USPS makes its fuel surcharge permanent and raises package prices 11%

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

A business shipping 500 Ground Advantage packages a month will pay roughly 11% more postage starting Jan. 17. The Postal Service's board approved the increase on Nov. 12, converting an emergency fuel charge imposed in April into a permanent one.

The mechanism is new for USPS and old hat for its competitors. FedEx and UPS have long indexed a fuel fee to diesel and jet fuel prices; USPS now says it will do the same, eventually resetting the percentage weekly. The agency says it needs the money: it lost $6.5 billion in fiscal 2026.

Why it matters

From January, every USPS package carries an 11% fuel fee, and the agency plans to reset it weekly like FedEx and UPS.

Questions about this story

Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Key Indicators

11%

Total fuel surcharge on domestic package services

The 8% April charge made permanent, plus 3 points for further fuel cost increases.

$6.10

National average diesel price, Nov. 12, 2026

Up from $3.76 a gallon a year earlier, according to AAA.

$6.5B

USPS net loss, fiscal 2026

Down from a $9 billion loss the year before.

5.9%

Average domestic shipping price increase

Covers Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select.

82 cents

First-Class Mail stamp price

Unchanged in January; it rose from 78 cents in July 2026.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

David Steiner

Postmaster General and chief executive of the Postal Service

In office; overseeing the 10-year cost-cutting plan

Luke Grossman

Chief Financial Officer, United States Postal Service

In office

Organizations Involved

United States Postal Service

Federal agency

Setting 2027 shipping prices; running annual losses

The national mail carrier, which funds itself from postage rather than annual appropriations.

Postal Regulatory Commission

Independent federal regulator

Reviewing the filed 2027 shipping prices

The independent agency that reviews Postal Service price changes before they take effect.

USPS Board of Governors

Governing board

Approved the 11% surcharge this week

The presidentially appointed body that sets Postal Service policy and approves rate filings.

Timeline

April 2026 November 2026

5 events Latest: 2 days ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
Board approves permanent 11% fuel surcharge
Latest Pricing

USPS files with the Postal Regulatory Commission to make the 8% April surcharge permanent, add 3 points, and raise domestic shipping prices 5.9% on average from Jan. 17, 2027. International prices rise 7.9% and the surcharge does not apply to them for now.
2 days ago
USPS reports a $6.5 billion annual loss
Financial

Fiscal 2026 revenue rose 3% to $83 billion while the net loss fell from $9 billion. Package revenue rose 7.7% in the third quarter even as volume dropped 3.4%.
4 days ago
October 2026
USPS outlines a weekly fuel surcharge
Policy

The agency describes plans to index a surcharge to diesel and jet fuel prices reported by the Energy Information Administration, similar to FedEx and UPS.
October 2026
July 2026
First-Class stamp rises to 82 cents
Pricing

The price of a First-Class Mail stamp goes from 78 cents to 82 cents.
July 2026
April 2026
USPS imposes its first fuel-related charge
Pricing

An 8% temporary transportation surcharge hits package services after diesel prices jump at the start of the Iran war. USPS says it is less than a third of what competitors charge for fuel.
April 2026

Scenarios

Fuel surcharge takes effect Jan. 17 as filed

Likely Resolves by Jan 17, 2027

Discussed by: USPS and its Board of Governors, which approved the filing; trade press covering the Postal Regulatory Commission docket

The regulator clears the filing, and shipping prices including the 11% surcharge apply to Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and Parcel Select from Jan. 17, 2027. Shippers absorb the increase or pass it to customers.

Regulator trims or postpones the increase

Possible Resolves by Feb 28, 2027

Discussed by: Postal Regulatory Commission watchers and mailer trade groups such as the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers

The commission reviews the filing and orders changes to the rates or pushes back the effective date, leaving shippers with a smaller increase than proposed or a later start.

Weekly fuel surcharge begins in 2027

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: USPS filings with the Postal Regulatory Commission, as reported by Supply Chain Dive

USPS replaces the fixed 11% with a percentage recalculated weekly from Energy Information Administration diesel and jet fuel prices, publishing each rate a few days before it applies. Ground Advantage and Parcel Select would track diesel; Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express would track jet fuel.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

Ongoing through 2026

Private-carrier fuel surcharges (through 2026)

FedEx and UPS have long levied fuel fees calculated as a percentage of base postage and updated as diesel and jet fuel prices move. When the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz disruptions pushed fuel costs up in 2026, those fees added to already elevated delivery prices for shippers.

Then

Shippers came to expect fuel as a separately stated, frequently changing line item rather than part of the base rate.

Now

Weekly indexed surcharges became the standard pricing structure in the parcel industry.

Why this matters now

USPS is adopting the same structure, which is why the January rate is described as a bridge to a mechanism rather than a one-time increase.

April 2026

USPS's April 2026 emergency fuel charge

After diesel prices jumped at the start of the Iran war, USPS imposed an 8% transportation surcharge on several package services through Jan. 17, 2027. The agency called it a necessary bridge and said it was less than a third of competitors' fuel charges.

Then

Package shipping revenue rose 7.7% year over year in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 even as volume fell 3.4%.

Now

The charge is being made permanent and raised to 11%, shifting a temporary emergency measure into the standing rate base.

Why this matters now

The January increase is that same surcharge, kept and enlarged, so shippers who absorbed the April fee should expect it to persist.