The mail might quickly cease — and never as a result of it’s misplaced in transit.
The cash-strapped United States Postal Service is barreling towards a monetary cliff, with Postmaster Basic David Steiner warning lawmakers the company might run dry by October — and doubtlessly halt mail supply altogether by 2027 if Congress doesn’t step in.
“At our present charge, we’ll be out of money in lower than 12 months,” Steiner instructed the Home Oversight Subcommittee on Authorities Operations on March 17.
“So in a couple of yr from now, the Postal Service can be unable to ship the mail.”
Translation: no stamps, no service.
The grim forecast comes because the USPS continues its long-running dropping streak.
As soon as delivering a whopping 213 billion items of mail yearly at its 2006 peak, per Enterprise Insider, the company has been bleeding cash ever since — together with a staggering $9 billion loss final fiscal yr and $1.3 billion already gone in early 2026.
In truth, the Postal Service hasn’t turned a revenue since 2007, with purple ink piling up yr after yr.
Steiner didn’t mince phrases about what went mistaken.
“I prefer to say that within the time since peak 2006 mail quantity, the Postal Service was thrown overboard and as an alternative of tossing us a life jacket, we have been thrown an anchor,” he instructed lawmakers, reported NPR.
Ouch.
The company’s monetary freefall might hit even quicker if it continues paying sure obligations — like retirement advantages — at present ranges.
With out modifications, Steiner warned, the clock might run out as quickly as this fall.
If USPS begins skipping funds, it would limp alongside till February 2027 — however that’s hardly a repair.
To remain afloat, Steiner is urging Congress to loosen the purse strings, permitting USPS to borrow more cash whereas additionally backing potential postage hikes and regulatory reforms.
However the dangerous information doesn’t cease on the mailbox.
The Postal Service can also be dropping one in every of its largest companions: Amazon.
The retail large is reportedly planning to cut back the variety of packages it sends by means of USPS after the 2 sides failed to succeed in a brand new contract.
Their present deal expires in September — and negotiations seem to have gone off the rails.
Amazon didn’t maintain again.
The corporate stated USPS “abruptly walked away on the eleventh hour” throughout renewal talks in December 2025, regardless of Amazon’s push to step up transport numbers — versus chopping them.
“Our aim was to extend our volumes with USPS, not scale back them,” the corporate stated, including it nonetheless “values this partnership deeply.”
For now, Amazon says it’s open to salvaging the connection — however the clock is ticking.
“We’ve repeatedly requested engagement with Postmaster Basic Steiner to work towards an answer,” the corporate stated. “We need to discover a path ahead, however that window is quickly closing.”
Between billion-dollar losses, a looming money crunch and a possible breakup with its largest transport accomplice, the Postal Service’s future is trying something however first-class.
As beforehand reported by The Submit, USPS just lately introduced transport value hikes set to kick in Jan. 18, 2026, together with a 6.6% bump for Precedence Mail, 5.1% for Precedence Mail Categorical, 7.8% for Floor Benefit and 6% for Parcel Choose.
One small mercy: the value of a first-class stamp isn’t budging — for now.
The company says the will increase are a part of its sweeping 10-year overhaul plan geared toward lastly getting its funds out of the purple — although for patrons, it could simply really feel like paying extra for slower mail.
