USPS was profitable by $313 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2015, and operational revenue was up $233 million over the same period last year, the agency announced Friday. The growth was due in part to the temporary emergency rate increase on postal products that took effect last year, but also aided by a 14.4 percent increase in package volume.
Letter mail volume increased over the quarter as well, by 600 million pieces over the same quarter in FY 2014. First Class Mail revenue was up 3.7 percent while volume declined by just 1.1 percent, the best showing since the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Meanwhile, Standard Mail revenue was up 7.6 percent, thanks to a volume increase of 3.5 percent.
“This continuing rise in both letter and package revenue—and now even in overall mail volume—should be a clear sign to everyone that now is the time to strengthen the Postal Service’s now-profitable networks, not to degrade them,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said in his statement.
On Feb. 5, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced H.R. 784, The Overnight Delivery Act. The legislation aims to reverse the effects of the Postal Service’s recently implemented service reductions that not only have slowed mail delivery to many rural and metropolitan areas, but also have eliminated overnight First Class Mail delivery nationwide. H.R. 784 had 65 co-sponsors—Republicans and Democrats—as this issue of The Postal Record went to press.