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.
International Mail revenue
International Mail is a $1.41 billion business within the Postal Service.
LINK
Link, a daily news site for Postal Service employees, is available on any computer with internet access. The content is produced by a team of writers and editors based at USPS Headquarters in Washington, DC. Additional contributions come from postal employees across the nation. The site is updated with new articles, photos, graphics and videos each weekday.
Regular columns include “Off the Clock,” a column about employees and their after-hours pursuits, and “Milestones,” a regular roundup of employee appointments, awards and retirements.
Employees with USPS email addresses receive a Link email each weekday with the most recent stories. Employees without a Postal Service email address can sign up for the Link Weekly Highlights email at usps.link to have the week’s top stories delivered to their personal email inbox.
of our domains
The Postal Service owns 1,958 internet domains.
our mark
Leaving a mark! The Postal Service has 414 domestic and 982 foreign trademark registrations.
the best
Patently the best. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued more than 700 patents to the Postal Service.
driven
The Postal Service uses data not only to ensure its operations run smoothly, but also to help businesses make better use of the mail. Its mission is to provide the right information to the right people in real time using advanced technology.
petabytes of storage
The Postal Service has 188 petabytes of storage capacity — equivalent to 2.9 million smartphones with 64GB of space.
external email messages
In 2024, the Postal Service email system delivered 1.6 billion external email messages per month, with 70 percent of the volume comprising Informed Delivery Daily Digest emails.
miles driven in 2024
To move mail using surface transportation, the Postal Service drove more than 1.9 billion miles in 2024 — more than 22.6 million trips.
pounds of mail fly each day
The Postal Service used 150 domestic airports to fly 3.7 million pounds of mail each day in 2024.
BROKER
The Lable Broker service solves the ever-increasing problem of online customers not being able to print shipping labels.
With Label Broker, customers can get a shipping label on their mobile device, in the form of a matrix barcode, directly from the merchant. The customer uses the code to print an outbound or return shipping label at a Post Office or on a printer connected to usps.com. Label Broker is also the foundational technology that has enabled the USPS Operation Santa program to expand and evolve in a digital format.
For more information, go to usps.com/business/label-broker.htm.
delivery unit sorter
The Automated Delivery Unit Sorter sorts packages and bundles of mail at a rate of 3,400 pieces per hour with a sort accuracy of 99.95 percent.
GREETINGS
Informed Greetings blends the traditional “mail moment” with a modern digital experience by integrating a personalized digital message into the recipient’s USPS Informed Delivery email when they receive a physical greeting card.
Customers can also select artwork that complements their card from hundreds of designs in six different categories.
Vehicle Service Operations
Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) operations include more than 12,000 uniformed motor vehicle and tractor-trailer operators. The PVS fleet includes 98 sprinter vans, 2,202 cargo vans, 2,364 tractors and nearly 7,351 trailers. Commuting within a 170-mile radius of their facility, PVS drivers traveled more than 184 million miles last year.
seamless mail pieces
The Seamless Acceptance program automates the payment verification of commercial mailings by leveraging electronic documentation, Intelligent Mail barcodes and information collected from both handheld sampling devices and mail processing equipment scans. In 2024, the Seamless Acceptance program accepted 77.5 billion mailpieces from 2,734 mailers.
eInduction mailers
The eInduction process simplifies mail induction by using electronic documentation, Intelligent Mail container barcodes and handheld scanner technologies to verify the payment and preparation of commercial mail containers. In 2024, 1,102 mailers took advantage of eInduction.
in EPS revenue
The Enterprise Payment System (EPS). EPS allows customers to pay for and manage their use of Postal Service products and services online, using an integrated single payment account. In 2024, EPS collected $46.6 billion in revenue, which is a 5.9 percent increase over 2023.
in eVS revenue
The Electronic Verification System (eVS) allows high-volume package mailers and package consolidators to document and pay for postage, including extra service fees, using electronic manifest files. In 2024, eVS processed 4.7 billion packages and collected $16.2 billion in revenue.
in short-paid revenue
The Automated Package Verification program automates the detection and collection of postage due for mailpieces with insufficient postage using automated package processing equipment. The APV program collected $140.9 million in short-paid revenue in 2024.
At Work
The daily operations performed by the Postal Service depend on an astonishing network of people and technologies that collect, transport, process and deliver the nation’s mail.
