WASHINGTON, DC (Michigan News Source) – Starting January 19, 2025, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is set to up its prices. Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express rates will rise by 3.2%, while USPS Ground Advantage nudges up by 3.9%. Parcel Select Service will jump a hefty 9.2%. So, Americans will need to prepare to dig deeper into their wallet just to ship a package – a package that may take even longer to arrive than they hoped for.

The wait could be longer in rural communities.

USPS, who provides mail service to almost 167 million addresses six days a week, promises that while urban areas near regional hubs might enjoy slightly faster delivery times, rural communities will most likely face longer waits. The agency’s reconfiguration of regional hubs is supposed to save them $3.6 billion annually, but for those farther from the action, mail that used to arrive in three days might now take four or five – still falling within the USPS’s five-day delivery promise.

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For the lucky 75% of first-class mail recipients, things will stay the same. Two-thirds of first-class deliveries should still land in three days or fewer. But if you’re not near a hub, consider this an opportunity to rediscover the art of patience.

Where are the regional hubs in Michigan?

The United States Postal Service (USPS) operates several facilities across Michigan designed to manage mail processing and distribution. These Processing and Distribution Centers (P&DCs) reportedly function as regional hubs to maintain the flow of mail across the state. Major P&DCs in Michigan are believed to include Detroit (southeast), Grand Rapids (west), Flint (east-central), Lansing (central), and Pontiac (metro Detroit).

However, when Michigan News Source reached out to USPS for confirmation, the agency could not verify this list and stated that such information would only be provided through a Freedom of Information Act request.

If accurate, this setup suggests that Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula could face longer delivery times compared to the rest of the state – a frustrating reality for residents outside the main USPS network.

More for less, brought to you by “market conditions.”

While stamp prices are tied to inflation, USPS Shipping Services are beholden to “market conditions.” The justification? Higher rates keep them “competitive” and provide them with needed revenue.

In a statement about the cost increases, the USPS said, “As a strategic part of the Delivering for America 10-year plan, these proposed changes will support the Postal Service in creating a revitalized organization capable of achieving our public service mission – providing a nationwide, integrated network for the delivery of mail and packages at least six days a week – in a cost-effective and financially sustainable manner of the long term, just as the U.S. Congress has intended.”

Investing in the future – or pricing it out?

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The USPS adds that the rate increases will support $40 billion in investments in “people, technology, and infrastructure and continue the modernization and improvement of the Postal Service’s operations and customer experience.”

With these changes, USPS is making its stance crystal clear: higher costs, longer waits, and lowered expectations are the new norm.

When “neither rain nor sleet” turns into “finders keepers.

And as if the rising costs and sluggish service weren’t enough, a troubling trend is adding insult to injury. According to a recent audit by the Office of Inspector General, a growing number of postal workers seem to be embracing the “finders keepers” philosophy with millions of dollars in checks and goods “vanishing.”

From mail fraud to outright theft, the allegations against these government employees are stacking up faster than the post-holiday returns line. For an agency already struggling with financial woes, this is a PR nightmare they can’t just stamp and move on from.

According to the Dallas Morning News, one the biggest threats to the USPS is not the growing cost of stamps and delivery service or the long lines or delayed mail – it’s the mail handlers themselves. According to the audit, some of the postal workers are stealing – and although it appears to be a small percentage of them, they steal a LOT according to the federal investigation of a dozen mail sorting facilities in the United States.

When postal jobs become a criminal goldmine.

In mid-December, federal prosecutors charged two postal workers from Virginia and North Carolina alone with stealing over $1 million in business checks while working at their respective postal facilities.

In the report, the USPS Office of Inspector General, I.G. Tammy Hull writes that “criminal organizations are targeting, recruiting and colluding with postal employees to move narcotics through the postal network and to steal checks – both personal and government-issued checks – credit cards and other valuables from the mail.”

Frank Albergo, President of the Postal Police Officers Association, told a news outlet that postal workers aren’t necessarily “getting a job because they want to deliver the mail or they want to sort mail. They’re getting a job to steal mail…Criminal organizations are recruiting postal workers to infiltrate the postal service. That should be shocking to everyone.”

As the USPS barrels into 2025 with higher prices, slower service, and a growing trust deficit, one thing is clear: the agency is at a crossroads. For millions of Americans, the postal service is more than just a delivery system – it’s a lifeline. Yet, with reports of theft, mismanagement, and rising costs, that lifeline feels increasingly frayed.