The Postal Service is still putting restrictions on late and extra trips from processing centers, and the number of such trips is way below normal.
The Postal Service test drives its new Service Performance Measurement system
Back in January 2015, the Postal Service proposed a major change in the way it measures on-time service performance for single-piece First Class Mail.  Instead of contracting out to a third-party as it had done for many years, the Postal Service wanted to take advantage of the increased use of barcoding and do the measuring itself. The Postal Service began testing … Read More
USPS-APWU arbitration decision puts moratorium on plant consolidations and outsourcing retail
he Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union have a new contract.  Last week, the arbitrator on the case, Stephen Goldberg, issued his decision and award, thus ending a two-year dispute. The new contract provides protections against layoffs for all career employees (who were on the rolls as of July 8), puts limits on more subcontracting, and converts many noncareer employees in maintenance and motor … Read More
Postal Service releases on-time performance reports for Q4 2015
The Postal Service has released its on-time performance reports for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year (July 1 – Sept. 30, 2015). Compared to the third quarter, on-time performance for most types of mail has improved, but performance remains significantly down from the same period last year (SPLY) — before the changes in service standards and operations at … Read More
OIG recommends halt to Phase II Network Rationalization until USPS service performance improves
The USPS Office of Inspector General has just issued a management alert about the timeliness of mail processing after the changes in service standards went into effect on January 5, 2015. The OIG says that the changes were expected to affect about 14 billion pieces of total mail volume, and up to 16 percent of First-Class Mail. Â As discussed in … Read More
The true cost for restoring service standards and why the Postal Service can afford it
A couple of weeks ago, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) announced that it would cost the Postal Service $1 billion to comply with an amendment requiring the Postal Service to revert to the service standards for First Class mail and periodicals that were in effect on July 1, 2012.  The amendment was proposed by Representative Chaka Fattah and approved by the … Read More
$1 billion to restore USPS service standards? Did the CBO get it wrong?
Last week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provided an estimate for how much it would cost the Postal Service to return to the service standards that were in effect on July 1, 2012. Going back to these standards for delivery times is one of the provisions in an amendment attached to the FY 2016 appropriations bill drafted by the House Appropriations … Read More
APWU takes PRC to court over service standards
The American Postal Workers Union has taken the Postal Regulatory Commission to court over its decision to dismiss the union’s complaint that the Postal Service is failing to meet its service standards. As explained on the USPS website, these service standards, as set forth under 39 C.F.R. § 121.1, state how long it will take the mail to be delivered, … Read More
New USPS service performance reports show significant delays in delivering the mail
The Postal Service has released its service performance reports for the second quarter of the fiscal year, January 1 to March 31, 2015.  They show that it’s not just your imagination — the mail has been slowing down, and in some cases, by a lot.  The reports can be found on the USPS website here, and a more complete data set … Read More
How long does the mail take? Let the Postal Service count the days
[Note: If you have come to this site to learn how long it will take for a mail ballot to be delivered, it’s about a week, so if you haven’t mailed your ballot yet, don’t. Take it to an official drop-off location or vote in person. If you’ve come to this article to learn how long it normally may take … Read More
How the new service standards may slow down much more mail than the Postal Service is saying
The mail is slowing down again, but it’s not clear how much.  There’s good reason to be believe, though, that it will more than the Postal Service is saying. The first slowdown took place in July 2012, when the Postal Service implemented phase one of the Network Rationalization plan, which closed about 150 mail processing plants and established interim service standards that … Read More
The Hail Mary is an incomplete: The PRC denies the APWU motion to stop the change in service standards
The Postal Regulatory Commission has denied the APWU’s motion for an emergency order directing the Postal Service not to implement its proposed changes in service standards on July 2. Next week, then, overnight delivery will end for Inter-SCF mail (that's mail that needs to travel from between processing facilities). The PRC press release is here, and the order is here. … Read More