The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent federal government agency that provides postal services in the United States.

In recent years, the organization has been facing financial problems, which have led to various changes in its operations and services.

 In 2023, the USPS is planning several changes that will affect both its customers and employees. In this post, we will discuss some of the expected and most important USPS 2023 changes you need to know.

Top USPS changes 2023 you should expect.

Keeping with their tradition, the American Postal Agency have their annual changes for the year 2023, effective January 22, 2023. Together with the yearly standard rate increments in some First Class Mails and Priority Mail services, there are other essential changes you should know about.

• Increase in Prices.

One of the most significant USPS 2023 changes that will affect most of the ecommerce sellers who mail packages regularly is the increase in prices for postal services. The USPS has reported that it is planning to raise the prices of stamps, shipping rates, and other services to help clear its financial losses.

This means that it will cost more to send letters, packages, and other mail items through the USPS in 2023. people should expect to see the new prices in effect starting January 2022.

However, services such as Parcel Select Ground is not going to be affected by the USPS annual price changes and will remain among the only cheaper services within the agency.

However, despite these USPS annual price changes, you can save some time and money by automating your shipping methods.

• USPS changes 2023 to the mailing zones.

The agency categorizes parcel prices into location segments called “Shipping Zones ."Domestically, these zones are further divided into local zones and zone 1-9. The closest zones are local and zone 2.

Local zone mails are those that are only sorted and prepared at the post office of origin, while zone-1 is any mail that is within 50 mile-shipment radius, and finally, zone-2 mails are packages within 150 mile-shipment radius.

For the longest time, packages that fall within these three categories share the same pricing structure, but this is currently starting to change.

Starting January 20, 2023, the local zone will no longer exist, and the mail in this category will be moved to the zone one pricing system. In addition, zone two mails will now have their own pricing structure.

• Changes to the regional and local shipping.

The U.S. postal services have announced a planned restructuring of the elements of their local and regional shipping. These changes cover both discontinued services and increased prices, which might need you to change how you pick and deliver your goods.

Although the common USPS services are seeing an increase in their rates, the fortunate thing is that the USPS commercial rates are experiencing lower rates and cost less.

• The scrapping off of the regional rate shipping services.

USPS regional rate is a service that lets customers ship using preset USPS boxes that are ordered online and are way much cheaper when it is within short distances. However, the agency reported that they are doing away with it as part of the USPS changes 2023.

The removal of the regional rate shipping, together with the changes in the Priority Mail local zone and zones 1 and 2, will primarily affect business people who have a lot of localized businesses.

To help people who loved the service, they advise that customers should try using Priority Mail Cubic instead of the regional rate.

• Reduction in Services.

Another major change planned for 2023 is a reduction in services offered by the USPS. The agency plans to cut back on certain services and close some post offices in order to save money.

This could mean that some post offices will have shorter hours or may be closed altogether. Additionally, the USPS plans to reduce the number of mail delivery days in certain areas, which could mean that mail will be delivered less frequently. These changes will be announced in 2022.

• USPS Non-Standard Package Fee reviews.

A non-standard package fee is money charged for packages that exceed standard lengths and volumes allowed by the USPS in every mailing and shipping category. The volume is calculated in cubic feet, while the length is the longest side of a parcel.

If the length of the parcel is more than twenty-two to thirty inches, you'll have to part with an extra $4 for PME, PSG, PM, and FCPs. If the length exceeds thirty inches, there will be an additional $15 addition on the same categories.

On the other hand, there will be a $25 fee that will be charged if the volume is greater than 2 cubic feet. Cubic feet are calculated by multiplying length, width, and height.

It is important to know that the rates are additive, meaning if the volume is more than 2 cubic feet and the length is greater than 22 inches, both fees will be added to the overall shipping charges.

Image alt text: USPS 2023 changes. A postal service banner with the Priority Mail delivery dates.

Author credit: By United States Postal Service - http://www.usps.com, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28803223

The total fees added to the shipping costs are determined by buy requests and dimensions recorded in the shipment rate.

