New USPS Slowdowns and Price Hikes – Oct 2021
If you use the US Postal Service to do business or pay bills, like 160 million other residences and companies, you might be in for a bumpy ride with the agency’s recent delivery and rate changes.
The new service standards for first-class mail and packages, which started Oct. 1, lengthen delivery time for about 30% of its volume. What that means is some letters, parcels and magazine subscriptions traveling longer distances could take up to five days to arrive, instead of two or three days. Moreover, on top of the latest price increases that took effect in August, the Postal Service just temporarily increased the cost to ship a parcel during the holiday season.
Who will be affected by the Postal Service slowdowns?
Individuals and businesses will face longer delivery times for both outgoing and incoming mail that needs to travel by postal truck for farther distances. So the changes will especially impact people sending letters or packages from coast to coast — and also to and from Alaska and Hawaii, as well as to and from Puerto Rico and US territories that rely on air transportation.
Delays in first-class mail could also affect customers unevenly depending on the ZIP code. According to The Washington Post, the plan will disproportionately affect Western states and parts of Texas and Florida, for example. Also, rural communities, low-income families and seniors tend to depend more on the Postal Service.
Mail delays are a burden for those who risk fees or penalties for late rent checks or bills. They’re also worrisome for those waiting for payments or important documents to arrive by post.
[We recommend you give yourself a healthy window to send or receive important packages or confirm that mail sent by a specific post date will be accepted by your recipient.]
What is the Postal Service’s new cost-cutting plan about?
The Postal Service has said it’s struggling to meet high performance standards, and it’s been financially underwater for a while now. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated its sluggish service and cash crisis, as staffing shortages collided with both the surge of online buying for essentials and the influx of 2020 election ballots, which pushed DeJoy into the national spotlight. (More on that below.)
One way the USPS plans to reduce costs is by using fewer airplanes to ship mail and instead use more trucks, which can move a higher volume of mail for less money. Ground transportation is also more reliable than air in all seasons, according to the Postal Service.
When asked for comment, a Postal Service spokesperson said the new service standards will increase delivery reliability, consistency and efficiency for customers.
The 10-year plan also includes a multibillion-dollar contract to modernize the ancient delivery vehicle fleet, with the new trucks appearing on carrier routes in 2023. There are also proposed investments in equipment and infrastructure to help transport the growing volume of packages more efficiently, as well as upgrades to postal facilities.
How is delivery for first-class mail and packages changing?
Not all first-class mail will be affected by the new service standards. Here’s how it breaks down.
First-class mail (standard-size, single-piece letters and envelopes): The Postal Service says 39% of mail will now be delivered in three to five days, depending on the distance between origin and destination. The rest (61% of local mail) will be unaffected and will be delivered in one to two days.
First-class package service (smaller, lightweight parcels): The Postal Service says 32% of packages will now be delivered in four to five days, with the longest distances having the longest timetable (such as between California and New York). The remainder (68% of packages) will still be delivered in two to three days.
Periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers): The Postal Service says only 9% of publications will now be delivered in up to five days, and 93% will still be delivered in two days or less.
What can cause Postal Service delivery delays?
There are many reasons why there might be a holdup with your Postal Service mail, and many times it’s not what you’d expect. Here are some of the most common reasons for mail delays.
Weather: Postal delivery disruptions could be due to severe winter storms, floods, natural disasters or power outages. Customers can check weather-related delays on the Service Alerts page on the Postal Service’s website.
Holidays: The holiday season is the busiest time for the Postal Service, and the spike in parcel volume can cause delays if the agency isn’t able to deal with the amount of rush purchases through retailers. One way to avoid this is to prepare early and avoid last-minute gift buying and shipping.
Wrong address: Sometimes the delivery address is incorrect, or there’s a problem with the address such as a missing apartment number or an unreadable street name.
Notification slip missing: If the Postal Service wasn’t able to deliver your mail because no one was there to receive it or there wasn’t a safe place to leave it, you might get a notice telling you that your package is waiting at the nearest post office. However, if that slip gets lost, you might have to take a couple extra steps to track down your mail. (See below.)
There’s also the pandemic, which has affected postal workers. Employees have had to follow social distancing guidelines, quarantine restrictions and safety protocols, leading to interruptions in the processing and delivery of mail. At the same time, there’s been a significant rise in parcel volume because of the lockdowns. Certain USPS facilities were so overwhelmed that they simply stopped accepting mail.
