U.S. POSTAL 

SERVICE 

Delivery Mode 

Conversions Could 

Yield Large Savings, 

but More Current Data 

Are Needed 

Report to the Chairman, Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform, 

House of Representatives 

May 2014 

GAO-14-444 

United States Government Accountability Office 

This report was revised on May 12, 2014. A sentence in the GAO 

Highlights was corrected to read as follows: “USPS officials 

estimate a new study could be conducted to replace the 1994 

study for a total of about $100,000 to $750,000, depending on the 

extent of the study.” 
United States Government Accountability Office

Highlights of GAO-14-444, a report to the 

Chairman, Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform, House of 

Representatives

May 2014

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE

Delivery Mode Conversions Could Yield Large 

Savings, but More Current Data Are Needed

Why GAO Did This Study

USPS is expected to provide prompt, 

reliable and efficient nationwide service 

while remaining self-supporting, but it

is facing serious fiscal challenges with 

insufficient revenues to cover its 

expenses. Mail delivery is USPS’s 

largest cost area, totaling about $30 

billion annually. Although USPS lacks 

authority to make certain changes that 

could reduce costs, it does have the 

authority to convert from more 

expensive to less expensive delivery 

modes. 

GAO was asked to examine potential 

cost savings and issues related to 

delivery conversion. This report 

discusses: (1) the estimated costs of 

each delivery mode and potential 

savings associated with converting to 

less costly modes and (2) USPS 

actions to convert to less costly 

delivery modes and any impediments 

to conversions. GAO obtained and 

analyzed USPS estimates from fiscal 

years 1994 through 2012 on delivery 

mode costs as well as potential 

savings from conversions to less costly 

modes and determined that the 

estimates have limitations, which we 

discuss in the report. GAO also 

interviewed officials from USPS and 

mailing industry stakeholders.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that USPS collect 

updated data on delivery mode costs 

and the potential savings of converting 

to less costly modes of delivery and 

establish a time frame for publicly 

reporting the results. USPS agreed 

with the recommendation.

What GAO Found

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) estimates of delivery mode costs and potential 

savings from converting to less costly modes show that door-to-door delivery is 

much more costly than delivery to a curbside or centralized mailbox and that 

USPS could achieve large savings by mandating large-scale conversions from 

door delivery to other modes. For fiscal year 2012, USPS estimated average 

annual costs of about $380 per delivery point for door delivery, compared with 

about $240 for delivery to the curb, and about $170 for delivery to a central 

location. USPS also estimated potential ongoing savings of over $2 billion 

annually from mandating conversion of about one-third of door deliveries to other 

modes. However, USPS’s estimates of these specific costs and savings have 

limitations, in part because they rely on data from a 1994 USPS study. In lieu of 

current data, USPS adjusted the 1994 data according to increases in the 

Consumer Price Index—an adjustment that may not have been the same as

changes in USPS delivery costs, which are affected by factors such as increases 

in postal wage rates, postal benefit costs, and gasoline prices. USPS officials 

estimate a new study could be conducted to replace the 1994 study for a total of 

about $100,000 to $750,000, depending on the extent of the study. Without 

current information on costs of delivery modes and on potential savings through 

delivery conversions, USPS and lawmakers may not have an accurate 

understanding of the impact of delivery mode changes on which to base their 

decisions. 

USPS has taken some actions to shift door deliveries to less costly delivery 

modes on a voluntary basis, but it faces stakeholder resistance and other 

impediments to mandatory conversions. USPS revised its regulations in April 

2012 specifying that USPS determines the mode of delivery for new addresses 

and that new addresses must receive less costly modes, such as centralized 

delivery, unless USPS approves an exception. Additionally, USPS implemented

voluntary business conversions in fiscal year 2013. USPS reported that 43,333 

out of about 5.6 million business door delivery points—or about 0.8 percent—

were voluntarily converted in fiscal year 2013. USPS has set a modest goal of 

about 35,000 additional voluntary business conversion goals for fiscal year 2014. 

USPS also converted about 36,302 out of about 32.2 million residential door 

delivery points—or about 0.1 percent—to centralized delivery on a voluntary 

basis in fiscal year 2013. Through the voluntary conversion process, customers 

on a route may choose to maintain door delivery, reducing the number of 

conversions and lowering potential savings. Large-scale mandatory conversions 

have the potential to achieve large savings. However, USPS is reluctant to 

mandate conversions. There is some evidence that USPS would face resistance 

from customers, USPS employees, and mailing industry stakeholders if it were to 

implement mandatory conversion of delivery to less costly modes. Stakeholder 

concerns include personal safety, mail security, and difficulty finding suitable 

urban locations for boxes to deliver mail to a curbside or centralized location.

View GAO-14-444. For more information, 

contact Lorelei St. James at (202) 512-2834 or 

stjamesl@gao.gov.
Page i GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Letter 1

Background 3

USPS Data Have Limitations, but USPS Estimates Large Potential 

Savings from Large-Scale Delivery Mode Conversions 8

USPS Has Taken Some Actions to Shift to Less Costly Delivery 

Modes but Faces Impediments 15

Conclusions 19

Recommendation for Executive Action 20

Agency Comments 20

Appendix I Scope and Methodology 22

Appendix II USPS Delivery Points by Mode of Delivery 24

Appendix III USPS Methods for Estimating Delivery Costs by Mode of Delivery 27

Appendix IV U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Information on Mail Security 28

Appendix V Comments from the U.S. Postal Service 30

Appendix VI GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 32

Tables

Table 1: Number of Delivery Points by Mode, Fiscal Years 2008 

through 2013 24

Table 2: Change in Number of Delivery Points by Mode, Fiscal 

Years 2008 through 2013 25

Table 3: Convictions for Mail Theft Tracked by the U.S. Postal 

Inspection Service, Fiscal Years 2008 through 2013 28

Table 4: Convictions for Mail Theft Tracked by the USPS Office of 

Inspector General, Fiscal Years 2008 through 2013 28

Contents
Page ii GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Figures

Figure 1: Mail Receptacles 5

Figure 2: Percentage of Delivery Points by Mode, Fiscal Years 

2008 and 2013 6

Figure 3: Number of Delivery Points for Each Mode, Fiscal Years 

2008 through 2013 7

Figure 4: USPS Estimates of the Average Annual Average 

Delivery Costs for Each Mode of Delivery, Fiscal Year 

2012 11

Figure 5: USPS Estimates of Potential Ongoing Annual Savings 

after Converting Door Delivery to Less Costly Delivery 

Modes in Fiscal Years 2014 to 2023 13

Abbreviations

CBU Cluster Box Unit 

CPI-U Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 

DRIVE Delivering Results, Innovation, Value and Efficiency 

NDCBU Neighborhood Delivery and Cluster Box Unit 

USPS U.S. Postal Service 

USPIS U.S. Postal Inspection Service 

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the 

United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety 

without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain 

copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be 

necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.
Page 1 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

441 G St. N.W.

Washington, DC 20548

May 12, 2014

The Honorable Darrell Issa

Chairman

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Chairman:

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is required to fulfill its mission of 

providing prompt, reliable, and efficient nationwide service to the public 

while remaining financially self-sustaining. However, for the past several 

years, USPS has been facing serious fiscal challenges, has insufficient 

revenues to cover its expenses,1 and has stated that it must continue to 

cut costs and improve efficiency to remain viable. In fiscal year 2013, 

USPS delivered mail to a network of more than 150 million delivery 

points; mail delivery represents USPS’s largest cost area, totaling about 

$30 billion annually out of its total expenses of about $72 billion in fiscal 

year 2013, while consuming about half of its work hours. Delivery 

expenses are subject to cost pressures from increasing postal wage 

rates, rising costs of employee benefits, and continued growth in the 

number of delivery points in USPS’s network, according to USPS data. 

