WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service reported third quarter FY 2021 service performance improvements over the second quarter across First-Class Mail, Marketing Mail and Periodicals. The quarter was USPS’s strongest quarterly service performance for all mail categories since the third quarter of FY2020.

Third quarter FY2021 (covering the weeks of April 1 through June 30) performance numbers include:

• First-Class Mail: 87.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a more than 9 percentage point increase over the second quarter.
• Marketing Mail: 91.0 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a nearly 6 percentage point increase over the second quarter.
• Periodicals: 79.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a nearly 8 percentage point increase over the second quarter.

The Postal Service continues its efforts to improve service performance and reliability with the goal of meeting or exceeding 95 percent on-time delivery across mail and shipping product classes as all elements of the 10-year Delivering for America plan are implemented. The Postal Service’s sustained performance improvements are due in part to a strategic diversion of mail and package volume from air to ground transportation, resulting in fewer delays from an overcapacity air network.

The Postal Service continues to move forward with its preparations for the 2021 holiday peak season and to meet the evolving mailing and shipping needs of the American public and business customers with strategic investments in its people, equipment, and footprint. To address ongoing employee availability challenges, the Postal Service is focused on stabilizing our workforce and planning additional hires for the peak holiday season. Network enhancements and investments currently underway to move mail and packages more efficiently include installation of additional package sorters and the leasing of annex facilities to accommodate volume increases expected during the 2021 holiday seasons.

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

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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