The U.S. Postal Service posted a net loss of $384 million for the first quarter, compared to net income of about $672 million in the prior year.
The USPS reported operating revenue of $19.1 billion or the quarter ended Dec. 31, a 6.3 % decline from $20.4 billion the last year.
In addition, the postal service reported a 5.2 billion-piece mail volume decline compared to the same period the prior last year. This 9.3% drop marked the eighth consecutive quarter of accelerating volume declines.
Management attributed these results primarily to current economic conditions.
Specifically, standard mail volume was down 3 billion pieces and first class mail volume dropped by 1.8 billion pieces in the first quarter.
Final first quarter results will be published later this month.
“With no economic recovery expected for the remainder of FY 2009, the Postal Service projects volume for the year will be down by 12 to 15 billion pieces,