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E-Commerce · Fuel Surcharge · Shipping Costs · USPS
The United States Postal Service (USPS) introduces its first-ever 8 percent fuel surcharge on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select, effective April 26 until January 17, 2027, to offset surging fuel costs.
The USPS Board of Governors approved the proposal, which awaits approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission. Letter mail and First-Class Stamps remain unaffected; for example, a medium Priority Mail flat-rate box price increases from $22.95 to $24.80, as the Wall Street Journal reports.
This move aligns USPS with competitors like FedEx and UPS, which have long utilized fuel surcharges, though USPS states its charge is less than one-third of what competitors charge for fuel alone. The surcharge addresses USPS's longstanding financial challenges, exacerbated by rising oil prices and its universal service obligation, which mandates deliveries to over 170 million addresses six days a week, resulting in 71 percent of routes operating at a loss.
Postmaster General David Steiner recently warned Congress about the agency's financial stability and seeks regulatory relief, including a separate proposal to raise stamp prices from $0.78 to between $0.90 and $0.95.
