US Postal Service will not hike stamp prices for first time since 2022

(Adds details, comments from DeJoy in paragraphs 4-12)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service said on Friday it will not hike stamp prices in January for the first time since January 2022 after a series of price hikes in recent years.

USPS in July hiked the price of a first-class mail stamp to 73 cents from 68 cents and raised overall mailing services product prices by 7.8%.

Stamp prices are up 36% since early 2019 when they were 50 cents.

"Our strategies are working and projected inflation is declining," said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. "Therefore, we will wait until at least July before proposing any increases for market dominant services."

USPS in November reported a $6.5 billion yearly net loss as first-class mail fell to the lowest volume since 1968. Stamp prices are up 36% over the last four years since early 2019 when they were 50 cents.

USPS has been aggressively hiking stamp prices and is in the middle of a 10-year

restructuring plan

announced in 2021 that aims to eliminate $160 billion in predicted losses over the next decade.

"We're continue to drive transportation costs down," DeJoy told Reuters this month, estimating he would cut $1 billion in transportation costs this year.

USPS has said it expects its "new pricing policy to generate $44 billion in additional revenue" by 2031.

First-class mail, used by most people to send letters and pay bills, is the highest revenue-generating mail class, accounting for $24.5 billion, or 31% of USPS 2023 revenue.

In 2022, President Joe Biden signed legislation providing USPS with about $50 billion in financial relief over a decade.

DeJoy agreed in May to pause planned further consolidation of the postal service's processing network until at least January after senators raised concerns about the impact on mail deliveries.

Last month, USPS said it is aiming to implement changes that it estimates will save the agency roughly $30 billion over the next decade.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter)