Monthly Archives: February 2014

Yes, I Do (Wedding)

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yesidoFrom the March 6th Postal Bulletin:

Stamp Announcement 14-16: Yes, I Do
©2014 USPS

On March 21, 2014, in Saint Louis Missouri, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the Yes, I Do 70-cent definitive stamp, in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 587600).

The stamp will go on sale nationwide March 21, 2014.

The U.S. Postal Service continues its celebration of weddings with its most recent addition to the popular Weddings series, the Yes, I Do stamp, first issued in 2013. Sold at the two-ounce stamp rate, Yes, I Do accommodates the heavier weight of an invitation, as well as other mailings such as oversized cards or small gifts that require extra postage. The stamp highlights the words ìYes, I Doî nestled in a bouquet of flowers in the shape of a heart on a white background. A similarly designed companion stamp, Where Dreams Blossom’a Forever stamp first issued in 2013’is available for response cards, save-the-date notices, thank-you notes, and other correspondence. The stamp artwork was designed by Michael Osborne under the direction of Ethel Kessler.

Distribution: Item 587600, 70-cent Yes, I Do PSA Pane of 20 Stamps

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Yes, I Do stamp
Retail Manager
Clayton Post Office
7750 Maryland Ave
Clayton, MO 63105

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by May 21, 2014.

Philatelic Products:

There are eight philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
* 587610*, Keepsake (Pane of 20, 1 DCP), $15.95.
* 587616*, First-Day Cover, $1.14.
* 587621*, Digital Color Postmark, $1.85.
* 587631*, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
* 587632*, Stamp Deck Card with Digital Color Postmark, $2.20

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Yes, I Do Stamp
Item Number: 587600
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series:
Issue Date & City: March 21, 2014, St Louis, MO 63155
Designer: Michael Osborne
Art Director: Ethel Kessler
Typographer: Michael Osborne
Artist: Michael Osborne
Engraver:
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset Microprint
Printer: Ashton Potter
Printed at: Williamsville, NY
Press Type: Vari-size Security Press
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 20 million stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III Blocked Tagged
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Williamsville, NY
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42 x 0.84 in./36.07 x 21.34 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 0.98 in./39.62 x 24.89 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.15 x 5.92 in./181.61 x 150.37 mm
Press Sheets (w x h): 21.45 x 17.76 in./ 544.83 x 451.10 mm
Plate Size: 180 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: ìPî followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate numbers in four corners of pane
Back: © 2012 USPS ï USPS logo ï Plate position diagram * Barcode (587600) in upper right and lower left corners of pane * Promotional text ï Website information

The U.S. Stamp Program Leaks Again

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I’ve now studied the list of upcoming stamp subjects published by The Washington Post, and a number of thoughts come to mind.

First, there’s a word missing: “Possibly,” as in “possibly upcoming.” It strikes me as one of those lists you draw up in a “blue sky” meeting, where you list all the possibilities. That would explain the still-living former presidents on the list: Their stamps won’t be scheduled until they pass away, not necessarily in 2015 or 2016.

Second, just because a design has been approved doesn’t guarantee a stamp will be issued. Several years ago, the USPS showed us the design for a Spencer Tracy stamp at the annual press preview. Sometime between that event and its first-day ceremony, there was an issue with rights. The stamp was never issued. Or how about the “Just Move” stamps, whose design was approved but flawed. They were printed, but were supposed to be destroyed.

Third, the word “reprint” is incorrect. The denominations will be changed. “Revisions” might be a better word.

Fourth, the woman who wrote the article for the Post, Lisa Rein, apparently isn’t a stamp collector, or she would have known that Janis Joplin, Harvey Milk and some of the other subjects have already been announced or confirmed.

This list is very similar to one published in Linn’s Stamp News a year ago. “Sarah Vaughn” is even misspelled the same way. So whether the same person did the leaking both times, the list itself comes from the same place, whether it’s someone’s briefcase after a CSAC meeting or the wastebasket next to the photocopy machine.

