Postal Trendwatch - Q2 2010
Executive Summary
The U.S. Postal Service lost $1.58 billion in the second quarter of FY 2010. USPS says that it has experienced negative operating results in 13 of the last 15 quarters. Operating revenue declined by $241 million, or 1.4 percent, relative to Q2 FY 2009. Total volume declined by about 1.4 billion pieces, or 3.3 percent, compared to the same quarter last year.
On March 2, Postmaster General John Potter released a landmark 10-year strategic plan outlining steps to "maintain a viable United States Postal Service." Absent massive changes, USPS projects a cumulative shortfall of up to $238 billion over the next decade. The Service believes it can come up with $123 billion in savings through internal restructuring. For the remaining $115 billion, USPS plans to seek additional operational flexibility from Congress so that it can close facilities, reduce delivery service, modify prices, and delay contributions to the retiree health benefit fund, among other things.