The shipping world has changed dramatically over the past decade. Since 2007, total U.S. mail volume has declined 31% to 146 million pieces, including a 41% drop in first-class mail, its most profitable product. At the same time, ecommerce has exploded, offering a way to plug the lost revenue while also adding burden to USPS operations as it handles more packages. USPS has already started to dip its toes into 7-day a week delivery to manage the 20 million packages it averages daily. It now delivers some Amazon.com packages on Sundays and also other ecommerce retail fulfillment during the busy Christmas holiday season.
The agency lost $3.9 billion in 2018, its 12th straight year of losses. According to the agency, this move better reflects the market conditions and would save it billions of dollars per year. Republican and Democratic members of Congress, however are opposed to making a change to mail deliveries.