USPS is bound by specific legal and other restrictions that limit its ability 

to make certain business decisions to reduce its delivery expenses, such

as moving from 6-day delivery to 5-day mail delivery with 6-day package 

delivery—a change USPS estimated could reduce its annual expenses by 

about $2 billion on an ongoing basis.2

 1

See for example, GAO, U.S. Postal Service: Action Needed to Address Unfunded Benefit 

Liabilities, 

However, it does have the flexibility 

to revise its regulations to make changes from more costly to less costly 

GAO-14-398T (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 13, 2014); and U.S. Postal Service: 

Health and Pension Benefits Proposals Involve Trade-offs, GAO-13-872T (Washington, 

D.C.: Sept. 26, 2013).

2

See GAO, U.S. Postal Service—Applicability of Appropriations Act Provision Under 

Continuing Resolution, B-324481 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 21, 2013). A provision in the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 provides “[t]hat 6-day delivery and rural delivery of 

mail shall continue at not less than the 1983 level.” Pub. L. No. 113-76, 127 Stat. 5. 

Congress has enacted a similar provision for many years. 
Page 2 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

modes of delivery.3 The most expensive delivery mode is directly to the 

customer’s door, primarily because of the added personnel expense 

when compared to USPS’s other modes, such as to a customer’s 

curbside mailbox. To capture potential savings, proposed postal reform 

legislation has included provisions to reduce door delivery.4

To ascertain the cost of each delivery mode and the potential savings 

from delivery mode conversions, we obtained USPS data and supporting 

documentation on the costs of different mail delivery modes from fiscal 

years 2008 through 2012. In addition to the cost data, USPS generated 

several scenarios with estimates of potential savings from converting 

specific numbers of delivery points

In this context 

you asked us to examine potential cost savings and related delivery 

conversion issues. This report discusses (1) the estimated costs of each 

delivery mode and potential savings associated with converting to less 

costly delivery modes, and (2) USPS actions to convert delivery modes to 

less costly modes, and any impediments to conversions.

5

 3

The primary modes of mail delivery are defined by the type and location of mail 

receptacles and include door delivery to door slots and receptacles near the door, curbline 

delivery to mailboxes at the curb, and centralized delivery to cluster box units, 

Neighborhood Delivery and Collection Box Units, and other centrally located mail 

receptacles such as apartment house mailboxes.

from door delivery to less costly 

modes. We obtained USPS documentation and interviewed USPS about 

the methodology used to develop the estimates and asked specific 

questions about reliability and limitations of the data used to calculate the 

estimates. We determined that these were the only data available and 

have limitations for estimating delivery costs and potential savings, which 

we discuss in the report. To determine USPS’s actions to convert delivery 

modes to less costly modes, we obtained USPS data from fiscal years 

2008 through 2013 and the number of delivery points using each mode of 

delivery and the number of conversions in fiscal year 2013. To determine 

any impediments to increased reliance on these delivery modes, we 

obtained USPS documentation related to its conversion efforts, and 

interviewed its headquarters and field officials, postal unions representing 

city and rural letter carriers, and a broad cross-section of organizations 

representing the mailing industry. We also interviewed U.S. Postal 

4

H.R. 2309 § 214,112th Cong. (2011); S. 1789 § 205, 112th Cong. (2011); H.R. 2748 § 

102, 113th Cong. (2013); S. 1486 § 205, 113th Cong (2013).

5

USPS maintains data on the number of delivery points rather than addresses. A delivery 

point can include multiple addresses.
Page 3 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Inspection Service officials to obtain information on mail security issues. 

Further details on our scope and methodology appear in appendix I.

We conducted this performance audit from June 2013 to May 2014 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives.

According to USPS data, in fiscal year 2013, USPS delivered mail to a 

network of more than 150 million delivery points, including 133 million 

delivery points served by more than 230,000 career carriers that 

comprised almost half of the career workforce.6

USPS uses three basic modes for residential and business mail delivery:

In addition, USPS 

employed more than 75,000 non-career carriers who were mostly parttime employees, such as substitute carriers on rural routes. Mail delivery 

is USPS’s largest cost area, comprising 41 percent of total costs in fiscal 

year 2013. The extent to which USPS uses each mode of delivery and 

the mode’s associated costs play a substantial role in USPS’s overall 

financial condition.

• Door delivery includes delivery to mail slots in the door as well as 

mailboxes attached to houses and delivery made to businesses such 

as delivery to mail slots in the door, mailboxes attached to the 

business near the door, or locations within office buildings. Door 

delivery is the most costly because the carrier must walk from door to 

door, which is often the case on foot routes or park-and-loop routes.7

• Curbline delivery (also referred to as curbside delivery) includes 

delivery to curbline mailboxes that are commonly used on routes 

serving residential customers, such as those living in rural and 

 6

About 20 million delivery points were Post Office Boxes, other forms of box delivery, and 

customer pickup of bulk mail from USPS facilities, among other things.

7

Foot routes involve mail delivery without a vehicle; on park-and-loop routes, a letter 

carrier parks the vehicle and walks out and back over one or more streets, delivering mail 

away from and looping back to the vehicle.

Background
Page 4 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

suburban areas. Curbline mailboxes are typically unlocked mail 

receptacles on a post.8

• Centralized delivery is provided to centrally-located mail receptacles, 

such as apartment house mailboxes and cluster box units. Both wall 

mounted and cluster box units can be installed to service both 

residential and business delivery. Cluster boxes are generally 

pedestal-mounted units located outdoors with individually locked mail 

receptacles for each delivery point. Cluster boxes and apartment 

house mailboxes have become more secure over time, as USPS 

developed and implemented regulations for higher security standards 

for manufacturers. The newer Cluster Box Units (CBUs) also include 

locked receptacles for parcels and outgoing mail, unlike older 

Neighborhood Delivery and Cluster Box Units (NDCBU). This mode of 

delivery is also less costly than door delivery as it takes less time to 

service a cluster box than to walk from door to door, particularly when 

the carrier can drive between cluster boxes.

USPS regulations require curbline mailboxes 

to be located at the curb where they can be efficiently, safely, and 

conveniently served by the carrier from the carrier’s vehicle, and so 

that customers have reasonable and safe access. Curbline delivery is 

less costly than door delivery, as it takes less time for the carrier to 

move between curbline mailboxes, particularly when the carrier can 

load mail into the mailbox directly from the delivery vehicle.

Figure 1 shows the types of mail receptacles commonly used for each 

major mode of delivery.

 8

USPS regulations allow locked curbline mailboxes. Curbline mailboxes can contain 

mailboxes for multiple addresses sharing the same post. Mailboxes serving two addresses 

are known as “dual delivery.”
Page 5 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Figure 1: Mail Receptacles

According to USPS data, in fiscal year 2013 about 41 percent of existing 

delivery points received curbline delivery, about 30 percent received 

centralized, and about 28 percent had other modes, which primarily 
Page 6 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

consist of door delivery. These percentages have changed little over the 

past 5 years (see fig. 2).9

Figure 2: Percentage of Delivery Points by Mode, Fiscal Years 2008 and 2013

Note: Most door delivery/other delivery points receive door delivery, according to USPS officials.

