What happened Shares of electric-commercial-vehicle maker Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS) and a related company, electric-pickup start-up Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ: RIDE), were trading lower on Wednesday after the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said it is delaying a major contract award for which Workhorse is a finalist. As of 11:15 a.m. EST, shares of Workhorse were down about 20.5%, and Lordstown's shares were down about 8.9%, from Tuesday's closing prices. So what Trucking-news site Trucks.com reported that the USPS has delayed the award of a $6 billion contract to replace its fleet of mail-delivery trucks until sometime next year. The award has been delayed several times; it was most recently expected by the end of 2020. Workhorse is one of three contenders competing for the contract, which could involve building as many as 180,000 mail-delivery vans to replace the Postal Service's aging fleet -- and which could be split between several manufacturers. Workhorse is hoping to win a contract to build electric mail trucks that will likely be based on its C-Series commercial vans. Image source: Workhorse Group. If Workhorse lands a contract for all or a large portion of the new fleet, it's expected to tap Lordstown to help manufacture the vehicles. (Workhorse owns 10% of Lordstown, which in turn owns a large former General Motors factory in Ohio.) Workhorse and Lordstown investors had been hoping for good news before the end of the year; the delay is why the stocks are trading lower today. Now what Auto investors holding Workhorse stock should be very clear about this point: It's far from certain that Workhorse will win any part of this deal. The other contenders include Turkish electric-truck maker Karsan Otomotiv, which has teamed with Michigan-based commercial-van specialist Morgan Olson on a plug-in hybrid entry that they will build in the United States; and a joint effort from Oshkosh and Ford Motor Company that is based on Ford's popular Transit commercial van. One more thing to keep in mind: While the USPS told Trucks.com that it now expects to award the business in the first quarter of 2021, that's not guaranteed either. With a new administration coming into the White House in January, it could be several months before the Postal Service's new leadership is ready to commit to a deal. Patience will be required here. 10 stocks we like better than Workhorse GroupWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Workhorse Group wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of November 20, 2020 John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source