How to Save the Post Office Big Bucks? Slower Mail

Postal service may be enshrined in the US Constitution, but the clause doesn't say anything about how fast that service needs to be. Now, with revenues plummeting, US Postal Service officials are thinking about slowing delivery speeds for first-class and Priority Mail, a move that a new study says would save the USPS $1.5 billion a year. The Washington Post reports that officials are taking a serious look at the idea, and that a schedule-related announcement could come as soon as next month.

First-class and Priority Mail generally arrive in two to three days; tacking a day onto that schedule would allow the USPS to cut overnight and Sunday shifts, saving it $336 million. Another $1.1 billion would be saved through moves like doing more deliveries by ground instead of air. "Some of the Postal Service’s largest business mailers have stated that they value consistency over speed and they would tolerate slightly slower service to save costs," said the report. (More USPS stories.)