USPS wants to charge you peak shipping fees this holiday season

(CNN) — The United States Postal Service really wants to get your holiday packages delivered on time. So it wants to start charging more.

The postal service is requesting a temporary price increase on a variety of mail services for the peak holiday season to offset rising delivery costs. The price increases, which range from 25 cents to $5 per package, would go into effect on October 3, 2021 and last through December 26, 2021 for individuals and businesses on mailings including Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and First-Class Package Service, according to a USPS statement.

The Postal Regulatory Commission still has to approve the higher rates.

In 2020, USPS implemented a similar temporary rate adjustment during peak holiday season in anticipation of heightened demand and extra shipping costs. However, the postal service still struggled to keep up with holiday demand last year thanks to a historic amount of packages and rising employee Covid-19 cases.

In December 2020, packages were “up to the ceiling” in Philadelphia, local American Postal Workers Union president Nick Casselli told CNN.

“I’ve been in postal for 35 years, I’ve never seen what I’m seeing,” he said.

Delays in processing lasted through the holiday season, and some customers didn’t receive their mail until January and February.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, James Seaman told CNN affiliate KJRH at the end of January that he was still receiving holiday cards that were originally mailed out in December.

“You can’t rely on getting things through the mail right now in a timely manner,” Seaman told KJRH.