*NEWS*U.S.P.S. ENDS YEAR IN BLACK !

[Anonymous]

USPS, Ends Year in Black!
Postal Service ends year with net income, and debt free – escrow fund looms.
Washington,
D.C. – The U.S. Postal Service reported today it concluded fiscal 2005
with a net income of $1.4 billion on record revenues of $70 billion and
record volume of 212 billion pieces of mail.
‘Best Position Since 70s’
“Financially,
we are in the best position we’ve been since the 1970s,” said
Postmaster General John E. Potter at the December meeting of the Board
of Governors. “Despite the strong financial and productivity records of
recent years, we are facing a modest increase in postage rates in
January.”
The January 8, 2006 rate increase was compelled by
legislation enacted in 2003 requiring the Postal Service to put aside
over $3 billion each year into escrow beginning in 2006. Efforts to
change the escrow requirement have been stalled in Congress. Without
the escrow requirement, postage rates most likely would have remained
at current levels until 2007.
Debt Reduced to Zero
Postage rates
have remained stable since 2002, a direct result of three straight
years of operating surpluses. The cash generated from the surpluses
have been used to reduce the Postal Service’s once $11 billion in debt
to zero.
“We kept our focus on the customer for the past four
years,” said Potter. “It has paid off in record revenues, record
volumes, and positive customer satisfaction ratings.”
Volume Increasing
In
2005, mail volume increased 5.6 billion pieces to 212 billion. Standard
Mail, which American businesses rely on to reach consumers, outpaced
First-Class Mail for the first time in history with 101 billion pieces
of Standard Mail compared to 98 billion in First-Class Mail.
First-Class Mail grew slightly in 2005 after three years of decline.
“The
increase in mail volume demonstrates that American businesses recognize
that hard copy mail works and has a bright future,” said Potter.
Although
today’s postal financial news is positive, Potter cautioned that the
forecast for 2006 projects a surplus from operations, but coupled with
an anticipated escrow requirement of $3.1 billion, the Postal Service
will likely have a net deficiency approaching $2 billion.
Since
Potter became Postmaster General in 2001, the Postal Service has
reduced costs by a cumulative $15 billion. “Our postal team is moving
more mail, going to more places, and doing it with less people,” Potter
said. In September, he unveiled plans to continue to reduce costs,
pledging to take another $5 billion out of the Postal Service by 2010.
Potter
said further the Harrisburg mail processing facility will be dedicated
in memory of the late Postal Gov. LeGree Daniels. Ms. Daniels, who
served on the Board of Governors since 1990, passed away November 19.
Potter
noted, “In honor of her contributions to the Postal Service over the
past 15 years, and a lifetime of public service to the American people,
I am designating the mail processing plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
– her home town for the past 54 years — as the LeGree Daniels Mail
Processing Facility.” A ceremony officially marking the dedication will
occur in the near future.
Potter also acknowledged the service of
Governor Robert F. Rider of Delaware, who attended his last meeting
because his term has expired. Rider, a businessman, was first appointed
a Governor of the U.S. Postal Service in May 1995. He has served as
Chairman of the Board, as Vice Chairman of the Board and as Chairman of
the Audit and Finance Committee. Rider is the Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of O. A. Newton & Son Company, with diversified
divisions in agriculture and design/manufacturing of materials handling
equipment.
Upgrading Data Networks
In other business, the Board
approved $54.9 million in capital funding for the final phase of a
comprehensive effort to upgrade the Postal Service’s existing
mail-processing data networks.
In seeking approval, Charles E.
Bravo, senior vice president, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality,
said the upgrade will provide a reliable and supportable high-speed
infrastructure that is easier to maintain.
“The state-of-the-art
computer wiring is flexible and scalable,” said Bravo, “and simplifies
the addition and relocation of mail-processing equipment.”
No Tax Dollars
Since
1775, the Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office
Department, has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses
by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 144 million
homes and businesses every day, six days a week and is the only service
provider delivering to every address in the nation. The Postal Service
receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its
operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and
services. With annual revenues of more than $69 billion, it is the
world’s leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering
some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal
Service delivers more than half of the world’s mail volume – some 212
billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year – and
serves seven and a half million customers each day at its 37,000 retail
locations nationwide. Its website, usps.com, attracts more than 21
million visitors each month. 

[Author]

December 14, 2005 at 11:10 AM