Ep 150: transportation costs in the postal network

The USPS Office of Inspector General recently released a report called What's Driving Postal Transportation Costs? One of the report's authors, USPS OIG senior economist Jennifer Bradley, explains some of the report's findings: Background to the report, including the decline in letters and the growth in input costs The period covered by the report and the potential impact of events such as the GFC and elections The areas that warrant further study Separating transport costs from last mile delivery costs Fixed costs in transporting mail and parcels Air transport costs, service standards, and shifting volume from air to surface Growth in parcels and the impact on transportation costs Route optimisation and reducing transport costs