WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics for the fiscal second quarter dating through the month of March. Through the second quarter, the average time for delivery of a mailpiece across the postal network was 2.7 days. First-Class Mail performance showed steady improvements over the past five consecutive weeks, reaching 93.9 percent for the week ending April 1. The latest performance scores for Marketing Mail reflect the two best consecutive quarters since measurement began in FY 2011.
Second quarter service performance scores covering Jan.1 through April 1 included:
- First-Class Mail: 87.9 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.
- Marketing Mail: 92.6 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter.
- Periodicals: 81.9 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1 percentage point performance from the fiscal first 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.