This Annual Report to Congress on the performance of the Postal Service for fiscal year 2011 is organized around four core business strategies. These strategies capture the many significant activities we’ve taken throughout the year to return the Postal Service to profitability and financial stability.
While the Postal Service recorded a financial loss of $5.1 billion in fiscal year 2011, and concluded the year with a precarious cash outlook, we are fundamentally a strong organization — although one shackled to an inflexible business model. Our financial results could quickly swing from significant losses to profitability under a less restrictive business model.
The underlying value of the Postal Service, and the value of mail as a communications medium, remains strong. The Postal Service delivered 168 billion pieces of mail in 2011, facilitating approximately $10 trillion in commerce. And we will continue to play a vital role in the American economy and society for generations to come.
Many of the initiatives we undertook in 2011 reflect a sharpening of focus on our core function: Delivering. They also reflect our refreshed approach to the marketplace, based on being relentless in achieving service performance, providing simpler products and processes, enhancing security and providing customers with more personal, positive experiences.
These efforts are driving immediate changes and shaping tomorrow’s Postal Service — one that is profitable, market responsive and provides America with a national, low-cost, and technology-centric delivery platform.
