The U.S. Postal Service is set to increase rates next month for Alaska’s bypass mail program, which ships groceries and bulk goods across rural Alaska.
Bypass mail prices are set to rise by 9.4% as part of a suite of rate hikes approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission in May. The new rates are to go into effect on July 13.
The bypass mail program was established in 1972 and is unique to Alaska. Groceries and other cargo are shipped on shrink-wrapped pallets by air carriers contracted by the Postal Service, bypassing the typical mail process.
The program also has the effect of subsidizing air carriers that operate in rural Alaska.
In a 274-page order issued on May 30, the Postal Regulatory Commission stated that the bypass mail program “did not cover its attributable costs” for the last fiscal year, which required a 2% rate increase above the average for that class of mail.
James Boxrud, a USPS spokesman, said the price increase was needed to fully comply with the commission’s regulations to cover costs. He said bypass mail made $38.2 million for USPS in the last fiscal year. But the Postal Service then spent $118.9 million to subsidize the program, which was not covered by the federal government, he said
