Using Your Louisiana Post Office is About to Cost More

(KMDL-FM) The holiday shipping season has come and gone. For many of us, including myself, I was quite taken aback by how much it costs to ship things these days. Now comes troubling news that if you plan to use the services of your Louisiana post offices in the coming year, that's going to cost you more, too.

Through the years, the post office and the United States Postal Service have been unfairly maligned for what critics call "less than stellar service." I think the folks at USPS do a remarkable job when you consider how much mail goes through the system. And when you consider the volume of mail, you'd think USPS must be operating at a profit. They aren't.

READ MORE: Zip Code Changes Confirmed for Louisiana - Is Yours Changing?

The United States Postal Service reported a net loss of $9 billion for the 2025 fiscal year. That was down some $542 million from the previous year. That information was reported in November of last year, which is why USPS has announced changes for this year.

Get our free mobile app

Why Are Postmark Times Changing at Louisiana Post Offices?

Those changes will affect your pocketbook and budget, but not exactly in the ways you'd expect. One of the big changes announced by USPS has already happened. It involves when your mail receives its postmark. That policy change could affect a lot of legal documents, such as mail-in ballots, tax returns, or sweepstakes entries.

READ MORE: Here's Why Amazon Deliveries Are Now Taking Longer

Yes, the price for some services at your Louisiana Post Offices will be rising, but the obvious one won't be. Usually, when you think of postal increase,s your first thought turns to the price of stamps. USPS has already announced they have no plans to increase the price of a first-class stamp this year.  Okay, let me clarify that, they have no plans to raise the price of stamps yet.  It could still happen.

What is going up are the prices of some of the postal service's other featured services. These are the products that keep USPS competitive with other carriers, but in order to stay in business, certain price increases will be happening as of next week, January 18th.

How Much Are Postal Rates Increasing and for What Services?

Here is a breakdown of what is going to cost more in the next few days. Priority Mail service will increase by 6.6%. Priority Main Express service will raise the cost of its service by 5.1%. USPS Ground Advantage will have an increase of 7.8%. And, Parcel Select will increase the cost of its service by 6%.

There are about 650 post offices in Louisiana. If you need to find one that is close to your location, you can simply visit the USPS Locator site. And remember, just because you won't mail it, doesn't mean the post office will do that for you. Make sure you know what you can and can't ship.