UPS Issues Holiday Mailing Deadlines, waives peak-time surcharges

The US Postal Service has released holiday shipping deadlines.

For packages being shipped to all states, including Alaska and Hawaii, the deadline for USPS Ground Advantage shipping and First Class Mail, including greeting cards, is December 16. Priority mail must be sent by December 18 and Priority Express Mail must be sent by Dec. 20. 

Shipping deadlines for international mail vary depending on the destination. Check out International Mail and Shipping Services for details. 

For additional rates and more information, click on the link attached to this story on wnegradio.com https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2023/1010-usps-holiday-shipping-and-mailing-deadlines-announced.htm

Regarding mail and shipping costs, the U.S. The U.S. Postal Service is deviating from its recent trend of charging additional peak-time surcharges during the holidays, announcing that they will not be tacking on peak-time charges for mailing or shipping this holiday season. 

Both UPS and Fedex have already announced that they will be adding surcharges during the 2023 holiday season. 

In 2022, temporary holiday rates, in effect from Oct. 2, 2022, until January 23, 2023, were approximately 2% higher for Priority Mail. Express Priority mail saw a temporary 6% bump in price for the holiday season, and First Class Postal Service was bumped more than 8 percent for the holiday season in 2022, when the Postal Service processed more than 11.7 billion mailpieces and packages during the holiday season and , on average, it took 2.5 days to deliver a mailpiece or package to its intended destination, according to USPS data. 

Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy announced the decision, saying the USPS has been preparing for the 2023 season in order to keep the costs low.

He said, “We are ready to deliver for the holidays in a superior and routine manner. We have been planning early and leveraging investments in our people, infrastructure, transportation and technology made possible by the Delivering for America plan. And with no holiday surcharges, we are strongly positioned to be America’s most affordable delivery provider this holiday season.”

DeJoy said that, in addition to foregoing peak-season charges, there will also be no additional fees for residential area delivery, saturday delivery, or minimum volumes. 

However, USPS has raised the price of stamps more than once this year. In January, the price of a domestic first class forever stamp – the type of stamp used to mail a first-class letter – rose from 60 cents to 63 cents. In July, it rose to 66 cents. In early October, USPS announced plans to increase the cost to 68 cents in January 2024. Additionally, on November 15, USPS announced additional price increases scheduled for 2024, including a 5.4 percent increase for USPS Ground Advantage, a 5.7 percent increase for Priority Mail service, and a 5.9 percent increase for Priority Mail Express service.