Latest news with #PostalService
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US Postal Service loss widens to $3.1 billion as inflation bites
The U.S. Postal Service's adjusted operating loss widened by $522 million to $1.6 billion for the fiscal year third quarter as expenses increased nearly 3% and first-class mail revenue fell $86 million on a 5.4% decline in volume. The agency posted a net loss of $3.1 billion compared to $2.5 billion for the same quarter last year, according to the latest financial report. It previously projected a full-year loss of $6.9 billion after posting a rare net profit in the first quarter. A highlight for the Postal Service was the 39.6% growth in volume for the new Ground Advantage budget product, which replaced first-class package services in 2023 and offers two-to-five day service standards for packages up to 70 pounds. Ground Advantage revenue increased 31% to $4.1 billion. During the first nine months of the fiscal year, Ground Advantage volumes were up 25.7% to 2.9 billion pieces. Postmaster General David Steiner, who has been in his post for three weeks, told the board of governors on Thursday that Delivering for America, the 10-year modernization and cost-reduction strategy created by predecessor Louis DeJoy, is sound and just requires good execution to achieve its goals. 'We will strive to align our costs to revenue on a consistent, long-term basis. To do so, prioritizing strategies to drive operational efficiencies and generate sustained revenue growth will be key,' he said. 'Service improvement will be a top priority for me and the management team and we will remain committed to continuous improvement in our operational performance. Our recent transformation and modernization efforts have brought the Postal Service closer to private sector logistics practices. Both the pricing and product strategies have improved our competitiveness. We will continue to aggressively pursue those strategies, but we'll need to do more to fully unlock the strong revenue growth for the long term.' Management said that first-class mail performance improved during the third quarter. The Postal Service delivered 90.6% of all first-class mail on time, up from 86.4%, with delivery taking an average of 2.6 days compared to 2.8 days during the same period last year. Non-cash workers' compensation adjustments of $237 million, due to actuarial recalculations and other factors, contributed to the bigger net loss. The Postal Service, which is celebrating its 250th anniversary, has lost more than $6.2 billion through the first nine months of the fiscal year, or $144 million more than last year for the same period. Many employee and retiree benefit costs are mandated by law and cannot be altered without legislative change, and some of these costs have historically increased at a higher rate than inflation, resulting in years of losses. Operating revenue was essentially flat year over year at $18.8 billion. Losses were $1.6 billion when excluding expenses not controllable by management. 'America needs a financially strong Postal Service to continue to meet the needs of the nation far into the future. To restore our financial strength, we must continue to evolve amid a changing business environment so that we can provide high-quality service at a reasonable cost. Growing our revenue and cutting our costs to serve is the only path to financial health,' Steiner said in a news release accompanying the financial report. Shipping and packages revenue increased $58 million, or 0.8%, despite a volume decline of 114 million pieces, or 6.5%, thanks to higher rates. Lower volumes are partly related to large customers like UPS insourcing last-mile delivery. Through three quarters, parcel volumes are down 4.6% year over year. Bulk advertising mail revenue decreased $29 million, less than 1%, even as volume increased 0.5%. First-Class mail revenue declined 1.4%, with price increases offsetting the full impact of the volume decline. In mid-July, the Postal Service raised prices for stamps and packages by about 7%, depending on the type of product. Mail volumes, representing first-Class mail and marketing mail, have declined 49% between 2007 and last September, the end of the 2024 fiscal year. Marketing mail has been challenged by commercial mailers' increasing use of digital and mobile advertising and higher prices for print media production. Inflation played a large role in operating expenses increasing by $613 million, year over year, to $22 billion, the Postal Service said. Transportation expenses were flat during the quarter and decreased 6.6% during the nine months ended June 30, as the agency reaps the benefits of its transformation plan. A 5.8% increase in quarterly trucking expenses was offset by the decline in air cargo after the Postal Service shifted from FedEx to UPS as the primary provider of domestic air transport. The state-owned company shipped fewer packages and letters by air and reduced spending by 43% in the first three months after UPS took over a primary air cargo contract from FedEx, the Office of Inspector General recently reported. Air transportation expenses decreased 13.5% and 20% for the three and nine months ended June 30, primarily due to lower service