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A new distribution strategy by the U.S. Postal Service is forcing fundamental changes in the way private mail contractors operate and is leading to a surge in consolidation activity.

This week is expected to be the busiest week of the holiday mailing and shipping season for the Postal Service. The agency expects to process and deliver nearly 3 billion pieces of mail, including packages, this week alone.

Procrastinators take note: The deadline is fast approaching to get those gifts in the mail to arrive by Christmas Eve.

The United States Postal Service won’t be delivering mail Dec. 5 as part of the national day of mourning for the late former President George H.W. Bush.

The U.S. Postal Service said it expects to deliver nearly 15 billion pieces of mail and 900 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, according to a release.

A sobering review of the U.S. Postal Service by its inspector general finds that the agency’s ambitious 2015 “Window Change” program, which saves money by slowing letter delivery and closing and consolidating mail-processing centers, has cost more and saved far less than planned.

U.S. e-commerce companies including Amazon.com and shippers such as FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. stand to gain from the Trump administration’s move Oct. 17 to withdraw from an international postal agreement.

President Donald Trump plans to withdraw the United States from a 192-nation treaty that gives Chinese companies discounted shipping rates for small packages sent to American consumers, another escalation of his economic confrontation of Beijing.

The sticker price of parcel packages and first-class stamps will rise if the U.S. Postal Service has its way, with delivery prices for packages weighing more than one pound increasing 9.3%.

Restructuring the federal government to make it more efficient and accountable is an idea Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill says she can get behind.