The Postal Service remains a lynch–pin in what continues to be a large and expansive industry. According to the 2012 Mailing Industry Job Study conducted by the Envelope Manufacturers’ Association (EMA), 8.4 million jobs are supported by the U.S. mailing industry. This equates to six percent of all U.S. jobs. The mailing industry also supports $1.3 trillion in sales revenue and over 8.6 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The size of the mailing industry compared to other key U.S. industries is significant. What happens in the mailing industry echoes throughout the economy.
Although there are over ten times as many private sector jobs in the mailing industry compared to the Postal Service, over 76 percent of these mailing industry jobs depend upon the delivery infrastructure of the Postal Service.
The mailing industry itself, and the postal market in particular, is large and diverse with different objectives and different service needs. Economic growth remains slow and uneven, and the likelihood of seeing significantly more volume in the next several years is unlikely. We will continue to see an increasing role for technology in the way we operate from advances in robotics and materials handling to vehicles and the use of more sophisticated information technology. To be successful, all parts of the mailing industry must have a common understanding of the future opportunities and risks facing the industry as a whole and demonstrate a willingness to collaborate and innovate to achieve shared goals.
The Postal Service continues to make operational improvements which have generated significant cost savings. These improvements include reduction in the workforce, network consolidation and restructuring the retail environment. The Postal Service is also developing new service offerings and seeking to bolster the value of mail by integrating it with online and digital technology. We will continue to improve our products and services, explore the use of technology to enhance the value of the mail and make our products relevant in a changing economic and technological environment.
Highlights of FY2013 accomplishments are described in the following sections of this Comprehensive Statement. Although these efforts have helped in the short-term to stabilize the financial position of the Postal Service, the long-term financial position of the Postal Service remains precarious. The Postal Service is incurring unsustainable losses that will worsen unless Congress takes action to give the organization authority to generate new revenue and adapt to changing business conditions and customer requirements.
