It’s likely that most individuals, given the right to do so, not only could provide a self-evaluation but would do so in a way that emphasizes positive points and minimizes any that are less so.Such behavior is not limited to individuals but is present in virtually all human enterprises, including the Postal Service.


    The USPS is notoriously and willfully opaque; the agency is Kremlin-like in its resistance to disclosing any more than it must to outsiders.As the saying goes, information is provided on a need-to-know basis and, from the Postal Service’s perspective, outsiders don’t need to know.


    For the past two years, however, the Postal Service has been more than forthcoming about its service performance.Every week, it issues a press release touting how well it’s doing, offering a service score that supports the claim without explaining from what that figure was derived.


    The agency has been developing its own service performance data for years, in great detail for internal use and, far less so, to comply with the requirements of the Postal Regulatory Commission.Other than the press releases, the only substantive service performance data publicly disclosed by the USPS is its quarterly submissions to the PRC.


    The simple fact is that the Postal Service wants to control the message about service performance.It wants to tell its story with the data and scores it selects; the weekly press releases show that.What it doesn’t want to acknowledge is that more granular data shows variable and inconsistent performance, that some areas have chronically poor service, and that a sizeable amount of mail isn’t “in measurement” and therefore not represented by the published scores.


    During the kerfuffle over mailed ballots in 2020, the USPS was able to produce whatever detailed data the courts ordered it to produce.It obviously has data at hand for use in its self-congratulatory press releases, but it doesn’t want to reveal much more – though other required reports illustrate what’s missing.


    For example, in an August 29 filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission[top table], the Postal Service reported the volume of mail “in measurement” during PQ III (April-June).Total volume was about 25.450 billion pieces, of which only 16.892 billion (66.38%) were “in measurement,” with that further skewed by Marketing Mail letters and outside-county Periodicals for which measured volume was mostly destination-entered.


    Moreover, because the USPS measurement process relies on pieces bearing an intelligent mail barcode, documentation from mail preparers, and processing over automated equipment, any mail not meeting one of those basic requirements cannot be included in the volume of mail eligible for measurement, even before other reasons for exclusion apply.


    Significant quantities of mail are excluded from measurement for any of several other reasons, as was revealed, for example, in another filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission [bottom table].


    While observers may understand the Postal Service’s interest in speaking for itself, observers may not be as understanding if they can see for themselves that what the Postal Service is saying may not be completely accurate. Unfortunately, the agency’s publicists have succeeded at feeding the uncurious and gullible public media (and the public itself) with the “great service” story line; outside the postal community no-one knows there’s more data available that calls the “great service” claims into question.


    Sadly, those who realize the difference between truth and perception most clearly are commercial mail producers and their ratepaying clients; they see the reality of service performance every day, and it’s not as "great" as the USPS would like us all to believe.


    PQ III/FY 22

    # of Pieces
    (RPW-ODIS) (a)

    # of Pieces in
    Measurement (b)

    % in Meas
    (b/a)

    # of Pcs Eligible for Full Service IMB (d)

    # of Full Service IMB Pieces

    # of FS IMB Pcs Included in Measurement

    # of FS IMB Pcs Excluded from Measuremnt (g)

    % Excl fr Meas (g/d)

    # of Pcs not in Measurement (i)

    % not in Msmnt (i/a)

