U.S. Postal Service: Another Looming Crisis

Schick emphasizes that pension overfunding and the onerous retiree healthcare prepayment are the twin 800-lb. gorillas standing in the way of a self-sustaining, fiscally viable Postal Service. But right-sizing the USPS network through closures and consolidations is critical to its ability to control costs, he notes. For example, Schick points out that the USPS' current network was built to support the processing, distribution and delivery of 300 billion pieces, while current volume is barely more than half of that at 170 billion pieces.