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The Future of the US Postal Service

The US Postal Service continues to lose money, but new revenue streams are promising.

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By: DAVID SAVASTANO

Editor, Ink World Magazine

For many years, the US Postal Service (USPS) has been hemorrhaging cash. The move to emails has impacted use of first class mail, and the Internet has cut into catalogs and magazines. To try to make up for its losses, the USPS has raised rates, which leads to more companies looking to reduce postage costs.
 
As a result of these continuing losses, there has been talk of eliminating Saturday delivery, adding further rate increase and other potential solutions.
 
The USPS just completed its 2015 fiscal year, running from Oct. 1, 2014-Sept. 30, 2015. While the overall news remains bad, there is a glimpse of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
 
First, the bad news: the USPS had net loss of $5.1 billion for 2015, mainly because of “statutorily mandated payments.” Meanwhile, revenue was $68.9 billion for the year, a gain of nearly $1.1 billion from 2014, the second consecutive year of $1 billion in increased revenue.

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