Federal Reports

The Postal Service collected $70.6 billion in revenue in fiscal year (FY) 2018 — $56.5 billion from commercial customers and $12.6 billion from its retail operations. Over the past five years revenue has been relatively stable with an overall increase of about 4 percent from FY 2014 to FY 2018. However, the Postal Service continues to operate at a loss each year, with operational costs of $74.5 billion in FY 2018, resulting in a net loss of $3.9 billion. The objective of our audit was to identify and evaluate key performance indicators the U.S. Postal Service uses to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of its sales and marketing strategies.

Priority Mail Express, formerly known as Express Mail, is the fastest mail service the Postal Service offers. It provides guaranteed 1-day or 2-day expedited shipping service for any mailable matter and provides customers with refunds when not delivered by the guaranteed service arrival time. The Postal Service has the authority to adjust the guaranteed 1-day or 2-day delivery commitment for Priority Mail Express in the point-of-sale system upon the request of district personnel. The Caribbean District, which includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, accounted for 22 percent of Priority Mail Express refunds issued in the Northeast Area. Between March 2018 and February 2019, about 168,000 Priority Mail Express pieces originated in the Caribbean District. During this period, the district issued the highest amount of Priority Mail Express refunds of all Postal Service districts nationwide.

The Office of Inspector General is required by statute to report annually the most serious management and performance challenges facing the Department of Commerce. Attached is our final report on the Department’s top management and performance challenges for fiscal year 2020.