Postal Service to slow certain mail deliveries starting in October

U.S. Postal Service on Friday finalized a plan to slow down some first-class mail deliveries as part of an initiative to cut down red ink, Reuters reported.

The plan, which will go into effect on Oct. 1, will revise the existing one- to three-day service standards to one to five days. The postal service will keep 61 percent of the mail at its current standard, according to the news outlet.

Delivery service will also be slower for about 7 percent of periodicals.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who initially proposed the idea in March, said while the changes may be “uncomfortable,” they are committed to delivering to “every address in the nation, six days a week, and strives for financial sustainability.”

The Postal Service’s “addition of one or two days to current service standards for first-class mail and periodicals would enable the Postal Service to convey a greater volume of mail within the contiguous United States by surface transportation,” the notice said.

The Postal Service relies heavily on air transportation, which may experience delays due to weather, air traffic and air traffic control ground stops. 

The service reportedly had a $3 billion quarterly net loss on Friday, according to Reuters, but the loss is expected due to changes in delivery from the pandemic. 

DeJoy predicted in March that the changes would cut about $160 billion of the predicted losses over the next decade.