United States Postal Service®

Quarterly Performance for Standard Mail®
Service Variance
Mailpieces Delivered Between 10/01/2016 and 12/31/2016

Quarter I
FY2017

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 (IMBŪ) scan by an external, third-party reporter to stop-the-clock. Mail piece tracking from IMBŪ 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 methodology for estimating performance for Standard MailŪ letters and non-Saturation flats was modified slightly for Quarter 1 FY 2017. The application of the last mile profile was changed from stratification by the type of final processing operation which occurred to stratification by the number of days remaining to meet service standard after final processing occurred. This methodology change was made to improve the accuracy of the performance estimates as the new methodology better accounts for the relationship between time spent in last mile and time spent in processing.

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 measurement system for Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) - RetailŪ uses the documented arrival time of a mailing at a retail unit to start the clock, using the point-of-sale scan when mail is handed to the Postal Service™, and an Intelligent MailŪ parcel barcode (IMpb™) scan by a USPSŪ carrier to stop the clock. The delivery of bundles of EDDM-RetailŪ pieces is captured with a scan made by carriers at the delivery unit upon distribution for delivery. Service performance is measured by comparing the total transit time of mailpiece bundles to the service standard to determine the percent delivered on time.

Results for DDU Entry Saturation flats and EDDM-RetailŪ are combined with other Destination Entry Standard Mail in the Destination Entry scores in this report.

The service performance measure for Standard MailŪ parcels with USPS TrackingŪ serves as a proxy for measuring service performance for Standard MailŪ parcels.

Limitations

Due to limited automated processing for Standard MailŪ flats, the service performance results may not be representative of all Standard MailŪ flats performance. While Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) entered Saturation flats and EDDM - RetailŪ flats have been included this quarter, significant gaps in the coverage of non-Saturation/non- EDDM - RetailŪ DDU Entry mail still remain and 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.

Performance Highlights

National Destination Entry mail achieved performance of 91.9 percent on time in FY 2017 Quarter 1, 3.5 points higher when compared to the same period last year, and 99.3 percent delivered within service standard plus three days. The Honolulu Performance Cluster led the nation in Destination Entry performance with 97.6 percent on time. Fifty-one districts achieved an on-time performance at or above the performance target of 91.0 for Destination Entry mail.

End-to-End Entry National performance was 68.4 percent on time, 10.0 points higher when compared to the same period last year. In FY 2017 Quarter 1, 92.6 percent of End-to-End Entry Standard MailŪ was delivered within the service standard plus three days. The Alaska District had the highest End-To-End Entry score with 86.8 percent on time.

 

