USPS Customers Forced To Pay Surging Fuel Costs As Agency Adds 1st-Time Ever 8% Surcharge

The agency is one of the last of the delivery service conglomerates like both FedEx and UPS to add fuel surcharges as oil prices continue to reach record-breaking numbers amid issues in the Middle East.

Since the U.S. government got involved in the Iran conflict, which has resulted in skyrocketing fuel prices and added to persistent financial challenges, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is reportedly planning to add an 8% surcharge to package deliveries for the first time in the agency’s history, Fox Business reported.

Starting April 2026, with plans to fizzle out by January 2027, the move comes just weeks after Postmaster General David Steiner admitted that the Postal Service has faced long-term financial challenges and told Congress the agency is on track to run out of cash in less than a year if it doesn’t do something about it.

He testified before a House Oversight subcommittee that the USPS needs to increase stamp prices and can borrow more money. “In order to survive beyond the next year, we need to increase our borrowing capacity so that we don’t run out of cash,” Steiner said.

“The failure to do this could lead to the end of the Postal Service as we know it now.”

The fuel surcharge will only apply to packages and won’t affect letter mail, beginning April 26, with approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission, according to CBS News. The “temporary” increase will support the agency in covering rising transportation-related costs, such as higher fuel prices, logistics challenges, and vehicle maintenance. “This temporary price adjustment will provide needed flexibility for the Postal Service by helping to ensure that the actual costs of doing business are covered, as required by Congress,” USPS said in a statement.

But for the everyday commuter, things seem longer than temporary. The average U.S. gas price is close to $4 a gallon, up more than $1 from February 2026. For diesel-fueled vehicles, the cost of diesel has jumped to an average of $5.37 per gallon, up from $3.75 in the same month.

For years, USPS has struggled with high costs and declining mail volume, resulting in a $9 billion loss in 2025. While a 10-year plan remains in place to reduce expenses and restore profitability, the agency still faces a mountain of financial challenges. But Steiner did push options to get around it.

One option is cutting costs by ending six-day-a-week deliveries, closing post offices, or raising first-class mail stamp prices from 78 cents to $1 or more. He also recommended delivering mail on a five-day schedule that would save USPS roughly $3 billion per year. Closing small post offices in remote areas would save close to $840 million. The agency is among the last of the delivery-service conglomerates, like FedEx and UPS, to add fuel surcharges as oil prices continue to hit record highs amid issues in the Middle East.

However, USPS continues to push for still having “great value.” “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,” the agency said.