Will the US Postal Service Survive?
Monday, August 6, 2012 at 9:21AM 
The US Postal Service has been in existence for centuries and it would be a travesty to even imagine what the country will do without it. However, the loss of the USPS mailing service could be a reality.
Yahoo news has reported the USPS has now defaulted on its two benefit payments, which were mandated by Congress to pay. The due date, which was August 1, has now passed and there is great concern on whether the Postal Service will survive. $5.5 billion was due in retiree health benefit payments and another $5.6 billion is due in September. The company also had to pay $1.5 billion is due to the Labor Department. Congress had discussed a new five-year plan assist the struggling company to increase profits, which including ending this billion dollar reoccurring payment. the plan also meant cutting Saturday deliveries and shutting down postal facilities.
"The impact of the postal default may not be seen by the public, but it will be felt by the business community," said Art Sackler, co-coordinator of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service. "Mailers will be increasingly wary about the stability of the Postal Service. The logical and likely move would be to divert more mail out of the system." The USPS has struggled over the past years. First-class mail volume has decreased 25% since 2006, and will continue to decline. Currently, the Postal Service is incurring a lose of $25 million a day.
Many are questioning over the long-term, will the Postal Service survive? There are ideas to keep the USPS going, mainly changing it into a privatization structured company. This means the Postal Service will no longer be a government institution, which is how it has always been. Whatever is decided, the key is adjusting its' makeup to modern-day business, which will cause it to grow.
If the USPS is going to go bankrupt, it is not expected to happen anytime soon. Fedex and UPS have high stakes in the USPS for its' various deliveries like online shopping. However, consumers are desiring to get their purchases delivered much faster than Fedex and UPS can provide. Courier services like A1Express can be the alternative many businesses and online customers turn to for their e-commerce and other same day delivery services needs. If USPS doesn't survive, courier services may become highly sought after in the future.
References: Yahoonews, 8.6.12, Scott Bomboy-Can America survive without the United States Postal Service; WWLTV, 8.1.12, Post office nears historic default on $5 billion payment
Reader Comments (1)
It's well known to anyone in the business world that the post office has been in financial trouble now for quite some time. Something WILL have to give. A few years ago they were talking about switching to a four or five day workweek to save costs.
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