Postal Service runs $747M April net loss

National Postal Forum: Change or Die

The US Postal Service ran a net loss of $747 million in April, raising its total net loss for its 2011 fiscal year to more than $3.3 billion. Volume dropped 4.5% to 13.8 billion pieces in the month, and revenue shrunk by 2.9%, compared with April 2010, to less than $5.5 billion.

First Class mail volume decreased by 9.1%, compared with the prior year, to 6.1 billion pieces, while revenue from that segment dropped 8.3% year-over-year to $2.7 billion. Standard mail volume was steady in April, dropping 0.1% compared with the prior year, while revenue from the segment increased 0.1%.

Periodical volume dropped 4% year-over-year to 609 million pieces, while revenue from periodicals was down 3.6% to $156 million. Shipping services was a bright spot for the organization, with volume increasing 7.5% in April, compared with the prior year, to 125 million pieces. The segments revenues grew by 9.4% to $772 million.

The cost of salaries and benefits decreased by 2% year-over-year in April to $3.96 billion, and the USPS cut work hours by 3.7% in the month.

The Postal Service reported a $2.2 billion net loss for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year, following a loss of $8.5 billion for FY 2010, which ended September 30 of that year.

A federal appeals court said this week that the Postal Regulatory Commission must reexamine the USPS' request to enact “exigent” rate increases, or price hikes greater than the rate of inflation. The PRC denied the Postal Service's request to do so last September.

The Postal Service does not comment on the monthly financial results provided by the PRC.