Transportation Network Optimization and Service Performance

Transportation is a core part of Postal Service operations, combining Postal Service-owned and operated assets with contractor operations. Every day a team of transportation and logistics professionals manage an average flow of over 390 million mailpieces throughout the Postal Service network, which includes 285 processing facilities and about 35,000 retail locations. Postal Service facilities are linked by a complex transportation system that depends on the nation’s highway, air, rail, and maritime infrastructures. The success of each system affects the success of the others. This audit focuses on the surface and air networks, as they transport most of the mail. Our objective was to assess opportunities to optimize the Postal Service’s transportation network and meet service performance goals.