Delivery Change
Mail volume declines driving route adjustments
As the economy declines, so does mail volume. And that affects carrier routes. As part of USPS efforts to tighten costs across the organization,
we’re working to make route adjustments that reflect the current economic reality.
In October 2008, the National Association of Letter Carriers — the union representing city carriers on more than 160,000 routes — and the Postal
Service reached a historic agreement on streamlining the process by which letter carrier routes are adjusted. The new process enables speedier,
data-driven workload evaluations and adjustments, so that if mail volume declines or grows significantly, USPS can quickly respond to the changes.
Thousands of routes across the country will be evaluated by the end of 2008. Most of the changes resulting from those evaluations will take place
in January 2009. The adjustments will consolidate deliveries onto fewer routes and result in the elimination of some assignments. Some customers
will be assigned a new mail carrier and a different delivery time during the day.
These changes to city routes, and changes coming from the evaluations of rural routes scheduled for February and March, will cause changes in
carrier-route and sequencing data each month through April 2009. Presorted mail that is not aligned with these changes will require additional
processing, especially mail that is drop-shipped to delivery units. To avoid the cost of reworking that mail, the Postal Service will be posting a
schedule of ZIP Code updates on its RIBBS website at ribbs.usps.gov. Mailers also can contact their local district office for current information,
and are encouraged to update their mailing lists as frequently as is appropriate.
As everyone in the mailing industry deals with the current tough economy, you can depend on the Postal Service commitment to providing great
service at affordable prices.