USPS reports fiscal fourth quarter delivery improvements

GaryPageau

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reported updated fiscal fourth-quarter service delivery performance showing improvements versus the third quarter ended June 30 for all First-Class, Marketing and Periodical mail categories.

Quarter-to-date service performance data for July 1 through Sept. 24 included:

  • First-Class Mail: Delivered 88.1 percent of First-Class Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 0.6 percentage points from the third quarter.
  • Marketing Mail: Delivered 92.5 percent of Marketing Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.5 percentage points from the third quarter.
  • Periodicals: Delivered 82.2 percent of Periodicals on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3 percentage points from the third quarter.

“Delivering for America,” the USPS’ 10-year plan for financial sustainability and service excellence, seeks to meet or to exceed its goal of 95 percent on-time service performance for all mail and shipping product delivery based on standards as all elements of the plan are implemented.

Service performance is defined by the Postal Service from the acceptance of a mail piece into our system through delivery, measured against published service standards.

The Postal Service said it also continued preparations for the higher delivery demands of the 2021 holiday peak season this week. Ongoing efforts have included a national drive to hire delivery and plant personnel that is expected to result in an additional 40,000 seasonal hires by year-end, the leasing of 7.5 million square feet of additional space across more than 40 multiyear annexes where we are experiencing year-round space constraints due to parcel growth, and the installation of new processing equipment to accommodate higher volumes reflecting customers’ delivery needs. Since April, the Postal Service has installed 70 of 112 new package sorting machines, reflecting the “Delivering for America” plan’s $40 billion of planned investment over ten years. Additionally, more than 50 package systems capable of sorting large packages are expected to be deployed prior to December. 4.5 million additional packages can be sorted each day utilizing newly deployed package sortation equipment.

Recent machine installations have occurred in Scranton (PA), Pennwood Place (PA), Seminole (FL), Las Vegas (NV), Cincinnati (OH), Richmond (VA), Dallas (TX), Little Rock (AR), Pittsburgh (PA), Syracuse (NY), Ybor City (FL), Kansas City (MO), Harrisburg (PA), Little Rock (AR), Santa Barbara (CA), Jacksonville (FL), Chicago (IL), Lehigh Valley (PA) and Anchorage (AK).

New Service Standards for First-Class Mail and Periodicals Beginning Oct. 1

On Oct. 1, the Postal Service will implement new service standards for First-Class Mail and Periodicals, which the service says will increase delivery reliability, consistency, and efficiency. Most First-Class Mail (61 percent) and Periodicals (93 percent) will be unaffected by the new service standard changes. Standards for single-piece First-Class Mail traveling within a local area will continue to be two days.

The Postal Service will increase time‐in‐transit standards by 1 or 2 days for certain mail that are traveling longer distances.