standards enabling the Postal Service to shift more volume to less-expensive highway transportation, along with lower jet fuel prices. Trucking costs increased in the third quarter as the postal operator relied more heavily on freight auctions, which offer more flexibility amid a major network realignment of processing centers but also have a higher average rate per mile than contract rates. The decrease in highway costs for the nine-month period reflects how the streamlining effort has reduced facilities, which in turn has eliminated underutilized transportation trips and improved truck fill rates. The Postal Service said it is also benefiting from lower average diesel fuel prices compared to the prior year, and optimization of peak-season contracts. Keep US Posted, an advocacy group of nonprofits, newspapers, greeting card publishers and other interests, said the Postal Service's losses demonstrate the Delivering for America plan needs a major correction. 'Today's financial results provide even more proof that new Postmaster General David Steiner needs to lead the U.S. Postal Service away from DeJoy's 'tax and spend' strategy. Steiner should take the losses as an opportunity for meaningful change, and discard massive and frequent rate hikes, service reductions and the prioritization of packages over mail,' the group said in a statement. Amber McReynolds, chair of the board of governors, urged policymakers to address the systemic financial imbalances — constrained liquidity, inflexible pension and benefit frameworks, a statutory debt ceiling, and an outdated workman's compensation system — that impede the Postal Service from operating more nimbly and profitably. The board of governors has five members and four vacancies. Governor Roman Martinez urged President Donald Trump to nominate more individuals to serve on the board so it can properly handle its duties. Trump withdrew his nomination of John LaValle, who previously served as White House liaison to the Energy Department, on Aug. 1. He has also nominated waste and recycling executive Anthony Lomangino to serve on the Postal Service board. Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch. RELATED READING: Is Canada Post too big to fail? New US postmaster faces heavy lift stabilizing finances USPS hikes parcel rates and stamps by 7% The post US Postal Service loss widens to $3.1 billion as inflation bites appeared first on FreightWaves.
CBS News
2 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Wendel villagers say they're fed up with not having mail service
Villagers in Wendel are saying they've been without mail service for almost five years, and many are saying enough is enough. Since 2021, the post office in the village of Wendel in Hempfield Township has been closed. Wendel has never had home delivery, so people had to come to the post office to pick up their mail. Tim Szekely is the second generation of his family to own the old postal building. He says his father had a very amicable lease with the postal service for decades, but he says that it was the Postal Service that dictated a bad lease agreement to his father several years back. "Normally, when I lease you a property, I'm the one who gives you the lease, but with the post office, they give you a lease," Szekely said. "So they went from a two-page simple lease to like a booklet, and my dad's like, 'I can't sign the booklet. I don't know what's in it,' and he said eventually, 'I'll sign it and we can keep going on the old lease.' He was perfectly willing to do that, but if you ask me, it was scheduled to be shut down, they just wanted it shut down." Once the facility was closed, some villagers, who live directly off Wendel Road, changed their addresses from Wendel to Irwin and started getting their mail delivered to their boxes along that road. But for most members of this community, who live off the main drag in small neighborhoods, they have been forced to drive across Route 30 to the Manor Post Office, some 10 minutes away, and pick up their mail from a clerk. But Wendel residents say that has to change. Jackie Greenawalt, a former postal employee at the old Wendel Post Office, says they have been reaching out to many officials in the local, state and federal government for help. But she says no one seems able to help. "Ideally, we want the mail delivered to our house, like a lot of other people, and it's free. You know, everyone is entitled to free delivery," Greenawalt said. "And if it can't be that, then cluster boxes the NBCUs would be great. We were already told that there will never be a post office building here Wendel, so home delivery." When reached for comment, the Postal Service said they have no update on when or if they'll be restoring service to the village of Wendel. The Hempfield supervisor released a statement, saying: "Hempfield Township is committed to working collaboratively with our federal legislators to ensure the concerns of our residents are communicated effectively. We remain hopeful that the United States Postal Service and the Postmaster General will take appropriate steps to enhance service reliability. Our staff will continue to engage with federal officials in a constructive manner to support the needs of our community."
