Postal
Service Announces New Delivery Schedule
Six Days of Package Delivery, Five Days of Mail Delivery Begins
August 2013
WASHINGTON — The United States
Postal Service announced plans today to transition to a new delivery schedule
during the week of Aug. 5, 2013 that includes package delivery Monday through
Saturday, and mail delivery Monday through Friday. The Postal Service expects
to generate cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually, once the plan is fully
implemented.
“The Postal Service is
advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth
of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from
America’s changing mailing habits,” said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General
and CEO. “We developed this approach by working with our customers to
understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate
significant cost savings.”
Over the past several
years, the Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery
schedule for mail and packages. However, recent strong growth in package
delivery (14 percent volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued
strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach
to maintain package delivery six days per week.
“Our customers see
strong value in the national delivery platform we provide and maintaining a
six-day delivery schedule for packages is an important part of that platform,”
said Donahoe. “As consumers increasingly use and rely on delivery services —
especially due to the rise of e-commerce — we can play an increasingly vital role as a delivery provider
of choice, and as a driver of growth opportunities for America’s
businesses.”
Once implemented
during August of 2013, mail delivery to street addresses will occur Monday
through Friday. Packages will continue to be delivered six days per week. Mail addressed to PO Boxes
will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post Offices currently open on
Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays.
Market research conducted by the Postal Service and independent research by
major news organizations indicate that nearly seven out of ten Americans (70
percent) supported the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal
Service to reduce costs in its effort to return the organization to financial
stability.¹ Support for this approach will likely be even higher since the
Postal Service plans to maintain six-day package delivery.
The Postal Service is
making the announcement today, more than six months in advance of implementing
five-day mail delivery schedule, to give residential and business customers
time to plan and adjust. The Postal Service plans to publish specific guidance in
the near future for residential and business customers about its new delivery
schedule.
Given the ongoing
financial challenges, the Postal Service Board of Governors last month directed
postal management to accelerate the restructuring of Postal Service operations
in order to strengthen Postal Service finances.
“The American public
understands the financial challenges of the Postal Service and supports these
steps as a responsible and reasonable approach to improving our financial
situation,” said Donahoe. “The Postal Service has a responsibility to take the
steps necessary to return to long-term financial stability and ensure the
continued affordability of the U.S. Mail.”
The operational plan
for the new delivery schedule anticipates a combination of employee
reassignment and attrition and is expected to achieve cost savings of
approximately $2 billion annually when fully implemented.
The Postal Service is
currently implementing major restructuring throughout its retail, delivery and
mail processing operations. Since 2006, the Postal Service has reduced its
annual cost base by approximately $15 billion, reduced the size of its career
workforce by 193,000 or 28 percent, and has consolidated more than 200 mail
processing locations. During these unprecedented initiatives, the Postal
Service continued to deliver record high levels of service to its customers.
While the change in
the delivery schedule announced today is one of the actions needed to restore
the financial health of the Postal Service, legislative change is urgently
needed to address matters outside the Postal Service’s control. The Postal
Service continues to seek legislation to provide it with greater flexibility to
control costs and generate new revenue and encourages the 113th Congress to
make postal reform legislation an urgent priority.
The Postal Service
receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of
postage, products and services to fund its operations.
¹ Sources: Gallup
Poll, March 26, 2010 • New York Times/CBS News, June 27, 2012 • USA Today,
March 17, 2010 • Washington Post, March 30, 2010
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