Postal Service Delivers Major First Quarter Loss

The final first quarter results will be published later this month. Preliminary results, released during the Feb. 4 Board of Governors meeting, include operating revenue of $19.1 billion, a decrease of $1.3 billion, or 6.3 percent, compared to the same period last year, and operating expenses of $19.5 billion ,a reduction of approximately $200 million, or 1.1 percent, from the first quarter of last year. While lower energy prices in the first quarter offered some relief, there was expense pressure from record high cost-of-living adjustments that are part of the national collective bargaining agreements.