Postal service posts $3.8 billion loss

[Modelworks]

More money down the drain.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fe...ervice_posts_38_billio.html?wprss=federal-eye

The U.S. Postal Service posted a $3.8 billion net loss during its fiscal year that ended in September, despite $6 billion in cost-cutting moves. Total mail volume for 2009 fell by 25.6 billion pieces, or almost 13 percent, a steep decline resulting from the national economic downturn and continued migration of communications to the Internet.

Despite cutting the equivalent of 65,000 full-time employees through buyouts and attrition, slashing transportation costs and $4 billion in financial relief provided by Congress, the Postal Service still lost $1 billion more than it did in 2008.

Notice the $4 billion in relief from congress, so it is more like $7.8 billion lost.

 

[Slew Foot]

Time to raise the price of stamps. Though seriously, less than 50 cents to mail a letter anywhere in the country in usually 3 days or less is pretty damn good.

 

[jonks]

Time to raise the price of stamps. Though seriously, less than 50 cents to mail a letter anywhere in the country in usually 3 days or less is pretty damn good.

given that email is essentially free and you can attach that same letter for free, paying 50x the cost is comparatively astronomically expensive. Which is probably why they're hemorrhaging money out the butt.

Technological advances have rendered most uses of snail mail letter sending passe if not obsolete. This will be spun as "gov't can't do anything right" but that's dumb. Once humans evolve into beings of pure energy we won't need health insurance companies either, public or private, and it won't be their fault their consumer base evaporated (or teleported, or whatever it is we'll be doing then)

 

[her209]

Time to raise the price of stamps. Though seriously, less than 50 cents to mail a letter anywhere in the country in usually 3 days or less is pretty damn good.

Time to raise the price of postage for junk mailers.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

just cut the saturday delivery.
it's nice to have but not worth whatever $ they're losing.

 

[alphatarget1]

Can they privatize USPS? Maybe someone/group would buy it and compete with UPS/Fedex...

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I think the cost of mailing a letter is ridiculously low, and as much as I'd hate it, cut saturday's mail. Raise it to .75 per letter and lose saturday. I don't know how much that would help, but I don't think alot of people know what it takes to get a letter from Boston to San Diego, accurately, in 3 - 5 days.

 

[WHAMPOM]

Saturday and Tuesday the slowest weekday.

 

[Genx87]

Is that 4 billion a loan or a grant? Because afaik congress has never funded the postal service before?

 

[Brainonska511]

Is that 4 billion a loan or a grant? Because afaik congress has never funded the postal service before?

Isn't a lot of their loss also the fact that they actually have to fund their retirement plan instead of putting the funding off for future years?

Can they privatize USPS? Maybe someone/group would buy it and compete with UPS/Fedex...

Privatizing the USPS would lead to loss of delivery in rural areas (areas that operate at a loss). It would also tremendously raise prices on the consumer. They should just cut a day of delivery and raise the price of stamps (so we can see more threads about increasing stamp prices, even though the cost of a stamp has risen at about the rate of inflation).

given that email is essentially free and you can attach that same letter for free, paying 50x the cost is comparatively astronomically expensive. Which is probably why they're hemorrhaging money out the butt.

Technological advances have rendered most uses of snail mail letter sending passe if not obsolete. This will be spun as "gov't can't do anything right" but that's dumb. Once humans evolve into beings of pure energy we won't need health insurance companies either, public or private, and it won't be their fault their consumer base evaporated (or teleported, or whatever it is we'll be doing then)

I can't e-mail a check to someone. I can't e-mail a money order. I can't really use e-mail as proof of someone receiving a legal document. I can't receive a new credit card through e-mail.

Or e-mailing cards, it's just not the same as receiving one in the mail.

 

[Genx87]

Isn't a lot of their loss also the fact that they actually have to fund their retirement plan instead of putting the funding off for future years?

I have no idea.

 

[Brainonska511]

I have no idea.

