U.S. Postal Service plans 11% package fuel surcharge for parcels but no hike to first-class stamps

The U.S. Postal Service said on Thursday it is calling for an 11% increase to the cost of sending domestic priority mail and package deliveries in January. 

Big picture view:

The Postal Regulatory Commission must approve the proposed price hike, which the postal service says it necessary because of rising fuel costs. 

However, USPS says it does not plan to raise the price of first-class stamps, which went up 4 cents from 78 to 82 cents in July. 

USPS implemented an 8% surcharge in April, but said higher fuel costs drove up the expense of transporting mail in the 12 months ending Sept. 30 by $225 million, Reuters reported. The 8% surcharge was planned to be temporary, but the post office now says it will make that permanent and add 3% to reach the 11% total increase.

It will seek to hike overall domestic shipping services like Priority Mail service, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select by 5.9% on average and hopes to raise prices an average of 7.9% on international deliveries.

By the numbers:

USPS sought $2 billion in support and reimbursements from Congress on Tuesday, warning lawmakers of the possibility fo significant cuts in retail post offices and other reductions unless lawmakers help. The postal service says the money will go to pay for unfunded requirements Congress has imposed.

The agency reported a $6.5 billion annual loss versus a net loss of $9 billion over the earlier year.

Since 2007, the postal service has reported net losses of more than $120 billion dollars. On top of that, the volume of first-class mail, which is USPS’s most profitable product, fell to its lowest level since 1965. 

The Source: Information for this story came from Reuters and the U.S. Postal Service. This story was reported from Orlando.