From fiscal years 2008 to 2013, the total number of door delivery points 

declined by about 308,000—including about 287,000 residential door 

delivery points, and about 21,000 business door delivery points—leaving 

about 32.2 million residential door delivery points and about 5.6 million 

business delivery points (see fig. 3). According to a USPS official, these 

changes mostly reflect redevelopment, such as replacement of older 

homes that had door delivery with new apartment buildings with 

centralized delivery, and new business developments such as office 

parks and strip malls. While the number of door delivery points declined 

 9

Other modes of delivery also include delivery to mailboxes at locations other than the 

door, such as along sidewalks where mailboxes are located a distance from the front door. 

For the purposes of this report, we refer to this category of “door/other” as door delivery.
Page 7 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

by 1.2 percent from fiscal years 2008 to 2013, the number of curbline and 

centralized delivery points—the primary modes of delivery—increased by 

0.1 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. From fiscal years 2008 to 2013, 

the number of centralized delivery points increased by 2.8 million, while 

the number of curbline delivery points increased by 1.9 million. See 

appendix II for details on the number of delivery points for each mode in 

fiscal years 2008 through 2013.

Figure 3: Number of Delivery Points for Each Mode, Fiscal Years 2008 through 2013

USPS is required to provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to 

patrons in all areas.10

 1039 U.S.C. § 101(a).

USPS has the flexibility to revise its regulations to 

convert delivery points from more costly to less costly modes of delivery, 

and postal statutory provisions provide that USPS is required to fulfill its 

mission by operating an efficient delivery network. USPS is specifically 
Page 8 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

required to plan, develop, promote, and provide adequate and efficient 

postal services at fair and reasonable rates and fees.11

USPS estimates of delivery mode costs and potential savings from 

converting to less costly modes have limitations because they rely on cost 

estimates and data from a 1994 USPS study. USPS increased these 

1994 cost estimates for each mode of delivery by 55 percent, based on 

the total percent change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

Consumers (CPI-U) from fiscal year 1994 to 2012, which may not have 

been the same as changes in USPS delivery costs. USPS estimates 

updated through fiscal year 2012 based on the 1994 data show door 

delivery costs greatly exceed costs for other modes of delivery. USPS 

officials stated that although many aspects of postal operations have 

changed over the past 20 years, the manner in which a carrier delivers 

mail on the street has changed little. USPS’s estimated costs of door 

delivery were about 160 percent higher than curbline delivery and 

estimated door delivery costs were more than double that of centralized 

delivery. Based on the differences in delivery mode costs, USPS 

estimates that it could realize large savings from large-scale mandatory 

conversions of both residential and business delivery points from costly 

door delivery. We determined that these were the only data available and 

have limitations for estimating delivery costs and potential savings. 

However, these estimates may not be the best source to inform decisions 

about conversion approaches, as estimates based on updated data may 

yield differing results.

USPS estimates of delivery mode costs and potential savings from 

converting to less costly modes have limitations because they rely on cost 

estimates and data from a 1994 USPS study.12

 1139 U.S.C. § 403(a).

The study collected data 

on the time postal employees used to prepare and deliver mail for each 

mode of delivery. These data were then combined with postal wage and 

benefit cost data, as well as other data (e.g., delivery vehicle costs), to 

estimate the costs for each mode of delivery. In lieu of current data, 

USPS increased these 1994 cost estimates for each mode of delivery by 

12USPS, City Delivery Cost of Delivery Study (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 1995). Data for this 

study were collected from July to September 1994.

USPS Data Have 

Limitations, but

USPS Estimates 

Large Potential 

Savings from LargeScale Delivery Mode 

Conversions

USPS Delivery Mode

Cost and Savings 

Estimates Have 

Limitations
Page 9 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

55 percent, based on the total percent change in the Consumer Price 

Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from fiscal year 1994 to 2012. 

(See app. III for further details on USPS’s methodology for conducting 

this study.) Because CPI-U is a measure of inflation for the U.S. 

economy, changes in CPI-U over this period of time may not have been 

the same as changes in USPS delivery costs, which are affected by 

factors such as postal wage rates, postal benefit costs, and gasoline 

prices. In fact, according to USPS officials, key delivery-related costs 

increased more than inflation from 1994 to 2012.13 These cost increases 

may have been offset by gains in postal productivity, such as automated 

mail sorting by delivery sequence, which reduces the amount of carrier 

time needed for manual sorting,14

Another potential weakness in the estimates is USPS’s application of the

same 55 percent increase in the 1994 data for the cost of each delivery 

mode—a method that assumes that the cost for each delivery mode 

increased at the same rate from fiscal years 1994 to 2012. Available 

evidence suggests this assumption may not be correct. According to 

USPS, since the original study was conducted, it has adopted work rules 

that disproportionately increase the cost of door delivery. For example, to 

comply with current collective bargaining agreement work rules, city 

postal carriers must manually collate some advertising mailing before 

loading it into satchels to carry on foot routes and park-and-loop routes, 

which are largely door delivery, according to USPS.

so it is unclear whether USPS’s 

estimates are generally understated or overstated.

15

 13For example, the compensation and benefits rates for city carriers and gasoline prices 

increased faster than CPI-U from 1994 to 2012.

This work rule does 

not apply to motorized routes, such as curbline routes where carriers load 

mailboxes from the delivery vehicle. In addition, to the extent that some 

modes of delivery are more labor intensive than others, the actual 

increase in USPS wage and benefit costs from fiscal years 1994 to 2012 

may have affected the costs of some delivery modes more than others.

14See GAO, U.S. Postal Service: Actions Needed to Strengthen the Capital Investment 

Process, GAO-14-155 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 7, 2014) and GAO, U.S. Postal Service: 

Mail Delivery Efficiency Has Improved, but Additional Actions Needed to Achieve Further 

Gains, GAO-09-696 (Washington, D.C.: July 15, 2009).

15The work rule specifies that city letter carriers on foot routes and park-and-loop routes 

will not be required to carry more than three bundles of mail pursuant to USPS’s collective 

bargaining agreement with the National Association of Letter Carriers, which represents 

city carriers.
Page 10 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Government auditing standards state that managers are responsible for 

providing reliable, useful, and timely information for transparency and 

accountability of programs and their operations.16 Legislators, oversight 

bodies, and the public need to know whether or not government services 

are provided effectively, efficiently, and economically.17 This standard is 

particularly relevant because pending postal reform legislation in the 

House and Senate would mandate the conversion of some delivery points 

from door delivery to centralized or curbline delivery.18 Furthermore, the 

administration’s budget for fiscal year 2015 also proposes “allowing the 

Postal Service to begin shifting to centralized and curbside delivery where 

appropriate.”19 Internal controls for federal agencies state that financial 

information is needed to support operating decisions, monitor 

performance, and allocate resources.20

USPS officials told us that its estimates of delivery mode costs and 

potential savings “have validity” despite the use of the inflation adjustment 

in lieu of updated data. USPS officials stated that although many aspects 

of postal operations have changed over the past 20 years, the manner in 

which a carrier delivers mail on the street has changed little. However, 

USPS officials also acknowledge the weakness of USPS’s delivery mode 

data. USPS estimates the cost of a new delivery study using ongoing 

operational data at $75,000 to $100,000, and the cost of a more 

Without such information on costs 

of modes and on potential savings through delivery conversions, USPS 

and lawmakers may not have an accurate understanding of the impact of 

delivery mode changes on which to base their decisions.

