USPS

USPS officials said that this temporary price adjustment is in line with what it did in 2020, in anticipation of what it called heightened peak season package and shipping demand that often brings about extra handling costs.

USPS had a quarterly net loss of $3.0 billion, steeper than a $2.2 billion loss for the same quarter a year ago, with this year’s net loss reflecting revaluations and the effects of non-cash workers’ compensation adjustments. While it had another quarter of net losses, total quarterly operating revenue—at roughly $18.5 billion—was up $845 million, or 4.8%, annually.

In light of Peak Season parcel surcharges recently kicking in, based on recent announcements respectively issued by the global parcel duopoly of FedEx and UPS, there is more than enough for shippers to stay on top of and address, at a time when things have remained in a state of ongoing, or perpetual, Peak Season.

Data recently provided to LM by ShipMatrix, a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based SJ Consulting, showed that major parcel carriers, including UPS, FedEx, the United States Postal Service (USPS), and were within similar ranges, for on-time performance (OTP) for May on an annual basis, whereas average daily volumes saw a bigger spread, to the upside.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Rick Watson, Founder and CEO of New York-based RMW Commerce Consulting. Watson provided Berman with an overview of his views on the highly-competitive e-commerce logistics sector, how Amazon is standing out compared to the duopoly of UPS and FedEx and what shippers may be in store for in regards to the 2021 Peak Season.

USPS had a net loss of $82 million for the quarter, down significantly from a net loss of around $4.5 billion a year ago at this time, with the USPS saying that a pandemic surge in demand did not offset increased operating costs and a decline in mail services revenue, its largest category. And total quarterly revenue—at around $18.9 billion—headed up roughly 1.1%, or 6%, annually.

Earlier this week, the United States Postal Service (USPS) rolled out various network infrastructure investments, as part of its recently announced 10-year plan focused on achieving financial sustainability and service excellence, in order to meet customer and business needs, in advance of the 2021 holiday season.

The plan, entitled “Delivering for America,” takes an ambitious approach focused on helping the USPS get on solid financial footing, as the organization has been in the red over the last 14 years and incurred a net loss of $9.2 billion in the last fiscal year.

The Big 3: FedEx, UPS, and USPS have announced their general rate increases for 2021 and ProShip is here to highlight the most important parts.

Total first quarter net income—at $318 million—was well ahead of a $748 million net income loss, for the same period a year ago. And total operating revenue—at $21.495 billion—topped the $19.351 billion from a year ago.

USPS officials said that should the PRC’s Postal Service Governors sign off on these proposed rate increases, the percentage increases, for certain USPS product segments would increase to varying degrees, including Shipping Services product prices up roughly 3.5% for Priority Mail service and 1.2% for Priority Mail Express service.

A recurring narrative related to the United States Postal Service (USPS) over the last several quarters pertains to how even though the organization continues to fight an uphill battle, as evidenced by ongoing steep quarterly losses, its Shipping and Packages Group continues to see increases. That was evident in its fiscal year 2020 results.

Entitled the ShipMatrix 1st Class Parcel Service, the firm said that this offering is geared towards retail and e-commerce shippers that have been “capped” by the parcel duopoly of FedEx and UPS for the 2020 peak season. Some of the key aspects of this offering, according to ShipMatrix, include: no limit on parcel volume; no peak season surcharges; and an automatic money-back guarantee on packages that are not delivered within five days.

USPS officials said that these price adjustments, in the form of rate increases “are in response to increased expenses and heightened demand for online shopping package volume due to the coronavirus pandemic and expected holiday e-commerce.”

For the quarter, the USPS reported $17.6 billion in total revenue, which represented an increase of $547 million, or 3.2% annually. Total operating expenses—at $19.8 billion—were up $477 billion, or 2.5%, compared to a year ago, and it reported a net loss of $2.2 billion, which was in line with a $2.3 billion net loss for the same period last year. And its controllable quarterly loss, of $1.5 billion, was steeper than the $1.1 billion loss for the fiscal third quarter in 2019.