A notice has been filed by the agency’s Board of Governors with the commission for the price hike of certain mail services. If the notice is approved, stamp costs will increase by 5 cents to $0.55, rates of mailing services such as catalogs, magazines, and letters would increase by 2.5%, prices of Priority Mail Express would spike 3.9% and that of Priority Mail by 5.9%.
This could be the third consecutive annual price hike. The company believes that the new rates will provide adequate revenue and make itself more competitive. President Donald Trump has been hinting the agency to consider a price hike in May as Amazon (AMZN) has been paying much less for products shipment through the US Postal Service.
The company confirmed that the hike has not impacted the prices for the weekend or holiday delivery. The hike does not include or add the surcharge for fuel or residential delivery. The agency offers among the lowest mail postage rates despite offering great value in shipping.
Thanks to the rising dominance of the internet, the US Postal Service experienced a drop in revenue from $28.4 billion in 2015 to $25.6 billion in 2017. The agency has accumulated $58.7 billion net deficit over the years.
Meanwhile, postal unions have protested over the White House proposal of privatizing the Post Office.