The headline also said, “$5.5 Billion Loss in Fiscal 2014,” but as we have been saying for months, the reported loss was entirely due to non-cash accounting adjustments. Actual cash on hand was over $5 billion or 19 days of operating cash versus the single digits at the low point. The Postal Service Fund held $5.1 billion on September 30 and $5.5 billion on October 31. So again we see that the liquidity crisis that the USPS cited many times as a driver of needed legislation is no longer with us.

Highlights of USPS performance in FY 2014 included:

• Operating revenue was up $1.9 billion over 2013 to $67.8 billion, excluding a one-time adjustment last year related to Forever stamps.
• The non-cash accounting entry for the retiree health benefit non-prepayment subtracted $5.7 billion from the reported results.
• An additional $1.2 billion in non-cash workers’ compensation expense driven by low interest rates and higher projected future costs further drove the reported loss.
• Revenue grew for the second year in a row, caused by package shipping volume increases and by price increases on mail combined with much smaller volume declines.
• Total mail volume was 155.4 billion pieces, down slightly from 158.2 billion last year. The mail decrease was 2.8 billion pieces or 1.8%. Shipping volume grew by 300 million pieces or 8.1%. Standard Mail, which is used heavily by nonprofits, decreased by only 495 million pieces and First Class Mail dropped 2.2 billion in volume.
• Excluding a non-cash charge for interest rates related to workers compensation, overall operating expenses were down to $71 billion from $72.1 billion the year before, a major accomplishment.

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