 16GAO, Government Auditing Standards: 2011 Revision, GAO-12-331G (Washington, 

D.C.: December 2011).

17 GAO-12-331G.

18See H.R. 2748, § 102, 113th Cong. (2013); S. 1486, § 205, 113th Cong (2014). The 

House bill would, among other things, require the phase out of most door delivery, 

including conversion of at least 30 million door delivery points to more cost-effective 

delivery modes by the end of fiscal year 2022, as well as conversion of business 

addresses with door delivery to centralized delivery to the maximum extent feasible, and 

where not feasible, to curbside delivery. The Senate bill would, among other things, 

require conversions of business addresses with door delivery to centralized or curbside 

delivery. Both bills also have provisions for voluntary delivery mode conversion. 

19Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2015 Appendix: Budget of the U.S. 

Government, p. 1362 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 4, 2014).

20GAO, Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, GAO/AIMD-00-21.3.1

(Washington, D.C.: November 1999).
Page 11 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

extensive study collecting new data at $250,000 to $750,000. Mail 

delivery represents the largest cost area relative to USPS’s annual 

expenses of approximately $72 billion, and updating the 1994 study 

would be relatively low cost compared to those expenses. Without a 

current delivery cost study, USPS may be less able to determine accurate 

cost savings from various delivery mode conversion scenarios.

USPS estimates updated through fiscal year 2012 based on the 1994 

data show door delivery costs greatly exceed costs for other modes of 

delivery. Estimated costs of door delivery were about 160 percent higher 

than curbline delivery and estimated door delivery costs were more than 

double that of centralized delivery. Specifically, USPS estimated that its 

delivery costs in fiscal year 2012 ranged from about $380 annually for the 

average door delivery point to about $240 for curbline delivery and about 

$170 for centralized delivery such as cluster boxes and apartment house 

mailboxes (see fig. 4).

Figure 4: USPS Estimates of the Average Annual Average Delivery Costs for Each 

Mode of Delivery, Fiscal Year 2012

Note: USPS’s estimated cost for each delivery mode in fiscal year 2012 is based on USPS data for 

fiscal year 1994; USPS increased the 1994 estimates by 55 percent based on the total percent 

USPS Estimates Large 

Cost Differences among 

Different Delivery Modes
Page 12 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers from 1994 through 2012. These USPS 

estimates have limitations but are the most recent USPS estimates and the only available data on 

delivery mode costs. See appendix III for more information.

Based on the differences in delivery mode costs, USPS provided us with 

estimates showing that it could realize large savings from large-scale 

mandatory conversions of both residential and business delivery points 

from costly door delivery even as it continues to add new delivery points 

every year. For example, there were about 770,000 new delivery points 

added in fiscal year 2013, an increase of about half of 1 percent from 

fiscal year 2012 levels. Specifically, USPS estimates that potential 

ongoing annual savings exceeding $2 billion could be achieved by 

mandatory conversion of 12.2 million door delivery points over the next 

decade to a mix of centralized and curbline boxes (see fig. 5). This level 

of conversion is about one-third of the 38 million door delivery points and 

would still provide future opportunities to realize savings from additional 

conversions. About 85 percent of these conversions would be residential 

and 15 percent would be business delivery points. Based on USPS’s 

schedule for these conversions, the potential savings would be realized in 

the first full fiscal year after full implementation—fiscal year 2024—and 

every following fiscal year. USPS also estimated proportionately smaller 

savings from less extensive mandatory conversions (see fig. 5). We 

determined that these were the only data available and have limitations 

for estimating delivery costs and potential savings. However, these 

estimates may not be the best source to inform decisions about 

conversion approaches, as estimates based on updated data may yield 

differing results.

USPS Estimates Large 

Potential Savings from 

Mandatory Conversion of 

Residential and Business 

Delivery Points to Less 

Costly Modes
Page 13 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Figure 5: USPS Estimates of Potential Ongoing Annual Savings after Converting Door Delivery to Less Costly Delivery Modes 

in Fiscal Years 2014 to 2023

Notes: The savings shown in this figure are the ongoing annual savings after all delivery points are 

converted to a less costly mode and do not include any one-time conversion costs. The scenarios 

based on 4.2 million conversions include 500,000 conversions per year for fiscal years 2016 through 

2023; scenarios based on 8.2 million conversions include 1 million annual conversions over this 

period; and scenarios based on 12.2 million conversions include 1.5 million annual conversions over 

this period. Residential conversions comprise about 85 percent of these conversions. In addition, 

each USPS estimate of potential savings includes conversion of 35,000 business delivery points in 

fiscal year 2014 from door delivery to centralized delivery, as well as 200,000 residential and 

business delivery points in fiscal year 2015 from door delivery to a mix of centralized and curbline 

delivery.

All estimates were developed by USPS. These data and its resulting estimates have limitations. The 

estimates of fiscal year 2012 delivery mode costs are based on fiscal year 1994 delivery mode costs 

collected by USPS’s 1994 cost of delivery study that USPS adjusted for inflation using the Consumer 

Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). Annual reductions in delivery mode costs were based 

on USPS estimates of the difference in fiscal year 2012 costs for each mode of delivery. USPS 

estimates of potential savings from conversions of door delivery to centralized delivery were based on 

annual reductions in delivery costs of $205 per delivery point, which were partially offset by annual 

costs of $15 per delivery point to maintain cluster boxes for converted delivery points. USPS 

estimates of potential savings from conversions from door delivery to curbline delivery were based on 

annual reductions in delivery costs of $138 per delivery point. Based on available data, USPS 

estimated the same potential savings per delivery point for business and residential deliveries. 

Potential savings are largely comprised of wages and benefits.
Page 14 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

According to USPS officials, its estimates are based on what they could 

reasonably accomplish with a deliberate pace of mandatory conversions 

that would be feasible for postal operations and customers. USPS 

officials told us that this pace—converting up to 1.5 million delivery points 

annually—would enable them to realign delivery routes to achieve 

ongoing savings from modes of delivery that are less labor intensive. 

Based on this pace, USPS officials said they could achieve sufficient 

savings to recoup costs to buy and install cluster boxes within the same 

year.21

To understand how USPS estimates it could realize these savings, it is 

important to understand how the changes would reduce USPS’s workload 

and how this would translate into lower USPS costs. Conversion of 

delivery points from door to curbline and centralized delivery would 

reduce the time required to organize and deliver the mail. Motorized 

routes with centralized and curbline delivery require less of a carrier’s 

time than walking from door to door. Reducing carrier workload through 

mandatory conversions could enable USPS to reorganize delivery into 

smaller numbers of routes, with each route including a larger number of 

delivery points. The resulting decrease in the number of routes could help 

reduce the number of carriers needed to fulfill delivery needs. USPS has 

historically reduced its workforce through attrition and has no-layoff 

provisions in its collective bargaining agreements with its four major 

postal unions. In this regard, large numbers of career carriers are 

expected to retire in the coming years. In addition to realigning delivery 

routes, our prior work has found that USPS can use established work 

methods for accomplishing delivery to a given geographic area with fewer 

carriers.22

 21USPS estimated it would cost about $73 per delivery point to buy and install cluster 

boxes, which could be recouped in less than 5 months based on the ongoing savings from 

more efficient delivery.

