Focus on Highway Transportation
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Highway transportation, whether provided by contractors or the Postal Service’s own drivers, is the primary way the Postal Service moves mail between processing facilities and from processing facilities to delivery units. The Postal Service spends more than $6 billion annually on highway contract transportation alone. The OIG frequently conducts work examining the Postal Service’s use of highway transportation.
Network Changes
The Postal Service’s recent initiatives to reduce highway trips and save costs have had some successes. However, OIG audit work found USPS was not measuring cost savings and in some cases service was negatively affected, particularly in rural areas.
Efficiency and Effectiveness
Our review of the Postal Service’s utilization of its trailer space found that nearly one-fifth of facilities were loading trucks below the target utilization goal.
Safety and Security
We uncovered issues with the Postal Service’s oversight of transportation safety and security, finding USPS did not consistently enforce its safety and security policies, did not always include driver’s history in its screening process, and did not previously track contractor accidents and fatalities.
Contracting Practices
We assessed the Postal Service’s freight auction program and found several problems including that USPS was not ensuring suppliers met performance requirements. We also found the Postal Service’s new system for managing transportation contracts was generally effective, but there were opportunities to improve controls over payments to suppliers.
