The US Postal Service has taken another step down the road towards a five-day delivery businessmodel as part of its efforts to downscale operations in response to falling volumes. It could save
$3.1 billion in annual costs by cutting Saturday deliveries.The organisation’s Board of Governors yesterday approved the management’s request to moveforward with its five-day delivery proposal and to file a request for an advisory opinion with thePostal Regulatory Commission (PRC), the US postal regulator, on March 30.
US Postal Service Vice President Sam Pulcrano, who has been leading an internal five-daydelivery task force, told the board that the heavily loss-making US postal operator could save anestimated $3.1 billion in annual costs by eliminating one delivery day. The USPS is legally obligedto provide deliveries six days a week and the US Congress would have to approve any reduction indelivery days.
The key element of the proposal to be filed with the PRC is the elimination of street deliveryand blue box collections on Saturdays. However, Express Mail service would continue seven days aweek, Post Offices currently open on Saturday would remain open, PO Box accessibility wouldcontinue and bulk mail and drop shipments would continue to be accepted at facilities that arecurrently open.
Pulcrano told the board that the five-day task force has spent the last several months seekingstakeholder input and refining the proposal to address mailer concerns. He also said extensivemarket research has been conducted and Postal Service findings have been consistent with mostnational polls that have shown that the American people would approve of a five-day deliveryschedule if it would ensure a viable Postal Service well into the future.
USPS has now launched a special website under
The five-day delivery proposal is a critical element of a larger plan, “Delivering the Future,”announced on March 2, USPS noted. An action plan for the next decade, it presents a balancedapproach needed to ensure a viable Postal Service for decades to come. The plan includeslegislative and regulatory changes needed to give the Postal Service the flexibility to makenecessary business decisions in a timely manner, including the prefunding of retiree healthbenefits, pricing and delivery frequency.
Two of the plan’s key proposals require action by the US Congress: a restructuring of thepayment schedule the Postal Service is required to make to prefund retiree health benefits and theelimination of existing statutory language mandating mail delivery six days a week.