Further, USPS could adjust to lower carrier workload by 

reducing overtime as well as the number of hours worked by carriers with 

flexible schedules. In this regard, most door delivery is made to city 

delivery routes served by city carriers. The average hourly wage and 

benefit costs of all city carriers, including career and non-career 

employees, exceeds $41 per hour, according to USPS data.

22For example, USPS often divides up an unstaffed route among multiple carriers who 

each cover a part of this route in addition to their regular route—a work method that is 

used to augment the work of some carriers with less than 8 hours of workload on their 

route. See GAO-09-696.
Page 15 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

According to USPS officials, conversions from door delivery would also 

decrease the time and costs associated with organizing mail for delivery. 

For example, the organization of mail for delivery would take less time as 

it would no longer involve strapping bundles of mail to help keep it 

organized for carriers. The officials also said that, in cases in which 

delivery mode conversion enabled a foot route to convert to a motorized 

route, mail would no longer be prepositioned along those routes.23

Additionally, USPS could avoid manual handling of some advertising mail 

for routes converted to motorized delivery.24

In April 2012, USPS updated its policy regarding assigning delivery 

modes to new addresses. USPS revised its Postal Operations Manual—a 

regulation of the USPS pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations25

 23USPS had 7,561 foot routes in fiscal year 2013, on which carriers delivered mail without 

a vehicle. Mail is prepositioned in boxes along foot routes because it exceeds what 

carriers can carry when leaving the office.

—to 

specify that USPS determines the mode of delivery for new addresses. 

According to USPS officials, USPS used to provide for customer 

preferences as a factor in deciding on the mode of delivery. The revised 

Postal Operations Manual states that new business addresses must 

receive centralized delivery unless USPS approves an exception, and the 

modes approved for new residential delivery are curbline delivery, 

24USPS’s collective bargaining agreement for city carriers restricts the carrying of mail to a 

maximum of three bundles on foot routes and on park-and-loop routes (for which a letter 

carrier parks the vehicle and walks out and back over one or more streets, delivering mail 

away from and looping back to the vehicle), which can require additional handling of 

advertising mail so it is not in a separate bundle.

25The Postal Operations Manual is a regulation of the USPS pursuant to the Code of 

Federal Regulations. 39 C.F.R. § 211.2(a)(2).

USPS Has Taken 

Some Actions to Shift 

to Less Costly 

Delivery Modes but 

Faces Impediments

USPS Actions Include 

Changes in Delivery

Policy and a Voluntary

Conversion Program for 

Existing Business Delivery
Page 16 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

centralized delivery, and sidewalk delivery, unless an exception is granted 

or the new address area is a continuation of an existing block.26 The 

manual continues to provide that customers can request changes to their 

mode of delivery on a hardship basis, which USPS considers “where 

service by existing methods would impose an extreme physical hardship 

on an individual customer.”27

In 2013, USPS implemented voluntary conversion for businesses as part 

of its Delivering Results, Innovation, Value and Efficiency (DRIVE) 

initiative.

Finally, the manual does not authorize 

USPS to implement delivery mode conversions on a mandatory basis. 

Instead USPS is required to obtain customer signatures to document that 

a delivery mode conversion is made on a voluntary basis before the 

delivery mode is changed.

28

However, the DRIVE program has not converted as many businesses 

from door delivery as originally expected, and large savings are not likely 

due to the low number of conversions that have occurred. According to a 

USPS official, USPS set an overall goal for the total number of 

conversions for each fiscal year starting with fiscal year 2013. For the first 

year, USPS set a nationwide goal of voluntary conversions of 279,718 of 

the approximately 5.6 million business door delivery points to centralized 

In this effort, USPS provides conversion goals to its field 

officials who then identify specific businesses as candidates for 

conversion from door delivery to centralized delivery. USPS field officials 

told us that strip malls and high-rise office buildings receiving door 

delivery are good candidates for conversion because these delivery 

routes are labor intensive and the facilities could have suitable space to 

install a centralized mail receptacle. For example, in Chicago, USPS 

converted a high-rise office building, with mail delivered individually to all 

50 tenant suites and twice a day mail pick-up, to centralized delivery and 

pickup.

 26Furthermore, in May 2013, USPS stated that carriers on motorized city routes should 

advise customers that they may use only approved curbside mailboxes when replacing 

mailboxes that are designed primarily for door delivery and that have been installed and 

serviced under previous regulations. See USPS, Postal Bulletin 22363, p. 4 (Washington, 

D.C.: May 16, 2013).

27USPS, Postal Operations Manual, Section 631.42 (Washington, D.C.).

28DRIVE is a portfolio of strategic initiatives to improve business strategy development 

and execution. DRIVE consists of 44 initiatives, one of which is “Optimize Delivery 

Operations.”
Page 17 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

delivery. USPS achieved 43,333 such conversions, about 15 percent of 

its goal—or about 0.8 percent—of the about 5.6 million business door 

delivery points. USPS officials explained that based on the fiscal year 

2013 results, they set a lower goal of 34,652 voluntary business 

conversions for fiscal year 2014. They reported 11,488 conversions in the 

first quarter—about 33 percent of their goal. This initiative is solely 

focused on business conversions, and USPS has not set any goals for 

converting residential door delivery points to different modes of delivery. 

USPS did achieve some voluntary residential conversions in fiscal year 

2013. USPS reported 36,302 out of about 32.2 million residential door 

delivery points—or about 0.1 percent—were converted to centralized 

delivery.

As stated above, USPS’s potential savings estimates show that achieving 

large savings would require large-scale door delivery conversions. 

However, according to USPS officials, USPS has been reluctant to 

mandate conversions. Under the voluntary conversion process, 

customers on a route may choose to maintain door delivery, or a high 

number of customers may request and receive hardship exemptions for 

elderly persons or those with special needs, which would allow them to 

keep door delivery service, thus reducing the number of conversions and 

lowering potential savings. Furthermore, field officials we spoke with said 

that voluntary conversions are time consuming and labor intensive due to

the amount of direct outreach and follow-up required, and a short-term 

cost increase may result from undertaking these efforts to generate longterm savings.

Large-scale mandatory conversions have the potential to achieve large 

savings, but USPS faces impediments, such as customer inconvenience 

and safety and security concerns. USPS officials and several mailing 

industry stakeholders we spoke with told us that many postal customers 

are resistant to service changes, especially changes that might 

inconvenience them. USPS officials told us that some of the concerns 

could be addressed though hardship exceptions to continue door delivery. 

Stakeholders also said that service changes would particularly affect city 

letter carriers, by reducing the total number of carrier work hours and 

USPS Faces Stakeholder 

Resistance and Other 

Impediments to 

Conversions
Page 18 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

associated routes.29

Among the impediments to increased use of less costly modes were 

concerns raised about personal safety and mail security. Several mailing 

industry stakeholders we met with identified the placement of CBUs in 

convenient, well lit and secure areas as a means to ensure customer 

safety when accessing mail, especially in higher crime areas. USPS 

officials said they take placement of centralized delivery locations into 

consideration, as both carriers and customers are affected when a CBU is 

placed in an improper or unsafe location. For example, in Chicago, USPS 

officials said they converted existing door delivery in some areas of the 

city to centralized delivery to address the personal safety concerns of 

residents and mail carriers generated from increased crime rates in those 

areas of the city. Some stakeholders also noted mail security issues, such 

as the potential for increases in theft of mail from people picking up their 

mail or break-ins to centralized mail receptacles. Others indicated that 

there are opportunities to increase mail security by converting the mode 

of delivery from unlocked mailboxes, like those affixed near doors or 

many curbline mail boxes, to CBUs with locked receptacles for mail and 

parcels. USPS officials told us that the new model CBUs are more secure 

than the old model NDCBUs, which are considered legacy equipment. 

