WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Postal on Wednesday announced plans to scale back mail delivery to five days a week, dropping Saturday mail service.
According to a Postal Service press release, the new mail-delivery schedule will be implemented the week of Aug. 5.
Package delivery will continue six days a week, Monday through Saturday.
Once the plan is fully implemented, USPS officials expect to save about $2 billion annually.
“The Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mailing habits,” Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and CEO, said.
“We developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings.”
Over the past several years, the Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages. However, recent strong growth in package delivery (a 14 percent volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach to maintain package delivery six days per week, according to the USPS press release.
“Our customers see strong value in the national delivery platform we provide and maintaining a six-day delivery schedule for packages is an important part of that platform. As consumers increasingly use and rely on delivery services — especially due to the rise of e-commerce — we can play an increasingly vital role as a delivery provider of choice, and as a driver of growth opportunities for America’s businesses,” Donahoe said.
Given the ongoing financial challenges, the Postal Service Board of Governors last month directed postal management to accelerate the restructuring of Postal Service operations in order to strengthen Postal Service finances, according to postal officials.
“The American public understands the financial challenges of the Postal Service and supports these steps as a responsible and reasonable approach to improving our financial situation. The Postal Service has a responsibility to take the steps necessary to return to long-term financial stability and ensure the continued affordability of the U.S. Mail,” Donahoe said.
Click here for more information about the new delivery schedule.