There’s poetic justice in this huge list being leaked: We stamp collectors (and philatelic journalists) aren’t able to get details on what stamps are being issued next month, and here someone has spoiled the Postal Service’s little power-play by giving us three years’ details.

My friend Foster Miller expressed the opinion elsewhere that perhaps leaks like this are the reason the Postal Service isn’t showing us the March 13th Jimi Hendrix stamp design nor has confirmed the Hudson River School American Treasures issue. I think it’s the other way around: When you know information is out there, but isn’t being shared, jyou work a little harder to get it.

I know a number of Postal Service employees who have been dealing with stamp collectors for years, and who feel that withholding this information from collectors and first day cover dealers/servicers is Just Plain Wrong. When they can, some of them pass on this information to us. If they had confidence that it would be provided to the philatelic community on a timely basis, they wouldn’t.

I don’t recall leaks of this magnitude when Steve Kearney or Dave Failor were the heads of Stamp Services. Neither told us everything they knew, both held back a few surprise issues, but most of the information we wanted was given to us in a timely manner, even for those surprises.

The Jimi Hendrix stamp was announced less than three weeks before its first-day. It’s on the Washington Post list, which the paper says was ‘the complete list as of Jan. 7,” more than six weeks before word of the stamp first leaked and was then quickly confirmed. “When were you planning on telling us, folks?”

Regarding the actual subjects listed, I have no major quibbles. I may not collect all of them, but that’s true every year, even before Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe declared a turn toward commercialism. I’m not a big fan of ferns, either, but I don’t mind if they’re in the stamp program.

Most intriguing to me – an avid science fiction reader – is that not only is Science Fiction Writers on next year’s program, but there’s a Science Fiction Writers II on the list. SFW#1 keeps getting pushed back, and yet there’s another set under consideration?

Even Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein can’t predict this stamp program’s future. I’m not sure they would have been able to predict the U.S. stamp program’s present.

Postal Museum Curator Cheryl Ganz to Retire

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[press release]
Dr. Cheryl R. Ganz to Retire
Granted Smithsonian Emerita Statusnpm_Cheryl_R_Ganz

Dr. Cheryl R. Ganz, Chief Curator of Philately and lead curator of the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, will retire at the end of February from the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. Her retirement follows a decade (2005-2014) in which she transformed the vision for philately at the museum and set new international standards for museum postage stamp exhibits. “There will never, ever be another Cheryl,” said Allen Kane, director of the museum.

The Smithsonian Institution grants emeritus status to exceptional employees, who have made significant and lasting contributions to the Smithsonian. Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough has recognized Ganz with the title Curator of Philately Emerita. She is the first National Postal Museum employee to receive this honor.

Ganz’s exhibit strategy of selecting rare philatelic objects and framing them with strong narratives engages a variety of visitors. By organizing exhibits around the idea that “every stamp tells a story,” her exhibits offer a fresh perspective of history and culture and make philately exciting, accessible and engaging for all visitors. Exhibitions, web stories and catalogs that she worked on include Rarity Revealed: The Benjamin K. Miller Collection; Delivering Hope: FDR & Stamps of the Great Depression; Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic; Favorite Finds and Pacific Exchange: China & U.S. Mail. As lead curator of the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, Ganz developed the conceptual plan for the new gallery, incorporating input from over one hundred staff members and stakeholders. She led the museum curatorial, script and content teams in creating the world’s largest postage stamp gallery. The gallery opened to rave reviews in September 2013.

Ganz received the Smithsonian Secretary’s Research Award for the best research book of the year in 2011. Her scholarship previous to working at the museum, combined with museum outreach to various audiences via popular press, academic journals and philatelic publications, has positioned her as a preeminent philatelic researcher and author. Smithsonian Scholarly Press is currently preparing her latest book, Every Stamp Tells a Story: The National Philatelic Collection, for publication in 2014.

