Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Postal Service is preparing to raise prices on its shipping services, effective Jan. 18, 2026, per a Friday news release.
- The planned increases include average rate bumps of 7.8% for Ground Advantage, 6% for Parcel Select, 6.6% for Priority Mail and 5.1% for Priority Mail Express. The changes, which have already been approved by the agency's board of governors, will be reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission prior to taking effect.
- "The governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the organization with needed revenue," the release said.
U.S. Postal Service rate hikes planned for Jan. 18, 2026
| Service | Rate increase |
|---|---|
| Connect Local | 4.9% |
| Ground Advantage (average) | 7.8% |
| Ground Advantage (retail) | 5.9% |
| Ground Advantage (commercial) | 9.6% |
| Parcel Select (average) | 6% |
| Parcel Select (delivery unit entry) | 5.9% |
| Parcel Select (sectional center facility entry) | 5.9% |
| Priority Mail (average) | 6.6% |
| Priority Mail (retail) | 6.3% |
| Priority Mail (commercial) | 6.9% |
| Priority Mail Express (average) | 5.1% |
| Priority Mail Express (retail) | 5% |
| Priority Mail Express (commercial) | 5.9% |
Source: U.S. Postal Service. The price increases are pending Postal Regulatory Commission review.
Dive Insight:
The Postal Service's planned price hikes outpace FedEx and UPS' incoming base rate increases in some instances. They also sit on average above the increases the agency installed this past January, save for Connect Local and Parcel Select services.
The planned rate increases suggest the Postal Service is looking to attract heavier shipments moving over shorter distances, according to an analysis from Nate Skiver, parcel analyst and founder of LPF Spend Management. For Ground Advantage, a package weighing less than one pound will see a 12.2% average bump, compared to 4.4% for shipments between eight and 20 pounds, he said in a LinkedIn post.
Under Postmaster General David Steiner, the Postal Service is searching for ways to improve its bottom line as financial losses continue to mount. The agency posted a net loss of $9 billion in fiscal year 2025.
“The financial results reflect the difficulties of our mandated cost structure and the continued decline in volume, offset to some degree by the Postal Service’s efforts to push back against those trends by aggressively managing the costs we can control and by the judicious use of our pricing authority," CFO Luke Grossmann said in an earnings announcement Friday.
The agency did see a 1.2% year-over-year uptick in operating revenue despite lower volume. In the earnings release, the Postal Service attributed the jump largely to the performance of its Ground Advantage service and "strategic price increases in both of our mail and shipping categories."
The Postal Service also saw a slight YoY increase in operating expenses during the 2025 fiscal year. The agency said voluntary early retirement buyouts and other costs contributed to the 0.4% bump, which was partially offset by lower transportation expenses.
