U.S. Postal Service

Market Dominant mail classes, including First-Class Mail, Marketing Mail, and Periodicals, are some of the primary services the American public associates with the Postal Service. These classes contain well-known products like letters, postcards, advertising mail, bills, magazines, and newspapers...

Each year, increased mail volume during the U.S. Postal Service’s peak season —Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve — significantly strains its processing and distribution network. In our prior reports, we discussed how Postal Service management developed a preparedness plan to address the strain...

Prior to the launch of the Delivering for America plan, the U.S. Postal Service used Surface Transfer Centers to distribute, consolidate, dispatch, and transfer all mail classes within the surface network. They also served as a concentration point for consolidating mail from under-utilized surface...

As part of its 10-year strategic Delivering for America plan, the U.S. Postal Service is redesigning its processing network and plans to invest $40 billion to create a modernized network based around regional processing and distribution centers (RPDC). The Atlanta RPDC is a one million square foot...

The U.S. Postal Service’s Delivering for America 10-year plan includes initiatives to support small and medium businesses and grow parcel revenue. The Merchant Rate Card program supports this initiative, offering discounted rates to businesses (merchants) through agreements between the Postal...

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) is an independent establishment of the executive branch that exercises regulatory oversight of the U.S. Postal Service. The PRC offers a range of benefits to its employees including, but not limited to, transit benefits, bonuses, time-off-awards, telework...

Customers can receive mail and packages from the U.S. Postal Service in a variety of locations, including through private mailboxes at Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRA). Over 1.6 million customers nationwide (through nearly 12,000 CMRAs) were registered for this service as of February 2025...

The U.S. Postal Service transitioned its primary air cargo contract from one carrier to another on September 30, 2024, to further align its transportation strategy with anticipated Delivering for America network changes. This new agreement, valued at approximately $10 billion for the contracting...

During the week of March 31, 2025, we performed a self-initiated audit at the Louisville Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) and three delivery units serviced by the P&DC. The delivery units included the Iroquois Station, Middletown Branch, and Pleasure Ridge Park Branch in Louisville, KY. We...

The U.S. Postal Service needs effective and productive operations to fulfill its mission of providing prompt, reliable, and affordable mail service to the American public. It has a vast transportation network that moves mail and equipment among approximately 315 processing facilities and 31,200 post...