Postal Service posts declines in Q2 parcel revenue, volume

The U.S. Postal Service late Tuesday reported fiscal 2022 second-quarter results that included year-over-year declines in shipping and package revenue as e-commerce delivery growth continued to level off.

The Postal Service moved 1.74 billion pieces in the quarter, which ended June 30. That was down from 1.83 billion pieces, or 5%, in the year-earlier period when e-commerce demand was much higher. Shipping and package revenue hit $7.57 billion, down from $7.65 billion, or 1.1%.

Shipping and package revenue accounted for roughly 40% of the Postal Service’s total quarterly revenue of $18.74 billion, up slightly from the fiscal 2021 quarter. Shipping and package volume accounted for about 3% of total volumes in the 2022 quarter. In all, volumes fell 0.7%, or 201 million pieces.

The agency had expected a slowdown in parcel volumes as e-commerce activity abated with the pandemic’s waning effects.

The Postal Service reported an adjusted quarterly loss of $449 million, compared with $41 million in the year-earlier period. The 2022 quarter included a one-time $59.6 billion non-cash benefit from postal reform legislation signed into law in April that repealed the requirement that the agency prefund all future retiree health benefits and canceled all past due prefunding obligations, which ran into the billions of dollars. 

As a result of the one-time benefit, the agency reported net income of $59.7 billion, compared with a $3 billion net loss in the 2021 quarter.

Source: freightwaves - Postal Service posts declines in Q2 parcel revenue, volume
Editor: Mark Solomon