USPS has a Christmas message: expect higher prices

For those who want to send presents to friends and family later this year, the U.S. Postal Service has an early Christmas message: be ready to spend extra.

In order to “keep USPS competitive while providing the agency with the money to pay additional expenditures in anticipation of peak-season demand,” the USPS is introducing a peak season pricing increase this year.

The price of gasoline and labour have increased significantly since a year ago, but the postal service didn’t specify which additional expenditures it is expecting in a statement on Wednesday.

The additional fees will be applied to orders beginning on October 2 — which may seem early for Christmas delivery — and will terminate on January 22.

Although the USPS said that the price increases are comparable to prior years, the additional shipping charges may increase the financial strains already felt by many families as inflation stays close to a 40-year high and affects everything from gas prices to food prices.

Less than a year after its previous mail price rise, the USPS raised the cost of first-class Forever stamps in July.

The USPS said that the higher price of 60 cents, up from 58 cents, is less than the rate of inflation.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy warned the Postal Service Board of Governors on Tuesday that the USPS may lose up to $70 billion over the next ten years as the postal service raised prices in the midst of a financial crisis.

Even while it’s far less than USPS’s prior estimate of roughly $160 billion, DeJoy remarked that it still indicates that the service has to “take quick and meaningful action.”

The ability to “align our service and pricing to gain additional income in the marketplace” is one of those activities, he said.

Future price increases

“The country has been heavily impacted by inflation, and the Postal Service has not been spared its effect,” according to DeJoy.

He noted that he is proposing another price raise in January and claimed that the price increase would result in expenses for the USPS’ anticipated 2022 budget of more than $1 billion.

The weight of the box and the distance it is going will determine the extra holiday shipping costs, the USPS said on Wednesday.

For instance, the USPS stated a customer mailing a Priority Mail box weighing more over 26 pounds would pay an extra $6.45 to deliver it across the nation.

The lowest price, a further 30 cents, will be applied to a Priority Mail shipment under 10 pounds going to a neighbouring area, according to the delivery service.

From October through January 22, first-class items will have a 30-cent to $5.85 delivery extra, the USPS said.

Once again, the weight and distance of the shipment will determine how much the fee is.