The Postal Service’s performance during the holidays was a “solid victory,” Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett reports in his latest “Dollars and Change” video.
USPS accepted more than 11 billion mailpieces and packages for delivery from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve, the organization’s peak season, with an average delivery time of 2.7 days.
“Peak 2021 was very successful,” Corbett says.
The Postal Service continues to experience financial challenges, however.
During the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 (Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2021), total operating revenue was $21.3 billion and total operating expenses were $22.8 billion, leading to a net loss of $1.5 billion and an adjusted loss of $1.3 billion.
The net and adjusted losses were driven by a slight decline in revenue, inflationary effects on operating expenses and rising prices associated with energy and fuel costs.
The enactment of postal reform legislation, along with the implementation of the Delivering for America plan, will help put USPS back on the path toward financial sustainability, Corbett says.
He notes that one of the goals of Delivering for America is to meet or exceed a 95 percent on-time service performance once all elements of the plan are in place.
“We’re getting there, and you are a big part,” he says.