Today in a bold move that was surprising for many, the Postal Service announced its intent to shift to a five-day mail and six-day package delivery schedule starting the week of August 5, 2013.
The new schedule would consist of mail delivery Monday through Friday, and package delivery Monday through Saturday. Further, mail addressed to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post offices currently open on Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays. The Postal Service expects to generate cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually, once the plan is fully implemented.
In the past the Postal Service has been restricted by legislation from making these types of changes. In a private briefing today Deputy Postmaster General Ron Stroman explained that the Postal Service now believes it has the legal right to implement this change because the six-day language is contained in a continuing resolution that expires in March 2013. With the six-month advance notification, the Postal Service believes it can address any congressional disagreement on the legal justification.
