Institute for Policy Studies: As President Trump and Elon Musk continue to voice interest in selling off the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to for-profit corporations, a timely new report from the Institute for Policy Studies finds that UPS and FedEx already charge extra for deliveries to ZIP codes where 102 million Americans live. These suburban, small-town, and remote areas would pay the biggest price for postal privatization.
“Today’s higher FedEx and UPS delivery rates are just a taste of what would come if the Trump administration succeeds in privatizing the U.S. Postal Service,” warns report author Sarah Anderson. “Without competition from our public Postal Service, for-profit firms would jack up delivery fees on as many customers as possible.”
Unlike the for-profit carriers, the Postal Service has a universal service obligation to provide affordable deliveries to all Americans, regardless of where they live or work. Currently, USPS parcel rates are about 25 percent to 60 percent below FedEx and UPS prices.
