The U.S. Postal Service reported a drop in its parcel volume for the first time in nine years during its third quarter, as major customers like Amazon continue to shift business away from the USPS and take on some of the deliveries themselves. However parcel revenue was up thanks to rate increases and a DIM adjustment this year.
The Postal Regulatory Commission has approved a range of postal rates for smaller packages originating from overseas to the United States, part of an effort to level the playing field for U.S. merchants and manufacturers disadvantaged by international postage rules.
Once again, the U.S. Postal Service reported a massive net loss ($2.1B), a mail volume decline (-3.9%) and an increase in shipping volume (+0.3%) for the second quarter of 2019. See what else the USPS reported in quarter, and what solutions are on the table.
Postmaster General Megan Brennan told the House Oversight and Reform Committee that the USPS will run out of cash by 2024 if reforms are not enacted. Brennan also proposed saving billions by cutting back mail delivery to five days a week and increasing package delivery to seven days, which it already does for Amazon.
With the new U.S. Postal Service rates in effect, shippers are looking for creative ways to keep their parcel spend down as costs among the major carriers continue to rise. Find out what the increases mean and hear what some industry experts have to say about the impacts.
A report from President Trump’s task force on proposed changes to the U.S. Postal Service recommends giving the USPS the ability to establish more market-based pricing for its mail and parcel services, which have not been set “with profitability in mind.”
The upcoming lame duck session of Congress after the elections is the perfect time for lawmakers to consider legislation that would address the choking debt faced by the U.S. Postal Service caused by prefunding of retiree health benefits, said the head of a USPS advocacy group.
The Trump administration has announced plans to withdraw the United States from the Universal Postal Union by January 2020. The move is an effort to counteract below-market parcel shipping rates that China has enjoyed for years to the competitive disadvantage of U.S. merchants.
A Senate hearing on a task force report recommending U.S. Postal Service reforms, scheduled for Sept. 5, has been postponed as President Donald Trump is delaying release of the report. No new date has been set, indefinitely postponing any legislative action, including possible raising of postal rates or even privatization.
As he reviews the report from his U.S. Postal Service task force and weighs next steps including possible privatization, President Donald Trump has now set his sights abroad in pursuit of more equitable international postage rates from the Universal Postal Union or UPU, according to media reports.