Washington — The Postal Service is freezing new construction and leasing for hundreds of planned projects across the country, saying the agency is facing serious financial losses.
The announcement Thursday was accompanied by a warning from the postal governing board that universal service to every home every day could be in danger without changes to the laws that regulate operation.
More than 800 planned projects in all states will be affected by the freeze. Postal officials didn't provide a dollar estimate for the affected work.
While first-class mail went up a penny to 34 cents in January, several increases in other types of mail that had been sought by the agency were rejected or trimmed by the independent Postal Rate Commission. With rising costs, postal officials now say they face a $2 billion to $3 billion loss this fiscal year. They are planning to apply this summer for another rate increase to take effect next year.
After five years in the black, the post office had a $199 million loss last fiscal year.
Among the problems cited by the Postal Service are wage-rate increases that exceed the rate of inflation, escalating fuel costs, changes in the type of mail being processed, a communications marketplace marked by increased competition and forecasts calling for the diversion of some first-class mail to electronic alternatives.
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