USPS: Setting the Record Straight

For more than 235 years, the U.S. Postal Service has been delivering the nation’s mail in snow, rain, and in the dark of night.  However, tough economic and market conditions and unrealistic legislative expectations have created challenges that have never before been faced.  Misconceptions about the future of the U.S. Postal Service abound --- it’s time to set the record straight.

§ The U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and service to fund its operations.  We are required by law to cover our costs.

§ The U.S. Postal Service is environmentally friendly and is a respected sustainability leader.   It was promoting sustainable practices long before doing so was encouraged, mandated, or governed.

§ The U.S. Postal Service has the world’s largest retail network --- larger than McDonald’s, WalMart, and Starbucks combined (in U.S.).

§ Mail is a great communication tool.  No monthly plans. No signal outages.  No roaming charges.  Regardless of geographic locations, anyone can send a letter for just 45 cents anywhere in the United States and its territories.

§ The U.S. Postal Service can and does complete with the private sector --- and it collaborates, too.  UPS and FedEx pay the U.S. Postal Service to deliver more than 400 million of their ground packages to residences and the U.S. Postal Service pays them for air transportation --- taking advantage of their comprehensive air network.

§ Mail is reliable, trusted, and secure --- federal laws protecting the sanctity of the U.S. Mail are enforced by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

§ The U.S. Postal Service is the only organization in the country that has the manpower, network infrastructure, and logistical capability to delivery to every residence and business in the U.S. and its territories.

§ An independent assessment by Oxford Strategic Consulting named the U.S. Postal Service the best postal service among the 20 largest economies in the world.  Criteria included the average number of citizens served, the number of letters and parcels delivered, service reliability, and public trust.

§ The U.S. Postal Service delivered 168 billion pieces of mail in 2011 --- facilitating $10 trillion in commerce.

§ The U.S. Postal Service is the core of the trillion dollar mailing industry that employs more than eight million people.  The Envelope Manufacturers Association reported in the “2008 Economic Jobs Study for the Mailing Industry” that there are 8.4 million jobs and over $1 trillion in revenue attributed to the mailing industry.

§ Theses classes of mail brought in most of the $66 billion in revenue in 2011:

  First-Class Mail --- $32.2 billion

  Advertising --- $17.8 billion

  Shipping Services --- $9.0 billion

  Periodicals --- $1.8 billion

  Package Services --- $1.6 billion

§  If it were a private sector company, USPS would rank 35^th in the 2011 Fortune 500.

§  In the 2011 Global Fortune 500 list, USPS ranked 109^th.