USPS Implementing Changes That Will Affect Minnesotans Starting April 1st, 2025

Has anyone else noticed how it feels like things are taking longer to receive in the mail lately? There have been many times when I order something, it'll give me an expected delivery date, and then they have to push the date back one or two days.

*Pulls out cane* Back in my day, I remember getting packages by the date that was originally predicted if not earlier.

Something is clearly going on with the US Postal Service but they are going to be implementing some changes starting on April 1st, 2025 that they hope will improve their service in Minnesota and across the US.

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USPS' 'Delivering for America' Plan

USPS announced that they will be implementing some changes through their 'Delivering for America' plan. This plan is meant to save the postal service at least $36 billion "over 10 years from transportation, mail processing, and real estate cost reductions."

They plan to:

eliminate "redundant networks and [rationalize] the use of air and surface options"

improve "plant productivity, and eliminating unnecessary facilities"

and transition "its product offerings in the face of significant declines in mail volume."

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that USPS has been "historically burdened by service standard regulations and onerous business rules that have not been appropriately adjusted to account for volume and mail mix changes, forcing costly and ineffective operations."

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What Are the Changes Happening at USPS?

So what exactly are the changes that are coming?

USPS says these changes will affect first-class mail, periodicals, marketing mail, and package services.

For first-class mail, 75% of it will be delivered the same way as before, 14% will be at a faster delivery rate, and 11% will be a little slower than usual. They say that first-class mail will still be delivered within the 1-5 business day period.

They will also be utilizing existing ground networks that they have in order to eliminate "redundant networks and [rationalize] the use of air and surface options".

They are also changing how we are able to track our packages. It will be "broken into three phases so customers have a clearer understanding of how the mail process works."

However, there has been concern expressed about this plan already.

Concerns About the New USPS Changes

The part that seems to be getting the most pushback is regarding the elimination of redundant networks. This change will change the pick-up and drop-off times for some locations because there may not be a ground network as close to them as before.

An official told WBAZ, "Postal customers who live closer to regional hubs will see the greatest reductions in transit time for mail. However, transit times for some rural customers could grow while still falling within existing service standards".

So depending on where you live, your mail might take even longer to get to you.

On top of these changes, USPS also plans to increase postage again.

Postage Price Increases

In January 2025, the cost for certain postage went up between 3.2 and 9.2% depending on the type of mail. This did not include first-class mail or standard postage, although the cost of stamps just went up in July 2024 for the sixth time since 2020.

However, Federal News Network reports that they will raise mail prices in July 2025 and every January and July going forward through 2027.