Quarterly Performance for Single-Piece First-Class Mail®
Mailpieces Delivered Between 04/01/2011 and 06/30/2011

Overview

Since 1990, the Postal Service™ has contracted with an outside entity to measure First-Class Mail® service performance independently and objectively via the External First-Class Mail® measurement system (EXFC). EXFC is a rigorous external sampling system measuring the time it takes from deposit of mail into a collection box or lobby chute until its delivery to a home or business. EXFC measures the transit time for single-piece rate First-Class cards, letters, and flat envelopes and compares this actual service against service standards. EXFC continuously tests service in 892 three-digit ZIP Code areas between which virtually all Single-Piece First-Class Mail® originates and destinates.

Service performance for Single-Piece First-Class Mail® parcels has been combined with EXFC performance to formulate these combined Single-Piece First-Class Mail® results. Single-Piece First-Class Mail® parcel service is measured using an internal USPS system. This system measures transit time from the time of mailing at a Post Office™ until the time of delivery for parcels for which a customer requested Delivery Confirmation™ service. Actual transit time is then compared against First-Class Mail® service standards.

Limitations

The USPS® Product Tracking System used to measure service performance for parcels with Delivery Confirmation™ did not account for 5-digit ZIP Code exceptions to the service standards for Alaska 3-digit ZIP Code area 995. As a result, some parcels sent to or from this ZIP Code area may have been measured against a service standard one day less than the actual service standard.

Performance Highlights

Single-Piece First-Class Mail® national service performance in FY11 Quarter 3 declined slightly for the Overnight and Three-To-Five-Day service standards when compared to the same period last year, at 96.6 and 93.3 percent on-time, respectively. Two-Day service standard on-time performance held steady at 94.7 percent on-time when compared to the same period last year. All three service standards experienced on-time performance improvements over the previous two quarters. Nationally, at least 99.7 percent of mail across all service standards was delivered within the service standard plus three days in FY11 Quarter 3.

At the district level, for Overnight service, Central Pennsylvania, Honolulu, and Oklahoma each shared the highest performance at 97.5 percent on-time, with 17 districts scoring at least 97 percent on-time. For Two-Day service, Alaska had the highest performance at 97.8 percent on-time, with 13 districts scoring 96 percent on-time or greater. Tennessee and Oklahoma tied for the highest Three-To-Five-Day performance at 95.1 percent on-time. For the Three-To-Five-Day service standard, 18 districts scored 94 percent on-time or greater.