Found it:

http://www.opm.gov/News_Events/congress/testimony/111thCongress/08_06_2009.asp

Public Law 109-435 established a funding mechanism where the Postal Service pays the employer share of post-retirement FEHB premiums for its employees in advance of when the actual payments are required. This pre-funding mechanism is similar in concept to the way that Federal agencies fund employee retirement costs under the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). Under FERS, employing agencies pay the cost of future retirement benefits into the Civil Service Retirement and Disability (CSRD) Fund while individuals are employed. Pre-funding retirement benefits assures there is sufficient money set aside for the retirement benefits to be paid without further agency contributions. In the same way, the purpose of pre-funding post-retirement FEHB premiums by the Postal Service is to ensure Postal employees will have employer funding available for their health insurance after retirement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Delivery_days

On January 28, 2009, Postmaster General John E. Potter testified before the Senate[74] that if the Postal Service is not able to readjust their payment toward the pre-funding of retiree health benefits, as mandated by the Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act of 2006...

http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_012.htm

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reported a Fiscal Year 2007 first quarter loss of $2.7 billion due to the accelerated funding of retiree health benefits mandated by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act signed into law on Dec. 20, 2006. The law requires the Postal Service to substantially fund its share of these benefits by 2017. Operationally, the Postal Service would have otherwise achieved a net income of $1.2 billion, in line with its first quarter financial plan.

(the last one has some more information about how the retirement plan used to be funded).

 

[rudder]

Can they privatize USPS? Maybe someone/group would buy it and compete with UPS/Fedex...

Should USPS even be competing with UPS or Fedex? Should the government only be involved in things that private industry can't or won't provide?

UPS and FedEx are pretty damn efficient... USPS competes in the overnight/express market because they have the Bank of Congress.

 

[LunarRay]

In a city like San Diego, I think the following is in order:
Deliver mail Mon, Wed, Fri on some business routes and Tue, Thur and Sat on the balance.
Eliminate overtime.
Eliminate vehicles to deliver mail.. go back to paying the carriers to use their cars.
Fix the route to an agreed examination of 8 hours time. IF the carrier can do it in 7 he/she gets paid for 8 and if it takes 9 they still get paid 8.
Deliver Parcels over what a carrier can carry with the mail via a truck like UPS.
Eliminate redundant infrastructure.
Reinstall the corner mail box system and the local carrier picks this mail up en route.

I think the above would save the USPS quite a bit of money...

Raise the price of first class to .75$ and move all rural route delivery to central box locations. Increase the number of PO Boxes and provide 6 days delivery of mail to boxes...

 

[alphatarget1]

Should USPS even be competing with UPS or Fedex? Should the government only be involved in things that private industry can't or won't provide?

UPS and FedEx are pretty damn efficient... USPS competes in the overnight/express market because they have the Bank of Congress.

I don't know if USPS makes money from priority mail/express stuff. If they don't they need to cut the products and downsize even more.

Someone makes a good point on rural deliveries being eliminated, but I was under the impression that USPS doesn't make money anymore because people don't really mail a lot of stuff like in the past. Maybe instead of delivering mail every day they could have like a central location where people can pick stuff up on the way to/back from work on the rare occasion that they do get some stuff, I don't know. USPS has a lot of assets that are worth something.

 

[jonks]

I can't e-mail a check to someone. I can't e-mail a money order. I can't really use e-mail as proof of someone receiving a legal document. I can't receive a new credit card through e-mail.

Or e-mailing cards, it's just not the same as receiving one in the mail.

You can paypal someone. You can pay by credit card online. You can wire or transfer money to another person's account. No, this doesn't cover every conceivable situation but I don't remember the last check I wrote...it must have been for a wedding gift.

Regarding legal documents, you absolutely can use your sent email printout as evidence of a sent correspondence. Further, if necessary, you can subpoena server records to prove you sent it and trace its journey; try that with a piece of first class mail! How is claiming you sent a physical letter (non-registered) any stronger a claim of proof? Receipt of email and snail mail is presumed especially if there is a prior course of dealing using it. You can also always follow up with a phone call. If someone is going to falsely contest receipt of an email they'd likely contest receipt of a physical letter too.

