Quarterly Performance for Single-Piece First-Class Mail® International
Mailpieces Delivered Between 01/01/2012 and 03/31/2012

Overview

Service performance for inbound and outbound Single-Piece First-Class Mail® International domestic transit is measured through the International Mail Measurement System (IMMS) operated by an outside entity. IMMS utilizes only letter-shaped mail pieces, which is the predominant shape for both outbound and inbound Single-Piece First-Class Mail® International. IMMS uses a rigorous external sampling system modeled after and closely integrated with the External First-Class (EXFC) measurement system used for domestic Single-Piece First-Class Mail®. Transit time is compared against First-Class Mail® service standards.

The processing of Single-Piece First-Class Mail® International flats and parcels -- during either outbound transit from domestic origin to designated International Service Centers (ISC) or inbound transit from designated ISC to the domestic delivery address -- is the same as for domestic Single-Piece First-Class Mail® flats and parcels. The USPS® service standards are also the same. Accordingly, the performance for domestic Single-Piece First-Class Mail® flats (using the data from EXFC) and performance for domestic Single-Piece parcels (as measured end-to-end on parcels for which customers have purchased Delivery Confirmation™), serve as proxies for the service performance of outbound and inbound Single-Piece First-Class Mail® International flats and parcels.

The following service performance results combine the results for letter performance from IMMS with the proxy data to measure service performance for all inbound and outbound Single-Piece First-Class Mail® International. Since not all postal administrative districts have sufficient international volumes for statistically representative reporting, the Postal Service™ reports international quarterly service performance at a postal administrative area level.

Limitations

The USPS® Product Tracking System used to measure service performance for parcels with Delivery Confirmation™ did not account for 5-digit ZIP Code exceptions to the service standards for Alaska 3-digit ZIP Code area 995. As a result, some parcels sent to or from this ZIP Code area may have been measured against a service standard one day less than the actual service standard.

Performance Highlights

The national Single-Piece First-Class Mail® International Inbound/Outbound Combined performance was 92.1 percent on time in FY12 Q2, 3.0 points higher compared to the same period last year. Nationally, there was 99.5 percent of mail delivered within the service standard plus three days. Capital Metro Area had the highest inbound/outbound combined performance in FY12 Q2, with 92.1 percent on time. Pacific Area continued to post the highest performance among the seven areas for inbound, at 91.5 percent on time. Pacific Area's inbound performance results have been the highest for thirteen out of the past fourteen quarters. Northeast Area had the highest outbound performance for ten consecutive quarters since FY10 Q1, with 96.1 percent on time in FY12 Q2. All areas had at least 99.3 percent of mail delivered within the service standard plus three days for inbound/outbound combined in FY12 Q2.