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Americans are going postal over new prices.
The US Postal Service has announced a special delivery is headed to all packages — another price hike. The agency is proposing yet another round of shipping price increases for 2027.
The price hikes — which will start on Jan. 17, 2027, if passed by the Postal Regulatory Commission — will include an average 5.9% increase for domestic packages and a new permanent 11% fuel surcharge.
If the markup is approved, here’s what shipping services will increase by about 5.9% — Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select. These are the most common services used to ship packages domestically, like gifts, online orders and returns.
Another change hitting all USPS users is the fuel surcharge. The move originally started as a temporary measure back in April but would now become permanent.
The transportation-related price increase started at 8% but could now increase to a whopping 11% in January, with plans to reevaluate in July 2027 based on fuel prices.
International shipping is also taking a hit as USPS looks to make prices even higher. The agency has proposed a 7.9% increase on Priority Mail Express International, Priority Mail International, First-Class Package International Service and International Priority Airmail.
USPS said the price jumps have been approved by its Board of Governors but are still awaiting regulatory review.
“The USPS governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with much-needed revenue as it continues to struggle with financial issues,” it said in a statement.
Shoppers are in for no reprieve as the USPS holiday shipping surcharges are already in effect and are scheduled to expire Jan. 17, 2027 — the same day the new rates and permanent fuel surcharge would begin.
So don’t expect shipping costs to return to pre-holiday levels.
Why is USPS doing this? Simple: it’s running out of cash.
The independent federal establishment has been struggling financially since 2007. In June 2026, USPS warned lawmakers it could literally run out of money within a year, as it urged Congress to approve some much-needed changes.
US Postmaster General David Steiner blamed a broken business model.
“The bottom line is that we are out of cash. We are borrowing from our employees’ retirement funds to continue operations,” Steiner’s written testimony before a US Senate committee said. “The Postal Service has a broken business model and action is needed by Congress to fix it.”
USPS has reported net losses of about $120 billion since 2007 and one of the ways to continue making money is by looking at what works — price hikes. Back in April, the agency broke down its 10-year plan to “achieve financial stability,” while keeping America’s stamps the most affordable in the world.
The changes would mean a price hike on its mail, stamps, purchases and more.
USPS said the move will support the organization in “revitalizing its network and operations, modernizing and enabling it to achieve its public service mission.”
It would also allow the agency to continue providing a “nationwide, integrated network for the delivery of mail and packages at least six days a week — in a cost-effective and financially sustainable manner over the long term, just as the U.S. Congress has intended.”
While the Postal Service may be in dire need of cash, delivering a package of bad news right before the holidays is a real low blow.
