📦 Amazon just dethroned USPS as America's #1 parcel carrier. Meanwhile USPS is fighting for survival and needs taxpayer dollars to stay alive. The headlines are celebrating, but the real challenges persist. 🚀 First, let's give credit where it's due. Amazon has built one of the most extraordinary supply chains in history: ✅ 1-hour delivery live in hundreds of U.S. cities including LA, Chicago, Houston and D.C. ✅ 90,000+ products eligible, from pantry staples and medications to electronics, 7 days a week ✅ 390,000 drivers, 40,000 semi-trucks, 110 aircraft and 30,000 custom Rivian EVs, with 100,000 committed by 2030 ✅ Over 1 million robots in fulfillment centers. ✅ As a side note, I spotted three Amazon vans at the same traffic light last week Impressive. But it tells us nothing about the health of America's postal infrastructure. 🚨 USPS is in an impossible position • Letter mail has declined nearly 50% since 2007, from 220 billion to 110 billion pieces • USPS pivoted to parcels and eCommerce. Now Amazon, UPS and FedEx are stripping those away too • USPS lost $9B in FY2025, has 33 days of cash on hand and could run dry by February 2027 • It has hired Alvarez & Marsal, the firm called in when companies are mapping out cuts and layoffs 🔍 Surely there is a path forward? The opportunities are real: • 624,000 employees, 50%+ retirement-eligible, a window to right-size through attrition • Autonomous vehicles and drones for last-mile and rural routes • Fully automated sorting facilities with robotics already being piloted today • Fewer post offices, more virtual services, kiosks and digital mail management But the obstacles are enormous: • Shackled by federal law, union contracts and a price-capped regulatory system • The bold decisions any private turnaround demands are nearly impossible here • Without fundamental reform, efficiency gains will never be enough 📬 The postal service is the connective tissue of American democracy. Ballots, prescriptions, government checks and legal notices depend on it. No private carrier will ever take that on. Let's hope Congress recognizes the immense structural challenges and technological opportunities this year. USPS doesn't need another bandaid, it requires major surgery. #USPS #Amazon #LastMile #SupplyChain #Transportation #Truckl
Dr Chris - great analysis and comparative discussion comparing third party carriers and the USPS. I too want and need the government delivery BUT nobody wants the low density deliveries and the rural routes are very expensive (back to my home delivery days). The USPS has made strategic and high cost cap ex poor decisions the last ten years and is facing even greater debt load higher than you are suggesting (labor contracts, long term debt, slave to the constitution - for a few more constraints). Then there is quality and service with a poor work culture - according to audits of USPS distribution centers the service level is around 80-85% - totally unacceptable. So in affect the USPS will be bankrupt next year - Congress is not the solution - the USPS is based on legislation that celebrates 250 years of democracy in a few months 8-)
first things first. before you compare the USPS to Amazon, level the playing field. legislatively mandate that Amazon must deliver to anyone, anywhere
All the postal operators are struggling...
Messiah Lutheran Church•448 followers
4dPersonally, I would be fine with the USPS delivery of 2 times per week. There is so much junk, bulk mail being delivered it has to be making deliveries a difficult logistics issue. Most of the advertising ends up in the recycle bin anyway since the internet provides access for researching deals and shopping. The infrastructure required to continue to meet universal delivery to every address is rather astounding. Hopefully autonomous delivery will help but also bulk rates for advertising and soliciting need to go up