Kane has appointed Daniel A. Piazza, curator of philately, as the museum’s interim chair of the department of philately.

The National Postal Museum is devoted to presenting the colorful and engaging history of the nation’s mail service and showcasing one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of stamps and philatelic material in the world. It is located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue N.E., Washington, D.C., across from Union Station. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). For more information about the Smithsonian, please call (202) 633-1000 or visit the museum website at www.postalmuseum.si.edu.

Jimi Hendrix Music Icon

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JimiHendrixThe first-day ceremony for this issue will be held at 8 p.m. CST March 13th at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, although the stamp will go on sale nationwide when local post offices open. The festival’s website says “Free Jimi Hendrix Celebration at Butler Park March 13. SXSW and the United States Postal Service have teamed up to present A Jimi Hendrix Celebration – a free and open to the public showcase.” There more on the SXSW website.

This is the third stamp scheduled for release on that date; the others are the USS Arizona Express Mail and “Chief” Anderson.

The design may not be released officially until the day of issue, but we have it here. Linn’s Stamp News reports blocks of four stamps will be arranged with the top of Hendrix’s head at the center of the block.

From the March 6th Postal Bulletin: Order #588000

On March 13, 2014, in Austin, Texas, the Postal Service will issue a Jimi Hendrix (Forever priced at 49 cents) commemorative First-Class mail stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 16 stamps (Item 588000). The $7.84 Jimi Hendrix pane of 16 stamps may not be split, and the stamps may not be sold individually.

The stamp will go on sale nationwide March 13, 2014.

Guitarist, songwriter, and singer Jimi Hendrix (1942?1970) was one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. Combining influences from rock, modern jazz, soul, and the blues with his own innovations, Hendrix created a unique style that influenced musical artists of his era and continues to inspire musicians into the 21st century. This is the fourth issuance in the Music Icons series. The stamp pane, designed to resemble a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve, features a painting of Hendrix’s face surrounded by colorful swirls and small icons that reference song lyrics or aspects of Hendrix’s life. The stamp art shows Hendrix in performance. Text below the stamps briefly describes Hendrix’s musical legacy. Rudy Guttierez created original art for the stamp and the stamp pane. Art director Greg Breeding was the designer.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

hendrix dcpJimi Hendrix Station
Postmaster
8225 Cross Park Drive
Austin, TX† 78710-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by May 12, 2014. The Digital Color Postmark design shown in the USPS.com store is shown on the right.

Philatelic Products
There are sixteen philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
• 588006*, Press sheet with die cuts, $70.56 (print quantity of 2,500)
• 588008*, Press Sheet without die cuts, $70.56 (print quantity of 2,500)
• 588010*, Keepsake (Pane of 16, 1 DCP), $9.95
• 588016*, First-Day Cover, $0.93
• 588018*, Full Pane First Day Cover, $10.34
• 588019*, Cancelled Full Pane, $10.34
• 588021*, Digital Color Postmark, $1.64
• 588024*, Framed Art, $39.95
• 588025*, Poster with First Day Cover, $14.95
• 588026*, T-shirt (med) with First Day Cover, $17.95
• 588027*, T-shirt (large) with First Day Cover, $17.95
• 588028*, T-shirt (XL) with First Day Cover, $17.95
• 588029*, T-shirt (XXL) with First Day Cover, $17.95
• 588030*, Ceremony Program, $6.95
• 588031*, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
• 585032*, Stamp Deck Card with Digital Color Postmark, $1.99

