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 Oct. 3 through Oct. 9, 2020.

The Postal Service has seen a significant increase in mail volume, with volume surpassing 3 billion mailpieces for the week of Oct. 3. This surge in volume represents an increase of 19 percent, or an additional 480 million mailpieces, compared to the average volume in September. It also represents a 5 percent increase, or an additional 140 million mailpieces, compared to the same period last year.  Despite this ongoing surge in mail volume and continuing operational challenges related to COVID-19, the Postal Service has been able to effectively maintain service performance across all categories.

Key performance indicators for the week of Oct. 3 include:

• First-Class Mail: 86.15 percent of First-Class Mail was delivered on time, a 0.18 percent increase from the week of Sept. 26
• Marketing Mail: 89.17 percent of Marketing Mail was delivered on time, a 0.65 percent decrease from week of Sept. 26
• Periodicals: 78.54 percent of Periodicals were delivered on time, a 0.24 percent increase from the week of Sept. 26

For First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail, 98.00 percent and 97.67 percent of mailpieces respectively reached their intended destination within two days of the service standard.

As part of the ongoing support for 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 in a timely manner. Learn more about the additional resources allocated effective Oct. 1 here.

Service performance is defined by the Postal Service from acceptance of a mailpiece into our system through delivery, measured against published service standards. Mail volume is defined by the number of mailpieces entered into the U.S. Postal Service network.

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