Mail Volume: What Goes Up…?
Filed under Cost, Revenue, and Rates, Processing
Tags: first class, standard, volume
In 1970, the Postal Service delivered fewer than 85 billion pieces of mail. Thirty years later, mail volume had more than doubled to nearly 208 billion pieces of mail — average growth of about 3 percent per year. The Postal Service relied upon this dependable growth in mail volume to finance the expansion of its network. The traditional business model worked.
Then, mail volume entered the new century. Each year from 2000 through 2003, total mail volume decreased. In 2005, the volume of Standard Mail surpassed the volume of the Postal Service’s flagship product First-Class Mail for the first time, with First-Class Mail volume actually falling below its 1995 level. Total mail volume growth averaged an anemic 0.3 percent per year from 2000 through 2007, and when the Postal Service’s 2008 fiscal year ended on September 30, volume had declined in nearly all categories. The total decline in 2008 was 4.5 percent to 202.7 billion pieces. The Postal Service is forecasting continued volume decline to 194.5 billion pieces in 2009.
Do these recent trends portend a fundamental change to mail volumes? Or are they mostly a symptom of the current adverse economic conditions? What are the long-term consequences of electronic substitution? How have other factors such as value of competitors’ products, new technologies, and complementary services affected mail volumes?
The Postal Service touches everyone, everywhere, nearly every day and is the cornerstone of the $1.2 trillion mailing industry. The Postal Service’s traditional business model is threatened. But, with every threat, comes opportunity. Which products and services may rebound and grow?
Loading ...
21 Responses to “Mail Volume: What Goes Up…?”
Leave a Reply
Hello and Welcome!
Change Font Size
Recent Comments
- James T. Currie on Self-Service Mail Technologies
- Don La Berteaux on How Can the Postal Service Reduce the Costs Associated with Postage Stamps?
- JJ on What Does Apple’s New iPad Mean for the Postal Service?
- Anonymous on What Does Apple’s New iPad Mean for the Postal Service?
- Webgeek on What Does Apple’s New iPad Mean for the Postal Service?
Recent Topics
- What Does Apple’s New iPad Mean for the Postal Service?
- Postal Service Network Streamlining
- How Can the Postal Service Reduce the Costs Associated with Postage Stamps?
- For Better or For Worse
- Top 10 Postal Stories of 2009
February 10th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Ditto to ejmercado….I am trying to keep up with all the new changes but I still love to go visit my post office to just mail a letter to a close friend,or my son who serves in the military overseas at the moment,or to my elderly parents…let’s not ever forget what makes the Postal Service so great…letter mail!