Mailing/Fulfillment - Postal Trends

The recent U.S. Postal Service financial report for the first three months of fiscal 2013, said that in operational terms the Postal Service had a $100M profit delivering the mail—six days a week. It earned revenues of $17.7B selling stamps and services and had expenses of $17.6B. But the quarter's $1.4B pre-funding cost led to a reported "loss" of $1.3B.

There is much support for rectifying this situation, including from the postmaster general, the postal unions, many industry observers and, most importantly, from hundreds of members of Congress from both parties.

The Washington Examiner has entered this discussion.

At an estimated cost of $66 million, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will provide credits to mailers that have mailings containing at least 90 percent Full-Service pieces between June 1, 2013 and May 31, 2014.

Here’s the catch: USPS is asking the Postal Regulatory Commission to consider the credits a price decrease for purposes of calculating the price cap for the next round of rate changes. Without such consideration, USPS claims it would be discouraged from offering future credits that promote more efficient mailing practices.

The logic of the request seems to be that the Postal Service would be paying out credits

Complaining about the postal system is a national pastime in the United States, but looking at the rest of the world can put things into perspective.

"The USPS, even with its vast problems, is still the best and cheapest postal system in the world," wrote an unnamed subscriber in a comment published today on Morning News Beat, a grocery industry news site.

The writer, who frequently sends mail overseas, says "most European countries charge between $2.00 and $3.00" to send a one-ounce letter to the United States, while the comparable rate for an international letter from the U.S. is only $1.10.

The House committee will hold a hearing Wednesday to “explore a range of options to avoid a multi-billion dollar taxpayer funded bailout and restore USPS to long-term financial solvency,” according a statement put out by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the committee’s chairman.

Issa condemned the Postal Service’s decision to cancel plans to move to a five-day mail delivery schedule, calling the choice a major roadblock to reaching a deal on reform legislation.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and members of the USPS Board of Governors will testify at the hearing.

U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which recorded a $16B loss last year and expects to lose around $7.5B this financial year, believes reducing letter delivery services by a day per week could save $2B a year.

The Postal Service has been bound by U.S. federal appropriations legislation to provide six-day-a-week mail delivery since the early 1980s. However, after last year saw Congress failing to pass reforms including a move to five-day-a-week mail delivery, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe ordered a reinterpretation of the law.

The reinterpretation suggested that a temporary appropriations bill running through to September 2013 does not include the language preventing five-day

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has plans of its own to try and reduce the record-breaking losses that continue to rack up every year. It announced plans earlier this year to end Saturday delivery of mail, which it says it can do without Congressional approval. If USPS continues with its plan, Saturday delivery would end on Aug. 5.

Rep. Blake Farenthold supports the Postal Service's desire to halt Saturday delivery. "I don't understand why the Saturday delivery [plan] isn't a no brainer...The big argument against not delivering on Saturday was how do people who work Monday through Friday get their medications

At the National Postal Forum in San Francisco this week, Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe said that technology and changing consumer expectations are helping to transform mail into an even more powerful communications channel. “With imbedded QR codes and augmented reality, mail becomes much more functional and creative, creating an even more influential experience.”

A new report has been released by the Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration, that advocates that mail processing, collection, and transportation be performed by private-sector companies and that the delivery function—“the last mile”—be reserved for the USPS.The

The U.S. Postal Service added more than 4,000 jobs in February, but the postal workforce is actually shrinking.

The Postal Service reports that it had 468,000 full-time employees in late February, a decline of almost 35,000 (7%) in one year. Half of the loss occurred after Jan. 1, spurred by early-retirement incentives for APWU-represented employees.

We’ve all seen the signs for years. Three pieces one day. Five the next. Mondays, now that’s another story...10 pieces in my mailbox this week. While our e-mail inboxes are bursting from perpetual overload (I’m lucky if I keep mine under 100), our physical mailboxes become emptier and emptier.