USPS wants to raise prices for holiday-season deliveries from 3 October

Price hike proposal mirrors similar increase in 2020 as service struggled with historic demand during pandemic

While it’s always good advice to send out your holiday mail in plenty of time, this year you may want to consider an even earlier start to avoid a postal price hike.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has requested a temporary increase in the price of a number of mail services over the holiday season in order to offset rising delivery costs.

Price increases would go into effect on 3 October and last until 26 December if accepted by the Postal Regulatory Committee.

“This temporary rate adjustment is similar to one in 2020 that anticipated heightened peak-season package and shipping demand, which typically results in extra handling costs,” a statement by USPS noted.

Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select, USPS Retail Ground, and Parcel Return Service would all be affected.

The increases range from 25 cents to five dollars depending on the zone and weight of the package or envelope. An increase of 75 cents is proposed for flare rate boxes and envelopes.

International service products will be exempt.

USPS says that the increase will bring the postal service’s commercial and retail customers in line with competitive practices.

A similar hike in prices was implemented during the peak 2020 holiday season when many Americans did not travel and relied on USPS to deliver gifts and cards to loved ones they were unable to see because of the Covid pandemic.

The postal service struggled to keep up with historic demand as employees also fell ill with the virus leading to staffing shortages.

Delays occurred nationwide with some parcels not reaching their destination until January, or February in more extreme cases.

USPS maintains that it has some of the lowest mail postage rates in the developed world and offers great value for shipping.

The proposed price increases will provide USPS “​​with the revenue to cover extra costs in anticipation of peak-season volume surges similar to levels experienced in 2020” the statement says.

The potential hikes come as a 10-year USPS plan, “Delivering for America”, is rolled out with the purported aim of reversing a projected $160bn in losses projected over the next decade, with initiatives to spur cash flow and savings to undertake $40bn in capital investments.

In June, a group of 21 state attorneys general demanded that USPS reverse its planned delays in first-class mail delivery, which they argue will disenfranchise voters sending their ballots by mail and hurt rural communities relying on mail for their medicines, paychecks and other essentials.

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a group calling on the Postal Regulatory Commission to reject Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s proposed cuts, which would raise mail prices and trim delivery times by as much as two days, citing a budget shortfall at the agency.

The attorneys general said those cuts would impact up to 96 per cent of ZIP codes in the US.

“For nearly a year now, we have had to fight the United States Postal Service tooth and nail to fulfill its mission,” Ms James said in a statement.

“Now, instead of fixing the problems that remain delinquent a year later, Postmaster General DeJoy wants to lead the USPS in making further service cuts that would only result in more delays.”

Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly pressured the agency’s governing board and President Joe Biden to remove Mr DeJoy, a Trump appointee, from his post after mailboxes and sorting machines were removed ahead of 2020 elections, while the former president undermined mail-in ballots and falsely claimed the election was “rigged” against him with a flood of fraudulent votes.

Mr Biden’s three nominations to the governing board began their terms on 15 June, giving the board a narrow Democrat-leaning majority with the potential power to remove Mr DeJoy.