U.S. Postal Service reports $1.3 billion 2nd quarter loss

May 11 (UPI) — The U.S. Postal Service on Friday reported a second-quarter net loss that soared to $1.3 billion, up from $562 million a year ago.

The Postal Service also reported a controllable loss of $656 million versus a controllable profit of $12 million a year ago. It attributed the controllable loss to rising costs in retiree health benefits, compensation expenses and an increase in transportation expenses.

Controllable income does not account for non-recurring items and expenses outside of management control.

Revenue from shipping and packages grew by $445 million, or 9.5 percent, but first-class and marketing mail revenue fell by a combined $181 million compared to last year’s second quarter, according to the report.

“Despite growth in our package business, our financial results reflect systemic trends in the marketplace and the effects of an inflexible, legislatively mandated business model that limits our ability to generate sufficient revenue and imposes costs upon us that we cannot afford,” Postmaster General Megan Brennan said.

In view of mounting financial losses, President Donald Trump last month announced the formation of a new task force to examine the operations model of the USPS.

Trump signed an executive order to form the panel, days after he blasted online retailer Amazon for making the USPS its “delivery boy.”

The USPS has incurred $65 billion in cumulative losses since the Great Recession and has been unable to make payments required by law for its retiree health benefit obligations, which totaled more than $38 billion at the end of 2017.