The materials used to construct CBUs combined with design changes 

have improved the security of mail delivered to them.

However, USPS officials stated some customer 

concerns could diminish as they become accustomed to the new service.

Although USPS engineering officials told us they test the security of each 

type of cluster box and provide some guidance on door and curbline mail 

receptacles, no data are available on the relative security of each 

receptacle type once they are put in place and in use. Data are collected 

on mail theft and convictions for mail theft and other mail security 

violations, but these data do not generally specify the type of mail 

receptacle involved in a mail theft or related incident. We met with officials 

of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which collects complaint data on 

lost or stolen mail, and they told us that while there are fields on the 

online form for mail receptacle type, these fields usually are not 

completed by the mail customer reporting the theft. Customers can also 

call a USPS help line or go to a post office in-person to report mail loss or 

 29Rural carriers already deliver predominantly to curbline or centralized delivery locations,

and would see less change in routes with increased use of less costly modes. 
Page 19 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

theft, and often in those cases the mail receptacle data are not collected. 

U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials said that for their investigative 

purposes, the complaint does not need to include the receptacle type in 

order to pursue cases of lost or stolen mail. See appendix IV for available 

data on convictions for mail theft and other mail security violations.

Finally, according to USPS officials, there are places, such as densely 

populated urban areas, where it is difficult to find suitable locations for 

CBUs. This could make converting existing door delivery to centralized or 

curbline boxes that meet both customer needs and USPS requirements 

difficult. Field officials we spoke with in Washington, D.C., and Los 

Angeles, California, noted this concern. For example, a field official in 

Washington, D.C. noted that with extensive street parking and limited 

common space, it can be very difficult to find a suitable location for CBU 

units. A USPS official noted that if public space was not available for a 

CBU on a delivery route, gaining access rights to install one requires 

working with local governments and can be cumbersome.30 He said that 

easements or other property access rights vary across localities and 

regions and some neighborhoods would not have sufficient or convenient 

space available for installation of CBUs. However, as shown in fig. 1, 

CBUs and other centralized delivery methods have a range of types and 

sizes that could be used to accommodate the available footprint and 

placement options.

USPS cost estimates for each mode of delivery and potential savings 

from converting door delivery points to other delivery modes are based on 

a 20-year-old study and are of questionable accuracy. Although USPS 

extrapolated fiscal year 1994 delivery mode costs to fiscal year 2012 by 

applying inflationary increases to the cost of each delivery mode, it is 

unclear whether this extrapolation reflects the actual change in postal 

costs, such as changes in carrier wage and benefits, which increased 

faster than inflation over this period. Because USPS productivity also 

increased, the accuracy of USPS’s fiscal year 2012 cost estimates is 

unknown.

 30USPS has the power of eminent domain for the furtherance of its official purposes (39 

U.S.C. § 401), but use of this power or other procedures to gain access rights was beyond 

the scope of our review.

Conclusions
Page 20 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

USPS officials acknowledge the weakness of USPS’s delivery mode data. 

We believe that accurate data are needed for Congress, USPS, and other 

stakeholders to understand the cost-saving potential for delivery mode 

conversions as compared with other savings options to improve USPS’s 

financial viability. This is particularly relevant because pending postal 

reform legislation would mandate the conversion of some delivery points 

from costly door delivery to other modes. USPS’s estimates of the cost of 

a new delivery study using ongoing operational data at $75,000 to 

$100,000, or a more extensive study at $250,000 to $750,000 do not 

seem cost prohibitive given USPS’s annual expenses of about $72 billion. 

Thus, we conclude that the benefits of obtaining current, reliable data on 

delivery mode costs would make the cost of doing so a worthwhile 

investment.

To improve information needed for USPS and congressional decision 

making as well as transparency for all stakeholders, we recommend that 

the Postmaster General and USPS’s executive leaders collect and 

analyze updated data on delivery mode costs and the potential savings 

from converting delivery points to less costly modes of delivery and 

establish a time frame for publicly reporting the results.

We provided a draft of this report to USPS for review and comment. 

USPS provided comments, which are reprinted in appendix V. USPS 

concurred with our recommendation and agreed that steps should be 

taken to improve the accuracy and reliability of delivery mode cost 

estimates and potential savings from converting delivery points to less 

costly modes of delivery. Further, USPS plans to initiate efforts to 

determine how to most efficiently capture cost data, create a project plan, 

and determine a timeline to produce results.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact 

me at 202-512-2834 or stjamesl@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices 

of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last 

page of this report. GAO staff making key contributions to this report are 

listed in appendix VI.

Recommendation for 

Executive Action

Agency Comments
Page 21 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Sincerely yours,

Lorelei St. James

Director

Physical Infrastructure Issues
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

Page 22 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

To discuss the costs and potential savings associated with converting to 

less costly delivery modes, we obtained available U.S. Postal Service 

(USPS) data on the cost of each delivery mode from fiscal years 1994 

through 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. We 

obtained USPS documentation on the assumptions and methodology 

used in developing these cost data. This documentation included a USPS 

report of the 1994 USPS study that measured the costs of each mode of 

delivery and the USPS methodology for increasing these costs by 

inflation to estimate delivery mode costs from fiscal years 1995 through 

2012. We requested that USPS officials generate estimates, similar to 

those they created for Congress and USPS internal use, of the potential 

savings from increasing its reliance on less costly modes of delivery. We 

reviewed documentation of the assumptions, methodology, calculations, 

and underlying data for these estimates. We had extensive discussions 

with USPS officials regarding delivery mode cost and savings data, and 

obtained detailed written responses to follow-up questions regarding their 

reliability. We identified concerns with the quality of available USPS 

delivery mode cost and savings data. We interviewed USPS officials 

about the methodology used to develop the estimates and determined 

that these were the only data available and found the data to have 

limitations for estimating delivery costs and potential savings, which we 

discuss in the report. Further, we reviewed whether there were any 

opportunities to improve the quality of these data. USPS officials provided 

detailed written responses that identified such opportunities, including the 

scope, methodology, and estimated costs of a new USPS study to 

measure delivery mode costs, and USPS’s views on the merits of such a 

study.

To discuss USPS’s actions to convert delivery modes to less costly 

modes and any impediments to conversion, we reviewed pertinent USPS 

documentation, such as information on the Delivering Results, Innovation, 

Value and Efficiency (DRIVE) initiative, and interviewed USPS delivery 

operations officials and field officials, on USPS’s efforts to promote 

voluntary conversion of some business addresses to less costly modes of 

delivery. We also obtained written responses from USPS officials and 

interviewed them on policies, regulations, and procedures that govern 

decisions when adding new delivery points and converting existing 

delivery points to a different mode of delivery. These interviews included 

USPS headquarters officials in the Washington, D.C., area and USPS 

field officials in Washington, D.C.; Chicago, IL; Seattle, WA; Los Angeles, 

CA; and Dallas and Coppell, TX. We selected these field locations to 

reflect different population densities and climates, near GAO 

headquarters and field offices, and geographically dispersed in five of the 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

Page 23 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

seven USPS areas.1

 1

USPS is geographically organized into seven areas encompassing 67 districts. We 

interviewed USPS field officials in the following five areas: Northeast, Capital Metro, Great 

Lakes, Southern, Western, and Pacific; the other two areas are Northeast and Eastern.

