Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe Reacts To PRC Decision On Five-Day Mail Delivery


March 24, 2011 



We have received the Commission’s advisory opinion on our proposal to move to a five-day delivery schedule. We have been awaiting the document and look forward to studying the views expressed by the Commissioners. Five-day delivery is an integral part of our action plan for the future.

It’s important to remember that the Postal Service came well prepared to this undertaking. Based on extensive outreach to our customers and other stakeholders, we developed an operational plan, analyzed the potential cost savings and conducted extensive market research to document customer reaction and estimate mail volume changes that could result from implementation of this plan.

Following tremendous losses in mail volumes and revenues, the Postal Service remains in the midst of a period of great financial instability. On March 30, 2010, we presented a compelling case to the PRC, reflected in the testimony of Postal experts in operations, marketing and finance, as well as a highly respected market research firm and academician. Their testimony demonstrated that the plan would effect a $3.1 billion annual saving and allow the Postal Service to continue providing excellent service in an economical and efficient manner.

The Commission’s opinion is advisory only and therefore, is not a final determination on the merits of our proposal. We remain convinced of our findings. As such, we will also continue to press our case with the Congress on this matter.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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