USPS Announces Slowing Of Some Mail Delivery Starting October 1st

During the height of the pandemic, everyone began to notice that mail and package delivery were taking a little bit - and sometimes a lot bit - longer than we were used to.  Well, it turns out that was just a preview of what is to come with mail delivery from the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The USPS just announced that it will be "adding one to two days to the service standards for certain First-Class Mail and Periodicals." in a recent notice to the federal register.  That means that first class letters will now take one to five days instead of the usual one to three day window.   They also noted that mail being sent to or from states and territories outside of the contiguous United States will now take four to five days.

In the notice to the federal register, the USPS also made sure to note that most First-Class Mail will still arrive in under three days, but could take up to the maximum of five.  The new slow down of First-Class Mail delivery will begin October 1st.

According to an article from Wood TV8, the slower delivery times is a result of the USPS shifting more of its deliveries away from air transportation and deliver more mail via ground transportation.  The move will make deliveries cheaper and more reliable for the USPS in the future.

If you want to know more about the upcoming delays in mail delivery, you can read the entire notice from the USPS to the federal register here.