Technical Specifications:
Issue: Jimi Hendrix Stamp
Item Number: 588000
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 16 (1 design)
Series: Music Icon
Issue Date & City: March 13, 2014, Austin TX 78710
Designer: Greg Breeding
Art Director: Greg Breeding
Typographer: Greg Breeding
Artist: Rudy Gutierrez
Engraver:
Modeler: Donald Woo
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 16
Print Quantity: 60 million stamps
Paper Type: Overall Prephosphor
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Browns Summit, NC
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Square
Image Area (w x h): 1.09 x 1.09 in./27.5 x 27.6 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.22 x 1.22 in./31.1 x 31.1 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.0 x 7.0 in./177.9 x 177.9 mm
Plate Size: 108 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: none
Marginal Markings: Jimi Hendrix • Header • © 2014 USPS • USPS logo • Jimi Hendrix Bio • Barcode (588000) • Promotional text

Tree postal card

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Tree-Stamped-CardLinn’s Stamp News (March 3, 2014 issue) reports a non-denominated Forever postal card will be issued March 28th, at the American Stamp Dealers Association Spring Postage Stamp Show in New York. There were no details on the design, or the exact formats (single, reply, sheets of 40) will be issued.

This was confirmed in the March 6th Postal Bulletin:
Stamp Announcement 14-20: Tree Stamped Card
© 2014 USPS

On March 28, 2014, New York, New York, at the American Stamp Dealers Association Spring Postage Stamp Show held at the New Yorker Hotel, the Postal Service will issue a Tree stamped card (Forever priced at 38 cents) in one design.

In 2014, the U.S. Postal Service issues a Tree Stamped Card. This graphic depiction captures the look of a fanciful tree, in greens and browns, amid birds and tall grasses. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamped card, using an illustration created by artist Cathie Bleck.

The Tree stamped card will be available in the following formats:
• Single-cut cards (Item 227900).
• Double-reply cards (Item 233000).
• Sheet of 40 cards (Item 234000).

The stamp will go on sale nationwide March 28, 2014.

Distribution: Multiple Items: Tree Stamped (Forever priced at 38 cents (34 cent postage plus 4-cent surcharge)

• Item number 227900, single card, Quantity 5,000
• Item number 233000, double reply card, Quantity 2,000
• Item number 234000, sheet card, Quantity 250 (of 40 cards)

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Tree Stamped Card
Special Events Coordinator
380 West 33rd St. Room 4032
New York NY 10199

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by May 27, 2014.

Philatelic Products:
• 227916*, single card with cancellation, $0.50
• 233016*, double reply card with cancellation, $0.88

Technical Specifications:
Issue: Tree Stamped Card
Item Number: 227900
Denomination & Type of Issue: 38-cent Stamped Card Forever
Format: Single Cut Cards
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: March 28, 2014, New York, NY 10199
Designer: Ethel Kessler
Art Director: Ethel Kessler
Typographer: Ethel Kessler
Artist: Cathie Bleck,
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter
Printed at: Williamsville, NY
Press Type: Stevens, Vari-size Security Press
Print Quantity: 13,960,000 stamped cards
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block
Adhesive Type: N/A
Processed at: Ashton Potter
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Image Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): N/A
Card Size (w x h): 5.5 x 3.5 in./139.70 x 88.90 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): N/A
Plate Size: 18 cards per revolution
Plate Numbers: N/A
Marginal Markings: © 2014 USPS • Recycling logo

Technical Specifications:
Issue: Tree Stamped Card
Item Number: 233000
Denomination & Type of Issue: 38-cent Stamped Card Forever
Format: Double Reply Cards
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: March 28, 2014, New York, NY 10199
Designer: Ethel Kessler
Art Director: Ethel Kessler
Typographer: Ethel Kessler
Artist: Cathie Bleck
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter
Printed at: Williamsville, NY
Press Type: Mueller Martini, A76
Print Quantity: 300,000 double-reply cards
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block
Adhesive Type: N/A
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Image Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): N/A
Card Size (w x h): 5.5 x 7.0 in./139.70 x 177.80 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): N/A
Plate Size: 12 cards per revolution
Plate Numbers: N/A
Marginal Markings: © 2014 USPS • Recycling logo

