Citing the ongoing recession and an "unprecedented" drop in mail volume, the US Postal Service today announced a $1.9 billion loss for the second quarter and said it likely expects to end the fiscal year September 30 with a projected deficit of more than $1.5 billion. Mail volume for the second quarter, which ended March 31, totaled 43.8 billion pieces, a drop of 7.5 billion pieces, or 14.7% compared to a year ago, the USPS said in a release.