Behind the numbers with the NALC
The NALC’s magazine, Postal Record, this month features a 4 page article on the USPS’s financial performance in FY 2005. It’s a good summation, and ends with a pointed reminder:
with the federal government awash in red ink, there are external risks. As many letter carriers recall, during the 1980s and 1990s, Congress and the White House were more than willing to cut the deficit by raiding the Postal Service “piggy bank,” despite the mandate that USPS operate as an independent entity.
One problem with the summary, though is the statement that “Bucking the downward drift of recent years, first class mail increased slightly”
Not so fast! It is true that total first class volume was up very slightly for the year- 145 million pieces to be exact. The problem is that there was only one month that showed an increase- November. Mainly because of a one time spike in credit card solicitations, volume in that month was 863 million pieces over the prior year. Do the math- outside of November, first class volume was down by over 700 million pieces. A one month spike caused by an external event (in this case a court decision) doesn’t represent a change in the trend.
Of course, regardless of the reason for the spike, I’m happy we got the extra revenue. Ummm, but it turns out we didn’t- while first class volume (adding November back in) was up by 0.1% for the year, the first class revenue we took in was down by 0.9%.
You know what they say about every silver lining having a cloud…