To describe the outcome of USPS actions regarding 

use of less costly delivery modes, we obtained USPS data on 

conversions of delivery points to less costly modes of delivery for fiscal 

year 2013 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, the only periods for 

which national data were available. We also obtained and reviewed 

USPS data on the number of delivery points for each mode of delivery for 

fiscal years 2008 through 2013. We obtained written responses regarding 

the reliability of these data, analyzed their consistency with other USPS 

data, and determined that they were sufficiently reliable for the purposes 

of this report. To identify any impediments to delivery mode conversions, 

we obtained written USPS responses, including some made in recent 

public proceedings, and interviewed USPS headquarters and field 

officials. In addition, we interviewed postal stakeholders, including postal 

unions representing city and rural letter carriers. We also interviewed 11 

organizations representing different groups that use the mail in their 

business including Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, American Catalog 

Mailers Association, Association for Magazine Media, Association of 

Postal Commerce, Direct Marketing Association, Greeting Card 

Association, Major Mailers Association, National Newspaper Association, 

Newspaper Association of America, Parcel Shippers Association, and 

Saturation Mailers Coalition. We also met with U.S. Postal Inspection 

Service officials to obtain information on mail security issues and 

discussed mail and identity theft generally, including complaints made to 

the Inspection Service in these areas. We obtained data on convictions 

for offenses related to mail theft maintained by the U.S. Postal Inspection 

Service and the USPS Office of Inspector General, obtained written and 

oral responses regarding data reliability, and determined the data were 

sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report.
Appendix II: USPS Delivery Points by Mode of 

Delivery

Page 24 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Table 1: Number of Delivery Points by Mode, Fiscal Years 2008 through 2013

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Centralized

Residential 36,567,630 37,130,000 37,582,835 37,985,896 38,530,290

Business 1,884,127 1,878,440 1,911,611 1,951,768 2,014,999

Total 38,451,757 39,008,440 39,494,496 39,937,664 40,545,289

Cluster Boxesa

Residential 16,076,364 16,372,539 16,625,058 16,870,394 17,245,125

Business 1,098,137 1,128,391 1,150,479 1,177,739 1,227,887

Total 17,174,502 17,500,930 17,775,537 18,048,133 18,473,012

Other Centralizedb

Residential 20,491,265 20,757,461 20,957,777 21,115,502 21,885,165

Business 785,989 750,049 761,182 774,029 787,112

Total 21,277,255 21,507,510 21,718,959 21,889,531 22,072,277

Curbline

Residential 52,051,869 52,319,114 52,629,946 52,945,733 53,418,107

Business 1,509,744 1,513,724 1,532,181 1,539,470 1,557,962

Total 53,561,613 53,832,838 54,162,127 54,485,203 54,976,069

Door Delivery / Otherc

Residential 32,413,117 32,327,535 32,283,391 32,236,861 32,197,111

Business 5,602,973 5,591,276 5,594,909 5,602,351 5,580,933

Total 38,016,090 37,918,811 37,878,300 37,839,212 37,778,044

ALL MODES

Residential 121,036,073 121,776,649 122,505,380 123,168,499 124,145,508

Business 8,993,387 8,983,440 9,029,542 9,093,580 9,153,894

Total 130,029,460 130,760,089 131,534,923 132,262,079 133,299,402

All Other Delivery Pointsd

Residential 15,597,884 15,739,698 15,894,089 15,994,517 15,882,717

Business 4,488,537 4,355,674 4,062,979 3,889,955 3,738,314

Total 20,086,421 20,095,372 19,957,068 19,884,472 19,621,031

Total Deliveries

Appendix II: USPS Delivery Points by Mode 

of Delivery
Appendix II: USPS Delivery Points by Mode of 

Delivery

Page 25 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Residential 136,630,500 137,516,347 138,390,262 139,163,007 140,028,225

Business 13,485,381 13,339,114 13,101,729 12,983,544 12,892,208

Total 150,115,881 150,855,461 151,491,991 152,146,551 152,920,433

Source: USPS.

a

Cluster boxes include Cluster Box Units and Neighborhood Delivery and Cluster Box Units.

b

Other centralized delivery includes delivery to centralized locations such as apartment house 

mailboxes.

c

Door delivery/other includes door delivery to mail slots, mailboxes near the door, and locations within 

office buildings, as well as other locations, such as along sidewalks. Most door delivery/other points 

receive door delivery, according to USPS officials.

d

All other delivery points include various types of Post Office Boxes, delivery points where a university 

or other entity then provides final delivery to the recipient, and delivery points where the recipient 

picks up mail in bulk quantities such as remittance mail.

Table 2: Change in Number of Delivery Points by Mode, Fiscal Years 2008 through 2013

Change from 

Fiscal year 

2012-2013 

(number)

Change from 

Fiscal year 

2012-2013 

(percentage)

Change from

Fiscal year 

2008-2013 

(number)

Change from 

Fiscal year 

2008-2013 

(percentage)

Centralized

Residential 544,394 1.4% 2,571,952 7.2%

Business 63,231 3.2% 184,983 10.1%

Total 607,625 1.5% 2,756,935 7.3%

Cluster Boxesa

Residential 374,731 2.2% 1,499,834 9.5%

Business 50,148 4.3% 168,985 16.0%

Total 424,879 2.4% 1,668,819 9.9%

Other Centralizedb

Residential 769,663 3.6% 1,672,118 8.3%

Business 13,083 1.7% 15,998 2.1%

Total 182,746 0.8% 1,088,116 5.2%

Curbline

Residential 472,374 0.9% 1,804,337 3.5%

Business 18,492 1.2% 75,215 5.1%

Total 490,866 0.9% 1,879,551 3.5%

Door Delivery / Otherc
Appendix II: USPS Delivery Points by Mode of 

Delivery

Page 26 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Change from 

Fiscal year 

2012-2013 

(number)

Change from 

Fiscal year 

2012-2013 

(percentage)

Change from

Fiscal year 

2008-2013 

(number)

Change from 

Fiscal year 

2008-2013 

(percentage)

Residential -39,750 -0.1% -286,792 -0.9%

Business -21,418 -0.4% -20,713 -0.4%

Total -61,168 -0.2% -307,504 -0.8%

ALL MODES

Residential 977,009 0.8% 4,089,497 3.4%

Business 60,314 0.7% 239,485 2.7%

Total 1,037,323 0.8% 4,328,982 3.4%

All Other Delivery 

Pointsd

Residential -111,800 -0.7% 247,257 1.6%

Business -151,641 -3.9% -848,092 -18.5%

Total -263,441 -1.3% -600,835 -3.0%

Total Deliveries

Residential 865,218 0.6% 4,336,754 3.2%

Business -91,336 -0.7% -608,607 -4.5%

Total 773,882 0.5% 3,728,147 2.5%

Source: GAO analysis of USPS data.

a

Cluster boxes include Cluster Box Units and Neighborhood Delivery and Cluster Box Units.

b

Other centralized delivery includes delivery to centralized locations such as apartment house 

mailboxes.