Yes it's nicer to get a physical card than an email card saying happy birthday, but as mailing becomes more rare an event it will simply cost more to use as it becomes niche.

 

[woodie1]

Time to raise the price of postage for junk mailers.

Yep, raise the crap mailers rates and the USPS would be solvent.

 

[LunarRay]

Yep, raise the crap mailers rates and the USPS would be solvent.

There is a point where the mailer folks will transition to email etc.. The USPS makes quite a bit off that junk mail... remember, they go to the house anyhow...

 

[Patranus]

That's what the lack of choice on competition will do to a market.

Isn't it nice to have a mandatory government option in the post office?

 

[GroundedSailor]

That's what the lack of choice on competition will do to a market.

Isn't it nice to have a mandatory government option in the post office?

$0.43 for a stamp vs abt $20 for the same letter sent via Fedex / UPS?

I'll take the $0.43 and the USPS. Thanks very much.

FYI my organization has recently made a policy to use UPS/Fedex less and use post office more - even overnight stuff now goes express mail. Compare $45 to $17 for overnight delivery and the USPS looks much better.

Yes I like competition. It keeps high priced services out of my office.

 

[Vette73]

That's what the lack of choice on competition will do to a market.

Isn't it nice to have a mandatory government option in the post office?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

$0.43 for a stamp vs abt $20 for the same letter sent via Fedex / UPS?

I'll take the $0.43 and the USPS. Thanks very much.

FYI my organization has recently made a policy to use UPS/Fedex less and use post office more - even overnight stuff now goes express mail. Compare $45 to $17 for overnight delivery and the USPS looks much better.

Yes I like competition. It keeps high priced services out of my office.

It's $20 to get it to someone's doorstep at 8:30 AM in the morning. Letter delivery is pretty much reserved for USPS. UPS is when you deliver a fucking contract or something with many pages, not a 1 page letter to your grandma. Also, look at company shipping. Who the hell uses USPS? I'm not talking Newegg or whatever. When companies ship crap between each other. I asked for parts shipped by noon the next day. What came? UPS. Another vendor? FedEx. I have yet to get a USPS shipment.

 

[MotF Bane]

$0.43 for a stamp vs abt $20 for the same letter sent via Fedex / UPS?

I'll take the $0.43 and the USPS. Thanks very much.

FYI my organization has recently made a policy to use UPS/Fedex less and use post office more - even overnight stuff now goes express mail. Compare $45 to $17 for overnight delivery and the USPS looks much better.

Yes I like competition. It keeps high priced services out of my office.

That's because FedEx/UPS are legally prohibited from handling regular mail. $20 means it's there tomorrow morning. $0.43 means it's there several days later.

 

[Patranus]

$0.43 for a stamp vs abt $20 for the same letter sent via Fedex / UPS?

I'll take the $0.43 and the USPS. Thanks very much.

FYI my organization has recently made a policy to use UPS/Fedex less and use post office more - even overnight stuff now goes express mail. Compare $45 to $17 for overnight delivery and the USPS looks much better.

Yes I like competition. It keeps high priced services out of my office.

You might want to read up on what types of services UPS/FexEx can provide and where they can and cannot provide those services before you post next time

In reality, the only areas of business UPS/FedEx competes with the USPS is packages and even then the USPS has the upper hand.

Try getting anything mailed through UPS/FedEx delivered to your mail box/mail slot....oh thats right....they can't because it is illegal.

(Then again, I guess stating this makes me a troll)

 

[rudder]

$0.43 for a stamp vs abt $20 for the same letter sent via Fedex / UPS?

I'll take the $0.43 and the USPS. Thanks very much.

FYI my organization has recently made a policy to use UPS/Fedex less and use post office more - even overnight stuff now goes express mail. Compare $45 to $17 for overnight delivery and the USPS looks much better.

Yes I like competition. It keeps high priced services out of my office.

Sure $45 vs $17 looks better... until you realize that UPS pays cash for all of their new airplanes while the USPS goes to congress to ask for more money.