By Elias Schisgall

The U.S. Postal Service will open a bidding process for shippers who want to access the agency's last mile delivery network.

USPS said Wednesday that shippers will be able to place bids with a combination of volume, pricing, and tender times at each of the agency's 18,000 delivery destination units beginning in late January or early February. Deliveries will be made that day or the following day at the customer's preference, USPS said.

For years, the agency has sold direct delivery service to large customers. But USPS Chief Executive Officer and Postmaster General David Steiner said the decision would open up the service to a wider range of shippers.

"As part of our universal service obligation, we deliver to more than 170 million addresses at least six days a week, so we are the natural leader in last-mile delivery," Steiner said. "We want to make this valuable service available to a wide range of customers that see the worth of last mile access -- other logistics companies and retailers large and small."

USPS said it would engage with shippers to discuss how best to structure the bidding process before the official launch. It said recent modernization efforts have increased USPS' processing and delivery capacity, allowing it to shoulder more of the country's overall shipping needs.

"The Postal Service's valuable last-mile network can now be our customer's advantage. Our last mile can become our customer's last mile," Steiner said. "Remember, our universal service obligation means we are already going to every address six days a week, and so businesses -- large and small, national, regional and local -- can achieve same-day or next-day service through our ubiquitous reach."

USPS said it will formalize accepted bids through a negotiated service contract. It said it will notify winning bidders in the second quarter of 2026, with service beginning in the third quarter.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 17, 2025 11:07 ET (16:07 GMT)

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