The U.S. Postal Service reported a revenue gain for the year but an income loss, while parcel volume continued to drop relative to the 2021 pandemic surge, as the USPS like other shippers has experienced a slowdown in ecommerce-related business due to challenging economic conditions.
Global parcel volume increased 21% in 2021 to 159 billion pieces, according to an annual Pitney Bowes shipping index that tracks activity in 13 markets, but revenue increased at a slightly lower rate of 17% as declines in per-piece yield in China acted as a check on that growth.
Amazon is testing a program that will require sellers who fulfill their own returns to offer UPS as a return shipping option for customers, in addition to the less expensive U.S. Postal Service they had been using exclusively. The test will run Sept. 5-Oct. 2 in order to “understand buyer behavior,” Amazon said. Naturally, sellers are not amused.
Amazon is jumping on the peak surcharge bandwagon for the first time, asking sellers using its Fulfillment By Amazon service to pay 35 cents more per item for goods sold in the U.S. and Canada, running from Oct. 15 to Jan. 14, according to CNBC. This follows peak fee announcements from both FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service.
The U.S. Postal Service plans to hikes rates in January as a hedge against a projected $1 billion inflationary hit on 2022 operating costs. The USPS reported a $459 million third-quarter loss, which excluded a $2.15 billion impact from reform legislation addressing prefunded retiree healthcare. A peak surcharge is also being imposed.
FedEx is suspending Sunday delivery for its Ground network in some lower-density markets starting Aug. 21, citing a focus on “improving efficiency and reducing costs,” the move coming amid calls from contractors for relief from high costs, including elimination of Sunday service.
The U.S. Postal Service is shortening the promised service levels for two of its ground delivery products, syncing them with its First-Class Package Service (FCPS), a move the USPS says will drive efficiency by consolidating processing and transportation of volume from all three products.
The USPS plans to update its environmental impact statement related to the mix of electric vs. gas-powered vehicles, saying it’s driven by its delivery network improvement plan and unrelated to lawsuits favoring an all-electric fleet. The mix may change due to aggregation of carrier operations affecting its delivery route structure.
While U.S. parcel volume rose nearly 6% to 21.5B pieces in 2021, it was the slowest growth in five years, and considerably less than the massive 31.5% gain in a pandemic-driven 2020, according to Pitney Bowes’ annual index. It also showed smaller carriers growing rapidly but still holding a tiny percentage of the overall pie.
Adding a cubic pricing option for users of USPS Parcel Select Ground product will be a boon for shippers with small, dense and heavy packages but not so much for others, experts said ahead of the July 10 live date for the change. In general, packages must be under 20 lbs. and there’s a 50,000 package a year minimum.