Following Increase in January, USPS Proposes Record Increase to First Class Postage

The Postal Service says the increases are needed due to declining revenue

Following a price increase this past January, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is proposing a five cent price increase to first-class postage. If approved, it will be the largest postage price hike ever, surpassing the four cent price hike in 1991.

First-Class and packages to see Rate Increase

The USPS said in a release that it wants to raise the price of the first-class 'Forever" stamp from the current 50 cents to 55 cents effective January 27, 2019. The price of this stamp already went up in January of this year from 49 cents to 50 cents. The USPS also proposed and increase of 5.9 percent and 3.9 percent for priority mail and priority mail express rates, respectively. Additionally, an increase of 9.3 percent on Parcel Select packages weighing over 1 pound and a 12.3 percent increase on lighter packages have been proposed. These services are frequently used by Amazon and by both UPS and FedEx as the last leg of delivery.

USPS Losing Money

In it's release, the USPS Board of Governors believes that the new rates "will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with needed revenue." The USPS reported a net loss of about $2.7 billion for the 2017 fiscal year. A decline of first-class and marketing mail is hurting the bottom line, but losses aren't as bad as they could be since an increase in the amount of package deliveries is mitigating the losses.

Some Prices to Go down or stay the same

The USPS is proposing a reduction to each additional ounce of first-class postage in excess of the first ounce, which is currently 21 cents. Under the proposal, each additional ounce of first class postage would fall to 15 cents.

The price of outbound international letters (1 oz.) will stay at $1.15 and the price of domestic postcards with stay at 35 cents.

Rate Table