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To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (1516)	10/13/2012 10:11:44 PM
From: Sam	2 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3363

You only say that because you tend to believe that no govt operation can reform itself as a matter of principle. The Postal Service has been reducing head count for quite awhile now. They also have reduced post office sites and would have reduced more but congressmen didn't want sites in their districts closed, lol--everyone says that their sites are necessary, take them out of other districts. Yes, they are obviously facing issues besides the pension payouts, the internet and email has done hurt them just like it has hurt many other businesses. But the financial crisis that they are currently facing would not be severe if they weren't being to forced to overfund their pension, unlike every other agency in govt, not to mention a majority of states out there. If private equity was given carte blanche, they not only wouldn't be making those pension payouts, the pension plan would be closed, and the PE people would take a huge payout for themselves for their "management genius" in closing down the pension. That said, the Postal Service is being advised by Lazard on how to restructure. A Reality Check on Postal Service Finances Ron Bloom Posted: 09/30/2012 8:12 pm huffingtonpost.com For the third quarter of its 2012 fiscal year, the United States Postal Service reported a net loss of $5.2 billion and projected continuing large losses and "very low levels of cash" for the remainder of the fiscal year. With that came news that the Postal Service had failed to make a $5.5 billion dollar payment to the Treasury Department. An additional $5.6 billion payment was missed today. This report and the missed payments fed the narrative of the Postal Service as a dying institution, hopelessly ill-equipped to adapt to the digital age, with the inevitable government bailout at taxpayer expense soon at hand. Yet the Postal Service could have instead chosen to report that its operating revenue was stable and that its operating losses were smaller than forecast and improved from the same period last year. And they could have also pointed out that the decline in first-class mail volume and revenue was smaller than expected and that Shipping Services achieved dramatic record growth. Why this disconnect? There are many reasons, but by far the most important is that the Postal Service's losses are largely the product of a congressional mandate imposed on no other public or private enterprise in America. Since 2006, Congress has forced the Postal Service to make enormous annual contributions into a fund for future retiree health benefits, including the $5.5 billion and $5.6 billion mentioned above. In fact, since they began, these payments have accounted for more than 80 percent of the Postal Service's losses. It is worth noting that the Postal Service's pension funds are overfunded and the retiree health care fund -- into which these payments are transferred -- currently contains almost $45 billion dollars, enough to pay retiree health costs for decades to come. This congressional mandate is the cause of the "crisis" facing the Postal Service, and it has nothing to do with operations, decreasing mail volume, or the Internet. That is not to say that the Postal Service has no problems. Clearly, it does. First-class mail, long the major revenue source for the Postal Service, is declining as people and businesses shift communications from paper to various electronic forms. If it is to survive, the Postal Service needs to undergo a major re-think of its business model and a major restructuring of its operations and costs. The tragedy here is that this congressionally mandated "crisis" is being used to support, not a thoughtful restructuring, but a dismantling of the Postal Service's network -- the very thing around which the Postal Service could be rebuilt. The Postal Service's "shrink to survive" strategy -- eliminating routes, closing post offices, stopping Saturday service and slowing mail delivery -- will not work. It will only reduce mail use and mail volumes. In the first ten months of this fiscal year, the Postal Service saw a 56 percent increase over the prior year in the volume of its Shipping Services, which includes Priority Mail, Express Mail, Parcel Select and certain other parcel products. The shippers who utilize Postal Service products do so precisely because of the breadth and depth of the postal network. It is this last mile network -- reaching 150 million homes and businesses six days a week -- that is the Postal Service's greatest strength and that a national economy like ours must preserve. Even firms like FedEx and UPS rely upon it to complete their deliveries. No one has figured out a way to deliver packages over the Internet; with the continued explosive growth of e-commerce, this opportunity will only expand in the years ahead. Lazard, on behalf of the National Association of Letter Carriers, has released two reports this year laying out our concerns about what is happening to the Postal Service and outlining the key elements of a comprehensive solution. In these reports we point out, based on our extensive experience in restructuring large and complex enterprises, that the key to virtually every successful private-sector restructuring is shared sacrifice -- by customers, creditors, management, employees and all other stakeholders. Unfortunately, the Postal Service's current business plan is based on one-sided employee sacrifice that will not only lead to the loss of jobs and benefits but also will inevitably degrade the last-mile network. Sacrifices will be required of the Postal Service, but hacking away at its core strength will not solve the problem. Instead, it would tear down a network that has taken more than two centuries to build. Americans should demand better. Ron Bloom is a Vice-Chairman, U.S. Investment Banking, at Lazard. Lazard, whose professionals have been involved since 1990 in over 250 restructurings representing more than $1 trillion in debtor assets, currently serves as financial adviser to the National Association of Letter Carriers in connection with its dealings with the Postal Service.

