Postal Service Sees Record Revenue In 2006

Record levels of revenue and volume helped the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) conclude its 2006 fiscal year with net income of $900 million, but increases in fuel and labor costs limited the overall financial success, USPS says.

Fiscal year 2006 year-end financial figures were released today by Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President H. Glen Walker during the November meeting of the Board of Governors.

The Postal Service's 2006 fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2005, and ended Sept. 30, 2006.

Total revenue was $72.8 billion, and total expenses were $71.9 billion.

The net deficiency,after including a $3 billion escrow allocation, as required by law, was$2.1 billion, according to USPS.

Fuel and transportation costs totaled approximately $1.7 billion in FY2006, or $260 million more than anticipated, according to Walker. As one of the largest US transportation and delivery organizations, the Postal Service is extremely sensitive to changing energy costs, it says.

Overall, total expenses increased by 4.9 percent over the previous year.

Total mail volume increased in FY2006 by 1.4 billion pieces, or seven tenths of 1 percent. While the mail volume decline trend continued for First-Class Mail (a half-percent decrease from the previous fiscal year), Walker says growth in Standard and Priority Mail helped increase overall mail volume to 213 billion pieces.