COLUMBUS — The U.S. Postal Service plans to conduct a new study at the Zanesville Processing and distribution Facility for possible consolidation of some operations into the Columbus Processing and Distribution Center. The study, known as an Area Mail Processing (AMP) study, involves a review of the mail processing and transportation operations to determine capacity needs at a facility in order to increase efficiency and improve productivity.

The need for the study comes as the Postal Service faces one of the most difficult challenges in its history. The U.S. Postal Service continues to face difficult challenges. The current economic downturn and continued Internet diversion has led to a drastic decline in mail volume, with the loss of almost 26 billion pieces in 2009. In 2006 the Postal Service handled 213 billion pieces; in 2009 that dropped to 177 billion pieces. Current projections are that the Postal Service will handle 169 billion pieces in 2010. Even when the economy fully recovers, the Postal Service does not expect mail volume to return to previous peak levels, and is projecting annual deficits for the foreseeable future.

“As a result of the volume loss, we have more facilities, equipment and people than we need to process a declining volume of mail,” said Dr. Joshua Colin, District Manager for the Postal Services Columbus District. “We have to reduce the size of our network because we are no longer receiving enough revenue to sustain its cost and the cost of our ever growing delivery network.”

“One way to do that is to consolidate operations where feasible,” Dr. Colin added. “That is why we’re doing this study. Consolidating processing operations and placing our people where we need them makes logical business sense given the economic realities. We’re only doing what any company would do when it’s hit with a 13 percent decline in its business in one year.”

If the feasibility study supports the business case for changing mail processing operations, the Postal Service will hold a public meeting to allow members of the community to ask questions and provide feedback. This input will be considered in the final proposal.

The Postal Service is soliciting the public’s input as part of the study process. Comments may be submitted to:
Consumer Affairs Manager
US Postal Service Columbus District
850 Twin Rivers Drive
Columbus, OH 43216-9631

All comments will be fully considered in any decision.