and postal history of the United States of America
References
Sources
- First Class Mail Prices, 2010
- Rates for Domestic Letters Since 1863
- Rates for Stamped Cards and Postcards
- Consumer Price Index data
- Nondenomination Stamps FAQ
- Paying the Postage in the U.S., 1776–1921
- USPS Price List Notice 123
Further reading
- Beecher, Henry W. and Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz. U.S. Domestic Postal Rates, 1872–2011. Bellefonte, Pa.: American Philatelic Society, 2011. Шаблон:ISBN.
Шаблон:Postage stamps of the United States
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Postal Service
- ↑ 4,0 4,1 4,2 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news Шаблон:Open access
- ↑ 7,0 7,1 7,2 7,3 7,4 7,5 7,6 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 9,0 9,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 10,0 10,1 10,2 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 11,0 11,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 12,0 12,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 13,0 13,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ for the 5th through 8th oz, the price is a constant 25 cent increase. The 35 cent increase starts with the 9th oz.
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 18,0 18,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
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