WASHINGTON—The United States Postal Service (USPS) on Monday said it was seeking approval to hike the price of first-class mail stamps to 66 cents from 63 cents.
USPS won approval to hike stamp prices to 63 cents from 60 cents in January. The new hike—which the USPS says is needed to offset the rise in inflation—would take effect July 9 if approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
The price changes have been approved by USPS board of governors. The plan seeks to raise overall first-class mail prices by 5.4 percent.
If approved, stamp prices will have risen 32 percent since early 2019 when they rose from 50 cents to 55 cents.
USPS revenue for first-class mail has been increasing as price hikes have offset lower volumes.
First-class mail, used by most people to send letters and pay bills is the highest revenue-generating mail class, accounting for $24.2 billion, or 31 percent, of the $78.8 billion in total USPS revenue in 2022.
USPS said in February revenue for the final three months of 2022 was $21.5 billion, up $206 million, or 1 percent, on a volume decline of 1.7 billion pieces, or 4.8 percent. USPS reported a net loss for the quarter of $1 billion.
First-Class Mail revenue increased $95 million, or 1.5 percent, on a volume decline of 587 million pieces, or 4.5 percent versus the same period in 2021. First-Class Mail volume remains lower than pre-pandemic levels.
“Elevated inflation continues to have a significant impact on our results,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett in February.
In April 2022, President Joe Biden signed legislation providing USPS with about $50 billion in financial relief over a decade. USPS has reported net losses of more than $90 billion since 2007.
Congress also forgave a $10 billion COVID-19 U.S. Treasury loan made to USPS in 2020 and awarded USPS $3 billion last year to fund electric vehicle purchases and charging infrastructure.
