USPS suggests delaying mail and increasing delivery prices

WASHINGTON – The US Postal Service (USPS) on Tuesday drafted a proposed 10-year strategic plan that would slow current premium delivery standards and raise some prices to $ 160 billion in predicted red ink over the next decade.

The plan would revise existing one-to-three day service standards for first-class mail letters to one to five days. USPS said 61% of current premium mail volume would remain at current levels.

It would shift more deliveries to trucks instead of planes, consolidate mail processing, and save hours in some retail locations. The plan assumes $ 44 billion in additional revenue from price increases, but officials declined to provide further details.

USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a supporter of former President Donald Trump who was named head of USPS last year, said the Postal Service would need a “government bailout” without changes – something it doesn’t want to seek.

US Postal Service trucks in Hawthorne, NJ on May 27, 2019.
US Postal Service trucks in Hawthorne, NJ on May 27, 2019.
Christopher Sadowski

DeJoy acknowledges that USPS performed poorly over the holiday season as it was inundated with parcel delivery, even as first class mail volume shrank.

USPS needs significant financial relief from Congress and the Biden administration on pre-financing commitments and other changes that could address $ 58 billion in expected losses.

USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says the postal service performed poorly during the holiday season due to an abundance of parcel deliveries.
USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says the postal service performed poorly during the holiday season due to an abundance of parcel deliveries.
Xinhua / Sipa USA

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized DeJoy’s plan, but said that in an upcoming infrastructure bill, Congress will ensure that “the postal service has the resources it needs to serve the American people.”

USPS has reported net losses totaling $ 86.7 billion between 2007 and 2020. One reason for the red ink is that Congress passed legislation in 2006 requiring USPS to pre-finance more than $ 120 billion in retired health care and retirement obligations.

USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy claims the Post Service's financial goals
USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy claims that the Post Service’s financial goals are “unattainable.”
Pacific Coast News / Jim Watson – Pole via CNP

Representative Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the committee that oversees USPS, has circulated draft legislation to address USPS financial issues.

DeJoy says current standards are “not achievable.” Over the last financial year, the average performance of the first-class postal service was 89.7%, well below target.

The plan invests $ 4 billion to renovate stores, consolidates some postal locations in the city and aims to transport more first-class mail by truck than air. USPS does not have its own aircraft.

USPS plans to cut costs by consolidating city mail locations and transporting more first-class mail by truck than air.
USPS plans to cut costs by consolidating city mail locations and transporting more first-class mail by truck than air.
Pacific Coast News / Jim Watson – Pole via CNP

USPS also said it could commit to an all-electric delivery fleet by 2035 with help from Congress – and pledges to spend $ 11 billion on vehicles over the next decade. Earlier this month, USPS said it could electrify its fleet to the “maximum level” operationally feasible if it received $ 8 billion in government aid.

In February, USPS selected Oshkosh Defense for a multi-billion dollar contract to make up to 165,000 delivery vans, rejecting a full-electric offer from Workhorse Group.

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