    First Class Mail

    8,386,806,328

    4,981,842,946

    59.401%

    8,079,436,575

    7,770,626,390

    4,981,842,946

    2,788,783,444

    34.517%

    3,404,963,382

    40.599%

    Prsrt Ltrs/Postcards

    8,265,853,193

    4,915,188,782

    59.464%

    7,962,494,920

    7,663,370,124

    4,915,188,782

    2,748,181,342

    34.514%

    3,350,664,411

    40.536%

    Overnight

    996,679,995

    526,550,477

    52.830%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    526,550,477

    Unable to Collect


    470,129,518

    47.170%

    Two-Day

    834,121,043

    568,902,214

    68.204%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    568,902,214

    Unable to Collect


    265,218,829

    31.796%

    Three-Day

    3,423,005,972

    1,926,502,509

    56.281%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    1,926,502,509

    Unable to Collect


    1,496,503,463

    43.719%

    Four-Day

    2,070,595,941

    1,251,353,020

    60.434%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    1,251,353,020

    Unable to Collect


    819,242,921

    39.566%

    Five-Day

    941,450,241

    641,880,562

    68.180%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    641,880,562

    Unable to Collect


    299,569,679

    31.820%

    Presort Flats

    120,953,135

    66,654,164

    55.107%

    116,941,655

    107,256,266

    66,654,164

    40,602,102

    34.720%

    54,298,971

    44.893%

    Overnight

    7,782,801

    4,293,710

    55.169%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    4,293,710

    Unable to Collect


    3,489,091

    44.831%

    Two-Day

    13,433,845

    7,519,053

    55.971%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    7,519,053

    Unable to Collect


    5,914,792

    44.029%

    Three-Day

    49,567,639

    26,703,789

    53.873%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    26,703,789

    Unable to Collect


    22,863,850

    46.127%

    Four-Day

    35,331,257

    18,859,266

    53.378%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    18,859,266

    Unable to Collect


    16,471,991

    46.622%

    Five-Day

    14,837,592

    9,278,346

    62.533%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    9,278,346

    Unable to Collect


    5,559,246

    37.467%

    Marketing Mail

    16,125,859,582

    11,428,630,831

    70.871%

    13,504,258,516

    13,267,817,770

    10,736,270,235

    2,531,547,535

    18.746%

    4,697,228,751

    29.129%

    HD/Sat Ltrs

    1,495,932,472

    1,187,018,070

    79.350%

    1,464,781,755

    1,413,624,056

    1,187,018,070

    226,605,986

    15.470%

    308,914,402

    20.650%

    Dest Entry 2-Day

    0

    0


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    0

    Unable to Collect


    0


    Dest Entry 3-5 Day

    1,344,937,976

    1,040,245,488

    77.345%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    1,040,245,488

    Unable to Collect


    304,692,488

    22.655%

    Dest Entry 5-Day +

    79,447,799

    64,762,866

    81.516%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    64,762,866

    Unable to Collect


    14,684,933

    18.484%

    End-to-End 3-5 Day

    Unable to Collect

    49,589,448


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    49,589,448

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 6-10 Day

    Unable to Collect

    30,349,365


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    30,349,365

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 11-Day +

    Unable to Collect

    2,070,903


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    2,070,903

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    HD/Sat Flts/Prcls

    2,417,327,083

    753,558,726

    31.173%

    438,848,135

    395,993,926

    143,679,523

    252,314,403

    57.495%

    1,663,768,357

    68.827%

    Dest Entry 2-Day

    1,314,038,200

    609,879,203

    46.413%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    0

    Unable to Collect


    704,158,997

    53.587%

    Dest Entry 3-5 Day

    1,027,899,958

    125,148,603

    12.175%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    125,148,603

    Unable to Collect


    902,751,355

    87.825%

    Dest Entry 5-Day +

    21,769,668

    3,452,929

    15.861%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    3,452,929

    Unable to Collect


    18,316,739

    84.139%

    End-to-End 3-5 Day

    Unable to Collect

    13,048,729


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    13,048,729

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 6-10 Day

    Unable to Collect

    1,987,051


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    1,987,051

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 11-Day +

    Unable to Collect

    42,211


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    42,211

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    CR (Flts/Ltrs)

