New service standards for First-Class Mail and Periodicals implemented by the United States Postal Service (USPS) on Oct. 1, will mean more mail likely to be delivered via ground transportation and mail traveling the greatest distances the most impacted.
The new service standards, according to the USPS, will “increase delivery reliability, consistency, and efficiency for our customers and across our network,” with 61% of First-Class Mail and 93% of Periodicals unaffected by the changes.
Standards for single-piece First-Class Mail traveling within a local area will continue to be two days. USPS said it will increase time-in-transit standards by one or two days for certain mail traveling longer distances.
“By doing so, the Postal Service can entrust its ground network to deliver more First-Class Mail, which will lead to greater consistency, reliability, and efficiency that benefits its customers,” according to the USPS.