page_title: Parcel post
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Parcel post / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: Composite photo of 12 &#160;U.S. Parcel Post stamps
context_page_description: Parcel post is a postal service for mail that is too heavy for normal letter post. It is usually slower than letter post. The development of the parcel post is closely connected with the development of the railway network which enabled parcels to be carried in bulk, to a regular schedule and at economic prices. Today many parcels also travel by road and international shipments may travel by sea or airmail.
context_section_description: The United States, as a signatory, started foreign parcel services in 1887 but did not institute domestic services until 1913.
  The USPS, successor to the U.S. Post Office, officially ended International Parcel Post service in May 2007 after some 120 years of existence. International Parcel Post service was replaced by First-class Mail International service for parcels up to four pounds. For heavier parcels and/or printed matter, Priority Mail International, Priority Mail International Flat-Rate, Express Mail International, Airmail M-Bags, and Global Express Guaranteed service is available to foreign countries allowing these types of mail delivery.
  USPS Domestic Parcel Post was an affordable method of sending large parcels of up to seventy pounds and a maximum combined length and girth of one hundred and thirty inches via ground transportation across the U.S. Effective January 27, 2013, the USPS renamed its parcel post service from 'Parcel Post' to 'Standard Post'. Effective January 17, 2016, the USPS renamed the service again, from "Standard Post" to "USPS Retail Ground", a name intended to resemble those of competing services UPS Ground and FedEx Ground.
  Commercial Parcel Post service is now under the "Parcel Select" name.
caption: U.S. Parcel Post stamps of 1912-13
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