Revisiting the Pricing Scheme in the Postal Sector: A Way to Make Postal Activities and USO Financially Sustainable?

Claire Borsenberger () and Denis Joram
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Claire Borsenberger: La Poste Groupe, Doctrine and Modelization Department, Direction of Regulation, Competition and Institutional Affairs
Denis Joram: La Poste Groupe, Regulation and Studies Department, Direction of Regulation, Competition and Institutional Affairs

A chapter in Postal Strategies in a Digital and Green Transition, 2026, pp 87-99 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Postal operators have until now charged an affordable unit price above marginal costs to cover fixed costs associated with serving a particular customer or location. This business model is effective if volumes are sufficiently high. Due to the substitution of letters by digital communication methods, this is no longer the case. The decline in mail volumes, combined with the limits on how much price can increase, threaten the financial viability of postal operators and the sustainability of the USO. In this chapter, we consider several pricing schemes that would better reflect the postal cost structure and allow postal operators to overcome these issues.

Keywords: Two-part tariff; USO funding (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:topchp:978-3-032-00502-1_7

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-00502-1_7

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