How Will the USPS Survive?

by The Dukky Team | July 31, 2009

Since the start of the current recession, one business that has taken a particularly big hit is the mailing business. This includes FedEx, UPS, and DHL but the company that has faltered the most is the USPS. In 2008 alone the USPS saw a net loss of almost three billion dollars. The reason for this is largely due to the huge decreases that have been occurring in the amount of mail being shipped every year. The USPS thought it could survive solely on the bulk mail sent out by junk mail companies, but it appears that they were wrong.

Now the huge corporation that is the third largest employer in the United States, and gives jobs to nearly one million people is in serious jeopardy. This graphic presented by the website Good, gives an excellent indication of just how massive the USPS is, and how important it is for it to figure out how to pull itself through the recession.

Image Source: Flickr

This week there was a lot of news about the future of the US Postal Service. The President of the National League of Postmasters reported that the organization’s obligation to pay retiree health benefits is dragging its bottom line into the red (reportedly to the tune of $20 million in losses a day.) In response, the USPS is considering restructuring its employee benefits and cutting back on delivery and office hours. As you might imagine, these announcements have caused a stir.

We thought it was a good time to take another look at this graphic published by Good a little while back. It gives an excellent indication of the size of the USPS (according to wikipedia, it’s the third largest employer in the country) and how important it is for it to figure out how to pull itself through the recession.

The USPS is going to have to embrace some change to stay relevant – and so does its mainstay direct mail. Dukky’s developing new technology and listening to consumer sentiment in order to help our direct mail customers. This week we launched a demo that shows how we marry direct mail with social media and voice technology in order to increase response rates. See where the future of direct mail is heading here. We hope the USPS will follow suit and innovate alongside us. Because when change is brewing, the worst thing you can do is put down your head and avert your eyes.

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