Technical Specifications:
Issue: Tree Stamped Card
Item Number: 234000
Denomination & Type of Issue: 38-cent Stamped Card Forever
Format: Sheet of 40 Cards
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: March 28, 2014, New York, NY 10199
Designer: Ethel Kessler
Art Director: Ethel Kessler
Typographer: Ethel Kessler
Artist: Cathie Bleck
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter.
Printed at: Williamsville, NY
Press Type: Heidelberg Speedmaster XL105
Print Quantity: 19,500 (sheets of 40)
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block
Adhesive Type: N/A
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Image Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): N/A
Card Size (w x h): 5.5 x 3.5 in./139.70 x 88.90 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): N/A
Plate Size: 40 cards per revolution
Plate Numbers: N/A
Marginal Markings: © 2014 USPS • Recycling logo

“Superstar of the Stamp World” Goes On The Block In June

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British_Guiana_13The 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta will be offered at an auction in New York on June 17th. Sotheby’s, which is handling the sale, predicts it will sell for $10-20 million dollars.

“This is the superstar of the stamp world,” David Redden, Sotheby’s worldwide chairman of books and manuscripts, told the Associated Press.

The stamp hasn’t been on public display since 1986.

“It’s a stamp the world of collectors has been dying to see for a long time,” said U.S. National Postal Museum director Allen Kane.

It is now being sold by the estate of John du Pont, the eccentric heir to the chemical fortune who was convicted of the murder of a wrestling coach. Some of the proceeds to the Eurasian Pacific Wildlife Conservation Foundation that du Pont championed during his lifetime.

Kennedy Nominated for USPS Board

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President Obama is nominating Vicki Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors. The 59-year-old attorney also serves on the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts board, and is an activist for gun control. She has been asked to run for her late husband’s Senate seat, but has refused. Sen. Kennedy endorsed Mr. Obama for President in 2008; Mrs. Kennedy endorsed him in 2012.

The USPS Board of Governors functions like a board of directors in a private corporation, appointing the CEO (Postmaster General) and overseeing the agency’s operations and policies.

Surely, Shirley

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The most popular and famous child star ever, Shirley Temple, died recently of natural causes at the age of 85.

Her upbeat, cheerful movies raised spirits during the Depression, and for four years — 1935-1938 — she was the top star in Hollywood, more popular than Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, or anyone else.

Later, after her acting career had petered out, she became active in Republican politics and served twice as a U.S. Ambassador and in other roles for the State Department.

I wouldn’t call myself a Shirley Temple fan, as in fanatic; her stardom was before my time, her film career over by the time I was born. But if there was ever a candidate for a Legends of Hollywood stamp, she is it. Heck, they even named the faux cocktail served to kids after her, the Shirley Temple.

And then I thought, “but will the marketeers who now run the U.S. stamp program see her as commercial enough?” I mean, according to the Washington Post last November, USPS marketing director Nagisa Manabe vetoed a stamp for the great jazz singer Sarah Vaughan because today’s kids don’t know who she was.

Memo to Manabe: I’ll bet most Americans couldn’t tell you who half the people in the Black Heritage series were, or any of the people in the recent sets of stamps honoring design, such as the upcoming Pioneers of Graphic Design. Bradbury Thompson? Isn’t that the furniture store chain? Norman Rockwell makes rocket engines, right? One of the purposes of a nation’s stamps, or at least this nation’s stamps, is to bring to our attention historic figures and subjects about which we ought to know something.

There’s a story that a well-known philatelic editor turned down a chance to edit the book Stamp Collecting for Dummies, because “stamp collecting isn’t for dummies.” He was wrong to turn down the book, but right about who collects stamps: We’re mostly thoughtful people with a sense of history. The kids who will become stamp collectors, and continue philately into adulthood, are mostly thoughtful kids with a sense of history.

Deliver only commercial subjects on our stamps, and you will drive off many of the adults — some are already heading for the exits — and you won’t snare those thoughtful kids with a thirst to learn. Collecting stamps will become another short-lived childhood fad, like Davy Crockett or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

If there’s any justice, we will see a Shirley Temple stamp in a few years, not because it will sell lots of copies, but because it’s right.

