United States Postal ServiceŪ

Quarterly Performance for Standard MailŪ
Service Variance
Mailpieces Delivered Between 07/01/2014 and 09/30/2014

Quarter IV
FY2014

Overview

For Standard MailŪ letters and non-Saturation flats, the service performance measurement system of the Postal Service™ uses documented arrival time at a designated postal facility to start the measurement clock, and an Intelligent MailŪ barcode (IMb™) scan by an external, third-party reporter to stop-the-clock. Mail piece tracking from IMb™ in-process scans is used in conjunction with the external data to extrapolate results for the population of Standard MailŪ using Full-Service Intelligent MailŪ. Data collected by the Postal Service™ are provided to an independent, external contractor to calculate service measurement and compile the necessary reports. The system used for this reporting is called the Intelligent MailŪ Accuracy and Performance System (iMAPS).

The external contractor determines service performance based on the elapsed time between the start-the-clock event recorded by the Postal Service™ and the stop-the-clock event recorded by anonymous households and small businesses that report delivery information directly to the contractor. The service measure consists of two parts: (1) how long mail pieces take to get through processing, and (2) how long mail takes from the last processing scan to delivery. The second portion is used as a delivery factor differential to determine the percent of all Standard MailŪ delivered on the last processing date versus the percent delivered after the last processing date. Service performance is measured by comparing the transit time to USPSŪ service standards to determine the percent of mail delivered on time. 

The Service Performance Measurement (SPM) application of the Full-Service Seamless Acceptance and Service Performance system (SASP) serves as the data source for iMAPS. SPM captures data from all Full-Service Intelligent MailŪ and applies business rules for service measurement before sending data to iMAPS.

The service performance measure for DDU-entry Saturation flats involves the identification of major weekly Saturation mailings within delivery units. Delivery of these mailings is captured with a scan made by carriers at the completion of delivery of all pieces on the route. Service performance is measured by comparing the delivery date to the end date of the mailer requested in-home window to determine the percent delivered on time. Data from anonymous households reporting the receipt of these Saturation mailings are used to validate the accuracy of the carrier scans. 

The service performance measure for Standard MailŪ parcels with USPS Tracking™ is planned to serve as a proxy for measuring service performance for Standard MailŪ parcels.

The following service performance results combine the results for letter and flats performance calculated through the iMAPS system with the proxy data to represent service performance for all Standard MailŪ. 

Limitations

Due to limited automated processing for Standard MailŪ flats, the service performance results are not representative of all Standard MailŪ flats performance. While Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) entered Saturation flats have been included this quarter, significant gaps in the coverage of non-Saturation DDU-entry mail still remain and are thus these data are excluded from the measurement.

Results for Standard MailŪ parcels, which represent less than 0.1 percent of all Standard MailŪ, are not included in the overall Standard MailŪ results. 

The delivery factor for Standard MailŪ letters was created using Standard MailŪ letters with Intelligent MailŪ barcodes received by external reporters. Data for the delivery factor of Standard MailŪ flats were based on a combination of Standard MailŪ flats and Bound Printed Matter Flats with Intelligent MailŪ barcodes as well as EXFC test flats received by external reporters. The EXFC and Bound Printed Matter Flats data were used to supplement the limited Standard MailŪ flats data available during this period.

In Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 the Postal Service™ conducted field tests in 28 plants in preparation for operational and service standard changes for “load leveling” mail entered with a destination SCF discount. Consequently, data with a start-the-clock date occurring during the pilot period for each plant were removed.  

Performance Highlights

The national Destination Entry score was 92.9 percent on time in Q4, up 1.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year, with 99.5 percent of pieces delivered within three days of the service standard. The Appalachian Performance Cluster led the nation in Destination Entry performance with 97.1 percent on time, and 57 out of 67 districts met or exceed the performance target of 91.0. 

End-to-End National performance was 66.9 percent on time, a decrease of 0.7 points from the same period of last year. In Q4, 93.9 percent of End-To-End Standard Mail pieces were delivered within the service standard plus three days, and improvement of 0.5 points over FY13. The Alaska Performance Cluster had the highest End-To-End entry score with 85.9 percent on time.

FY14 annual scores increased compared to FY13, with Destination Entry performance improving by 1.1 points and End-to-End increasing by 0.2 points.

 

