The United States Postal Service (USPS) plans to launch a ground product offering, which will feature two-day to five-day service standards for packages up to 31kg (70lb).
To do this, the postal service has filed a procedural filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to replace its existing First-Class Package Service category. The new ground product offering will be named USPS Ground Advantage and is expected to be launched in the summer of 2023. USPS’s Retail Ground, Parcel Select Ground, and First-Class Package Services will be incorporated into Ground Advantage. Overall, the filing is intended to simplify package shipping options for customers and improve the postal service’s ground product offering.
This initiative forms part of the postal service’s ‘Delivering for America’ 10-year plan, which was set out to meet or exceed 95% on-time delivery across all product categories. Throughout 2022, the postal service worked to improve its package offerings by increasing service reliability, lowering prices and simplifying shipping product offerings. In January 2022, the postal service implemented new pricing for shipping services. As a result of the implementation of approved price changes, shipping rates for USPS Retail Ground products decreased by 7%, and rates for Parcel Select Ground reduced by 12%, on average. USPS Retail Ground and Parcel Select Ground prices remain at the lowered, January 2022 rates.
To improve its service reliability, the postal service implemented upgraded service standards for its USPS Retail Ground and Parcel Select Ground products in August 2022. This was intended to align service standards with the current First-Class Package Service product within the contiguous US. Service standards for these products were accelerated from two to eight days to two to five days for the same price.
On October 28, 2022, the postal service was granted approval by the PRC to remove USPS Retail Ground from the competitive product list, eliminate Parcel Select Ground from the Parcel Select product, and expand its First-Class Package Service to 31kg among other enhancements. This move was an effort to simplify shipping product offerings.