United States Postal Service, U.S. Postal Service, USPS, postal rates, postal rate changes, new postal rates, ecommerce, ecommerce shipping, UPS, FedEx, dimensional weight pricing

USPS Requests Parcel Rates Increases for 2017

| MCM Staff

The USPS is requesting a Priority Mail rate increase of 3.9% and 3.3% for Priority Mail Retail. This compares to increases of 4.9% for both UPS and FedEx. See what prices are being proposed across all of its parcel products.

Peak Season Shipping Cutoffs for FedEx, UPS, USPS

| Mike O'Brien

Once again, the folks at ShipStation have provided a useful infographic that provides the shipping cutoff dates for the various services provided by FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. See what the latest dates are that packages can be picked up by major carriers in order to get to their destinations by Christmas Day.

U.S. Postal Service, USPS, UPS, Parcel Select, shipping and delivery

USPS Continues to See Gains in Postal Volume, Revenue

| Mike O'Brien

The U.S. Post Office continued the trend of strong growth in its parcel business while showing losses in mail delivery in its third quarter results. But help may be on the way in the form of a postal reform bill that would lessen the burden of mandated pre-funding of retiree health benefits.

Canada Post Strike Would Hit SMB Ecommerce Shippers

| Mike O'Brien

Smaller merchants doing business in Canada are getting product out the door and setting up contingencies in anticipation of a possible Canada Post strike. See what options are available, and what impact the work stoppage could have.

Ecommerce Investments Pay Off for FedEx in Fiscal 2016

| Mike O'Brien

FedEx’s continued focus on ecommerce growth, reflected in its capital spending and recent spate of acquisitions, paid dividends in fiscal 2016, especially the 20% growth in ground revenue. Walmart’s recent addition of a subscription service in response to Amazon Prime, partially served by regional carriers, is not a concern, company executives said.

Amazon Doesn’t Need to Own Ecommerce Delivery

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon doesn’t need to take over the last mile of ecommerce delivery, but it does need to reduce its massive shipping cost burden in order to maintain its recent run of profitability, which is the logic behind its recent logistics moves.

U.S. Postal Service, USPS, UPS, Parcel Select, shipping and delivery

U.S. Postal Service Again Posts Parcel Gains, But Overall Loss

| Mike O'Brien

The U.S. Postal Service reported operating revenue of $17.7 billion in Q2, up $788 million or 4.7% from 2015. The increase was primarily due to an 11.4% gain in shipping and package volume and pricing changes. While the USPS keeps posting double-digit parcel gains, it continues to drown in pension-driven red ink, with a $2 billion quarterly net loss, up from $1.5 billion a year ago.