The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on Wednesday filed a notice with regulators requesting a temporary 8% price increase on several package shipping services, with the agency citing "transportation-related" challenges.
The price change would impact base postage for retail and commercial domestic products, including Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select. The USPS said First-Class Stamps used to mail everyday letters and other items would not be impacted.
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Pending approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the price hike is slated to go into effect at midnight on April 26 and would remain in place until Jan. 17, 2027. At that point, the USPS said it could determine whether a longer-term plan is needed.
"Transportation costs have been increasing, and our competitors have reacted with a number of surcharges," the agency said in a statement. "We have steadfastly avoided surcharges and this charge is less than one-third of what our competitors charge for fuel alone, so even with this change, the Postal Service continues to offer great value in shipping with some of the lowest rates in the industrialized world."
The price hike proposal comes a week after Postmaster General David Steiner warned lawmakers that the agency is at a “critical juncture” and could run out of cash in less than a year without changes. Testifying before a House Panel, he cited several factors behind the financial strain, including declining mail volume and a statutory requirement to deliver mail six days a week to every address in the United States.
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Steiner noted that the U.S. pays far less than other countries to send mail. The current price of a first-class stamp is 78 cents, but he suggested it could rise to as much as 95 cents.
"If you want the same level of services that we have today—six-day-a-week delivery and 33,000 plus post offices, we can do that, and we are glad to do that," Steiner said. "But someone has to pay for it, and the only options are postal ratepayers or taxpayers."
