The DMA Comments On USPS Settlement Case

NEW YORK, March 22, 2002 - The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) today supported the Postal Rate Commission’s endorsement of the rate case settlement between the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the mailing community.

"While we are never pleased when rates increase, we are gratified that the mailing community, the Postal Service, and the Postal Rate Commission could work together to reach this agreement," said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA.

The rate increases in the settlement agreement are set to be implemented on June 30, 2002. This will be the third round of increases in 18 months, following increases in January and July 2001.

"It is also my hope that this round of increases will buy us time to achieve needed legislative reforms," said Wientzen.

"A permanent fix to the Postal Service’s problems through legislative reform is still critical to the long-term viability of the Postal Service. Otherwise, continual price increases will lead to continual declines in mail volume and the Postal Service will likely price itself out of business," said Wientzen.

"It is our hope that today’s decision will help to provide some financial stability to the Postal Service and that future increases, which would impede economic recovery, can be avoided for as long as possible," said Wientzen.

"We're also hopeful that the transformation plan that the Postal Service will propose to Congress on April 5 will detail specific actions that will enable the Postal Service to better control costs and help it toward financial stability," added Wientzen.

The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 5,000 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States exceeded $1.86 trillion in 2001, including $118 billion in catalog sales and $30 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.

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