USPS began making special deliveries of Amazon packages on Sundays in 2013 at a time when Sunday deliveries were unheard of other than for special Express packages. Over time, that extra day on the roads took a toll on the aging fleet of postal trucks. President Trump called the USPS Amazon’s “delivery boy” in 2018. And as late as 2023, there was concern from some quarters that Amazon’s relationship with the USPS was putting pressure on mail service.
New Postmaster General David Steiner said on Friday it’s time to rethink the practice of providing exclusive access to its greatest assets to a few high-volume customers. In an address to the USPS Board of Governors November 14, Steiner said:
“I do believe that we need to lean more heavily into our greatest asset – our first and last mile. We previously encouraged access to this valuable asset for only a few high-volume customers. I believe this undervalued our reach, limited business partnerships, and restricted revenue generation. We can, and will, better utilize and monetize our first- and last-mile assets.”
“Last mile” refers to the fact USPS delivers to every address in America, no matter how rural or remote – and therefore is more costly to deliver.
