Federal Agencies Abandon the U.S. Postal Service

This is an interesting article written about a subject that I have complained about many times in the past. The author is Truman Lewis a former reporter and bureau chief for broadcast outlets and magazines.

Everyone knows the U.S. Postal Service is in trouble, but is anyone doing anything about it?

Well federal agencies are. They’re taking their business elsewhere. A new report finds that out of $337 million spent on shipping last year, federal agencies spent only $4.8 million with the Postal Service, less than two percent. The lion’s share of the money went to FedEx and the United Parcel Service.

Please put your thinking caps on, as NAPS members; how many times have we visited our Congressmen and Senators offices only to see FedEx and UPS mailings on their staffs desks? I always see FedEx and UPS trucks idling outside their office buildings making pickups. Where are the USPS trucks? Very few if any.

Why you ask?

One big reason is that, unlike private companies, the Postal Service can’t sell any products below cost, even if doing so would enable it to snag contracts that would be profitable overall. Who would impose such an onerous and un-business like restriction on what is supposed to be a semi-independent government corporation? CONGRESS, of course.

Case in point, as a former Customer Service Rep for the USPS, I was charged with selling our products to the general public and businesses. When speaking with the decision makers of the firms it was not the service in question, it was the discounts and giveaways that FedEx and UPS offered. We offered nothing and guess who got the business?

Mr. Truman went on to say the Postal Service has much in common with Amtrak and the District of Columbia. All are hamstrung by Congressional micromanagement that leaves them often unable to pursue simple initiatives that would improve their fortunes and provide better service to their subjects.

But while the Postal Service is forbidden from, say, granting a big discount on one service that would let it sell additional, profitable services, we are also hampered by the 5.1.billion dollar a year pre funding of our future retiree’s health benefits. This was imposed upon us by Congress in 2006. No other federal agency was ever asked to do this.

The Postal Service’s Inspector General says that while the situation looks grim, all is not lost. Although its competitors have consistently captured more than 98 percent of shipping revenue from federal agencies through GSA contracts, the Postal Service has opportunities to increase its share of this market, the IG said in its report.

On the other hand, the situation is not going to be resolved quickly. Because the Postal Service missed out on contract opportunities, many federal agencies have several years to go on their existing contracts with FedEx and UPS.

Stay Strong!
Tommy Roma