The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) finished fiscal year 2018 nearly $4 billion in the redโa whopping 44 percent increase in losses from the previous year, despite the fact that the post office saw revenue increase by more than $1 billion at the same time.
In itsย annual fiscal report, released Wednesday, the USPS attributed more than $2 billion of the deficit to an “ongoing volume loss”โlargely the result of fewer people using the government’s mail system for sending lettersโof 3.6 percent. The rest was the result of increasing payments for pensions and retiree health benefits.
Far from being an aberration, fiscal year 2018, which ended on September 30, is a sign of things to come. Without changes to how it operates, the USPS will continue to post losses at “an accelerating rate,” Postmaster General Megan Brennanย tellsย Government Executive.