USPS Announces Changes To First-Class Mail, Other Services

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced it is adopting new service standards that are projected to save the government agency at least $36 billion over the next 10 years.

Why It Matters

USPS has lost more than $100 billion since 2007, including $9.5 billion in the 12 months ending September 30, 2024.

The outgoing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy warned in November that the agency had to continue cutting costs or it would face a government bailout or “the end of this great organization as we know it.”

What To Know

Starting April 1, service standard adjustments will be made for first-class mail, periodicals, marketing mail, and package services, according to the USPS.

USPS will deliver 75 percent of first-class mail at the same standard. Fourteen percent will be upgraded to a faster standard, while 11 percent will have a slower standard. All first-class mail will still be delivered within the current one to five business day range.

As part of the changes, postal workers will now use a five-digit regional add-on after the ZIP code to enhance delivery accuracy, replacing the current three-digit add-on.

Postal workers will also be permitted to leave facilities earlier and travel greater distances for deliveries, enhancing reliability and revenue, particularly for customers in rural areas.

Mail tracking will be broken into three phases so customers have a clearer understanding of how the mail process works.

“The changes will maintain service at existing levels for most volume and upgrade standards for more market-dominant volume than is downgraded,” the USPS said.

“The changes will enhance service reliability nationwide while maintaining the existing five-day service standard day range for first-class mail, whereas the day ranges for end-to-end marketing mail, periodicals and package services will be shortened.”

The amendments are projected to save $36 billion over the next 10 years “from transportation, mail processing, and real estate cost reductions.”

What People Are Saying

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement on February 26: “By implementing the new standards and the operational initiatives to which they are aligned, we will be better able to achieve the goals of our modernization plans and create a high-performing, financially sustainable organization, which is necessary to achieve the statutory policies and objectives established for the Postal Service by law.”

What’s Next

The cost-saving measures come at a time when Trump is considering merging the USPS into the Commerce Department, and bringing it under the authority of the executive branch.

“We want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money. And we’re thinking about doing that,” Trump said last week.