Service Performance Remains Steady Across Postal Service Network

The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics for the ninth week of the fourth quarter for fiscal year 2023. The average time for the Postal Service to deliver a mailpiece or package across the nation was 2.5 days.

FY23 fourth quarter service performance scores covering July 1 through September 1, included:

• First-Class Mail: 91.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter.
• Marketing Mail: 95.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter.
• Periodicals: 86.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter.

The Postal Service continues to make service delivery improvements. Currently, 98 percent of the nation’s population receives their mail and packages in less than three days. This percentage recently improved, and USPS is working hard to correct service-related issues in the other limited areas.

One of the goals of Delivering for America, the Postal Service’s 10-year plan for achieving financial sustainability and service excellence, is to meet or exceed 95 percent on-time service performance for all mail and shipping products once all elements of the plan are implemented. Service performance is defined by the Postal Service as the time it takes to deliver a mailpiece or package from its acceptance into our system through its delivery, as measured against published service standards.

With the implementation of the Delivering for America plan, the Postal Service continues its focus on improving service reliability for the American public and business customers by modernizing the outmoded and aging postal network across the nation.

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The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to nearly 165 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a 10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America, to modernize the postal network, restore long-term financial sustainability, dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories, and maintain the organization as one of America’s most valued and trusted brands.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.