Americans could see mail delivery slowdowns beginning Friday as the U.S. Postal Service implements new service standards for first-class mail and periodicals.
Officials said 61% of first-class mail and 93% of periodicals will be unaffected by the changes, though mail traveling longer distances will be delayed by one or two days. The new standards will slow the USPS’ target delivery time by about 30%, agency spokesperson Kim Frum told NPR. Delivery times for first-class packages will also be impacted, according to NPR.
First-class mail traveling within a local area will continue to be delivered in two days, according to USPS.
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“These changes would position us to leverage more cost-effective means to transport First-Class packages via ground rather than using costly air transportation, which is also less reliable due to weather, flight traffic, availability constraints, competition for space, and the added hand-offs involved,” Frum told NPR.
The changes are part of a 10-year strategic plan announced in March by Postmaster Louis DeJoy, USA Today reported. The “Delivering for America” plan is aimed at modernizing the USPS and helping the agency achieve financial solvency through investments in technology, training, a new fleet of delivery vehicles and more.
“The need for the U.S. Postal Service to transform to meet the needs of our customers is long overdue,” DeJoy said in March.
Beginning Sunday through Dec. 26, the USPS will also raise prices on commercial and retail domestic packages for the holiday season, USA Today reported. Frum told the newspaper that international products will not be affected.
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