Another Record Loss for U.S. Postal Service

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[press release]
U.S. Postal Service Records Loss of $354 Million in First Quarter, Underscoring Need for Comprehensive Legislation
·     Revenue Increases by $334 Million, Driven by 14.1 Percent Growth in Shipping and Package Services; First-Class Mail Continues to Decline
·   Operating Costs decreased by $574 Million
·   Liabilities of $63 Billion Exceed Assets by Approximately $40 Billion

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service ended the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2013 – Dec. 31, 2013) with a net loss of $354 million. This marks the 19th of the last 21 quarters that it has sustained a loss. Though the Postal Service has been able to grow revenue by capitalizing on opportunities in Shipping and Package Services and has aggressively reduced operating costs, losses continue to mount due to the persistent decline of higher-margin First-Class Mail, stifling legal mandates, and its inflexible business and governance models.

“The Postal Service is doing its part within the bounds of law to right size the organization, and I am very proud of the achievements we have made to reduce costs while significantly growing our package business,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe. “We cannot return the organization to long-term financial stability without passage of comprehensive postal reform legislation. We appreciate the efforts of the House and Senate oversight committees to make this happen as soon as possible.”

Without legislative change, the Postal Service will be forced to default on another required $5.7 billion retiree health benefits prefunding payment due by Sept. 30, 2014, because it will have insufficient cash and no ability to borrow additional funds at that date.

The Postal Service will continue to have a low level of liquidity through October 2014. In the event that circumstances leave the Postal Service with insufficient cash, the Postal Service would be required to implement contingency plans to ensure that all mail deliveries continue. These measures could require the Postal Service to prioritize payments to its employees and suppliers ahead of some payments to the federal government, as has been done in the past.

Citing that the Postal Service could not wait for legislation indefinitely, the Postal Service’s Board of Governors directed management in 2013 to accelerate alignment of its operations to further reduce costs and strengthen its finances. The Postal Service leveraged employee attrition and increased use of non-career employees — as provided by new labor agreements — which allowed for better alignment of staffing and workload levels, resulting in reduced labor costs.

“We grew revenue by over $300 million through aggressive marketing and improving service, and we reduced operating costs by $574 million in Quarter 1, partially due to the separation of approximately 22,800 employees in 2013 under a Voluntary Early Retirement program and improved efficiency in our workforce,” said Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Joseph Corbett.

First Quarter Results of Operations Compared to Same Period Last Year

  • Total mail volume of 42.0 billion pieces compared to 43.5 billion pieces
  • First-Class Mail volume declined 4.6 percent.
  • Standard Mail volume declined by 2.8 percent.
  • Shipping and Package volume increased 10.3 percent.
  • Operating revenue of $18.0 billion, an increase of $334 million or 1.9 percent
  • Operating expenses of $18.3 billion compared to $18.9 billion, a decrease of 3.0 percent

Revenue from First-Class Mail, the Postal Service’s most profitable service category, decreased $209 million, or 2.8 percent from the same period last year, with a volume decrease of 817 million pieces, or 4.6 percent. The most significant factors contributing to this decline were the ongoing trends in the mailing behavior of consumers and businesses emanating from the recent recession, and the continuing migration toward electronic communication and transactional alternatives.

The Postal Service’s shipping business continues to show solid growth. Shipping and Package revenue increased $479 million or 14.1 percent over 2013 first quarter results, fueled by the growth of online shopping, Sunday deliveries in limited U.S. markets and the ongoing success of Postal Service campaigns to promote the value of Postal Service shipping services. The Postal Service continues to capitalize on its competitive advantage in providing “last mile” service, resulting in a 34.3 percent increase in revenue from Parcel Return and Parcel Select Service over the same period last year.
Complete financial results are available in the Form 10-Q, available online.