USPS reports $5.1bn loss for fiscal 2011

The US Postal Service ended its 2011 fiscal year (October 1, 2010 – September 30, 2011) with a net loss of $5.1bn. The year-end loss would have been approximately $10.6bn had it not been for passage of legislation that postponed a congressionally mandated payment of $5.5bn to pre-fund retiree health benefits.

Total 2011 mail volume declined by 3bn pieces, or 1.7%, from 2010. The Postal Service’s largest and most profitable product, First-Class Mail, continued its year-over-year decline, from $34.2bn in 2010 to $32.2bn in 2011, a decline of 5.8%.

USPS Shipping Services revenue, which includes Priority Mail and Express Mail, increased $530m in 2011 (6.3%). The increase in Shipping Services revenue was driven by strong growth in the Parcel Select and Parcel Return Services, due to increased mailings of packages, as customers continued to use the Internet more often to purchase products. Revenue from Standard Mail increased by $495m (2.9%) on a volume increase of 2bn pieces (2.6%).

"The Postal Service can become profitable again if Congress passes comprehensive legislation to provide us with a more flexible business model so we can respond better to a changing marketplace," said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe. "To return to profitability we must reduce our annual costs by $20bn by the end of 2015. We continue to take aggressive cost-cutting actions in areas under our control and urgently need Congress to do its part to get us the rest of the way there."

One positive however, was that the Postal Service continued to increase operating efficiency in 2011, including a reduction in work hours by 34m despite an increase of 636,500 delivery points. Since 2001, the Postal Service has reduced work hours by 28%, while delivering to almost 14m additional addresses.

Quelle: eyefortransport
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