The U.S. Postal Service has asked regulators to approve across-the-board parcel price increases that would kick in on Sunday, January 18, 2026. The filing outlines average hikes of roughly 7.8% for USPS Ground Advantage, 6.6% for Priority Mail, 5.1% for Priority Mail Express and 6.0% for Parcel Select — the workhorse product for postal-injection parcels handed off by consolidators and regional carriers. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) must review the request before it can take effect.
Market-dominant mail (letters and cards) won’t see a January adjustment, meaning stamp prices stay put even as parcel rates climb — a split that underscores USPS’s bid to lean more on packages to close its structural budget gap.
The push for higher parcel yields lands as USPS posted a $9.0 billion net loss for the fiscal year ended September 30, despite $80.5 billion in operating revenue. Package revenue edged higher year over year, but package volume fell 5.7%, a mix shift that favors price over pieces moved. USPS also trimmed transportation expense by $422 million, reflecting ongoing network changes that continue to reshape highway and air haul needs across the system.
Postmaster General David Steiner told the USPS Board of Governors that revenue growth — not just cost cuts — will be required to stabilize the agency. He highlighted added capacity from more than 600 new package sorters (lifting daily throughput to 88 million pieces) and a leaner seasonal ramp of about 14,000 hires, all supported by a reconfigured network of regional processing and transfer nodes. He also pressed for policy changes and partnerships to broaden last‑mile offerings.
For trucking and parcel linehaul providers, the proposed rate structure has several practical implications:
– Expect tighter price discipline on postal-injection freight. With higher published rates on USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select, consolidators and 3PLs that feed the postal network have more room to pass through costs — and more incentive to scrutinize cube utilization and diversion decisions lane by lane.
– Anticipate continued route rationalization. USPS’s network optimization — already visible in the FY2025 transportation expense line — suggests further rebalancing of HCR (highway contract route) miles and schedules. Carriers tied to postal contracts should be ready for revised tender patterns and facility flows as RPDCs and sorting-and-delivery centers absorb more volume.
– Prepare shippers for yield over volume. The combination of fewer packages and higher revenue per piece points to sustained emphasis on density, dimensions and compliance. Parcel handlers and middle‑mile carriers will see closer attention to oversize handling, cubic thresholds and compliance data as USPS chases productivity gains alongside pricing.
The PRC docket for the proposal is CP2026‑2. While review is pending, USPS is signaling that competitive (parcel) prices will be managed to market conditions, while market‑dominant mail prices remain frozen in January — a two‑track approach also intended to keep the agency competitive against private carriers without another stamp hike.
The broader backdrop: USPS leadership is urging administrative and legislative fixes to long‑standing constraints around pensions, borrowing and workers’ comp as part of a push to restore financial sustainability. Those debates will influence how aggressively USPS can modernize its network — and, by extension, the cadence and composition of contracted highway and middle‑mile work that many trucking firms rely on.
Bottom line for carriers: budget now for a January 18 reset on postal parcel pricing, and talk with postal‑injection customers about lane strategy, compliance, and cube optimization. The price file may be changing, but the bigger story is network execution — where USPS is adding capacity, refining nodes, and looking for partners to extend reach and speed.
Sources: FreightWaves, USPS Newsroom, Reuters, AP News
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