The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday said it ran into the red by $6.5 billion in fiscal 2023, which ended on Sept. 30. Operating expense inflation was a big culprit, the federal agency said.

Overall revenue dropped by $321 million, 0.4%, to $78.2 billion, the Postal Service said. Operating expenses leaped by 7.3%, or $5.8 billion, year over year to a total of $85.4 billion.

The agency is in the middle of a long restructuring plan. While fiscal 2023 was projected as breaking even, officials now say the agency won’t hit that level in fiscal 2024 either.

“Our efforts to grow revenue and reduce labor and transportation costs were simply not enough to overcome our costs to stabilize our organization, the historical inflationary environment we encountered, and our inability to obtain the [retirement] reform we sought,” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said at a meeting of the Postal Service Board of Governors Tuesday.

Revenue-boosting efforts continue, as the Postal Service plans to raise the price of postage by 2 cents to 68 cents starting Jan. 21. Some argue that the price hikes are counterproductive.

“Each new postage hike only drives more consumers and businesses away from using the mail,” Kevin Yoder, a former Republican congressman from Kansas and now executive director of the Keep Us Posted nonprofit advocacy group, told The Washington Times last month.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.