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For Immediate Release |
Contact: Robert E. McLean |
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Release No. 02-2 |
703-418-0390 |
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May 8, 2002 |
Mailers Council Year-End Quarterly Report Card on Postal Service Shows Modest Improvement
WASHINGTON, May 8, 2001—According to the latest study by the nation’s largest coalition of postal customers, the Postal Service’s productivity declined in almost every category during the fourth quarter of its last fiscal year. As a result, overall postal productivity for the year studied increased only modestly.
The data comes from the Quarterly Report Card on the Postal Service, published by the Mailers Council. The fourth report card covers the quarter that ended in early September, prior to the discovery of anthrax in the mail and after mail volume had begun to decline because of the recession.
The latest Quarterly Report Card (a graphic is available at www.mailers.org) shows declines in the fourth quarter for eight of the 10 grades, no change in one, and improvement in one. The final grades for the year reflect only small improvements over the beginning of the year in most productivity categories.
According to Mailers Council Executive Director Bob McLean, “Productivity improvements are impossible when mail volume declines and the number of employees and facilities stay the same or increase. The report card shows once again that the Postal Service must reduce both employees and facilities if it is to achieve significant productivity gains in the future. Therefore, we are most interested in seeing the Postal Service pursue proposals related to these issues that were included in the Postal Service’s recently released Transformation Plan.”
The Mailers Council Report Cards grade the Postal Service’s productivity relative to its own performance in previous quarters, and to productivity trends in the private sector. The Mailers Council believes that by highlighting such trends it encourages the Postal Service to achieve greater productivity growth, thereby reducing the frequency and size of postage rate increases.
The Report Cards are not intended to be a reflection on the efforts of postal employees and managers. They measure how well the Postal Service as a whole is improving the efficiency of its operations. The USPS has shown sporadic periods of productivity gains since 1970, but never consistent productivity gains.
The Report Cards are produced by the Mailers Council, a coalition of corporations, nonprofit organizations and major mailing associations. Council members represent for-profit and nonprofit mailers that use the United States Postal Service to deliver correspondence, publications, parcels, greeting cards and payments. Collectively the Council accounts for nearly 70 percent of the nation's mail volume.
To develop the economic comparisons and resulting grades, the Mailers Council selected the Washington Economics Consulting Group, led by the company's president, Dr. James A. Clifton. An economic consultant and expert witness with more than 20 years experience, Clifton has worked with associations, corporations and government agencies. He has extensive experience examining the Postal Service and its finances. Clifton has testified as an expert witness at numerous hearings before the Postal Rate Commission, the regulatory body that reviews all requests for postage rate increases.
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Note to Media: For more information on postal productivity, see the Mailers Council’s 2000 study on productivity in the News Release section of the Mailers Council’s website (www.mailers.org), or call Joan Worden at 202-337-5411.
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