US Postal Service Will Not Increase Stamp Prices for the First Time Since 2022, According to Reuters

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Postal Service announced on Friday that it will not increase stamp prices in January, marking the first time this has occurred since January 2022, following a series of price hikes in recent years.

In July, the USPS raised the cost of a first-class mail stamp from 68 cents to 73 cents and increased the prices of its overall mailing services by 7.8%. Since early 2019, the price of stamps has risen by 36%, from 50 cents.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stated, "Our strategies are working and projected inflation is declining. Therefore, we will wait until at least July before proposing any increases for market-dominant services."

Recently, the USPS reported a staggering net loss of $6.5 billion for the year, with first-class mail volume dropping to its lowest level since 1968. The organization has been implementing a 10-year restructuring plan, initiated in 2021, aimed at addressing expected losses of $160 billion over the next decade.

DeJoy emphasized ongoing efforts to reduce transportation costs, estimating that he could save $1 billion in that area this year. The USPS projects that its "new pricing policy" could generate an additional $44 billion in revenue by 2031.

First-class mail, which many use for sending letters and paying bills, remains the most lucrative category of mail, accounting for $24.5 billion, or 31% of the USPS’s revenue in 2023.

In 2022, President Joe Biden signed legislation that provided the USPS with approximately $50 billion in financial relief over a decade.

DeJoy also agreed in May to delay further consolidation of the postal service’s processing network until at least January after concerns were raised by senators regarding mail delivery impacts.

Recently, the USPS indicated that it aims to implement changes that could save the agency around $30 billion over the next ten years.