Effective January 22, 2023 (and subject to approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission), Priority Mal Regional Rate Boxes A and B will be discontinued, and the current pricing will no longer be applicable. Customers with Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes in their inventory can still use them to ship, but they will be treated as weight and rate packages.

The United States Postal Service introduced the Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes A and B in 2011. They were created to combine the speed and convenience of Priority Mail and Priority Mail International shipping with zone pricing to potentially reduce commercial customers’ shipping costs. These boxes are currently available on the Postal Store® website on usps.com in packs of 10 and 25 and have the following dimensions (LxWxH):

• Priority Mail Regional Rate Box A1 – 10-1/8” x 7-1/8” x 5”
• Priority Mail Regional Rate Box A2 – 13-1/16” x 11-1/16” x 2-1/2”
• Priority Mail Regional Rate Box B1 – 12-1/4” x 10-1/2” x 5-1/2”
• Priority Mail Regional Rate Box B2 – 15” x 12” x 3”

Priority Mail Regional Rate Box A1 and A2 have a maximum weight of 15 pounds for domestic shipping and 10 pounds for international shipping. Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes B1 and B2 have a maximum weight of 20 pounds for both domestic and international shipping.

After conducting a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis, it has been decided that it is in the best interest of the Postal Service to discontinue further production of these boxes as part of an effort to simplify the Priority Mail products offering. Customers who currently use these boxes are encouraged to place orders before supplies are depleted.

The recommended alternative is Priority Mail Cubic. Priority Mail Cubic is a sub-service of Priority Mail in which the commercial customer ships using their own packaging and the pricing is based on the outer dimensions of the package rather than weight. This option offers similar cost savings as Regional Rate boxes. Priority Mail Cubic packages must measure 0.5 cubic feet or less, weigh 20 pounds or less, and the longest dimension may not exceed 18 inches. Priority Mail Cubic has zone pricing with five price tiers up to 0.5 cubic feet (see Notice 123 | Postal Explorer (usps.com)).

For questions regarding this change, please email expeditedpackaging@usps.gov.