US Postal Service seeks to hike stamp prices to 78 cents

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States Postal Service said on Wednesday it wants to raise the price of first-class mail stamps to 78 cents from 73 cents effective July 13.

The proposal, which must be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, would raise overall mailing services product prices by 7.4%.

USPS in January opted not to hike prices for the first time since 2022 after a series of price hikes in recent years. Stamp prices are up 46% since early 2019 when they were 50 cents.

In March, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who led efforts to restructure the money-losing U.S. Postal Service for nearly five years, resigned effective immediately.

DeJoy had pushed for aggressive price hikes in part to offset the impact of inflationary pressures at USPS.

USPS has lost more than $100 billion since 2007, including $9.5 billion in the 12 months ending Sept. 30 but reported in February net income of $144 million for the three months ending Dec. 31.

As electronic communications have proliferated, the postal service has been hurt by an 80% decline in first-class mail volume since 1997, and it is now at its lowest level since 1968.

In February, USPS adopted new service standards that will save the agency at least $36 billion over 10 years.

In 2022, President Joe Biden extended $50 billion in financial relief over a decade to USPS, while Congress separately forgave a $10 billion loan.

USPS announced a restructuring plan in 2021 that aimed to eliminate $160 billion in predicted losses over the next decade. USPS now projects $80 billion in losses over the period and plans further cuts to address the shortfall.

Republican President Donald Trump, who in February called the agency a "tremendous loser for this country," said he was considering merging the Postal Service with the Commerce Department, a move Democrats said would violate federal law.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Aurora Ellis)