February 06, 2015
- Shipping and Package Volume Up 12.8 Percent
- Standard Mail Volume Increases 3.5 Percent
- Investing in the business remains a priority
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service ended the first quarter of fiscal 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014 – Dec. 31, 2014) with a 4.3 percent increase in operating revenue over the same period last year and a net loss of $754 million. The increase in operating revenue was driven, in part, by the record number of holiday season packages delivered with high reliability during our busiest time of the year. The net loss included a $1.4 billion expense accrued for the mandated prepayment to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
Although revenue and volume are closely linked to the strength of the U.S. economy and changes in how customers use the mail, the Postal Service has been proactive in growing volume in Standard Mail and Shipping and Packages and slowing the decline of the most profitable product, First-Class Mail. Standard Mail volume was up 3.5 percent compared to the same period last year, driven by a 0.9 billion increase in political mail volume, a testament to its effectiveness in political campaigns. First-Class Mail volume decline slowed to a 1.1 percent decrease from the same period last year. Standard Mail revenue and First-Class Mail revenue were up 7.6 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year, driven, in part, by the January 2014 price increase.
Read more at usps.com