WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics showing ongoing strong performance across all mail categories for the first eight weeks of the fiscal third quarter.
For eight consecutive weeks, more than 93 percent of First-Class Mail was delivered on-time. For the past 13 weeks, more than 94 percent of Marketing Mail was delivered on-time. Through the first eight weeks of the third quarter, the average time for delivery of mail and packages across the postal network remained just 2.4 days.
Third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through May 27 included:
- First-Class Mail: 93.4 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 5.6 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.
- Marketing Mail: 95 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.8 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.
- Periodicals: 86.4 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 5 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.
One of the goals of Delivering for America, the Postal Service’s 10-year plan for achieving financial sustainability and service excellence, is to meet or exceed 95 percent on-time service performance for all mail and shipping products once all elements of the plan are implemented. Service performance is defined by the Postal Service as the time it takes to deliver a mailpiece or package from its acceptance into our system through its delivery, as measured against published service standards.
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.