While tomorrow is officially Election Day, millions of Americans have already voted through early, in-person voting or voting by mail. And we, the U.S. Postal Service OIG, have taken steps to help ensure ballots are being handled properly by the Postal Service.
The U.S. Postal Service we know today looks much different than it did a century ago. Its delivery network — including curbside mailboxes and delivery vehicles — was originally designed to deliver letters.
With the explosive growth of ecommerce over recent years, the Postal Service finds itself focusing more on delivering packages to mailboxes and front doors across the country. The Postal Service delivered about 6 billion packages in 2019, doubling its volume over a decade.
Ever wonder where parcels go if the labels fall off? Or what happens if a package is undeliverable?
The U.S. Postal Service’s Mail Recovery Center (MRC) serves as the “lost and found” center for the Postal Service, receiving items determined to be undeliverable for a number of reasons. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, the MRC received 67 million items from post offices and other facilities around the country. While that’s a large number, it’s a small fraction of a percent of the 142 billion mailpieces the Postal Service delivered that same year.
As we release our Fall Semiannual Report to Congress (SARC) highlighting our work from April 1 through September 30 of this year, the country still finds itself amid a global health crisis that has impacted just about all aspects of American life, including the bedrock of any democracy — the...
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Many of you likely use Global Position System (GPS) on a regular basis, driving to someplace new or maybe using a GPS-driven app to avoid traffic. But did you know the Postal Service uses GPS to manage its highway transportation contracts?
In 2016, the Postal Service implemented a new...
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While many of you may have experienced going to your local post office and picking up some free packaging — a box, envelope, or tube, maybe — you may not know that you can order the same supplies and have them delivered to your front door.
Through its Expedited Packaging Supplies (EPS)...
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The Postal Service uses contracted Go Anywhere Highway Contract Route (HCRs) services to transport mail and other products between plants and other designated stops. This contractual arrangement allows HCR suppliers to travel anywhere within the continental U.S based on the mail transportation...
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The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is responsible for ensuring Postal Service employees’ safety and the security of the mail. During the pandemic, there have been some indications of increased levels of mail theft and mail fraud as reported by the OIG's Hotline and the Postal Inspection Service...
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Highway Contract Route (HCR) suppliers provide contracted transportation service based on established scheduled hours for the drivers to complete the trip. The times for the trip are manually entered in the system. Incorrect entries may result in inaccurate payment, increasing transportation...
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