USPS Reports $5.2 Billion Loss In 3rd Quarter

The US Postal Service’s financial woes continued into 2012 as the agency has reported year-to-date losses totaling $11.6 billion including $5.2 billion in the third quarter alone.

The world’s biggest postal operator said Thursday that much of the year’s loss — $3.1 billion of its $5.2 billion loss in the 3rd quarter alone — was taken up by payments it is required to make to the federal government but which it is refusing to pay.

Declining first-class mail volume also contributed to losses.

” ‘We remain confident that Congress will do its part to help put the Postal Service on a path to financial stability,’ said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe in a statement. ‘We will continue to take actions under our control to improve operational efficiency and generate revenue by offering new products and services to meet our customers’ changing needs.’ “

Donahoe added that for months the US Postal Service has been urging Congress to pass legislation that would enable the agency to eliminate mail delivery on Saturdays and reduce the annual health payment of $5 billion.

Despite the significant losses around the board, USPS officials reported 9 percent growth in revenue from shipping packages, which brought in an extra $3.3 billion.

However, that number was nowhere near enough to cover the $3.1 billion it had to put aside for the retiree prepayment and a more than 4 percent decline in first-class mail volume.

In all, USPS lost some $2 billion more than they did in the same period a year ago and says it is losing roughly $25 million a day.

via CNN