Business Wire
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Attorney Amy Witherite Calls for Urgent Postal Service Reform After Deadly Kaufman County Crash
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following a deadly crash in Kaufman County involving a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) contract truck that killed five people — including four members of one Texas family — Dallas attorney and nationally recognized traffic safety advocate Amy Witherite is demanding immediate federal reforms. 'Enough is enough. The Postal Service's pattern of negligence is costing lives,' said Amy Witherite, founding attorney of Witherite Law Group. 'We now know that from 2018 to 2022, 89 people died in 373 crashes involving USPS contractors. Not once did the Postal Service cancel a contract over those fatalities. That's unconscionable.' The Kaufman County crash, which occurred when a mail-hauling truck veered into oncoming traffic, has drawn national attention. The driver — who later admitted he had fallen asleep at the wheel — was alone on a long-haul route that, according to USPS policy, should have had two drivers. USPS has since claimed it is not responsible for verifying whether its safety protocols were followed. 'That response defies common sense and public trust,' said Witherite. 'When federal contractors ignore rules designed to protect lives, and no one is held accountable, families suffer. This wasn't a fluke. This was the predictable result of a broken system.' A February 2024 audit by the USPS Office of Inspector General found that the Postal Service does not track fatalities involving its contractors, lacks a centralized database of crash records, and has no system in place to ensure that required safety protocols are followed. 'USPS often doesn't even know who is driving its mail,' Witherite added. 'They're spending $5.2 billion on 4,600 trucking contracts — and yet they can't tell you if the people operating those trucks are following the law. It's not just bad oversight. It's deadly.' Witherite is urging Congress to act by passing the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, which has already passed the House with bipartisan support but is stalled in the Senate. She is also calling for: Mandatory third-party verification of safety practices on contract routes A public database of contractor crash histories and safety violations Permanent disqualification of repeat offenders, such as Hope Trans Accountability for brokers who profit from unsafe practices 'USPS trucks travel through our communities, past our schools, and alongside our families,' said Witherite. 'Texans shouldn't have to wait for another tragedy to demand action. The Kaufman County crash was a failure of federal responsibility — and unless we act now, it won't be the last.' Amy Witherite is the founding attorney of Witherite Law Group and a nationally recognized traffic safety advocate. She has represented hundreds of families affected by trucking collisions. Call 1 800 Truck Wreck or visit to learn more.
The Hill
01-08-2025
- The Hill
St. Louis postal worker admits to stealing checks from mail, pandemic fraud
ST. LOUIS (KTVI) — An ex-U.S. Postal Service worker appeared in federal court this week and admitted stealing checks from hundreds of pieces of mail, as well as to committing pandemic loan fraud. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Anthony Virdure II, 30, stole the checks while working at the St. Louis Processing and Distribution Center located at 1720 Market Street. The Hazelwood Police Department contacted U.S. Postal Inspectors on Dec. 1, 2023, to examine 30 stolen checks that had been left behind in a recently returned rental vehicle. The stolen checks had been routed through the distribution center in Downtown West. Vindure's fingerprints were found on one check from a letter that he'd stolen. On Jan. 3, 2024, the Frontenac Police Department contacted U.S. Postal Inspectors about checks that had been discovered in a vacated apartment. Each of the checks had been routed through the same distribution center where Vindure worked. His fingerprints were discovered on one of the checks. On April 30, 2024, prosecutors said law enforcement searched an apartment where Vindure was staying and found an additional 298 stolen checks, many of which had Vindure's fingerprints. The stolen checks had a combined face value of more than $1.5 million. The total value of stolen checks containing Vindure's fingerprints was $68,486. Vindure also admitted in court to applying for and receiving $20,832 from the Pandemic Protection Program loan in 2021. He received the loan for a tobacco store called Virdure Dynamics, but the application contained false information about the business' income and address. He included a false address on the application that was later identified as his grandmother's house. Vindure pleaded guilty to one count of mail theft and one count of wire fraud. He'll be sentenced on Nov. 30. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for wire fraud, and up to five years and a $250,000 fine for mail theft.
CBS News
31-07-2025
- CBS News
Michigan man sentenced to prison for assaulting USPS clerk
A Michigan man charged with the assault of a U.S. Postal Service clerk was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Benjamin Gregory Shirley, 41, of East Lansing, was accused of assaulting the employee over a package that investigators later discovered included fentanyl. Federal prosecutors say Shirley arranged for the package to be sent to Michigan from Tennessee to a P.O. Box. They say Shirley attempted to get the package at the post office, but it was mistakenly addressed to a different P.O. Box. The worker told Shirley that she could give him the package. In response, prosecutors say Shirley jumped over the counter and wrestled with the worker over the item. A search warrant of the package uncovered fentanyl inside a teddy bear. "My office stands ready to investigate and prosecute those who assault federal workers; no one should be subject to attack simply for doing their job," said U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey in a statement. "Further, my office is dedicated to combatting fentanyl trafficking, particularly through the U.S. Mail. Postal workers should be able to come to work and do their jobs without the fear of violence or drugs."
