Postal Service Ends Third Quarter with $2.4 Billion Loss
August 5, 2009“Securing the fiscal stability of the Postal Service will require continued efforts in all of these areas, as well as further review of retiree health benefit prefunding,” said Potter. “It also will require that the Postal Service gain flexibility within the law to move toward five-day delivery, to adjust our network as needed, to develop new products the market demands, and to work with our unions to meet the challenges ahead.”
Work hours were reduced by 88 million hours in the first three quarters of fiscal 2009, or 8.4 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2008. “We are on pace to meet our goal of reducing work hours by more than 100 million for the entire year,” said Joe Corbett, chief financial officer and executive vice president. “That’s double the rate of last year’s successful work-hour reductions and the equivalent of 57,000 full-time employees, or 8.6 percent of our full-time workforce.”
A significant portion of USPS losses are due to an unprecedented decline in mail volume, which has fallen by nearly 20 billion pieces in 2009 compared to the first three quarters of last year. Third quarter mail volume totaled 41.6 billion pieces, down 7 billion pieces, or 14.3 percent, compared to a year ago — the largest consecutive three-quarter drop in total volume since 1971. The trend of letter mail and business transactions being replaced with electronic alternatives will also cause continued downward pressure on mail volume into coming years.
Third quarter results also show an increase in workers’ compensation expense, which increased $722 million or 198 percent compared to the same period last year. The increase reflects a non-cash adjustment of $807 million to the carrying value of the Postal Service’s workers’ compensation liability, due to a change in discount rates caused by the current low interest rate environment.
Complete USPS third-quarter results include operating revenue of $16.3 billion, a decrease of nearly $1.6 billion, or 9 percent, from the same period last year, and operating expenses of $18.7 billion, a reduction of $294 million, or 1.5 percent, from the third quarter of last year. Details are contained in the Postal Service Form 10-Q report, available at http://www.usps.com/financials/ (click Form 10-Q under Quarter Reports).
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