U.S. Post Office makes big pricing decision for holiday season

U.S. Post Office makes big pricing decision for holiday season

The U.S. Post Office is making a change ahead of the holiday season that could translate into savings for customers.

In a statement, the Post Office announced it will not add any additional surcharges for customers this holiday season, something it said adds “increased predictability in pricing or customers.” The decision means there will be no additional fees for residential area delivery, Saturday delivery or for minimum volumes.

“Our 2022 peak season was a tremendous success. We are ready to deliver for the holidays in a superior and routine manner,” said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “And with no holiday surcharges, we are strongly positioned to be America’s most affordable delivery provider this holiday season.”

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In 2022, postal surcharges were in place from early October to late January and ranged from an additional 25 cents to $6.50. Last year, USPS processed more than 11.7 billion pieces of mail and packages during the holiday season with an average delivery time of 2.5 days.

USPS said it will also add 10,000 seasonal employees and is installing 47 new sorting machines ahead of the holiday. The mail service has also expanded its daily package processing capacity to about 70 million, an increase of 10 million over last year.