Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $956 million for August, and is on track for a record annual loss with one month to go in its fiscal year.
Overall mail volume was down 4.4% compared with the same month last year. Revenue declined 1.4 %, to $5.4 billion. Standard mail, used most often by commercial mailers, declined 4.9% in volume and 5.3% in revenue.
The sole bright spot for the USPS was shipping services: Total volume was up 55.0% to 228.1 million pieces, with revenue up 22.2% to $968.8 million.
The USPS' August loss was halved from the $1.8 billion loss in same period last year, aided by ongoing reductions in the size of its workforce and the number of processing facilities.
Additionally, the USPS said it will miss a $5.6 billion payment, due Sept. 30, to the U.S. Treasury to prefund retiree health benefits. In July the Postal Service defaulted on a similar contribution.
