- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday said it lost $1.7 billion for the fiscal
year ended September as the Sept. 11 attacks and a slumping economy caused
mail volume to fall for the first time in a decade.
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- The loss for the fiscal year dwarfs a $199 million
shortfall
a year earlier.
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- Mail volume fell 420 million pieces to 207.5 billion
with deliveries declining across all categories of mail except first class,
which rose a meager one-tenth of one percent.
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- "The combined effects of (Sept. 11 and a weak
economy)
have had a severe and profound effect on the Postal Service," said
Robert Rider, chairman of the Postal Service's Board of Governors.
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- The financial condition of the post office was already
shaky before the Sept. 11 attacks by hijacked airliners, which disrupted
deliveries by delaying transport at home and abroad, and the discovery
of anthrax-contaminated mail that began in October.
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- Competition from electronic mail, rising expenses and
a smaller-than-expected increase in stamp prices earlier this year had
already combined to pinch finances.
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- Now the post office faces new costs from the anthrax
threat as it scrambles to ensure workers' safety and install new technology
to sanitize the mail.
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- "The last eight weeks have been the most difficult
in our history," Postmaster General John Potter said.
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- Potter told Congress last month that the service needed
an immediate $2 billion to cover lost revenues and saw at least $3 billion
in costs for cleaning up anthrax spores, purchasing mail-sanitizing
equipment
and instituting other preventive measures.
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- The post office is continuing to explore the
effectiveness
of several irradiation and gas sanitation methods to clean mail.
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- Potter said he and other postal officials have been in
''regular contact'' with members of Congress and the Bush administration,
and they remain confident the extraordinary costs incurred after Sept.
11 will be addressed.
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- The Postal Service said it financial woes could linger
well into next year.
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- It was already on track to lose an estimated $1.35
billion
in its 2002 fiscal year prior to the attacks in Washington and New York,
and has applied for a 3-cent increase in the price of a regular
stamp.
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- The board is seeking a decision on the postage increase
by December 28 so it can pursue other options to shore up its financial
situation if necessary.
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- Postage increases must be approved by the independent
Postal Rate Commission.
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