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 97.9 99.0 99.4 77.8 85.8 90.5
Atlanta 97.8 99.0 99.4 76.0 85.6 91.1
Baltimore 97.9 99.2 99.5 71.2 80.8 86.6
Capital 96.3 98.2 99.0 70.8 80.4 86.5
Greater South Carolina 98.1 99.2 99.6 83.3 90.2 94.0
Greensboro 98.5 99.2 99.5 85.7 91.4 94.9
Mid-Carolinas 97.7 99.0 99.4 83.5 90.2 94.0
Northern Virginia 97.8 98.9 99.3 71.3 80.3 85.8
Richmond 98.4 99.3 99.6 76.9 84.5 88.9
Eastern Area 98.5 99.2 99.5 82.6 89.8 93.8
Appalachian 99.2 99.5 99.7 81.8 89.0 93.3
Central Pennsylvania 98.7 99.4 99.6 78.9 87.5 92.5
Kentuckiana 98.1 99.0 99.3 77.6 85.7 90.6
Northern Ohio 98.7 99.4 99.6 85.7 92.3 95.7
Ohio Valley 98.2 99.1 99.5 82.8 90.2 94.3
Philadelphia Metro 97.8 98.9 99.3 77.1 87.0 92.3
South Jersey 98.9 99.5 99.7 80.9 88.7 93.0
Tennessee 98.0 98.9 99.2 83.5 90.0 93.6
Western New York 99.0 99.5 99.7 85.0 91.0 94.5
Western Pennsylvania 99.1 99.6 99.7 91.4 95.3 97.2
Great Lakes Area 94.0 97.1 98.5 76.4 85.2 90.6
Central Illinois 95.5 98.1 99.1 72.7 83.2 89.6
Chicago 96.8 98.4 99.0 72.4 82.1 88.6
Detroit 81.3 90.3 95.3 74.1 82.2 88.0
Gateway 97.5 98.9 99.5 85.0 91.7 95.2
Greater Indiana 97.9 99.1 99.5 76.9 85.9 91.0
Greater Michigan 96.7 98.2 99.1 73.1 81.4 87.4
Lakeland 96.1 98.4 99.1 74.7 84.0 90.0
Northeast Area 96.1 98.2 99.0 71.6 81.7 88.1
Albany 97.8 99.1 99.5 73.5 83.2 89.0
Caribbean 96.1 97.8 98.9 76.4 85.5 90.0
Connecticut Valley 95.2 97.8 98.9 72.2 82.1 88.6
Greater Boston 95.2 97.6 98.6 69.9 79.9 86.6
Long Island 96.4 98.4 99.1 69.9 80.8 87.3
New York 97.4 98.5 99.1 76.8 85.5 91.0
Northern New England 97.7 98.9 99.4 68.4 77.7 84.4
Northern New Jersey 97.3 98.8 99.4 68.9 81.4 88.7
Triboro 95.5 97.5 98.4 79.3 86.6 91.1
Westchester 94.0 97.1 98.3 71.4 81.3 87.5
Pacific Area 98.0 99.2 99.5 83.4 89.8 93.6
Bay-Valley 97.2 98.7 99.2 83.9 90.4 94.0
Honolulu 98.7 99.2 99.4 90.8 94.2 96.0
Los Angeles 96.7 98.8 99.4 75.9 85.2 90.7
Sacramento 98.1 99.2 99.5 86.1 91.9 94.9
San Diego 98.7 99.6 99.8 83.4 89.4 93.2
San Francisco 97.8 99.1 99.5 81.2 89.3 93.8
Santa Ana 98.7 99.4 99.7 81.5 88.2 92.2
Sierra Coastal 98.5 99.4 99.7 83.9 89.9 93.6
Southern Area 97.3 98.7 99.2 83.5 89.8 93.5
Alabama 98.4 99.2 99.5 78.9 87.2 92.2
Arkansas 98.5 99.2 99.4 79.5 86.6 91.1
Dallas 96.2 98.0 98.8 79.5 87.7 92.2
Fort Worth 98.7 99.4 99.7 85.0 91.0 94.3
Gulf Atlantic 97.8 99.0 99.4 83.7 89.7 93.6
Houston 97.0 98.6 99.1 89.5 93.8 96.1
Louisiana 97.6 98.8 99.3 84.0 89.5 93.2
Mississippi 97.8 98.7 99.2 83.5 89.5 93.1
Oklahoma 98.2 99.2 99.6 85.9 91.7 94.8
Rio Grande 98.8 99.5 99.7 84.9 90.7 94.1
South Florida 94.1 96.8 98.1 82.5 88.6 92.5
Suncoast 97.9 99.1 99.5 80.7 87.9 92.5
Western Area 98.1 99.2 99.6 84.8 91.0 94.6
Alaska 98.3 98.9 99.3 91.4 94.4 96.2
Arizona 98.2 99.3 99.6 79.3 87.2 92.3
Central Plains 98.9 99.5 99.7 84.8 91.5 95.0
Colorado/Wyoming 95.3 98.1 99.1 80.6 88.6 93.3
Dakotas 98.1 99.2 99.5 81.8 88.4 92.5
Hawkeye 99.0 99.5 99.7 87.0 93.0 96.0
Mid-America 98.0 99.1 99.5 83.2 90.3 94.4
Nevada-Sierra 98.8 99.3 99.6 90.3 93.9 96.3
Northland 98.8 99.5 99.7 84.4 91.2 94.9
Portland 98.8 99.5 99.7 83.7 90.0 94.2
Salt Lake City 99.0 99.6 99.7 83.2 89.6 93.6
Seattle 98.7 99.4 99.7 90.0 94.2 96.4
Nation FY2017 Q1 97.3 98.7 99.3 80.9 88.3 92.6

Nation FY2016 Q1 (SPLY) 95.8 98.0 98.8 73.6 83.0 88.7

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 FY2015 Annual 96.3 98.4 99.1 74.7 84.0 90.0
Nation FY2016 Annual 97.4 98.8 99.3 79.3 87.0 91.6