(Mail)Man Vs. Machine

Federal auditors on Thursday reported that workforce costs at the U.S. Postal Service decreased only slightly this year, despite automation at USPS.

Phillip Herr, director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability Office, testified before Congress,

"USPS's financial condition and outlook continue to be challenging despite recent congressional action that relieved USPS of $4 billion in mandated payments to prefund postal retiree health benefits by September 30, 2009.4 Preliminary results from the end of fiscal year 2009 and USPS' outlook include. . .

Compensation and benefits constitute close to 80 percent of USPS costs--a percentage that has remained similar over the years despite major advances in technology and automating postal operations.

These costs declined by 1.3 percent in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2009 (the most recent data available) as compared to the same time period in fiscal year 2008, in contrast to other costs such as transportation, supplies and services, and depreciation, which together declined 8.2 percent."

In general, GAO found that USPS has not been able to lower costs or generate enough revenue to offset cutbacks in advertising and consumer spending and the ongoing shift to electronic communications.