Postal Facts - U.S. Postal Service
The Postal Service is always striving to increase the impact, excitement and value of mail. We’ve always embraced new technologies and innovation. We’re firmly focused on improving the mailing experience.
People, machines, vehicles, technology — it’s an impressive feat to get that card from grandma or that package from your favorite online store to your doorstep.
The Delivery Barcode Sorter reads the barcode on letters and sorts them at 36,000 pieces per hour.
2012
MTEOR system introduced
The Mail Transport Equipment Ordering system was introduced in 2012. MTEOR standardizes the ordering process for mail transport equipment, allowing mailers to order it online and improve equipment management efficiency.
Tray sorting machines sort more than 18 million trays per day through conveyor systems.
8,500
processing equipment
The Postal Service uses more than 8,500 pieces of automated processing equipment to sort nearly half the world's mail.
260,000
Mobile Delivery Devices
Mobile Delivery Devices provide real-time scanning for daily delivery operations. There are more than 260,000 devices in use nationwide.
The Postal Service has 16,000 virtual servers in use today, helping save space and reduce power consumption in our data centers.
Blocked
fraudulent transactions
The Postal Service automatically blocks $1 million per month in potential fraudulent transactions for money order purchases.
USPS is staying CyberSafe. In 2017 we blocked nearly 1.7 million email messages due to spam, more than 330,000 emails due to content and 5,000 malware attempts.
More than 381 million credit and debit card transactions are processed annually through IT systems in Post Offices and through usps.com. These systems authorized more than $12 billion per year in debit/credit revenue for the Postal Service.
45,000
point-of-sale terminals
The Postal Service maintains 45,000 point-of-sale terminals and 2,837 self-service retail kiosks nationwide.
POSTAL COURT
resolving disputes
The Postal Service's Judicial Officer Department is a court system that conducts hearings and neutrally resolves a wide variety of disputes involving postal matters.
36,000
stamps canceled per hour
The Advanced Facer Canceller System positions letter mail and cancels stamps at 36,000 per hour.
The Postal Service is one of the largest material-handling systems in the world for moving mail. There are more than 200 miles of conveyors within postal facilities.
Optical
character recognition
The Postal Service is the world leader in optical character recognition technology with machines reading nearly 98 percent of all hand-addressed letters and 99.5 percent of machine-printed mail.
On eligible mailpieces, Picture Permit Indicia can include a corporate logo, brand image or trademark to raise brand awareness and market products and services.
Combine pixels and paper to create Irresistible Mail. By using mobile technology, business customers can increase the impact of their direct mail with customized QR codes and augmented reality to help turn interest into action and create interactive experiences.
TRACKING
Intelligent Mail
A unique Intelligent Mail barcode identifies individual pieces of mail, trays, sacks and containers to track them through the postal processing system from induction to delivery.
Every Door Direct Mail is an online service that uses demographic data to help business mailers make sure their marketing messages reach the right customers in a select neighborhood, city or ZIP Code. Since 2011, there have been more than 3.4 million transactions, 6 billion mailpieces and $2.6 billion in revenue.
With Informed Delivery service, you can digitally preview your incoming mail and manage your packages from a computer, tablet or mobile device. More than 8 million customers have enrolled in this free service since it launched in 2017. Residential consumers and residential PO Box customers can sign up at usps.com.
310,000
handheld scanners
Our communications network supports and maintains more than 145,000 desktop computers, 23,000 notebook computers, 97,000 printers, 27,000 mobile devices including smartphones, 400,000 phone lines and 310,000 handheld scanners.
The Postal Service has the largest gantry robotic fleet in the world using 174 robotics systems to move 314,000 mail trays per day.
Trademarks
The Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following word marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service®:
Certified Mail®, Click-N-Ship®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, gopost®, Intelligent Mail®, Metro Post®, Parcel Select®, PO Box™, Post Office™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, Postal Service™, Premium Forwarding Service® , Priority Mail®, Priority Mail Express®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, Return For Good®, Standard Mail®, The Postal Store®, United States Postal Inspection Service®, United States Postal Service®, U.S. Mail®, U.S. Postal Inspector®, U.S. Postal Service®, USPS®, USPS BlueEarth®, USPS Mobile®, USPS Tracking®, USPS.COM®, ZIP + 4®, and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Postal Facts provides the public with information about the Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, and in a business, informational, academic context and the like, and in the body of text discussing factual subject matter relevant to the fact being presented. However, these facts may become outdated after publication and seeking the latest information is advised.
Special thanks to the Postal Facts 2018 editors:
Sue Brennan, Ilze Sella, Megan Plummer, Ashley Holmes Mullenix, Tatiana Roy, Carl Walton
Website design by:
Scott Tracy
Visit about.usps.com for more information.
Produced by Corporate Communications
© 2016-2018 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
