U.S. Postal Service: New Plan Impact On Mail Delivery

USPS is changing mail delivery times. Here's what you need to know.

According to a report, the USPS wants to save 3 billion dollars a year which could result in some rural mail delivery getting slower. The new plan was put in place recently to cut costs and get into better financial shape.

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As of 2023, the Postal Service operates 33,641 Post Office and contract locations in the U.S. and delivered a total of 127.3 billion packages and pieces of mail to 164.9 million delivery points in fiscal year 2022.

USPS delivers mail and packages Monday through Saturday as required by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022; on Sundays, only Priority Express and packages for Amazon are delivered. The USPS delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities.

What Changes Will Be Made to Mail Delivery Times?

According to CBS News, under the proposed changes, all mail would still be delivered in its service standard of delivery within two to five days a USPS spokesman said. The majority of mail from rural areas is currently delivered in 3 days or less, which would continue to be the case, he added.

Mail delivery from some rural areas, however, may take an additional 12 to 24 hours, but would still arrive within a range of two to five days. In some cases, a piece of mail that might have taken three days to arrive could take four days instead, for example, the spokesman said.

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A USPS fact sheet about the proposed changes notes that the plan would have no impact on 75% of first-class mail.

Big Losses at USPS

The Postal Service has amassed more than $87 billion in losses from 2007 through 2020. Details were unveiled by the Postal Service ahead of a September 5 meeting in which the proposed changes will be discussed with stakeholders before being submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission, the USPS' regulatory body.

Election mail and holiday shipments won't be affected because the proposed changes would not take place until the next calendar year, officials said. They also added that medications should continue to be delivered at their current speed, or faster, under the proposal.