Key facts
- The U.S. Postal Service reported a $2.5 billion net loss for the fiscal third quarter.
- The loss represents an improvement of nearly $600 million compared to the same quarter last year.
- USPS is seeking congressional action to address its financial crisis, including potential stamp price hikes and service level changes.
- The agency has incurred net losses exceeding $120 billion since 2007.
- USPS has temporarily suspended employer payments for a federal pension program and raised stamp prices to 82 cents.
The U.S. Postal Service reported a $2.5 billion net loss for its fiscal third quarter, an improvement from the prior year but still indicative of significant financial challenges. Postmaster General David Steiner urged Congress to implement reforms, warning that without action, the agency might need to reduce service levels, close thousands of unprofitable post offices, and increase prices.
Steiner highlighted that legislation to add new ZIP codes could cost the service $800 million and indicated the agency is seeking approval for an earlier stamp price increase. He previously stated that the USPS is borrowing from employee retirement funds to maintain operations. The agency has faced mounting losses, exceeding $120 billion since 2007, due to declining first-class mail volume and the necessity of maintaining costly nationwide delivery.
To conserve funds, USPS has suspended non-essential spending, temporarily halted employer payments to a federal pension program, and raised first-class mail stamp prices to 82 cents. Steiner also questioned the financial viability of maintaining six-day delivery to 170 million addresses, noting that a significant portion of routes and post offices operate at a loss.