The U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss that ballooned by $1.8 billion and a 5% decline in parcel volume for the second quarter, as the USPS faces the same ecommerce declines as other major carriers while wrestling with pain from a major network overhaul, union unrest and battles over its up-and-down EV adoption.
On a GAAP basis, the quarterly loss was $2.5 billion, compared to $639 million a year ago. The so-called controllable loss, when backing out unfunded liabilities and workers compensation costs, was $498 million, an improvement over $648 million in 2022.
While revenue from parcel shipping decreased 2% to $7.6 billion, revenue from first-class mail ticked up a half percent to $6.3 billion, even with the volume drop. This was thanks to twice-yearly price increases approved in 2022 by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC)
