Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Postal Service posted a net loss of $437 million for January due to dwindling first-class mail usage and higher personnel costs. Overall revenue rose, however, driven by other product categories.
January volume of first-class mail, the Postal Service's most profitable product, declined by 2.0%, while expenses for compensation and benefits rose 8.7% compared to the year-earlier period.
However, revenue for the month increased 4.4% to $5.6 billion, as standard mail, used most often for advertising, experienced a 4.0% increase in volume and a 2.6% rise in revenue. Periodical mail volume and revenue also rose—2.6% and 2.9%, respectively—and the service's competitive-products category, which includes Express Mail and Priority Mail products, saw a 49.6% increase in volume and a 22.1% rise in revenue.
