The COVID pandemic continues to affect USPS results in both revenue and expenses. While Operating Revenue showed an increased of nearly $2 billion to $73.1 billion over 2019, OperatinSPExpenses for the year increased by $2.3 billion or 2.9% to $82.2 billion. Net loss for 2020 was $9.2 billion, an increase of $363 million over the loss in 2019.
Increases in revenue were driven by Shipping and Packages which increased by $5.8 billion or 25.3 percent.
A 4.2% decline in First Class Mail of 2.3 billion pieces and 15.2% in Marketing Mail of11.5 billion pieces translated to a loss in revenue of $3.1 billion for the two classes. Driven by election and political mail, First Class Mail volume increased toward the end of the year.
Significant increases in expenses were due to COVID and the accompanying upsurge in package volume, including transportation costs, supplies and services such as personal protective equipment, workforce additions, and increased overtime hours and paid sick leave. Contractual wage adjustments and retirement benefits also contributed to increased expenses.
USPS Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett said that future impacts of the pandemic are uncertain, and that, “…while we do believe that our package volumes will remain higher given what looks to be a potential permanent shift in consumer behavior, we do not expect our package revenue growth over the medium-to-long term to make up for our losses in mail service revenue caused by COVID-19.”