U.S. Postal Service could stop Saturday deliveries, improving efficiency and cutting costs

The U.S. Postal Service has faced major losses over the past few years as consumers increasingly rely on email and private logistics companies, like FedEx and UPS, to deliver their letters and packages. In an effort to save money and cut business costs, the USPS may halt Saturday delivery of mail.

John Potter, the Postmaster General, affirms that since 2007, the volume of mail in the U.S. has dropped by more than 20 percent, attributing the decline to a variety of factors, including the slow economy and online bill pay. The chief financial office for the USPS, Joseph Corbett, says that at $8.5 billion, the 2010 loss the organization recorded is higher than it expected and illustrates the soaring costs it must control.

Corbett asserts that delivery costs account for more than 50 percent of total expenditures - some $30 billion a year. To achieve greater supply chain and overall business efficiency, the USPS is "doing what we can," Corbett laments, but "what we really need to do is simply reduce the number of trips." To offset rising costs, the USPS has let go many workers, raised fees and now employs a downsized workforce of about 600,000 people.

Some fear that the Saturday deliveries give the USPS a competitive advantage over its private business rivals, but ultimately the company may discontinue them if it wishes to shore up its supply chain and ensure increased efficiency.