Slower U.S. mail standards take effect Friday

Reuters

Published Sep 29, 2021 05:08PM ET

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) plan takes effect Friday to slow down some first-class mail deliveries as part of efforts to cut red ink as the U.S. Congress continues to consider a financial relief package for the cash-strapped Post Office.

The new standards, which were finalized in August, revise existing one- to three-day service standards to one to five days and will impact about 40% of first-class mail.

Delivery standards will be slower for about 7% of periodicals. Some major U.S. businesses are sending notices telling customers to account for additional time when mailing bills.

USPS recommends that "if it would take you more than a day to drive your mail to its destination, make sure to give your long-distance mail some extra time to travel with USPS."

USPS also plans starting on Oct. 3 to again temporarily hike prices for some package shipments for the 2021 peak holiday season.

Postmaster Louis DeJoy in March proposed cutting $160 billion in predicted losses over the next decade with the changes in service standards a key part.

USPS has struggled with poor delivery performance over the past year, facing a huge boost in packages and staffing issues due to COVID-19.

In late August, USPS raised prices of first-class stamps to 58 cents from 55 cents.

USPS has reported net losses of more than $90 billion since 2007. One reason is 2006 legislation mandating it pre-fund more than $120 billion in retiree healthcare and pension liabilities, a requirement labor unions have called an unfair burden not shared by other businesses.

Congress is considering a plan to provide USPS with $46 billion in financial relief over 10 years, including eliminating the requirement that USPS pre-fund retiree health benefits for 75 years.