USPS Announces 2025 “Temporary” Peak-Season Rate Hikes

The U.S. Postal Service filed for temporary peak-season surcharges that would run Oct 5, 2025 → Jan 18, 2026 (pending PRC approval). These apply to domestic competitive parcels—Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select—and layer a small dollar adder on top of the base price you already pay. First-Class Mail letters/postcards are not part of this filing. USPS

What’s “temporary” here?

USPS does this yearly to cover overtime, transportation, and handling spikes during the holidays. The surcharges switch on and off on defined dates. The agency publishes the details and PRC docket; the data tables live on Postal Explorer. USPSPostal Explorer

The quick math (Retail)

Add these to your July 13, 2025 base price:

• Priority Mail & USPS Ground Advantage (Zones 1–4): +$0.40 (0–3 lb), +$0.60 (4–10 lb), +$0.95 (11–25 lb), +$3.00 (26–70 lb). USPS
• Priority Mail (Zones 5–9): +$0.90, +$1.45, +$3.25, +$7.00 (by weight tiers). USPS
• USPS Ground Advantage (Zones 5–9): +$0.50, +$1.00, +$2.00, +$5.75. USPS
• Priority Mail Express: +$1.10 to +$16 depending on zone/weight; Flat Rate Envelopes +$2.00. USPS
• Flat Rate adders: Large Flat Rate Box +$1.45; all other PM Flat Rate +$0.90. USPS

Flat Rate: current vs. holiday price (Retail)

Base retail Flat Rate prices (effective July 13, 2025) per Notice 123 / Federal Register, with the holiday adders applied:

• PM Flat Rate Envelope: $11.00 → $11.90 (+$0.90)
• PM Legal Flat Rate Envelope: $11.20 → $12.10 (+$0.90)
• PM Padded Flat Rate Envelope: $11.95 → $12.85 (+$0.90)
• PM Small Flat Rate Box: $11.70 → $12.60 (+$0.90)
• PM Medium Flat Rate Box: $21.05 → $21.95 (+$0.90)
• PM Large Flat Rate Box: $29.95 → $31.40 (+$1.45)
• PM APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Box: $28.70 → $30.15 (+$1.45) Federal Register

Note: Your non-flat-rate package “new price” during the holidays is simply (your normal July 13 rate) + (the matching holiday adder) for that zone/weight. USPS keeps the official base tables in Notice 123. Postal Explorer

What’s not affected

Letter stamps and other mailing services price points aren’t part of this filing; those were adjusted in July 2025 and are separate from the peak surcharges. USPS

How this hits small shippers

• For light GA/PM parcels (0–3 lb) short-zone, you’re looking at $0.40–$0.50 more per piece.
• For long-zone Priority Mail (26–70 lb), the +$7.00 bump is the big outlier.
• Flat Rate users can budget precisely with the fixed adders above. USPS

The Slippery Slope: When “Temporary” Becomes Permanent

While USPS labels these peak-season surcharges as temporary, there’s historical precedent in the shipping industry for such fees to outlive their original purpose.

• UPS & FedEx: What started as holiday “Peak Season Surcharges” during the 2010s gradually expanded into year-round “Demand Surcharges” on select lanes and services. This transformation allowed carriers to keep the revenue boost without needing a holiday as justification. (Parcel Industry)
• USPS Holiday 2020: The Postal Service first implemented temporary commercial rate hikes for the peak season from October 18 to December 27, 2020. At the time, industry voices—especially high-volume sellers—warned that such increases could eventually become permanent adjustments to base pricing. (Seller Central)
• USPS Rate Patterns: While USPS skipped a holiday surcharge in 2023, they also implemented a permanent 5.4% increase to First-Class Mail earlier that year. This shows that even when temporary surcharges are skipped, the permanent base price can quietly climb instead. (GovExec)

Bottom line: Whether the surcharge sticks around in name or disappears, USPS and other carriers have ways of folding seasonal price bumps into their permanent rate structure—meaning customers rarely see a true “return to normal” after the holidays.

Practical ways to blunt the cost

• Consolidate shipments to move items into fewer boxes where it makes sense.
• Use zone-skipping/3PLs to inject closer to destination (for volume shippers).
• Compare GA vs. PM on each lane—Ground Advantage can win on many 1–5 lb lanes.
• Switch to Flat Rate on heavy/dense items where volume pricing would run higher.
• Ship early to avoid expedited premiums.

Sources

• USPS: “Temporary Price Change for 2025 Holiday Shipping Season” (Aug 8, 2025). Effective Oct 5, 2025 – Jan 18, 2026, competitive parcels only; full retail & commercial adders listed. USPS
• Postal Explorer: Time-Limited 2025 Price Change landing page with Notice 123 and price files. Postal Explorer
• Federal Register: Domestic Competitive Products Pricing and Mailing Standards Changes confirming July 13, 2025 base retail flat-rate prices (envelope/box amounts). Federal Register
• Postal Explorer: Notice 123 (current base tables). Postal Explorer