USPS Year-to-Date Net Income Over Budget, Mail Volume Up

With one month left to report for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the U.S. Postal Service yesterday announced net income of USD2.8 billion, or USD656.6 million over budget, for Oct. 1 2003 to Aug. 31 2004. USPS fiscal and operating statements showed that revenue totaled USD63.1 billion, 0.2 percent less than planned. Expenses of USD60.3 billion were 1.3 percent under the planned budget, but up 2.1 percent versus the year-ago period. Total year-to-date mail volume of 188.3 billion pieces increased 1.7 percent from a year ago. Standard and International mail grew 5.6 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively. But most classes saw declines. Express Mail fell 3.2 percent; Periodicals, 3.1 percent; Priority Mail, 1.8 percent; First-Class, 1.4 percent; and Package Services, 0.8 percent.