Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says USPS is 'ready' for holiday season. Agency ramps up staffing, adds new sorting machines.
The United States Postal Service says it is ready for the holiday season.
In a meeting with the Board of Governors on Wednesday, USPS officials shared ways it is ramping up efforts to ensure packages reach their destination during the postal service's peak season.
“Last year, for a variety of reasons, we were overwhelmed and were not able to meet the demands of the nation,” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said. But now, “We are ready. So, send us your packages and mail, and we’ll deliver timely.”
DeJoy's promise comes as the agency has made changes that could mean mail may take longer to deliver. A new service standard for first-class mail and periodicals increases in-time transit standards by one to two days for certain mail that is traveling longer distances.
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Ron Bloom, the chairman of board, reported that peak season preparations include 92 new package sorting machines, which will be able to process an additional 4.5 million packages a day, as well as the addition of 40,000 seasonal employees.
Bloom said the new standards and holiday measures are part of the agency’s goal to meet or exceed a 95% on-time service performance for all mail and shipping products.
DeJoy speaks on revitalizing USPS finances
DeJoy said he is confident that USPS will perform better this holiday season than last year.
“We had not met the delivery standard in the past 10 years, and there was no intention to do so,” DeJoy said.
He took on his role in June 2020, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He reported on Wednesday that the USPS had lost over $87 billion over the previous 10 years, was projected to lose $160 billion over the next 10 years and run out of cash three months after he had taken over.
Mail volume has declined 42% in the last 10 years and was predicted to drop another 30% over the next 10 years, according to DeJoy. The agency reported it lost $4.9 billion in its 2021 fiscal year at the end of September, which is almost half of what it lost around at $9.2 billion.
The postmaster general said the agency had been surviving by not paying its employee retirement obligation "to the magnitude of tens of billions of dollars."
As the holiday demand for mail increases, shipping through USPS is temporarily more expensive. The increased prices began on Oct. 3 and will run through Dec. 26 for domestic packages. The increase will not impact international products.
“In deciding to raise our prices, we determined after 14 years of an extremely defective pricing model, one that has cost the organization an excess of $35 billion, we must use all the pricing authority provided to us by the regulators,” DeJoy said.
He has pushed commitments to invest in facilities, vehicles technology and other infrastructure in his longtime plan. USPS recently received $6 billion through President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal. The money allocated will push the agency’s shift to electric delivery trucks in 10 years.
As many as 165,000 new trucks will become available for service through the funding. Besides being electric, the latest truck’s features include a 360 camera, front and rear bumper sensors and forward collision warnings.
“We know our customers are counting on us, and we are ready to deliver,” Bloom said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeJoy says USPS 'ready' for holidays, agency increases staff
