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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A request from the United States Postal Service (USPS) to raise the price of first-class postage stamps to 73 cents from 68 cents has been approved, effective July 14, regulators said on Friday.
The plan, announced in April and approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, will raise overall Postal Service product prices by 7.8%. USPS said this month that it is also seeking an average 25% price increase for high-volume shippers to enter packages for regional delivery through the Parcel Select service.
The USPS in November reported an annual net loss of $6.5 billion as first-class mail volume fell to the lowest level since 1968. Stamp prices have risen 36% over the past four years since early 2019 when they were 50 cents.
USPS has aggressively raised stamp prices and is in the middle of a 10-year restructuring plan announced in 2021 that aims to eliminate $160 billion in losses expected over the next decade.
USPS said it expects the new pricing policy to “generate $44 billion in additional revenue” by 2031.
First-class mail volume fell 6.1% in the 12 months ending September 30, 2023 to 46 billion pieces and has fallen 53% since 2006 – to the lowest volume since 1968.
First-class mail, which most people use to send letters and pay bills, is the highest revenue-generating mailing category, accounting for $24.5 billion, or 31% of USPS 2023 revenue.
In April 2022, US President Joe Biden signed legislation providing the USPS with approximately $50 billion in financial aid over a decade.
Earlier this month, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy agreed to halt planned additional consolidation of the Postal Service’s processing network until at least January after a bipartisan group of senators raised concerns about the impact on mail delivery.
DeJoy said the change would delay USPS cost savings from $133 million to $177 million. Sen. Gary Peters said he will continue to press DeJoy and the USPS Board of Governors “for a plan that will not interfere with important mail service.”
