New York
CNN
—
Stamp costs are set to extend — once more.
The US Postal Service filed a discover with its regulators to extend costs on First-Class “Without end” stamps to 73 cents from 68 cents, marking but another price hike for the financially beleaguered federal company.
If accredited by the Postal Regulatory Fee, the change would take impact in July, elevating the price of mailing providers merchandise by practically 8%.
Stamp costs alone have soared 36% since 2019 after they used to price 50 cents. The Postal Service final raised First-Class stamp costs by two cents in January, just some months after it raised prices three cents in July 2023.
In a press release, the USPS mentioned that the “worth changes are wanted to realize the monetary stability” sought within the company’s 10-year plan introduced by Postmaster Basic Louis DeJoy in 2021 to make it extra aggressive and more modern.
“USPS costs stay among the many most reasonably priced on the planet,” the assertion mentioned.
Different modifications embody home postcard costs growing from 53 cents to 56 cents and worldwide postcard costs growing from $1.55 to $1.65.
It’s uncommon, however not unparalleled, for the regulators to say no USPS requests; they did so in 2010. The Postal Regulatory Fee denied a worth hike as a result of, in accordance with its assertion on the time, USPS “failed each to quantify the affect of the recession on its funds and to indicate how its fee request pertains to the ensuing lack of mail quantity.”
First-Class mail is changing into a smaller a part of the Postal Service’s enterprise due to on-line communication. The variety of particular person letters despatched every year has fallen by about half up to now decade.
DeJoy, appointed throughout the Trump administration, has pursued sweeping modifications throughout his tenure to attempt to bolster the company’s funds. USPS expects to lose $6.3 billion in 2024.