District Destination Entry End-to-End
Percent Within +1-Day Percent Within +2-Days Percent Within +3-Days Percent Within +1-Day Percent Within +2-Days Percent Within +3-Days
Capital Metro Area 98.1 99.1 99.5 81.0 89.0 93.7
Atlanta 97.7 98.9 99.4 77.9 87.4 92.7
Baltimore 97.4 98.8 99.4 79.3 87.8 92.9
Capital 97.5 98.8 99.4 74.4 84.1 90.4
Greater South Carolina 98.7 99.5 99.7 86.9 92.8 96.1
Greensboro 99.0 99.5 99.7 86.7 92.9 96.0
Mid-Carolinas 98.7 99.5 99.7 85.5 92.2 95.8
Northern Virginia 98.6 99.2 99.4 80.4 88.5 93.4
Richmond 97.8 99.1 99.5 73.2 83.9 90.4
Eastern Area 98.3 99.3 99.6 81.0 89.3 94.1
Appalachian 99.0 99.5 99.7 77.8 87.5 93.1
Central Pennsylvania 98.3 99.3 99.6 73.0 84.1 91.1
Kentuckiana 98.4 99.3 99.6 82.0 89.7 94.1
Northern Ohio 98.6 99.5 99.8 84.8 91.9 95.8
Ohio Valley 98.2 99.2 99.6 83.7 90.8 94.8
Philadelphia Metro 98.4 99.3 99.6 67.5 81.0 89.5
South Jersey 98.9 99.6 99.7 70.5 82.8 90.2
Tennessee 97.3 98.9 99.5 86.3 93.2 96.2
Western New York 98.4 99.3 99.7 79.1 88.2 93.4
Western Pennsylvania 98.3 99.4 99.7 89.5 94.5 97.2
Great Lakes Area 98.3 99.3 99.6 80.3 88.7 93.6
Central Illinois 98.2 99.3 99.6 80.0 88.2 92.9
Chicago 97.7 99.0 99.5 81.5 89.5 94.0
Detroit 97.6 98.9 99.4 84.0 91.0 95.2
Gateway 98.5 99.4 99.6 81.1 89.8 94.5
Greater Indiana 98.0 99.2 99.6 82.8 90.4 94.7
Greater Michigan 98.3 99.3 99.6 78.3 88.5 94.0
Lakeland 98.3 99.3 99.6 77.5 86.4 92.1
Northeast Area 97.3 98.8 99.3 71.7 83.0 90.0
Albany 97.8 99.1 99.5 73.5 85.5 91.9
Caribbean 97.6 98.5 99.0 86.5 91.8 94.3
Connecticut Valley 97.6 99.0 99.5 76.4 86.2 91.9
Greater Boston 96.5 98.4 99.1 74.9 85.5 91.7
Long Island 97.7 98.9 99.4 64.2 76.9 85.9
New York 96.1 98.3 99.1 58.0 74.0 84.8
Northern New England 98.1 99.2 99.6 74.8 85.6 91.8
Northern New Jersey 98.2 99.2 99.6 68.0 80.5 88.3
Triboro 94.9 97.2 98.3 71.7 82.6 89.8
Westchester 97.1 98.6 99.2 65.7 78.4 86.8
Pacific Area 97.7 99.0 99.5 81.3 89.2 93.7
Bay-Valley 97.3 98.7 99.3 82.3 90.1 94.4
Honolulu 94.4 95.3 96.2 86.3 91.2 94.3
Los Angeles 98.3 99.2 99.5 82.0 89.8 94.0
Sacramento 97.8 99.1 99.6 80.1 88.9 93.5
San Diego 97.7 99.1 99.6 81.0 88.7 93.6
San Francisco 97.0 98.8 99.4 73.5 84.2 90.7
Santa Ana 97.5 99.1 99.6 81.8 89.8 94.0
Sierra Coastal 98.6 99.5 99.7 84.7 91.4 95.0
Southern Area 97.4 98.9 99.4 84.4 91.4 95.1
Alabama 98.7 99.5 99.7 83.6 90.3 93.7
Arkansas 98.6 99.4 99.6 84.9 91.4 95.4
Dallas 97.6 98.9 99.4 85.8 92.5 95.6
Fort Worth 98.2 99.4 99.7 83.0 90.6 94.8
Gulf Atlantic 97.2 98.8 99.4 82.8 90.2 94.6
Houston 95.4 98.1 98.9 81.8 89.8 94.2
Louisiana 97.5 99.0 99.5 87.8 93.1 95.9
Mississippi 97.8 99.0 99.4 85.4 91.8 95.2
Oklahoma 98.8 99.5 99.7 87.3 93.3 96.2
Rio Grande 97.6 99.2 99.6 82.4 90.5 94.8
South Florida 96.2 98.3 99.1 83.1 91.0 95.2
Suncoast 98.0 99.2 99.6 83.7 90.9 94.9
Western Area 98.4 99.4 99.7 84.0 91.2 95.1
Alaska 93.3 94.9 95.4 91.3 94.6 96.3
Arizona 98.9 99.6 99.8 80.9 88.8 93.7
Central Plains 98.2 99.3 99.6 82.0 90.5 95.1
Colorado/Wyoming 98.5 99.4 99.7 86.9 93.0 96.2
Dakotas 98.6 99.5 99.7 84.3 91.2 95.0
Hawkeye 97.9 99.3 99.6 86.5 93.2 96.5
Mid-America 98.0 99.2 99.5 81.4 90.7 95.2
Nevada-Sierra 98.1 99.2 99.6 84.7 91.4 95.1
Northland 98.1 99.4 99.7 80.9 89.2 93.9
Portland 98.9 99.6 99.8 89.1 93.9 96.6
Salt Lake City 98.3 99.5 99.7 81.4 89.5 94.2
Seattle 98.3 99.3 99.6 88.8 93.5 96.1
Nation FY2014 Q4 97.9 99.1 99.5 81.3 89.3 93.9

Nation FY2013 Q4 (SPLY) 97.4 98.9 99.5 80.6 88.6 93.4

Nation FY2009 Annual 93.4 96.4 98.0 78.1 85.1 90.0
Nation FY2010 Annual 92.3 96.0 97.8 68.8 75.8 80.7
Nation FY2011 Annual 86.5 93.2 96.2 53.9 67.1 77.1
Nation FY2012 Annual 92.2 96.0 97.7 70.0 79.7 86.3
Nation FY2013 Annual 96.3 98.4 99.2 77.2 86.3 91.7
Nation FY2014 Annual 96.7 98.6 99.3 77.8 86.6 91.9
Nation FY2014 Q1 95.3 98.0 99.0 76.1 85.6 91.3
Nation FY2014 Q2 96.2 98.4 99.2 73.0 82.7 88.9
Nation FY2014 Q3 97.8 99.1 99.5 81.2 89.2 93.7