U.S. Postal Service proposes holiday price changes

8/11/2022

Retailers may be paying some higher postal delivery fees this holiday season.

The U.S. Postal Service wants to temporarily adjust some parcel delivery fees during the peak 2022 holiday season.

The U.S. Postal Service has filed a notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) requesting a temporary price adjustment for key package products for the 2022 peak holiday season. The planned peak-season pricing, which has been approved by the Governors of the Postal Service, would affect prices on the following commercial and retail domestic competitive parcels: Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select and USPS Retail Ground. International products would be unaffected.

Pending approval by the PRC, the temporary rates would go into effect at 12 a.m. CT on Oct. 2, 2022 and remain in place until 12 a.m. CT Jan. 22, 2023. According to the U.S. Postal Service, these temporary rates would keep it competitive while providing revenue to cover anticipated extra costs resulting from handling peak-season volume.

The PRC will review the proposed prices before they are scheduled to take effect Oct. 2. No structural changes are planned.

The planned price changes include:

Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express:

Commercial:

$0.75 increase for PM and PME Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes.
$0.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
$0.80 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
$0.75 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.$2.80 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs.
$3.00 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
$6.50 increase for Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs.

Retail:

$0.95 increase for PM and PME Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes.
$0.30 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
$1.00 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
$0.95 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.
$3.20 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs.
$3.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
$6.45 increase for Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs.

First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select Ground, and USPS Retail Ground:

Commercial:

$0.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
$0.40 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
$0.75 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.
$1.60 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs.
$3.00 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
$5.50 increase for Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs.

Retail:

$0.30 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
$0.60 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
$0.95 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.
$2.70 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs.
$3.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
$5.85 increase for Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs.

Product	Current	Planned Increase
Parcel Select Destination Delivery Unit (DDU)	Starts at $3.50	25 cents
Parcel Select DSCF	Starts at $3.77	75 cents
Parcel Select DNDC	Starts at $4.84	75 cents
USPS Connect Local	Starts at $3.95	No change
Parcel Select Lightweight (DDU)	Starts at $2.32	No change
Parcel Select Lightweight (DSCF and DNDC)	Starts at $2.72	No change
Parcel Return Service	Starts at $3.37	No change

A full list of commercial and retail pricing can be found on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at Amazon, which has emerged as a major competitor for the U.S. Postal Service in delivering online purchases to consumers, enacted a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge to existing Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fulfillment fees for Amazon Marketplace participants selling in the U.S. in April. Amazon said the surcharge is subject to change.

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