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (1516)	10/14/2012 2:01:05 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 3363

I agree Glen. It's probably got something to due with the Internet causing obsolescence. Can we blame the Govt for that. Did they build it ? <g>. I just think there's less traditional letter mailings now, more paying bills, and other business transactions being done online. RE: TV Commercials I saw. Seems to me the USPS is targeting mail marketing & packaging now. IMO (tied in)why commercial printing is dying a slow death. The biggest commercial printer R.R. Donnelley prints phone books. How many use the phone books any more? Many past printed items can now be viewed on the internet. Are Xerox, HP & Kodak (Next Press) going to be selling as much small specialized printing equipment? This when someone can now download books on the Nook or Kindle. I know documents & books still need to be printed, but with Lexmark & Kodak exiting their PC printing business. I think this is an indicator to where the trend is headed. IMO-Just store it somewhere on a cloud till it needs to be printed. I've not see US Environmentalist cheering the less use of paper. Also IMO the less pollution released now than in the past. Due to the US loosing are MFG base to China and other foreign countries. I believe this will create more opportunities for some US companies selling pollution control equipment and related services. This to China and abroad. FWIW- I own CECO Environmental Corp for this purpose. I think Mexico ,China and other newly industrialized countries have some of the biggest problems to deal with. I'm not sure about mandated foreign regulation imposed on industry. However, I'm fairly sure both have situations worst than Love Canal in Niagara Falls area ever was.

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (1516)	11/16/2012 1:37:54 AM
From: richardred	2 Recommendations Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 3363

U.S. Postal Service has record loss, may face cash shortfall WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service reported a record annual loss on Thursday and warned that, without congressional action, it could face a cash shortfall next fall. The mail service said it lost $15.9 billion in the fiscal year that ended on September 30. That is more than triple its $5.1 billion loss last year. The USPS, which relies on the sale of stamps and other products rather than taxpayer dollars, has been grappling for years with high costs and tumbling mail volumes as consumers communicate more online. In September, the Postal Service hit its $15 billion borrowing limit for the first time in its history. That leaves it with few options if it suffers an unexpected shock, such as a slowdown if lawmakers are unable to prevent the year-end tax increases and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff." "When you've got a $65 billion revenue business and you are looking at the potential of this fiscal cliff, of course that may have an impact on advertising and whatnot, which could hurt us," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said on Thursday. "That's why we're saying let's get this thing done now ... and get us off of our own personal, postal fiscal cliff." Much of the Postal Service's loss in 2012 came from two defaults on a total of more than $11 billion in payments that Congress had directed USPS to pay into a fund for future retiree health benefits. The agency was unable to make the payments, but still must account for them in financial statements. Postal officials want Congress to pass legislation that would allow the agency to end Saturday mail delivery and run their own health plan rather than enrolling USPS employees in federal health programs, among other things. Lawmakers have been working for more than a year on legislation to overhaul the Postal Service, but have been unable to agree on how to do it. The U.S. Senate passed a bill in April that would eventually let the agency move to five-day delivery. Leaders in the House of Representatives have said that bill would not solve USPS's problems, but they have been unable to pass their own bill. "The Postal Service is facing a fiscal cliff of its own and any unanticipated drop in mail volumes could send the agency over the edge," said Art Sackler of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, which represents business mailers. "If Congress fails to act, there could be postal slowdowns or shutdowns that would have catastrophic consequences for the 8 million private sector workers whose jobs depend on the mail." Lawmakers have said they are working to finish up postal legislation during the current "lame duck" session. "RIDICULOUS SITUATION" The Postal Service said total mail volume tumbled to 159.9 billion pieces in 2012, a 5 percent dip from 168.3 billion pieces a year ago. While email has eaten away at mail volumes, online shopping has proved a boon for the package business as the Postal Service delivers items ordered from e-Bay Inc, Amazon.com Inc and others. The agency said package revenue rose by $926 million, or 8.7 percent, during the year. Postal officials expect this trend to continue. Last week, Donahoe announced that the agency expects package deliveries during the 2012 holiday season to jump 20 percent compared with the same period in the previous year. Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett said USPS could have a cash shortfall in October 2013. "It's a ridiculous situation quite frankly to be put in," Corbett said. "There is no other well-run commercial organization with commercial freedoms that would allow themselves to operate on a couple days' cash flow. We need a buffer against any potential downturn." finance.yahoo.com