Postal service fueled by increased use during pandemic: report

The United States Postal Service (USPS) experienced an increase in This year, e-commerce transactions that appear to have alleviated some of their financial problems, according to data the agency released to Congress obtained by The Washington Post.

Package deliveries reportedly increased from 20 to 50 percent in April compared to the same period last year, and from 60 to 80 percent in May.

The report came at the request of the senator. Ron JohnsonRonald (Ron) Harold JohnsonLawyers introduce legislation to establish National Cybersecurity Director Trump a Republican standoff over a new round of checks. (R-Wis.), Who requested a revised financial forecast after the USPS exceeded expectations at the start of the pandemic.

The new figures come after the Postal Service told lawmakers it expected $ 2 billion a month to bleed for 18 months, risking bankruptcy as early as September. The agency had said it could hold out until March 2021 with a $ 10 billion loan from the Treasury Department.

The agency had $ 9.2 billion in cash at the start of the pandemic, which is about two months paid for its 630,000 workers, according to the Post. She now has $ 13.4 billion in cash after drawing on a separate $ 3.4 billion Treasury Department loan.

“Projections continue to show that a liquidity crisis is inevitable,” the USPS wrote in a presentation to lawmakers, according to the Post. “The variable is when the cash will run out in the next 18 months.”

President TrumpDonald John Trump The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to defeat ObamaCare Trump says there will be ‘retribution’ for those who disfigure the monuments of the White House task force that tracks coronavirus spikes even when Trump says the virus is ‘disappearing’: MORE report He has said that the Postal Service should charge more for operators like Amazon, which he says is taking advantage of it.

The $ 3 trillion House-passed HEROES Act, which has not been adopted by the Senate, includes a $ 25 billion postal grant and provisions that strip Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s authority to set loan terms.