Looks like it's back to the books for the U.S. Postal Service. The Mailers Council, Washington, DC, the nation's largest coalition of mailers, has released its first quarterly report card on the U.S. Postal Service. And it doesn't look pretty.
The grades, for six different internal productivity measures ranged from a D+ to a B. The grades of four private sector benchmark comparisons were much lower, with the highest grade a C. The grades reflect the Postal Service productivity for each sector.
Each report card will grade the Postal Service's productivity relative to its own performance in previous quarters and to productivity trends in the private sector. The Mailers Council said that by highlighting such trends the Postal Service can achieve greater productivity growth, thereby reducing the frequency and size of postage rate increases.
For example, the delivery rating of C- is not a grade based on whether the Postal Service carrier consistently delivers letters at the expected time each day, it is a grade that indicates whether the Postal Service is improving the productivity of all employees working in the delivery area.
The grades were as follows for internal productivity:
* Revenue per work hour: D+
* Volume per work hour: D+
* Unit labor costs: C
* Mail Processing: B
* Delivery: C-
* Retail services: C
The grades for private sector benchmark comparison are:
* Similar Activities: C-
* Non-durable manufacturing: C-
* Mature and emerging substitutes: C
* Major postal user groups: C-
"Mailers Council members are interested in restraining postal costs to ensure postage rate stability," executive director Robert E. McLean said in a statement. "The council believes that placing an emphasis on productivity is the key to rate stability."
Each quarterly report card will help highlight--for postal management, for users of postal services and for the public generally--the status of postal productivity performance, in relation both to recent Postal Service trends and to productivity trends in the private sector, the council said.
The Report Cards are produced by the Mailers Council, a coalition of over 50 corporations, nonprofit organizations and major mailing associations. Collectively the council accounts for nearly 70% of the nation's mail volume, the council said.
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