The US Postal Service wants to raise stamp prices to 63 cents

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The US Postal Service said Friday it wants to raise the price of first-class postage forever from 60 cents to 63 cents to account for inflationary costs.

The USPS has filed notice of the proposed increase with the Postal Regulatory Commission and wants the increase to become effective January 22. US Postal Office Director Louis Dejoy said in August that inflation would cause USPS costs to exceed its 2022 budget plan “by more than $1 billion.”

There will be no change to the one-piece letter and the additional fixed-ounce price, but other prices including the cost of an international letter will rise by five cents to $1.45.

The USPS said first-class mail rates overall will rise 4.2%.

DeJoy said the USPS has failed for years to charge enough fees to deliver packages and mail.

Struggling dwindling mail volumes Despite having to deliver to a growing number of addresses, the USPS reported net losses of more than $90 billion from 2007 through August when it booked a one-off, $59.6 billion cash benefit after President Joe Biden signed off on Financial aid legislation in law.

DeJoy released a reform plan in March 2021 that aims to eliminate $160 billion in expected losses over the next decade.

DeJoy said that despite the reforms, losses would still be $60 billion to $70 billion over the next 10 years — and the USPS should cut operating costs from $35 to $40 billion.

“I have to use pricing,” DeJoy said in July, adding that he believes mailers have “got a deal for the past 10 years and we’re charging them.”

The USPS raised the prices of Class A stamps in July from 58 cents to 60 cents after stamps rose 3 cents in August 2021.

USPS receives $3 billion from Congress to boost electric vehicle and charge purchases. In July, the USPS said it plans to purchase at least 25,000 EVs.

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