U.S. Postal Service loss triples, even as package deliveries rise

[JacksinPA]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...even-as-package-deliveries-rise-idUSKCN1NJ2HS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service lost almost $4 billion in 2018 even as package deliveries rose, according to results released on Wednesday, potentially giving U.S. President Donald Trump ammunition against Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), which he claims pays too little for the agency’s services.

Trump, without presenting evidence, has accused the world’s largest online retailer repeatedly over the past year of taking advantage of USPS by not paying enough for deliveries to make the service profitable.
===========================================
At least in my area (suburban Phila), the Postal Service handles very few Amazon package deliveries. Most are handled by white cans marked delivery.com. See their web site at https://www.delivery.com/. Amazon is reacting to Trump's hollow threats by becoming independent of the USPS. See https://logistics.amazon.com/.

 

[Roadvirus]

The Postal Service is a flaming bag of dog****.

 

[Praxas]

The Postal Service is a flaming bag of dog****.

Until you want to send a package and eventually pay 6 times what you normally do when they are gone.

 

[apdst]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...even-as-package-deliveries-rise-idUSKCN1NJ2HS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service lost almost $4 billion in 2018 even as package deliveries rose, according to results released on Wednesday, potentially giving U.S. President Donald Trump ammunition against Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), which he claims pays too little for the agency’s services.

Trump, without presenting evidence, has accused the world’s largest online retailer repeatedly over the past year of taking advantage of USPS by not paying enough for deliveries to make the service profitable.
===========================================
At least in my area (suburban Phila), the Postal Service handles very few Amazon package deliveries. Most are handled by white cans marked delivery.com. See their web site at https://www.delivery.com/. Amazon is reacting to Trump's hollow threats by becoming independent of the USPS. See https://logistics.amazon.com/.

The government should take it over. Oh, wait...

 

[Anarchon]

Can anyone name something they think the government does better than the private sector?

 

[upsideguy]

Can anyone name something they think the government does better than the private sector?

Healthcare. In the countries with universal healthcare, costs are 50% lower and outcomes are remarkably superior to those of the US where healthcare substantially private.

BTW, the Post Office is burdened with an accounting rule levied on it by congress that forces them to show the current expense of its unfunded pension liability. The Republican congress put that burden on them to force them to show losses. Without reviewing the actually auditeds, I do not know to what extent this fictitious accounting is causing the loss.

https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/be-careful-what-you-assume

It appears that 2/3 of the loss is from an non-recurring adjustment to the non-GAAP accounting for this pension liability (its non-substantive silliness)

https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2018/pr18_062.htm

"....The net loss for the quarter totaled $1.5 billion, a decline in net loss of $651 million compared to the same period last year, the result of nonrecurring adjustments to retirement and retiree health benefit plans to account for revised actuarial assumptions. Excluding the effects of these adjustments, the net loss for the quarter increased by $507 million....."

Not to mention that congress will not actually let them run as a business, forcing them to have offices in every little town and deliver the mail six days per week. Moreover, where did you get the idea that the post office is suppose to be a for-profit business? There is a component to it that is simply a government service.

 

[JacksinPA]

Healthcare. In the countries with universal healthcare, costs are 50% lower and outcomes are remarkably superior to those of the US where healthcare substantially private.

Medicare For All will never happen because of the health insurance company lobby.

 

[Gaius46]

The Postal Service is a flaming bag of dog****.

When people actually mailed letters the USPS was a not only a bargain - mail a letter from NY to Alaska for 40 cents - but had a very low rate of undelivered mail.

Even today you can mail a small package anywhere in the country for 4 or 5 bucks and it reliably gets there. Don’t see what the problem is.

 

[upsideguy]

Medicare For All will never happen because of the health insurance company lobby.

....I didn't say it would. I was only answering the question that one area where government "management" has shown itself superior to private management.

 

[Anarchon]

Healthcare. In the countries with universal healthcare, costs are 50% lower and outcomes are remarkably superior to those of the US where healthcare substantially private.

There's nothing private about healthcare in the U.S. It's all thoroughly affected by government regulation, even the part you'd like to think is private. That, and your statistics are dubious. It's unfortunate there isn't a free market to compare it to.

BTW, the Post Office is burdened with an accounting rule levied on it by congress that forces them to show the current expense of its unfunded pension liability. The Republican congress put that burden on them to force them to show losses. Without reviewing the actually auditeds, I do not know to what extent this fictitious accounting is causing the loss.

https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/be-careful-what-you-assume

It appears that 2/3 of the loss is from an non-recurring adjustment to the non-GAAP accounting for this pension liability (its non-substantive silliness)

https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2018/pr18_062.htm

"....The net loss for the quarter totaled $1.5 billion, a decline in net loss of $651 million compared to the same period last year, the result of nonrecurring adjustments to retirement and retiree health benefit plans to account for revised actuarial assumptions. Excluding the effects of these adjustments, the net loss for the quarter increased by $507 million....."

Not to mention that congress will not actually let them run as a business, forcing them to have offices in every little town and deliver the mail six days per week. Moreover, where did you get the idea that the post office is suppose to be a for-profit business? There is a component to it that is simply a government service.

These "excuses" are all aspects of the government running it. Bureaucracy and unnecessary overhead are the name of the game.