More fallout from the war in Iran: The United States Postal Service (USPS) plans to permanently add a fuel surcharge next year.
The move follows in the footsteps of both FedEx and UPS, which also increased their prices due to the skyrocketing cost of gas and diesel, according to Supply Chain Dive.
As of last week, gas prices were $4.22 a gallon on average in the U.S., up from $2.98 before the Iran war. Meanwhile, diesel crossed over the $6-a-gallon threshold last month and is now at $6.35 a gallon, compared with $3.76 a gallon last February.
Just to be clear, USPS previously added a flat 8% temporary surcharge back in April that expires on January 17. What’s changing is that the U.S. post office is now permanently adding a variable extra fee, meaning it will change week-to-week, per Supply Chain Dive.
At the time it filed the temporary increase, USPS cited FedEx’s 25.5% ground fuel surcharge and UPS’s 26% increase; and instead chose to tack on a fixed 8% fee for 266 days.
Here’s what the new move means for your shipping costs at the post office.
The changes go into effect in January 2027, when USPS will start adding an extra variable fee to packages shipped domestically as Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, and Parcel Select.
That all depends on the week. S. Energy Information Administration’s website. The post office is calculating the fees as a percentage of the base postage amount, according to Supply Chain Dive.
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