Usage of Facilities

Facilities that support postal retail and delivery operations are located in virtually every community throughout the country. In addition to the 32,528 retail and delivery facilities that we manage and operate, postal retail services are available in thousands of commercial locations owned and operated by private businesses. These include more than 3,000 Contract Postal Units and Community Post Offices and over 63,000 supermarkets, pharmacies, and other stores that sell postage stamps as a convenience to their customers.

Our larger facilities primarily support mail processing operations. They process millions of pieces of mail on a daily basis and prepare it for dispatch and transportation. They may also house some of the retail and delivery operations identified under Retail and Delivery Functions.

As part of the ongoing efforts to improve efficiency, adjust the network to lower volumes of mail, and reduce excess capacity, consolidation of operations has led to a reduction in the number of facilities that support mail processing. This allows for reductions in headcounts and transportation costs due to efficiencies of scale in mail processing and transportation but does not always result in a reduction in real estate, as many facilities serve multiple functions and only certain functions lend themselves to consolidating.