Despite our mandate to be financially self-
sufficient, in FY2020, the Postal Service recorded
a net loss of $9.2 billion, adding to 14 years of
losses totaling $87 billion as shown in Figure 10.
Absent substantial changes, our financial losses
will continue to grow, and our ability to invest in
the future of the organization will continue to be
severely curtailed.
• The Postal Service has had to substantially
curtail investments to preserve liquidity,
leading to prolonged underinvestment in our
infrastructure and network and a resultant
failure to address changing market needs.
• Our long-term financial sustainability is burdened
by more than $152 billion in unfunded liabilities,
including unfunded liabilities for our retirement-
related accounts, as of September 30, 2020.
• Our existing payment obligations greatly
exceed our cash balance; if we were
to fulfill these obligations, we would be
financially insolvent.
• Service through ground transportation has
historically outperformed air. in FY2019,
First-Class Mail transported via ground
transportation met 92.0 percent on-time
performance while First-Class Mail transported
via air transportation met 89.4 percent
on-time performance