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The
price hike, which would take effect on July 14 and must be
approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, is because USPS no
longer intends give incentives for parties to aggregate mail
volume from multiple shippers and bring such volume directly to
the destination delivery unit.
USPS is not proposing to hike prices for its USPS Ground
Advantage package shipping.
Last month, USPS said it plans to raise the price of first-class
mail stamps to 73 cents from 68 cents effective July 14. The
hike, which must be approved by the postal commission, would
raise mailing services product prices by 7.8%.
Stamp prices are up 36% since early 2019.
USPS in November reported a $6.5 billion net loss for the 12
months ending Sept. 30 as first-class mail fell to the lowest
volume since 1968. USPS on Thursday reported a second quarter
net loss of $1.5 billion.
On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of 26 U.S. senators urged USPS
to pause planned further consolidation to its processing and
delivery network, warning it could slow mail deliveries.
USPS has been aggressively hiking stamp prices and is in the
middle of a 10-year restructuring plan designed to cut $160
billion in forecasted red ink.
On Thursday, U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy said "this massive and
complex evolution includes correcting for decades of haphazard
decision making and neglect to our physical infrastructure
network."
He added USPS knows it must make improvements "within the time
limits we have for survival."
USPS has been raising stamp prices twice yearly and has said it
expects its "new pricing policy to generate $44 billion in
additional revenue" by 2031.
In April 2022, President Joe Biden signed legislation providing
USPS with about $50 billion in financial relief over a decade.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and David
Gregorio)
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