Courier and Messenger Services NAICS 4921, 4922

Mar 13, 2025 - Cost Cuts and Service Changes at USPS

• The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced new service standards that will affect the delivery of certain types of mail as the federal mail carrier looks to save $36 billion over the next ten years. The USPS lost $9.5 billion in 2024 and close to $100 billion since 2017. Beginning on April 1, 2025, first class mail will still be delivered within one to five business days, but will be delivered at 75% of its current rate, 14% at a faster rate, and 11% at a slower rate, depending on the length of travel. Deliveries of marketing and direct mail, packages, and periodicals will be shortened. In addition to the delivery changes, the Trump administration has floated firing the USPS board of governors and folding the Post Office into the Commerce Department. Such a move would cause a political firestorm and would be potentially illegal without Congressional approval.
• The US Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration (DOE/EIA) retail diesel fuel price decreased 37.3 cents per gallon during the 52-week period ending on December 30, 2024, to $3.503 per gallon. The benchmark retail diesel price was $3.876 a gallon on January 1, 2024. The relative stability of the recent market alongside the overall weakness of prices this year can be seen in the fact that the December 30, 2024, DOE/EIA price is the highest in four weeks, even as it is also the fifth lowest recorded in 2024, according to FreightWaves.

• Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of injuries among warehousing and “last-mile delivery” workers, according to the US Government Accountability Office. The transportation and warehousing industry had the highest serious injury and illness rate (3.8 cases per 100 workers) among the 19 sectors analyzed in 2022. The top cause of ailments among workers in the industry was “overexertion and bodily reaction,” which can lead to issues such as back pain. Contact with objects or equipment and slips, trips, and falls were the other two major causes of injuries.
• Courier and messenger service industry revenue increased 1.7% year over year and 2.0% quarter over quarter during the second quarter of 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. Courier and messenger service industry employment increased 2.6% year over year in October, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Courier services typically reduce staffing levels during the first half of the year after increasing them during the holiday season. Average wages for nonsupervisory employees were unchanged during the first nine months of 2024, according to the BLS. Courier and messenger services kept prices unchanged during the first seven months of 2024, according to the BLS.