USPS mail delivery is about to get permanently slower and temporarily more expensive
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Americans who have been frustrated with the slow service of the U.S. Postal Service since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic probably won’t be thrilled to hear this:
The service is about to get even slower.
Starting Friday, USPS will “implement new service standards for First Class Mail and Periodicals,” Kim Frum, a spokeswoman for USPS, said in an email to USA TODAY.
The changes mean an increased time-in-transit for mail traveling long distances, such as from New York to California. Frum said that “most first class mail (61%) and periodicals (93%) will be unaffected” by the changes. Single-piece first-class mail traveling within the same region will still have a delivery time of two days.
Additionally, starting Oct. 3 through Dec. 26, the USPS will temporarily increase prices on all commercial and retail domestic packages due to the holiday season and anticipated uptick in mail volume. Those price increases will not affect international products, Frum said.