The U.S. Postal Service reported an annual loss of $5.1 billion on Tuesday, as declining mail volumes and mounting benefit costs take their toll on the agency.
The Postal Service said in a statement that its losses would have been roughly $10.6 billion if Congress had not passed legislation postponing a $5.5 billion payment required to fund the agency's retiree health benefits.
Revenues from First-Class Mail, the Postal Service's largest and most profitable product, declined 6% from the previous fiscal year to $32 billion. Total mail volume declined by 3 billion pieces, or 1.7%.
"The continuing and inevitable electronic migration of First-Class Mail, which provides approximately 49 percent of our
revenue, underscores the need to streamline our infrastructure and make changes to our business model," Postal Service CFO Joe Corbett said in a statement accompanying the figures.
Over the past few months, the White House, lawmakers and the Postal Service have all come up with plans to save the post office. One of the more controversial proposals came from the postal agency itself, which included cutting Saturday service,
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Don't necessarily blame the Post Office. They want to raise rates. Congress gets mad and says no. They want to cut Saturday delivery. Congress gets mad and says no. They want to reduce workforce and services. Congress and everyone else gets mad and says no.
Seriously, how long do we have to listen to this crap. No one needs mail on Sat. If you do send it some other method.
I disagree...I go to the post office on Saturdays more than any other day of the week because I work M-F...close another day during the work week. Makes no sense to close on the only weekend day they are open
Amen!
If they were SMART they'd open later in the morning and stay open until 6 or 7pm. Check UPS... they are working in the back at 5am but the customer counter is only open later in the morning. Close the post office on saturdays, open it later on week days when working stiffs can get there. HINT: Closing at 4pm is not good for your customers.
I have been reading these comments and some are very good. The postal service doesn't alway operate like a retail business. They have shorter Saturday hours if they are open at all. Most post offices close at 5 or 6 pm. They focus on delivery but fail to see that in order to have something to deliver they have to have customers. Wait times are long and the windows at many stations are short staffed with long lines. Yes, I am postal employee and I watch people walk out because the lines are long or are refused service because we are closed. I have actually seen days were I work were the supervisor that does the scheduling neglects to schedule one window clerk but there is 10 clerks sometimes working in the back getting the mail to the carriers while customers are walking out the front door. Most managers don't seem to get that they have to start treating their customers at the front window better by offering them service. The unions don't help out much as labor costs are extremely high. I am embarrassed that I work for the Postal service.
did you know that mail sorter and any kind of postal work employees gets paid starting $18/hr?
So what! Did you know that many guys in Wall Street and many CEOs get paid $33,000 or more per hr?
This is what happens when you don't adapt to change. I'm not only talking from a business perspective, but the perspective of negotiated union contracts, pensions, etc. At this day and age, you either adapt or go bankrupt.
they should close a weekday service...Monday or Wed or something!!! Saturdays is the only day I can get to the post office being a full-time M-F 830-5 working individual, like most working Americans...
Hey Jen how does that M-F schedule work for you? Imagine what some postal workers would like to be working! You must have a life. Guess going on your lunch hour isn't an option!
You all forget that some people buy ONLINE so postal office will still remain regardless of flaws.
Losing $5.1 billion dollars in a year is a little more than being in a "bind". It seems odd though that a loss in mail volume of 1.7%, (3 billion pieces), equates to a loss of $5.1 billion dollars. That would mean each piece would have an average cost near a dollar yet I really only hear about standard letters and cards being on the decline which don't cost that much. I suck at math. Does that seem right?
Dumb report! The real question is why is USPS being required to fund retirement and healthcare costs 75 years into the future? They are only 'losing' money so long as they have to fund these for employees who aren't even born yet.
Please, CNN, can we get some real reporting here and not headlines simply engineered to grab attention.
yeah, it's "washington monument" politics. You put pain in the most public areas and keep the back end running quietly. Ever notice how they cut schools and police first? Same thing in play here.
No one has mentioned that the Postal Service has had to pay the next 15 years of retirement benefits in 5 years. This is a little known law the republicans have made up to bankrupt the Postal Service. The republicans are getting paid by private companies who want to privatize the postal service, then they can raise the rates for a big fat profit at the expense of the American people.
What would we do without the junk mail delivery service?
Shut it down!
So since the postal service has to prefund future retirees health care to the tune of 5.5 billion dollars a year the service then actually made a profit of 400 million.
Postal salaries are ridiculous. It doesn't take much intellect to sort and deliver mail. C'mon...
And you know this how? Really!
Make postage for letters $1.00. Problem solved.
Not going to happen....Democrat leaders
(Obama) can only get elected with unions and government employees!