US Postal Service to introduce 8% fuel surcharge on packages

The US Postal Service (USPS) plans to introduce its first-ever fuel surcharge on packages to offset rising energy costs, according to a statement.The surcharge, set at 8%, is expected to take effect on 26 April and remain in place until 17 January 2027, under the current plan.Packages under Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select will be affected by the surcharge.“Transportation costs have been increasing, and our competitors have reacted with a number of surcharges,” reads the statement by the USPS. “We have steadfastly avoided surcharges and this charge is less than one-third of what our competitors charge for fuel alone, so even with this change, the Postal Service continues to offer great value in shipping with some of the lowest rates in the industrialized world.”Oil prices have jumped dramatically since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, with the cost of crude oil per barrel up by as much as 40% since the beginning of 2026.The average price per gallon for diesel gas in the US is now $5.37, up from $3.75 one month prior.Democrats were quick to voice their concern.“Groceries. Gas. Now packages. Is there anything Donald Trump hasn’t made more expensive? Call it what it is: the Trump Mail Tax,” said JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, in a post on social media.“Trump has messed up on affordability so badly that he’s even managed to make the mail more expensive,” the US senator Raphael Warnock said in a post.Rising fuel costs are just the latest financial obstacle to hit the struggling postal service.Earlier this month, the postmaster general, David Steiner, said the agency is poised to run out of funds within the next year unless Congress changes how much money the USPS is allowed to borrow.“Less than a year from now, the Postal Service will be unable to deliver the mail if we maintain the status quo,” Steiner told lawmakers.