Snail mail is slowing down even further.
The U.S. Postal Service announced Monday that almost a third of First-Class Package Service mail will take a day longer to be delivered beginning May 1.
The proposed changes would include some speed upgrades — 4% of packages will arrive in two days instead of three — but 32% of packages will see their service standard increase from two to three days, according to a USPS fact sheet.
Packages traveling the longest distances will be most affected, but 64% of the FCPS volume will not change under the new system, the Postal Service said.
The Postal Service is also removing the extra day from priority mail ground shipping initially put in place in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative is part of the Postal Service’s 10-year plan for achieving financial sustainability, called “Delivering for America.”
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“This action will contribute to our cost savings efforts and improve our reliability across all product classes, including our growing package market,” Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy said in a release. “By implementing the elements of our 10-year plan, we will deliver the consistent, reliable service that the American people and our customers expect and deserve and grow package volume, spurring revenue growth that can be invested back into the Postal Service.”
The USPS hopes to make $40 billion in investments to improve its service — including $20 billion toward its mail and package processing network, facility upgrades and new processing equipment, the Postal Service said in the release. The plan aims to recoup $160 billion in losses over the next decade.
The USPS also said it does not receive tax dollars and relies on product and postage sales to fund operations.
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