• New Delivery Methods

In an effort to cut costs, the USPS is also exploring new delivery methods in 2023. The agency plans to use drones and autonomous vehicles for mail delivery in certain areas.

This will help the USPS save money on transportation costs and will also allow for faster and more efficient delivery. Additionally, USPS is also considering using private delivery companies to handle mail delivery in certain areas.

• Simplifying the Canadian Pricing Groups

In recent years, the Priority Mail International shipping costs to Canada were divided into eight different pricing groups, but moving forward, the organization has decided to collapse Canadian shipping to one Pricing Group in all locations.

According to the shipping rate changes in 2023, all shipments to Canada will be classified under Pricing Group-1 for all international shipping.

In other news, the postal organization is updating “Turkey” to “Turkiye” for the official short name of the Republic of Turkey. So if you find this phrase on your label, know that it is not a typo. 

• Changes in Employment

The USPS is also planning changes in 2023 that will affect its employees. The agency plans to cut jobs and reduce benefits in order to save money.

This could mean that some employees will be laid off while others will see their hours or benefits reduced. The USPS is also planning to offer early retirement packages to some of its employees. The USPS will announce the changes in 2022.

Understanding the USPS Non-Compliance Fee

Significantly, e-commerce businesses do not ignore the non-compliance fees instituted by the postal agency because they will be added to the non-standard package costs if the dimensions provided are inaccurate or are not taken at all.

See the section below for different non-compliance charges:

If a dimension is inaccurate or is not provided, a $1.50 fee will be charged on packages and parcels greater than 22 inches in length or one cubic foot in volume. This, together with the non-standard package size fees, will be assessed through the Postal Service Automatic Package Verification Systems.

So, what should you do to avoid incurring compliance charges? Since the postal service targets at improving transport efficiency by introducing charges to inaccurate dimension reporting or more extensive packages, businesses should observe the following;

First, they need to understand the USPS non-compliance and non-standard package fees and see if their shipping costs will be affected or not. More details about the new Postal Regulatory Commission-approved fee can be found on the USPS website.

Secondly, to avoid being penalized by these charges, shippers should ensure they provide correct dimensions when labeling packages.

How shipping through USPS benefits businesses

Despite these USPS 2023 changes, this organization will still be one of the best shipping options in the year moving forward. Rate changes are a common annual occurrence among major U.S. carriers in the month of January, and the USPS is implementing adjustments like the rest of the industry players.

The following are some of the advantages that you should expect when you ship with USPS in the year 2023;

• Increased reliability- the U.S. postal service is committed to achieving or surpassing the 95% on-time service target for all shipping and mail products. This is aimed at maintaining reliable services for their client.
• Free shipping supplies-the USPS says they will still provide free packaging supplies like tapes and boxes for the Priority Mail packages and fragile equipment. What’s more, you will also get ideas of how to package your items.
• Free package pickup- although we are expecting changes in the USPS operations and services, people are advised not to waste time in the queue or line to pick up a parcel. The organization still allows scheduling their employees to stop by the client's business to pick ready packages.
• Weekend shipping at no extra fees- the postal services will still continue to deliver packages to businesses on Saturdays at no extra costs.
• No fuel or residential surcharges- you can go to any residential area within the country and avoid paying extra fees that are assessed mainly by private shipping carriers. Using USPS for your shipping needs may sometimes come with address standardization, and in various instances, product forwarding may also be free.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the USPS is facing financial challenges that have led to changes in its operations and services.

The most significant changes planned for 2023 include an increase in prices, a reduction in services, new delivery methods, and changes in employment. Customers and employees should be aware of these changes and plan accordingly.

The USPS 2023 changes are intended to help the agency stay financially stable and continue to provide postal services to the American people.As a piece of advice, customers should allow shipping software and tools to automate various tedious shipping processes that would otherwise need manual entry.

Steps like automatic application of shipping presets and confirmation notifications are done behind the scenes, and with automation, all you need to do is press the print button.