The United States Postal Service (USPS) on Friday reported a net loss of $2 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, underscoring the service’s strained financial situation despite higher revenues and a decline in some operating costs.
The agency reported $20.2 billion in total operating revenue for the quarter ending on March 31, a 2.3 percent increase compared to the same three-month period last year. Total operating expenses were $22.1 billion, a 4.1 percent drop compared to the same period in 2025.
USPS said the revenue increase was largely driven by price increases for shipping and packages and other specialty mail services, which were partially offset by declining volumes in those same categories.
Overall mail volumes fell 3.4 percent to 25.6 billion pieces, with First-Class Mail seeing the largest drop at 6.3 percent, according to USPS.
The Associated Press reported last month that USPS would temporarily suspend its employer contributions to federal pension programs and increase postage rates, raising the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp by 4 cents.
“During the quarter we were able to get revenue, cost and service results moving in the right direction,” Postmaster General David Steiner said in a statement. “However, the scale of our financial improvements compared to the prior year was modest and we have a long road to go to achieve anything close to long-term financial sustainability.”
Steiner noted that USPS was in a “cash crisis” and taking steps to conserve funds in order to keep operations going.
USPS has operated at a loss every year since 2007, according to the Brookings Institution, and officials have warned it could exhaust all of its cash by February 2027.
The 250-year-old service needs Congress to raise its decades-old $15 million borrowing cap to $34.5 billion in order to stay afloat, according to the AP.
“To avoid disruption and to sustain our role supporting American commerce and the public, we require urgent Congressional action to expand our borrowing authority and to address outdated constraints on the organization,” Steiner said.
President Trump previously floated a potential merger between the mail service and his administration, describing the agency as a “tremendous loser” of money.
However, the idea was met with opposition from Democrats who raised concerns about the agency’s independence and potential delivery.
