The USPS and DHL eCommerce made it official on May 28, 2026 ...
A multi-year, exclusive last-mile delivery contract valued at more than $10 billion, extending a 25-year partnership and one of the largest agreements the two companies have signed.
How the partnership works
DHL eCommerce handles pickup, sortation, and linehaul across its U.S. network of 19 automated hubs, then USPS takes over for final-mile delivery.
According to DHL's announcement, that structure gives DHL access to USPS's residential delivery footprint, covering more than 41,000 zip codes and more than 170 million addresses.
For USPS, the deal adds steady parcel volume at a time when the Postal Service is under financial pressure.
Just how intense is that financial pressure? The USPS reported a $9.0 billion GAAP net loss in fiscal year 2025. To help dig themselves out, they are opening up their last-mile network to more commercial partners to aggressively drive new revenue.
Why this matters now
Earlier in 2026, USPS launched a bid solicitation platform that lets Parcel Select customers propose access to more than 18,000 destination delivery units and local processing centers. That is not a universal "drop packages at any post office" change; it is a formal bid process for shippers seeking direct access to parts of the USPS last-mile network.
Successful bidders can propose volume, pricing, and tender times, with same-day or next-day delivery depending on location and agreement terms.
USPS has indicated that accepted bids would be formalized through negotiated service agreements, with service expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026.
What 3PLs should watch
DHL eCommerce may become more competitive on pricing and service consistency because the USPS relationship provides a predictable final-mile structure. Also, while that does not automatically mean lower rates for every shipper, we’ve already seen customers save on their recent rates with DHL eCommerce. It is a network change worth tracking closely in zone-based and lightweight parcel classes.
USPS is also not retreating from parcel delivery. Instead, it is positioning its last-mile network as infrastructure that shippers and logistics providers can access through commercial agreements. For 3PLs, that means rate shopping and carrier diversification still matter, especially when comparing USPS backed options against UPS, FedEx, and regional carriers. That decision gets more complicated when you are managing fulfillment across multiple clients, since each client may have different cost thresholds and delivery SLAs that affect which carrier makes sense on any given shipment.
The bigger market shift
USPS now has major parcel relationships with Amazon, UPS, and DHL eCommerce, showing that it is leaning into last-mile delivery as a commercial growth area. The Amazon arrangement was scaled back in 2026, while USPS renewed its UPS Ground Saver deal earlier this year. If you are also watching how carrier partnerships are reshuffling, our breakdown of what the Amazon and FedEx reunion means for shipping covers the downstream implications for fulfillment operations.
That shift matters because it changes how 3PLs should think about USPS: Not just as a mail carrier, but as a network layer for parcel delivery, especially for residential and lightweight shipments. For operations teams, the practical question is whether your pick-pack-and-ship process is set up to surface USPS-backed options quickly enough to act on these changes when they hit your rate comparisons.
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