The U.S. Postal Service has announced a holiday price hike, going into effect on Oct. 2 and staying in effect until Jan. 22, 2023.
In its announcement, the USPS noted that “this temporary rate adjustment is similar to ones in past years that help cover extra handling costs to ensure a successful peak season.”
The USPS does not generally receive tax money for operations, relying on postage, products, and services to bring in revenue.
Parcel types impacted by the hike include Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Package Service, USPS Retail Ground, and Parcel Select.
International packages will be unaffected by the rise in rates.
Price changes for the above parcel types depend on your USPS zone.
These zones are not defined as geographical entities, but instead refer to the distance between the package origin and its destination. The zones are ranked on a 1-9 scale, with 1 representing local shipments.
Zones 1-4 have less of an increase for the aforementioned parcel types, while Zones 5-9 have a greater increase.
Price increases also scale with the weight of a package, and retail packages will also see a greater rate increase than commercial packages.
A detailed breakdown of the rate increases can be found on the U.S. Postal Service site here.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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