USPS already lost $1.3 billion this year — and cash shortages might halt mail delivery in 2027

The mail may soon stop — and not because it’s lost in transit. The cash-strapped United States Postal Service is barreling toward a financial cliff, with Postmaster General David Steiner warning lawmakers the agency could run dry by October — and potentially halt mail delivery altogether by 2027 if Congress doesn’t step in.

“At our current rate, we’ll be out of cash in less than 12 months,” Steiner told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations on March 17.

“So in about a year from now, the Postal Service would be unable to deliver the mail.” Translation: no stamps, no service. The grim forecast comes as the USPS continues its long-running losing streak.

Once delivering a whopping 213 billion pieces of mail annually at its 2006 peak, per Business Insider, the agency has been bleeding money ever since — including a staggering $9 billion loss last fiscal year and $1.3 billion already gone in early 2026.

In fact, the Postal Service hasn’t turned a profit since 2007, with red ink piling up year after year. Steiner didn’t mince words about what went wrong.

“I like to say that in the time since peak 2006 mail volume, the Postal Service was thrown overboard and instead of tossing us a life jacket, we were thrown an anchor,” he told lawmakers, reported NPR. The agency’s financial freefall could hit even faster if it continues paying certain obligations — like retirement benefits — at current levels. Without changes, Steiner warned, the clock could run out as soon as this fall.

If USPS starts skipping payments, it might limp along until February 2027 — but that’s hardly a fix. To stay afloat, Steiner is urging Congress to loosen the purse strings, allowing USPS to borrow more money while also backing potential postage hikes and regulatory reforms. But the bad news doesn’t stop at the mailbox.

The Postal Service may also be losing one of its biggest partners: Amazon. The retail giant is reportedly planning to scale back the number of packages it sends through USPS after the two sides failed to reach a new contract. Their current deal expires in September — and negotiations appear to have gone off the rails.

Amazon didn’t hold back. The company said USPS “abruptly walked away at the eleventh hour” during renewal talks in December 2025, despite Amazon’s push to step up shipping numbers — as opposed to cutting them.

“Our goal was to increase our volumes with USPS, not reduce them,” the company said, adding it still “values this partnership deeply.” For now, Amazon says it’s open to salvaging the relationship — but the clock is ticking.

“We’ve repeatedly requested engagement with Postmaster General Steiner to work toward a solution,” the company said.

“We want to find a path forward, but that window is rapidly closing.” Between billion-dollar losses, a looming cash crunch and a potential breakup with its biggest shipping partner, the Postal Service’s future is looking anything but first class. As previously reported by The Post, USPS recently announced shipping price hikes set to kick in Jan. 18, 2026, including a 6.6% bump for Priority Mail, 5.1% for Priority Mail Express, 7.8% for Ground Advantage and 6% for Parcel Select.

One small mercy: the price of a first-class stamp isn’t budging — for now. The agency says the increases are part of its sweeping 10-year overhaul plan aimed at finally getting its finances out of the red — though for customers, it may just feel like paying more for slower mail.