WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service provided new service performance data today to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for the week of Sept. 19 through Sept. 25, 2020. During the seven-day period, Periodicals and Marketing Mail performance rates climbed while First-Class Mail performance declined slightly. 

Key performance indicators for the week of Sept. 19th include:  

• First-Class Mail: 84.23 percent of first-class mail was delivered on time, a 2.52 percent decrease from the week of Sept. 12th
• Marketing Mail: 88.68 percent of marketing mail was delivered on time, a 1.78 percent increase from week of Sept. 12th
• Periodicals: 79.72 percent of periodicals were delivered on time, a 2.68 percent increase from the week of Sept. 12th

Service performance is defined by the Postal Service from acceptance of a mailpiece into our system through delivery, measured against published service standards.   

Presort First-Class Mail going through the Great Lakes and Chicago Surface Transfer Center contributed to a decrease in the First-Class Mail processing score by approximately 1.2 percent for the week of Sept. 19. To address this issue, support teams have been on site and are working with contracting teams to increase staffing and reduce cycle times. 

Additionally, today, as part of the ongoing preparations by the Postal Service for the November election, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy authorized and instructed the use of additional resources to satisfy any demand and to ensure that all Election Mail is prioritized and delivered securely and on time, as set forth in an internal directive that he requested to be issued last week. These additional resources include, but are not limited to, expanded processing procedures, extra transportation, extra delivery and collection trips, and overtime to ensure that Election Mail reaches its intended destination in a timely manner. 

The Sept. 25 directive, which goes into effect today, is consistent with the Postmaster General’s commitment made in August to engage standby resources in all areas of operations beginning Oct. 1, 2020.  

Learn more about the additional resources allocated effective Oct. 1 here.

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