WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics showing the average time to deliver a mailpiece across the postal network was 2.7 days through the month of February.
For the week of Feb. 26 – March 4, USPS reported the best last mile delivery performance for First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail since inception of the internal Service Performance Measurement system. Last mile delivery accounts for a mailpiece or package that travels from a local processing facility or delivery unit to a customer’s mailbox.
Consistent with the rest of the shipping industry, USPS experienced delays in both ground and air transportation during the month of February due to inclement weather events including winter storms in the Midwest, South and Northeast regions. The Postal Service continues to implement mitigation plans to move mail and packages effectively across the nation.
Additional second quarter service performance scores covering Jan.1 through March 4 included:
- First-Class Mail: 86.9 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.
- Marketing Mail: 91.7 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of .5 percentage point from the fiscal first quarter.
- Periodicals: 80.5 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of .4 percentage point 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.