First-Class Mail Volume Since 1926

Number of Pieces Mailed, to the Nearest Million

An Act of February 28, 1925, authorized the Postmaster General to account annually for revenues and costs associated with different types of mail; annual analyses, with detailed estimates of mail volume, are available beginning in 1926.

Year

Pieces

1926

15,266

1927

16,284

1928

16,706

1929

17,170

1930

16,901

1931

15,824

1932

14,598

1933

10,878

1934

11,557

1935

12,498

1936

12,731

1937

13,882

1938

14,226

1939

14,657

1940

15,224

1941

15,989

1942

16,972

1943

--

1944

20,510

1945

21,009

1946

20,059

1947

20,665

1948

21,948

1949

23,206

1950

24,500

1951

25,578

1952

26,502

1953

27,257

1954

27,085

1955

28,713

1956

30,078

1957

31,561

1958

32,218

1959

32,274

1960

33,235

1961

34,289

1962

35,333

1963

35,833

1964

36,943

1965

38,068

1966

40,422

1967

41,998

1968

43,183

1969

46,411

1970

48,640

1971

50,036

1972

48,933

1973

50,965

1974

51,594

1975

51,373

1976

52,108

1977

53,654

1978

55,981

1979

57,926

1980

60,276

1981

61,410

1982

62,200

1983

64,247

1984

68,429

1985

72,440

1986

76,187

1987

78,869

1988

84,749

1989

85,855

1990

89,270

1991

90,285

1992

90,781

1993

92,169

1994

95,333

1995

96,296

1996

98,216

1997

99,660

1998

100,434

1999

101,937

2000

103,526

2001

103,656

2002

102,379

2003

99,059

2004

97,926

2005

98,567

2006

98,016

2007

96,297

2008

90,671

2009

82,727

2010

77,592

2011

72,522

2012

68,674

2013

65,754

2014

63,849

2015

62,599

2016

61,240

2017

58,834

2018

56,712

2019

54,936

2020

52,628

2021

50,664

2022

48,940

2023

45,979

Note:

Numbers for some years were revised in later years; the most recent figures are shown. Beginning in 2008, figures do not include First-Class Parcels and international pieces.

Sources:

1926-1949: U.S. Post Office Department, Bureau of Finance and Administration, Mail Trends, Domestic and International, 1926-1966, March 1967, 15.
Since 1950: Annual Report of the Postmaster General (title changed to Annual Report of the United States Postal Service in 1996 and to Annual Report to Congress in 2011).

HISTORIAN
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
FEBRUARY 2024