Ep 267: USPS and the USA's big parcel and letter trends

John Callan, CEO at Ursa Major Associates, joins me to talk about the US Postal Service as well as the state of the US letters and parcels markets. We cover: Key takeaways from the Postal Reform Act, including impact on delivery as well as headline financial impacts The new vehicle contract… and electric vehicles! Volatility of fuel prices US parcel volume trends Bringing fulfilment centres closer to the consumer, and issues with 3PLs throttling volumes Carrier consolidation via mergers and acquisitions Consumers demanding greater visibility of their deliveries Are we applying "pizza delivery" standards to products that don't need to be delivered so fast? Microfulfilments centres and dark stores Developments with the USPS Parcel Select service, and FedEx and Amazon trying to shift volumes to their own networks Amazon pumping parcel volumes into its DSP network USPS losing the personal connection with residents - cluster box delivery Letter volume trends Delivery standards Parcel lockers in the USA - can carrier-neutral lockers work in the USA? Why the USPS's own parcel locker network failed