Record Efficiency Levels and Work Hour Reductions Cannot Offset Falling Volumes — Fundamental Changes Needed
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service today reported its 2010 financial results, showing a net loss of $8.5 billion for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
Excluding charges to income primarily resulting from changes to interest rates that impact the organization’s workers’ compensation liability, the net loss was $6 billion.
The recent recession, continuing economic pressures and migration of mail to electronic media had a significant adverse impact on mail volumes and operating revenues. Despite rigorous initiatives that eliminated 75 million work hours and drove productivity to record highs in 2010, the losses mounted.
“Over the last two years, the Postal Service realized more than $9 billion in cost savings, primarily by eliminating about 105,000 full-time equivalent positions — more than any other organization, anywhere,” said Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett. “We will continue our relentless efforts to innovate and improve efficiency. However, the need for changes to legislation, regulations and labor contracts has never been more obvious.”
Details of Fiscal Year 2010 results include:
* Operating revenue of $67.1 billion in 2010 declined $1 billion from 2009, primarily due to lower volume;
* Operating expenses for 2010 of approximately $70 billion (excluding a $5.5 billion expense for pre-funding Retiree Health Benefits), down from approximately $70.4 billion in 2009 (excluding a $1.4 billion expense for RHB);
* Net loss of $8.5 billion in 2010, $4.7 billion above the 2009 level, mostly as a result of the revenue decline, additional expenses in 2010 associated with RHB pre-funding and workers’ compensation – but offset by cost savings associated with the work hour reduction; and
* Total mail volume of 170.6 billion pieces, compared to 176.7 billion pieces in 2009, a decline of 3.5 percent.
First-Class Mail volume continues to decline, with year-over-year declines of 6.6 percent in 2010, 8.6 percent in 2009, and 4.8 percent in 2008. This trend is particularly disturbing as First-Class Mail, the most profitable product, generates more than half of total revenue. Volume for Standard Mail showed improvement during the year, reflecting some signs of economic recovery in late 2010, but, in total, was flat in 2010, compared to 2009.
In its report on the financial statements contained in the Postal Service’s 2010 report, independent auditor Ernst & Young is expected to issue an unqualified audit opinion that will emphasize that questions remain about the ability of the Postal Service to generate sufficient
liquidity to make all of its future payments, including the $5.5 billion RHB pre-funding payment due on the last day of fiscal year 2011.
In 2010, the Postal Service complied with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) as mandated by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. This was one of the largest successful SOX implementations on record and the first within the federal government.
Copies of the 2010 financial results will be available Nov. 15 on the Annual Reports page of the Postal Service website, usps.com, at: http://www.usps.com/financials/ar/welcome.htm#10k.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
I was just wondering if you know how old you have to be, when you retire? There are guide lines, read up on it… If you don’t watch it, and what you’re saying, you will have an EEO on your A$$ for “age discrimination”, Just what the hell is it that they teach, you dumb A$$ES in 204B TRAINING???? Oh yeah, I forgot you don’t have to know ANYTHING to be in MANAGEMENT, you just have to be a HEARTLESS JERK/with NO PEOPLE SKILLS or a KISS A$$/LAZY who NEVER Wanted to work, or knows SOMEBODY/FAVOR… SO Johnny Boy, where do you fit in??? ( There are SOME GOOD MANAGERS, very FEW ) but it ain’t YOU JOHNNY!!!!!!!!! I would be willing to bet, most of those 60 yr old employees that you are talking about have more time on the toilet in the P.O.– then you do in the P.O.
Whats the matter Ace; hitting a little to close ?
So, let me get this straight; you’re a carrier, and in your previous post you thank the USPS for your pay and benefits ?
Is that correct ?
Yeah, mailman your right on the money!
Which is it I’m a kiss up or never worked, that a pretty good spread.
A CARRIER like me is unknown to you.
Why don’t you try working for a living.That’s not an option, right dickhead!!!
Hate it ,then quit, go wash cars moron.
Ace sounds like one of those that are in every office. Mgmt. golf buddy, suckup, asskisser, etc.
Either that, or he has never even worked for the USPS.
LOL Michelle
And yet somehow the PO has made enough money over the last 25 years or so to OVERFUND our portion of the Civil Service Retirement fund by $75 billion (according to the OIG study released in Jan. this year – and if I read it correctly, that’s over & above the pre-funding requirements instituted in ’06…)
Let me put on my tinfoil hat here:
1.) HQ management will make more $ and be less accountable to the public if the USPS is privatized. It’s in their personal best interest to go private. Mission not accomplished.. yet… but look for the outgoing PMG to be a lobbyist or consultant to private industry within 2 years.
