The U.S. Postal Service lost $9.5 billion in fiscal 2024 despite sweeping reform efforts aimed at improving the agency’s financial outlook, though its management team remains steadfast that its current course is the correct one.
Looking at only the parts of the operation that USPS leadership considers within its control, the Postal Service actually cut its losses slightly from $2.3 billion in fiscal 2023 to $1.8 billion in the most recent year. Still, the Postal Service turned a profit in the “controllable” part of its ledger in fiscal 2021 and only lost $500 million in fiscal 2022.
USPS officials attributed the bulk of its losses to retiree costs and inflation adjustments to workers compensation payments. Mail volume continued to slide, however, including by nearly 4% among its most popular First-Class mail offering.
