USPS Pushes Holiday Rates Higher With 8% Temporary Increase Still In Place
USPS is proposing another round of holiday package rate increases for 2026, with some commercial hikes significantly larger than last year.
The temporary increases would run from October 4, 2026 through January 17, 2027 and cover Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select.
The changes have been approved by the Postal Service's governors but remain subject to review by the Postal Regulatory Commission. USPS says the increase is intended to help cover additional peak-season handling costs and bring its pricing in line with competitors.
If approved, the increases would overlap entirely with the separate 8% transportation-related increase USPS imposed in April, another "temporary" measure scheduled to expire on the same day.
For commercial Priority Mail and Ground Advantage shipments traveling within Zones 1-4, the holiday increase starts at $0.40 for packages up to 3 lbs and rises to $3.15 for heavier shipments.
Commercial Priority Mail packages going to Zones 5-9 will increase $0.85 for shipments up to 3 lbs, $1.75 for 4-10 lbs, $3.85 for 11-25 lbs and $9.10 for packages weighing 26-70 lbs.
Ground Advantage increases for those same longer-distance zones range from $0.55 for packages up to 3 lbs to $7.70 for shipments from 26-70 lbs.
USPS first introduced temporary holiday package increases in 2020 and has used them every year since, but many of the proposed 2026 increases are significantly larger than in 2025.
Last year, the commercial holiday increase for Priority Mail and Ground Advantage packages up to 3 lbs traveling within Zones 1-4 was $0.30. This year it would be $0.40.
The 4-10 lb increase rises from $0.45 last year to $0.65 this year, while the increases for heavier packages in those zones are roughly 40% higher than the 2025 peak adjustments.
For lightweight Ground Advantage packages traveling to Zones 5-9, the proposed commercial increase jumps from $0.35 last year to $0.55 this year.
The published commercial rates won't necessarily match what every marketplace seller ultimately pays. Shipping platforms can negotiate USPS pricing that differs from published commercial rates, and sellers have already seen an unusual amount of movement in those rates this year.
USPS implemented a broader Competitive Products rate update in July that changed Ground Advantage pricing and reduced the dimensional weight divisor from 166 to 139, making many larger but lightweight packages more expensive.
Liz Morton
Sellers have also seen more targeted changes outside the regular USPS rate schedule. Some Ground Advantage rates suddenly dropped in June, while eBay sellers have since seen additional increases and decreases affecting particular weights and zones.
Liz Morton
Exactly how the holiday increases will show up in marketplace label rates will depend on each platform’s negotiated USPS pricing. To the extent sellers pass higher shipping costs on to buyers, those increases can have other marketplace effects as well.
On eBay, final value fees are generally assessed on shipping collected from buyers, while shipping is also included in reported Gross Merchandise Volume, meaning higher postage can increase both seller fees and GMV even if item prices and the number of items sold are unchanged.
USPS added an 8% transportation-related increase to Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select on April 26, citing higher fuel and contracted transportation costs.
Liz Morton
USPS described it as a "time-limited" increase scheduled to run through January 17, 2027, but also called it a "bridge to a permanent mechanism" that would allow the Postal Service to respond more quickly to changing transportation costs and market conditions.
The Postal Service reported a $2.5 billion net loss for fiscal Q3 2026 despite revenue rising 6.1% to $19.9 billion. Losses through the first nine months of the fiscal year totaled roughly $5.7 billion.
Liz Morton
Speaking at the August 7 Board of Governors meeting, Postmaster General David Steiner said USPS has "more price to take in the marketplace" and argued the agency should continue using pricing to improve its financial position even if higher rates cause some volume declines.
In Q3, Shipping and Packages revenue rose 7.7% even as volume fell 3.4%, a tradeoff Steiner said USPS is willing to make if doing so maximizes revenue.
