USPS Treasury loans fall to zero in June
The Treasury’s lending to the U.S. Postal Service dropped to zero in June from USD7.3 billion at the end of fiscal 2003 amid USPS restructuring.
In its June activity report, the Treasury’s Federal Financial Bank said its holdings of USPS debt dropped to nothing at the end of June from USD306.6 million a month earlier.
The debt holdings had been falling in previous months from their 2003 fiscal year-end level, which was down from USD11.1 billion a year earlier.
In congressional testimony on March 23, Postmaster General John Potter said legislation last year to reform the USPS retirement system, combined with cost reductions, helped the Postal Service boost income and slash debt.
The USPS has been restructuring amid sharply lower mail volume, which has dropped by more than 5 billion pieces from peak levels in 2000 at the same time the number of addresses it serves has risen by 5.4 million.
In July 2003, a commission established by President George W. Bush recommended reforms to the USPS to accommodate expectations of further declines in mail volume through 2017.
The commission said the Postal Service should outsource to the private sector when it will improve performance and cut costs, but it recommended against full scale privatisation.