2.) With a little “antiquated accounting” here and there, USPS is actually a cash cow, giving the fed. govt. $75 billion to move around in the shell game that is our national economy. That’s why you won’t likely hear much call for privatization among our elected officials.
OK, foil hat off, back to reality & the life of a wage slave.
Mailman sounds like one of those young turks who knows nothing about everything and who plays the blame game.
Management this Mgmt., that. You say don’t believe any numbers then admit that 75 bill. showed up. I don’t care who found it.
I read once somewhere, that if the USPS was a city it would rank in size just over San Francisco in population. Gee that’s a real easy thing to run.
I look at it simply, in 30 years my pay check was issued to me accurately and on time every two weeks, I’ve never worried about health care, I’ve worked days, I’ve had 200 hours annual leave to use each year for the past 15 yrs. Now I;m hanging for a couple of months hoping for an early out. Failing that I’ll be gone soon,and it’s all yours “Turk”. I just wonder if guys like me are leaving it in the right hands. Thank GOD for the USPS.
Said it before, and I’ll keep on saying it as long as postal mgmt. keeps posting these phony numbers.
Do not believe a single financial report coming from postal mgmt. Until a completely independent audit is done, these numbers are not worth the paper they’re printed on.
Remember; these numbers are coming from the same folks who didn’t even know they were missing $75 billion dollars until outsiders pointed it out to them.
And of course, postal mgmt. lies, cheats, and steal about every other subject. Why should their financial reports be any different ?
ACE……Amen and AMEN!!!!!!!
Her’s the real deal. USPS offered VERA’s in 08. No incentive, no nothing, and you suffered a penalty if you didn’t have your years and age.
PMG stated that the USPS couldn’t afford buy outs. Few left. Then they offer the APWU an early out with a monetary buy out. I think it was 15K.
So the PMG states no buy out, then a buy out is offered.
So now everyone whose elligible to retire is waiting. Management was effective in screwing the whole thing up.
So if you’re an “Old timer” who “Should retire and leave it to the young turks”
Wait!!! I dont know how this job lost 100,000 jobs last year. Everyone I know who can go is waiting. Hopefully the incoming congress will allow the OPM to approve a cash incentive. Job needs to change big time to survive, that means less days delivery, less Post Offices, and yes less employees
To ALL you “young employee’s”…one day,and it will come FAST,YOU will be the OLD FART that won’t leave and YOU will understand things alittle better. MAYBE just because we can retire doesn’t mean we want to or that we HAVE to work. All of us DON’T live above our means!! AND..after you have 30 plus years in you will feel that if they want you to leave BEFORE you are ready…they owe you alittle something extra to leave. with all the waste I see in management at our little PDF,they CAN afford it…….
Management is top heavy at the highest level. Lose 8 Billion and every supervisor and manager receives bonues. For what?
I agree Johnny. There are many where I work that could have retired years ago and they are more of a liabiltiy then an asset. Incentive pay(Bonuses) have to stop as well as providing 800+ top executives with free healthcare. Stop with the cuts of the ones that actually touch the mail and start going after middle and upper management. The crafts have been cut down to the bone and we can hardly provide a good efficient service to our customers anymore.
Maybe if all the old timers didn’t live drastically above their means and rely primarily on overtime the post office would be in a much better spot. 60 year olds in my office still on the 10 hour list and they ask for a buy out? Just retire and go be miserable at wal mart or home depot. Turn the company over to the young guys and we will thrive!!
I sure hope my first retirement check comes in on time. I wonder if I ought to sign up for direct deposit?
AMEN Captkuz!!!!! I will be right behind you!
Maybe if they stopped all the management bonuses across the country, the deficit would be greatly decreased. Last year the plant manager at the Tampa GMF got a $56,000.00 bonus. And that`s just one manager at the plant. I don`t know what kind of bonuses the other managers got. Multiply that by all the offices across the country, it probably runs into millions or billions.
Keep the $25,000, just give me 5 years service time and I will hit the door running!
MAN UP PMG OFFER $25,000 AND YOU WILL GET 100,000 TO LEAVE
MAN UP PMG OFFER $25,000 AND YOU WILL GET 100,000 TOO LEAVE
Thank the powers that be, ( Rep. Issa and Sen. Carper), for the PAEA of 2006,Title VIII for this! And how do they want to fix the problem… cut employees and supervisors! Go figure…