FILE PHOTO: A United States Postal Service (USPS) truck is seen in the rain in Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York, U.S., April 13, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
The U.S. Postal Service is proposing a plan to save money by slowing its delivery speed for parcels traveling more miles, converting its delivery guarantee for First-Class Package Service (FCPS) from the current umbrella 3-day service plan for the continental U.S. to a range of two to five days based on distance.
If that plan is approved, the USPS would transport more packages by truck instead of plane, saying that mode is more reliable and affordable, helping it to improve on-time delivery rates and offer lower rates to shippers. “These changes position us to better utilize our existing ground network, in which the average truck currently runs approximately 40% full. By moving more packages via surface transportation than air, we will improve service reliability, increase efficiency, and reduce costs,” the service said in a release.
The change would be one more step in Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to balance the books of the infamously money-losing agency, following his announcement in May that he had requested regulatory approval to hike stamp prices for first class mail from 55 cents to 58 cents beginning August 29.