FIRST-CLASS LETTERS, WORSE AND WORSE.
Can I just re-use a line from last week? “First-Class Mail performance continued at the pace we have been seeing in 2024.” Less than 80% of First-Class letters were on time. Transit times continue to deteriorate, with First-Class letters taking, on average, 4.39 days to deliver. Here’s an all-caps worthy bit: 7.78% OF FIRST-CLASS LETTERS WERE MORE THAN 5 DAYS LATE. Worst ever…so far.
Let’s think about that a minute. If you mail a First-Class letter from Cleveland, OH to Fresno, CA, the service standard is five days. Right now, there is a nearly 8% chance that it will take more than ten days to deliver.
First-Class flats look good, but that is an anomaly, I’m afraid – that was almost entirely one large mailing we tracked from Anaheim to destinations in California. So, if you’re mailing flats in California, to other places in California, you have reason for optimism. Other than that, things are little changed. We expect First-Class flats to return to mean next week, but we are always hopeful.
Marketing Mail remains the Steady-Eddie of mail performance, with both letters and flats better than 96% on time. USPS seems to have the last mile down – it’s just all those other miles that are a struggle.
