USPS took in $588M more from shipping and packages in the quarter ended June 30, a 7.7% gain, while handling 55 million fewer parcels. Postmaster General David Steiner told the Board of Governors on August 7 that the agency still has room to raise prices and that declining to do so would be financially irresponsible. Steiner likened the approach to airlines and grocers, which price to maximize returns rather than units sold. Total operating revenue hit $19.9B, up 6.1%, and the net loss narrowed to $2.5B from $3.1B, though USPS says its liquidity crisis has not eased. Steiner also said no amount of pricing authority fixes a 17-year gap between what the agency spends and what it earns, and that Congress has to rewrite the business model.
