Questions Raised About $4.5 Billion-Plus Order For New Fleet Of Mail Trucks

Of the 165,000 Vehicles on Order, Only 10% Will Be Electric. Then, There’s the Issue of Building Them with Foreign-Made Parts.

The multibillion-dollar deal for the shiny new fleet of battery-powered U.S. Postal Service vehicles could be a missed opportunity for addressing climate change and strengthening American manufacturing.

The USPS awarded the 10-year, multibillion-dollar deal to Oshkosh Defense, an American military contractor based in Wisconsin.

As part of the deal, the USPS will make a $482 million advance payment to Oshkosh to complete its vehicle design and build-out and tool a manufacturing plant for the project. That’s good news for the parent company whose debt has the lowest corporate bond rating from Moody’s, just one step above junk bonds.