The Impact of Five-Day Mail Delivery

The buzz surrounding the United States Postal Service is focused on the recent proposed price changes filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission, just one of the many steps being taken to tackle the crisis situation surrounding the USPS. Traditionally, the Postal Service is limited to rate increases of no more than the rate of inflation, which as of May stood at 0.9%. The recently proposed rate increase filed by the USPS was at 5.6%, which further reflects the severity of its economic condition.

Based on the findings of three well-respected outside consulting firms, it has been determined that if no action is taken the USPS will face a cumulative shortfall of $238 billion by 2020. Additionally, the most recent statement provided by the USPS reported a net loss of $2.9 billion for the first eight months of its fiscal year. It was also released that the volume of mail delivered has plummeted from 213 billion pieces in 2007 to 177 billion pieces in 2009.