The German postal service has been given permission to increase postage for postcards and letters by around 10.5 percent from the beginning of next year, the German postal network watchdog said on Wednesday.
Deutsche Post had cited higher costs as the reason for seeking price increases. The postal service has to deliver mail everywhere in Germany, including remote areas with long travel times.
The exact price of a stamp for each type of letter has not yet been determined, but the German government has insisted on keeping the price for a standard letter below €1 ($1.12).
According to industry experts, they expect the price for sending a standard letter within Germany to rise from €0.85 to €0.95 ($0.95 to $1.06).
The increase was significantly less than what Deutsche Post had requested. A spokesman for the company said he was “surprised” by the decision and criticized the move to keep postal rates relatively low.
Deutsche Post is a division of global logistics giant DHL Group, which was created from the former German state postal service. But domestic mail delivery is now a small – and generally unprofitable – part of the company’s business.
“The outcome and the (underlying) assumptions are difficult to understand given expected wage increases, shrinking letter volumes and high investment requirements,” he said.
He said that postage rates for a standard letter in Germany are currently 43% below the EU average: “Deutsche Post will now thoroughly investigate the Bundesnetzagentur’s decision and present its position on the matter to the authority.”
As recently as 2012, the postage rate for a standard letter was only €0.55.
Deutsche Post’s most recent postal rate hike came in 2022, when prices were increased by 4.6%. The postal service had also requested permission to increase postal rates in 2023, citing high costs and inflation, but that request was rejected by the Network Agency.
German lawmakers earlier this year relaxed delivery times for Deutsche Post in a bid to reduce costs for the company and reduce the need for domestic cargo flights to transport mail.
Until now, 80% of letters posted domestically had to arrive the next working day. From 2025, the rules will only require 95% of letters to arrive on the third working day after sending.