New USPS mail trucks set for production in 2023
Oshkosh announced it will open a new factory to build the trucks in South Carolina.
While the new US Postal Service mail trucks' powertrains aren't totally final, Oshkosh is gearing up to build them. On Tuesday, the US firm announced it will build a new factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to produce the new mail delivery vehicles. It expects it'll need a workforce of 1,000 individuals to put the vehicles together and talked up a boost to local supply chains for further local job growth.
The USPS selected Oshkosh after years mulling over potential contenders, which included an all-electric option from Workhorse. However, the USPS finalized its choice with Oshkosh to build both electric mail trucks and models with fuel-efficient, low-emission engines. That choice to include gas-powered vehicles prompted many questions from Congress, which last month awarded another $8 billion to the Postal Service to make the nearly all of the new truck electric in a piece of legislation. The bill hasn't officially passed yet, so these new delivery vehicles remain in a holding pattern of sorts.
At any rate, Oshkosh received an indefinite contract to build the vehicles for 10 years. Right now, the plans call for up to 165,000 new USPS mail trucks, though that figure could grow or shrink over time. The new facility, currently a massive and empty warehouse, will be completely remade to produce the trucks in South Carolina, Oshkosh said. Production will kick off in the summer of 2023, so perhaps you'll see the funky new vehicles around town by the end of that year.
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