US Postal Service suggests new prices for 2025

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced a proposal for new postage rates set to take effect in early 2025, citing the need to stay competitive and increase revenue.

If approved, the change would raise Shipping Services prices by approximately 3.2 percent for Priority Mail service and Priority Mail Express service, 3.9 percent for USPS Ground Advantage, and 9.2 percent for Parcel Select, according to the announcement on the service’s website.

The proposed pricing action is part of “Delivering for America,” the agency’s 10-year plan for “achieving financial sustainability and service excellence.”

According to the USPS, the rate changes “will support the $40 billion of investments in people, technology, and infrastructure and continue the modernization and improvement of the Postal Service’s operations and customer experience.”

“As a strategic part of the Delivering for America 10-year plan, these proposed changes will support the Postal Service in creating a revitalized organization capable of achieving our public service mission,” the USPS said.

“Providing a nationwide, integrated network for the delivery of mail and packages at least six days a week—in a cost-effective and financially sustainable manner over the long term, just as the U.S. Congress has intended,” the agency added.

Concerning the proposed increases for next year, the USPS filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for Shipping Services price changes to take effect on January 19, 2025. The proposed adjustments were approved by the governors of the USPS this week, according to the announcement.

“Although Mailing Services price increases are based on the consumer price index, Shipping Services prices are primarily adjusted according to market conditions,” the USPS said. “The governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with needed revenue.

“As we previously announced, the Postal Service will not be raising prices in January for our Mailing Services,” the USPS added, confirming that the price of a first-class stamp will remain unchanged.

Newsweek contacted the USPS for comment outside of working hours via email on Monday.

The USPS has faced financial strain in recent years. The Postal Reform Act of 2022 repealed the requirement that the agency annually prepay future retirement health benefits, thereby saving the agency a significant amount of money.

Currently, the agency delivers 44 percent of mail worldwide. However, its numbers have been dwindling in recent years due to the rise of e-commerce giants like Amazon.

As reported by Newsweek, unlike other government agencies, the USPS generally is not taxpayer-funded and must generate revenue from selling stamps and postage on deliveries. It is also required to service all communities across the U.S., even if those routes aren’t profitable.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said at the National Postal Forum earlier this year that he stepped into a “broken business model” once he started working at the agency in the middle of 2020.

“Failure to adequately adapt to social, economic, technological, and industrial changes have destroyed giants in their industry—Kodak, Motorola, Blockbuster—in just a few short years,” DeJoy said in a keynote speech.

“The demands of the changes experienced by the Postal Service were magnitudes greater. In addition, these organizations did not have a Congress or a regulator to contend with.”

The organization continues to seek ways to achieve financial sustainability, including proposed price increases such as the one potentially happening in January 2025. The PRC will review the USPS proposal, with a decision expected by the end of this year.

For more information about the proposed price adjustments, visit the USPS website or contact your local post office. The complete Postal Service price filing, with prices for all products, can be found on the PRC website under the Daily Listings section.