The United States Postal Service (USPS; Washington, D.C.) has released its quarterly financial reports, disproving President Donald Trump’s March claims that due to its postage deal with Amazon, the courier loses “$1.50 on average for each package it delivers” for the e-commerce retailer. Trump added, “That amounts to billions of dollars.”
Overall, the postal service saw a $1.3 billion net loss in the quarter, credited to a widespread decline in First Class letter volume and marketing mail – down 700 million pieces (2.1 percent). The agency’s overall revenue grew slightly to $17.5 billion, due to a 5 percent increase in package volume, to some 70 million pieces, reports The Washington Post.
Analysts estimate that Amazon uses USPS for about 40 percent of its shipping, with a postage cost of $2 per package, reportedly lower than rates charged by other package couriers.
Last month President Trump signed an executive order for a review of USPS’s finances and operations, to be lead to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.