Overview
- USPS, which filed Wednesday with the Postal Regulatory Commission, proposed an 8% charge on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select that would run through January 17, 2027 if approved.
- First-Class stamps and other mail services are excluded, and USPS says the add-on is less than one-third of competitors’ fuel fees.
- The Postal Service cites rising transportation costs after the Iran war pushed oil and diesel higher, while FedEx and UPS raised fuel surcharges to roughly 25% to 28%.
- The PRC, an independent regulator that must approve postal prices, will review the request as Postmaster General David Steiner warns of a possible cash shortfall within a year and seeks authority to raise stamp prices and borrow more.
- Customers who use the affected package services would pay about 8% more during the period, which USPS frames as a temporary bridge to a longer-term pricing mechanism to better reflect fuel costs.