The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) plans to increase shipping prices in January as it attempts to stabilize its finances while adapting to a rapidly changing postal delivery market. The proposed changes—which were recently approved by the service’s governors—follow the release of its fiscal year 2025 financial results, which showed losses of $9 billion, despite a fairly modest revenue growth.
Why It Matters
Unlike most federal entities, USPS operates without taxpayer funding, relying almost entirely on postage and shipping purchases from consumers and businesses. So, increasing shipping prices is likely an attempt by the service to generate additional revenue so it can maintain its nationwide mail and package delivery services.
What To Know
The USPS’s new shipping prices are set to take effect January 18, 2026, pending review by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The proposed changes will increase rates by 6.6 percent for Priority Mail, 5.1 percent for Priority Mail Express, 7.8 percent for USPS Ground Advantage, and 6 percent for Parcel Select. Despite these increases, USPS has established that prices for certain mail services—like first-class stamps—will not change in January, as these are adjusted based on the consumer price index.
The rate changes come as USPS seeks to address ongoing financial challenges highlighted in its fiscal year 2025 financial results. The agency reported $80.5 billion in operating revenue—a 1.2 percent increase from 2024—driven largely by growth in its Ground Advantage service, which offers affordable ground delivery options for non-urgent packages, and past pricing adjustments.
Despite higher revenue, USPS reported a $9 billion net loss for fiscal year 2025, a minor improvement over the previous year’s $9.5 billion deficit. The agency attributed its losses to rising labor and operational costs and structural financial challenges, despite seeing some reductions in transportation expenses.
What People Are Saying
Postmaster General David Steiner said: “To correct our financial imbalances, we must explore new revenue opportunities and public policy changes to improve our business model.”
USPS chief financial officer Luke Grossmann said: “The financial results reflect the difficulties of our mandated cost structure and the continued decline in volume, offset to some degree by the Postal Service’s efforts to push back against those trends by aggressively managing the costs we can control and by the judicious use of our pricing authority.”
What Happens Next
The proposed shipping price increases will undergo formal review by the Postal Regulatory Commission. If approved, the changes will take effect on January 18, 2026, directly impacting shipping costs for businesses and individual customers across the U.S.
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