Citing aggressive cuts in expenses, Postmaster General Jack Potter told the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors on Dec. 11 that the Postal Service’s loss for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30 was just $676 million, rather than the $1.35 billion that it had estimated earlier this year. The loss is less than half of the $1.7 billion the agency lost in fiscal 2001.
All told, the USPS cut costs by $1.45 billion for the year, CFO Richard Strasser told the Board; overall costs were $67.4 billion, down $185 million from 2001 expenses.
Mail volume dipped 2.3% to 203 billion pieces, from 198 billion in fiscal 2001. Postal revenue for the year reached $66.7 billion, up 1.2% over last year’s total of $65.9 billion, aided by the July 2002 implementation of new rates. In addition, the agency cut its debt by $200 million. Earlier forecasts called for its debt to rise by $1.6 billion.