Postponed is not lifted: Deutsche Post is not allowed to increase letter postage early in 2024. The group, which has officially been called DHL Group since July, had applied to the Federal Network Agency for this, but the authority rejected the request on Monday. The agency had approved postage for private customers in 2021 for the three years 2022 to 2024; At the beginning of 2022, the postage for standard letters rose from 80 to 85 cents. It stays that way for the time being. But the price for letters and postcards will most likely rise in 2025 – and the excitement will be just as great again.
Because postage increases are enormously unpopular, even though it’s just a matter of cents. However, critics overlook the fact that there are good reasons for increases. In addition, the debate over five cents more or less distracts from more important questions about the future of the postal market.
Monday’s decision was about whether the Swiss Post’s high collective bargaining agreement and higher energy prices justify raising postage a year earlier. The Federal Network Agency argues that despite these burdens, the costs per letter are even lower than originally estimated, also thanks to the group’s savings programs. Therefore the postage is sufficient. The Bonn Dax company contradicts this interpretation.
But in the end it doesn’t make a huge difference whether postage will rise prematurely in 2024 or only in 2025. The upward trend is clear and there are good reasons for this. The number of letters has been falling for years because citizens, authorities and companies prefer to send e-mails instead. In fact, the amount could shrink even more drastically if the German administration would finally make progress with digitization: if citizens could fill out all forms on the screen and sign them digitally, fewer documents would have to be sent by post. However, the DHL Group is obliged to deliver letters and empty boxes in every small village in Germany – maintaining this so-called universal service is expensive. And if the volumes drop, the costs are spread over fewer letters.
Record profit, more dividend – and now more postage?
Moreover, these costs have indeed increased; the collective bargaining agreement with the Verdi union alone costs the company 800 million euros a year. Overall, the DHL Group earns brilliantly and in 2022 it made its fourth record profit in a row. Shareholders are happy about an increasing dividend. But most of the profits come from international business. The German mail and parcel business, on the other hand, cannot contribute anything to the dividend payment, and profits there are falling rapidly.
Furthermore, further postage increases would only mean that Germany is getting closer to the average in Europe. It is a good 1.30 euros – compared to other countries, sending letters in Germany is a bargain. In Denmark, more than four euros are due for a standard letter that is to be delivered the next day, in Italy 2.80 euros and in France 1.43 euros.
The post office needs a license to dawdle
In any case, the future of the postal law is more important than postage debates. The federal government wants to revise this set of rules for the first time in a quarter of a century. Some specifications are no longer up to date – and changing them could reduce costs and thus reduce postage increases. For example, the legal act stipulates that 80 percent of letters must reach the addressee within one day. According to a key issue paper, Economics Minister Robert Habeck is considering deleting this.
That’s a good idea, because customer needs have changed. If a document has to reach the recipient really quickly, companies, authorities and consumers can now simply send an e-mail, preferably with a PDF file attached. For the vast majority of letters, it is therefore perfectly fine if they arrive in three days. This license to dawdle would save money – first the post office, then the postage buyer.