USPS Shake-Up: Changes Ahead Could Impact Montana Residents

Back in January, I told myself I was going to try something different and take an online course about web design. I engulfed myself in the training and before I knew it, I had created an e-commerce fishing company.

As a new small business owner, I have dealt a lot with the fulfillment of orders and shipping. Over the last year, I have shipped fishing lures to every state but Alaska and Hawaii. I have worked with USPS for my shipping. Other than the occasional "porch pirate" stealing packages, I haven't had many issues with my deliveries. But, a change is coming in 2025 that could make things a little different for mail in Montana.

New changes do not take effect until January 1, 2025

The USPS is streamlining its operations in 2025. 

• They are switching from a 3-digit area code to a 5-digit area code. Which will make it easy for them to track local deliveries.
• They are creating RTOs or Regional Transportation Optimization. This means that they are transporting local mail to a regional sorting facility.
• Expanded Network Reach: USPS is expanding how far a package can travel in a day.

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According to federalregister.gov

The Postal Service estimates that these initiatives will result in costs savings between $2.8 billion to $3.3 billion per year once fully implemented.

To align with these initiatives, the Postal Service proposes to change its service standards for end-to-end Market Dominant and Competitive products. The Postal Service states that it will transition from plant-to-plant

The change may not be noticeable to a large majority of us who live near a major city or postal hub. Rural postal customers may be affected more by the change. As the further a person gets from unincorporated areas the better the chance that mail will be delayed.

For now, the USPS aims to have all first-class deliveries made in 3 days and all ground to be delivered within 5 days.