Quarterly Performance for Single-Piece First-Class Mail®
Mailpieces Delivered Between 07/01/2012 and 09/30/2012

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 fully 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.

FY12 Quarter 4 results were produced using a modified weighting approach to account for the fact that the EXFC sample design for the quarter did not reflect the changes in USPS district alignments.

Performance Highlights

National Single-Piece First-Class Mail® results in FY12 Q4 were 96.5 percent on time for Overnight, 96.1 percent on time for Two-Day, and 93.4 percent on time for Three-To-Five-Day, showing performance increases compared to the same period last year for every service standard. The national Two-Day score in FY12 Q4 created a record high since the calculation of Single-Piece First-Class Mail® performance started in FY09 Q1. Nationally, at least 99.7 percent of mail across all service standards was delivered within the service standard plus three days in FY12 Quarter 4. All areas improved their performance with Two-Day and Three-Five-To-Day mail, compared to the same period last year.

In Quarter 4 at the district level, there were 26 districts that scored at or above the performance target of 96.65 percent on time for Overnight. Greater South Carolina had the highest Overnight performance at 97.8 percent on time. For Two-Day service, 64 districts scored at or above the performance target of 94.15 percent on time, with Salt Lake City having the highest result at 98.0 percent on time. Kentuckiana had the highest Three-To-Five-Day performance at 95.2 percent on time. For the Three-To-Five-Day service standard, 49 districts scored at or above the performance target of 92.85 percent on time.