Changes in Costs and Services Since 1971
|
Item
| 1971
| 1997*
|
Name
|
Post Office Dept.
|
U.S. Postal Service
|
|
U.S. population
|
206.7 million
|
268.2 million
|
|
Pieces of mail per capita
|
421
|
712
|
|
Total mail volume
|
87 billion
|
190 billion
|
|
Public service subsidy
|
$844 million
|
$0
|
|
Total taxpayer subsidy
|
25 percent
|
0 percent
|
|
Delivery points (estimated)
|
75 million
|
130 million
|
|
Gallon of gas
|
36 cents
|
$1.13
|
|
McDonald’s hamburger
|
20 cents
|
69 cents
|
|
Time magazine
|
50 cents
|
$2.95
|
|
Cost of First-Class stamp
|
8 cents
|
32 cents
|
*Postal data based on 1997 fiscal year figures (Sept. 1996-Sept.
1997)
Postal Facts
If the U.S. Postal Service were a private company, it would be the
tenth largest in the country.
The Postal Service:
-
Handles 41 percent of the world’s mail volume, 630 million
pieces every day. The next largest is Japan at 6 percent.
-
Provides mail delivery 6 days a week and pickup for over 130
million households and businesses.
-
Serves 7 million retail customers a day.
-
Operates more than 38,000 post offices.
-
Processes 38 million address changes each year.
-
Delivers an average of 24 pieces of mail for every household every
week.
-
Owns the nation’s largest compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery
fleet, with 7,000 of its long-life vehicles converted. Electric and
ethanol-powered vehicles are also being tested.
-
Is the nation’s largest civilian employer with more than 765,000
career employees.
-
Delivers more mail in 1 day than FedEx does in a year and more
mail in 3 days than UPS does in a year.
-
Includes in our $4 billion transportation network 205,493 vehicles
and contract space on approximately 15,000 of the daily 56,000
commercial airline flights. When the price of gasoline goes up one
cent, the cost of gasoline for the Postal Service rises more than $1
million.
|
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