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The plan, announced in April and approved by the Postal
Regulatory Commission, will raise overall mailing services
product prices by 7.8%. USPS said this month it is also seeking
an average 25% price hike for high-volume shippers to enter
packages for regional delivery through its Parcel Select
service.
USPS in November reported a $6.5 billion yearly net loss as
first-class mail fell to the lowest volume since 1968. Stamp
prices are up 36% over the last four years since early 2019 when
they were 50 cents.
USPS has been aggressively hiking stamp prices and is in the
middle of a 10-year restructuring plan announced in 2021 that
aims to eliminate $160 billion in predicted losses over the next
decade.
USPS has said it expects its "new pricing policy to generate $44
billion in additional revenue" by 2031.
First-class mail volume fell 6.1% in the 12 months ending Sept.
30, 2023 to 46 billion pieces and is down 53% since 2006 -- to
the lowest volume since 1968.
First-class mail, used by most people to send letters and pay
bills, is the highest revenue-generating mail class, accounting
for $24.5 billion, or 31% of USPS 2023 revenue.
In April 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden signed legislation
providing USPS with about $50 billion in financial relief over a
decade.
Earlier this month, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy agreed
to pause planned further consolidation of the postal service's
processing network until at least January after a bipartisan
group of senators raised concerns about the impact on mail
deliveries.
DeJoy said the change would delay USPS cost savings of $133
million to $177 million. Senator Gary Peters said he would keep
pushing DeJoy and the USPS board of governors "for a plan that
won't interfere with critical mail service."
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Diane Craft)
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