c

Door delivery/other includes door delivery to mail slots, mailboxes near the door, and locations within 

office buildings, as well as other locations, such as along sidewalks. Most door delivery/other points 

receive door delivery, according to USPS officials.

d

All other delivery points include various types of Post Office Boxes, delivery points where a university 

or other entity then provides final delivery to the recipient, and delivery points where the recipient 

picks up mail in bulk quantities such as remittance mail.
Appendix III: USPS Methods for Estimating 

Delivery Costs by Mode of Delivery

Page 27 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

USPS estimates of delivery mode costs rely on a 1994 study of delivery 

mode costs, which is the most recent study that USPS has conducted in 

this area. USPS continues to rely on this study to estimate the potential 

for savings through the option of converting addresses to less costly 

modes of delivery. According to a USPS report on the 1994 study, USPS 

employees and retired postal managers served as data collectors who, 

through direct observation, recorded the actual time to deliver mail for 

each mode of delivery from July 5, 1994 to September 9, 1994 on 735 

randomly selected city delivery routes.1

 1 USPS, City Delivery Cost of Delivery Study (Washington, D.C.: February 1995).

USPS also estimated the time 

required for carriers to organize their mail for each mode of delivery. The 

cost of delivery was computed by factoring in the compensation costs 

associated with delivery times, delivery vehicle costs, as well as the costs 

to purchase, install, and maintain cluster boxes. USPS subsequently 

applied an inflation adjustment to the 1994 data to increase the cost for 

each delivery mode according to the annual change in the Consumer 

Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), which produced cost 

estimates for fiscal years 1995 through 2012 (see fig. 5 in report). This 

inflation adjustment increased all delivery mode costs by the same 

percentage.

Appendix III: USPS Methods for Estimating 

Delivery Costs by Mode of Delivery
Appendix IV: U.S. Postal Service (USPS) 

Information on Mail Security

Page 28 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Table 3: Convictions for Mail Theft Tracked by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, 

Fiscal Years 2008 through 2013

Fiscal year USPS contractors

Members of the 

public/other Total

2008 68 3,868 3,936

2009 83 4,019 4,102

2010 51 2,968 3,019

2011 34 2,454 2,488

2012 29 2,258 2,287

2013 42 2,199 2,241

Source: U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Note: According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), its mail theft investigations focus on 

theft of mail by all non-USPS employees, such as contractors, highway contract drivers, airline 

employees as well as member of the public. For the purposes of Table 1, mail theft convictions are 

based on the USPIS’ cases and included offenses for all types of mail (e.g., letter mail and parcels). 

These offenses could include Desertion of mails (18 U.S.C. § 1700), Obstruction of mails generally 

(18 U.S.C. § 1701), Obstruction of correspondence (18 U.S.C. § 1702), Delay or destruction of mail 

or newspapers (18 U.S.C. § 1703), Theft of mail matter by officer or employee (18 U.S.C. § 1709), 

Misappropriation of postal funds (18 U.S.C. § 1711), Destruction of letter boxes or mail (18 U.S.C. § 

1705), Frauds and swindles (18 U.S.C. § 1341), Fictitious name or address (18 U.S.C. § 1342), Keys 

or locks stolen or reproduced (18 U.S.C. § 1704), Injury to mail bags (18 U.S.C. § 1706), Theft of 

property used by Postal Service (18 U.S.C. § 1707), Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter generally 

(18 U.S.C. § 1708), Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents,

authentication features, and information (18 U.S.C. §1028), Aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. § 

1028A), and Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices (18 U.S.C. § 1029).

According to USPIS, where federal prosecution is declined and/or state/local prosecution is sought, 

charges can include variations of larceny/theft, burglary and identity theft, based on the offense and 

jurisdiction.

Table 4: Convictions for Mail Theft Tracked by the USPS Office of Inspector 

General, Fiscal Years 2008 through 2013

Fiscal year

USPS 

employees

USPS 

contractors

Members of the 

public/other Total

2008 297 14 7 318

2009 403 24 15 442

2010 402 44 10 456

2011 362 28 11 401

2012 319 28 18 365

2013 317 20 8 345

Source: USPS Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations.

Note: According to the USPS Office of the Inspector General Office of Investigations, for the purposes 

of table 4, mail theft convictions included offenses for all types of mail (e.g., letter mail and parcels). 

These offenses were defined by sections of the U.S. Code that include theft or receipt of stolen mail 

matter generally (18 U.S.C. § 1708), theft of mail matter by officer or employee (18 U.S.C. § 1709), 

obstruction of mails generally (18 U.S.C. § 1701), obstruction of correspondence (18 U.S.C. § 1702), 

delay or destruction of mail or newspapers (18 U.S.C. § 1703), and destruction of letter boxes or mail 

Appendix IV: U.S. Postal Service (USPS) 

Information on Mail Security
Appendix IV: U.S. Postal Service (USPS) 

Information on Mail Security

Page 29 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

(18 U.S.C. § 1705). According to the USPS Office of Inspector General, where federal prosecution is 

declined and state or local prosecution is sought, charges can include variations of larceny/theft, 

embezzlement, and misuse of public position/public trust based on the jurisdiction.
Appendix V: Comments from the

U.S. Postal Service

Page 30 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Appendix V: Comments from the

U.S. Postal Service
Appendix V: Comments from the

U.S. Postal Service

Page 31 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service
Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

Page 32 GAO-14-444 U.S. Postal Service

Lorelei St. James, (202) 512-2834 or stjamesl@gao.gov

In addition to the individuals named above, Amelia Shachoy, Assistant 

Director; Derrick Collins; Geoffrey Hamilton; Kenneth John; Joshua 

Ormond; Amy Rosewarne; Kelly Rubin; and Betsey Ward-Jenks made 

key contributions to this report.

Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Staff 

Acknowledgments

(544197)
The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and 

investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its 

constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and 

accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO 

examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and 

policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance 

to help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. 

GAO’s commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of 

accountability, integrity, and reliability.

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no 

cost is through GAO’s website (http://www.gao.gov). Each weekday 

afternoon, GAO posts on its website newly released reports, testimony, 

and correspondence. To have GAO e-mail you a list of newly posted 

products, go to http://www.gao.gov and select “E-mail Updates.”

The price of each GAO publication reflects GAO’s actual cost of 

production and distribution and depends on the number of pages in the 

publication and whether the publication is printed in color or black and 

white. Pricing and ordering information is posted on GAO’s website, 

http://www.gao.gov/ordering.htm. 

Place orders by calling (202) 512-6000, toll free (866) 801-7077, or 

TDD (202) 512-2537.

Orders may be paid for using American Express, Discover Card, 

MasterCard, Visa, check, or money order. Call for additional information.

Connect with GAO on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube.

Subscribe to our RSS Feeds or E-mail Updates. Listen to our Podcasts.

Visit GAO on the web at www.gao.gov.

Contact:

Website: http://www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm

E-mail: fraudnet@gao.gov

Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470

Katherine Siggerud, Managing Director, siggerudk@gao.gov, (202) 512-

4400, U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 

7125, Washington, DC 20548

Chuck Young, Managing Director, youngc1@gao.gov, (202) 512-4800

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 

Washington, DC 20548

GAO’s Mission

Obtaining Copies of 

GAO Reports and 

Testimony

Order by Phone

Connect with GAO

To Report Fraud, 

Waste, and Abuse in 

Federal Programs

Congressional 

Relations

Public Affairs

Please Print on Recycled Paper.