Postal Operators Struggle to Break Even Even as Parcel Volumes Grow

Summary

Coverage published in late July 2026 highlighted that national postal operators continue to struggle to reach break-even despite growth in parcel volumes, as declining letter mail, universal service obligations and rising last-mile delivery costs outpace parcel margin gains. The pressure is compounded by regulatory change in cross-border e-commerce, with the European Union having removed its EUR 150 duty-free threshold on 1 July and a further EUR 2 per-item handling fee plus mandatory product identifiers due from 1 November 2026. The US Postal Service separately absorbed roughly $150 million in lost revenue from a counterfeit postage scheme involving tens of millions of parcels shipped from China.