    1,067,295,903

    779,798,515

    73.063%

    1,041,140,875

    1,032,509,735

    779,798,515

    252,711,220

    24.273%

    287,497,388

    26.937%

    Dest Entry 2-Day

    12,786,233

    0

    0.000%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    0

    Unable to Collect


    12,786,233

    100.000%

    Dest Entry 3-5 Day

    936,583,042

    677,659,797

    72.354%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    677,659,797

    Unable to Collect


    258,923,245

    27.646%

    Dest Entry 5-Day +

    86,011,149

    75,919,285

    88.267%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    75,919,285

    Unable to Collect


    10,091,864

    11.733%

    End-to-End 3-5 Day

    Unable to Collect

    18,826,302


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    18,826,302

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 6-10 Day

    Unable to Collect

    6,116,475


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    6,116,475

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 11-Day +

    Unable to Collect

    1,276,656


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    1,276,656

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    Letters

    10,399,342,099

    8,208,115,247

    78.929%

    9,996,699,583

    9,884,464,373

    8,208,115,247

    1,676,349,126

    16.769%

    2,191,226,852

    21.071%

    Dest Entry 2-Day

    0

    0


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    0

    Unable to Collect


    0


    Dest Entry 3-5 Day

    7,552,137,801

    6,001,885,866

    79.473%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    6,001,885,866

    Unable to Collect


    1,550,251,935

    20.527%

    Dest Entry 5-Day +

    1,188,940,108

    1,108,576,014

    93.241%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    1,108,576,014

    Unable to Collect


    80,364,094

    6.759%

    End-to-End 3-5 Day

    Unable to Collect

    386,393,944


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    386,393,944

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 6-10 Day

    Unable to Collect

    685,768,536


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    685,768,536

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 11-Day +

    Unable to Collect

    25,490,887


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    25,490,887

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    Flats

    610,081,750

    417,658,880

    68.459%

    562,788,168

    541,225,680

    417,658,880

    123,566,800

    21.956%

    192,422,870

    31.541%

    Dest Entry 2-Day

    0

    0


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    0

    Unable to Collect


    0


    Dest Entry 3-5 Day

    295,385,736

    203,183,683

    68.786%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    203,183,683

    Unable to Collect


    92,202,053

    31.214%

    Dest Entry 5-Day +

    123,826,101

    114,990,074

    92.864%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    114,990,074

    Unable to Collect


    8,836,027

    7.136%

    End-to-End 3-5 Day

    Unable to Collect

    25,193,693


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    25,193,693

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 6-10 Day

    Unable to Collect

    72,672,155


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    72,672,155

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End 11-Day +

    Unable to Collect

    1,619,275


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    1,619,275

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    EDDMl

    135,880,275

    82,481,393

    60.702%

    0

    0

    0

    0


    53,398,882

    39.298%

    2-Day

    135,880,275

    82,481,393

    60.702%

    0

    0

    0

    0


    53,398,882

    39.298%

    Periodicals

    909,382,887

    478,000,748

    52.563%

    803,395,161

    674,659,096

    478,000,748

    196,658,348

    24.478%

    431,382,139

    47.437%

    In-County

    108,391,866

    9,492,471

    8.758%

    101,914,015

    Unable to Collect

    9,492,471

    Unable to Collect


    98,899,395

    91.242%

    Dest Entry

    Unable to Collect

    4,019,432


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    4,019,432

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    End-to-End

    Unable to Collect

    5,473,039


    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    5,473,039

    Unable to Collect


    Unable to Collect


    Outside County

    800,991,021

    468,508,277

    58.491%

    701,481,146

    Unable to Collect

    468,508,277

    Unable to Collect


    332,482,744

    41.509%

    Dest Entry

    617,135,149

    392,318,047

    63.571%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    392,318,047

    Unable to Collect


    224,817,102

    36.429%

    End-to-End

    183,855,872

    76,190,230

    41.440%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    76,190,230

    Unable to Collect


    107,665,642

    58.560%

    Package Services

    27,729,454

    3,923,037

    14.148%

    27,377,715

    11,083,124

    3,923,037

    7,160,087

    26.153%

    23,806,417

    85.852%

    BPM Flats

    27,729,454

    3,923,037

    14.148%

    27,377,715

    11,083,124

    3,923,037

    7,160,087

    26.153%

    23,806,417

    85.852%

    Dest Entry

    24,885,689

    3,573,132

    14.358%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    3,573,132

    Unable to Collect


    21,312,557

    85.642%

    End-to-End

    2,843,765

    349,905

    12.304%

    Unable to Collect

    Unable to Collect

    349,905

    Unable to Collect


    2,493,860

    87.696%


    Leo Raymond is Owner, Mailers Hub. He can be reached at lraymond@mailershub.com.

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