The daily operations performed by the Postal Service depend on an astonishing network of people and technologies that collect, transport, process and deliver the nation’s mail. The Postal Service operates hundreds of mail processing and distribution centers across the country. The employees in these facilities accept, sort and dispatch the nation’s mail.
The Postal Service operates more than 9,000 pieces of automated equipment that process and sort U.S. Mail.
million trays
Tray sorting machines sort more than 10 million trays per day through conveyor systems.
of processing equipment
The Postal Service operates more than 9,000 pieces of automated equipment that processes and sorts nearly half the world’s mail.
Mobile Delivery Devices
Mobile Delivery Devices (MDDs) provide real-time scanning for daily delivery operations. There are more than 285,000 MDDs in use nationwide.
point-of-sale systems
There are 48,000 retail point-of-sale systems installed in 20,400 locations that provide services at windows, military sites, business partners and self-service kiosk systems.
postage stamp
A postage stamp was onboard NASA's New Horizons spacecraft that made a flyby of Pluto in July 2015. That’s the farthest distance traveled by a postage stamp — more than 3 billion miles, as noted by Guinness World Records.
The “Pluto: Not Yet Explored” 29-cent stamp was part of a set of solar system stamps that were issued in 1991. In 2015, the stamp made a flyby of Pluto while onboard NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. Guinness World Records confirmed the more than 3-billion-mile journey is the farthest distance traveled by a postage stamp.
USPS and mailers
Postal customer councils are Postal Service-affiliated networks connect business mailers with local Post Office leadership to develop more effective and profitable mailings through training and information sharing. Since the 1960s, these councils have been the go-to local resource for helping mailers learn, innovate and build their business. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/pcc.
Find more information at postalpro.usps.com/pcc.
providing technical advice
The Postmaster General’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee is a venue for the Postal Service to share technical information with mailers and to receive their advice and recommendations on matters concerning mail-related products and services. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/mtac.
stamps postmarked per hour
The Advanced Facer Canceller System positions letter mail and postmarks stamps at 36,000 pieces per hour.
miles of conveyors
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.
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.
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.
more than $5B in revenue
Every Door Direct Mail began in 2011 and is designed to help business mailers direct their Marketing Mail pieces to customers in a select neighborhood, city or ZIP Code. Since 2011, more than 33 billion pieces of Every Door Direct Mail pieces have been sent, resulting in $5 billion in revenue. Nearly 3 billion pieces were sent in 2024, totaling $588 million in revenue.
The USPS Printer Directory provides customers free access to local print, design and mail preparation services for Every Door Direct Mail and other direct mail products through a searchable database and mapping program. Hundreds of listings populate the directory that serves small and medium-sized businesses nationwide.
Informed Delivery customers
With Informed Delivery, you can digitally preview your incoming mail and manage your packages from a computer, tablet or mobile device. More than 67 million customers have enrolled since it was launched in 2017.
Informed Delivery provides eligible residential customers with a digital preview of their household’s incoming mail scheduled to arrive soon. Users can view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of incoming letter-sized mail pieces (not the inside contents) via email or an online dashboard.
Informed Delivery also allows customers to track packages delivered by the Postal Service and see when they will be delivered.
For more information and to sign up, go to usps.com/informeddelivery.
handheld scanners
The Postal Service communications network supports and maintains 157,681 workstations, 31,252 server computers, 52,689 printers, 31,092 smartphones, 838 tablets and more than 430,000 handheld scanners.
robotics systems
The Postal Service has the largest gantry robotic fleet in the world with 165 robotics systems moving 300,000 mail trays per day.
Trademarks
The Sonic Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service: Click-N-Ship®, Deliver The Win®, EDDM®, ePostage®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, First-Class Package International Service®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, IMb®, Informed Delivery®, Intelligent Mail®, Label Broker™, Parcel Select®, P.O. Box™, Post Office®, Pony Express®, Postal Inspection Service™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, #PostalProud®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, 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 Operation Santa®, USPS Tracking®, usps.com®, We are people delivering to people™, ZIP+4® and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Non-Postal Trademarks
Dollar General®, Forest Stewardship Council®, How2Recycle®, McDonald’s®, National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, Starbucks®, Subway®, Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, The Climate Registry®.
Postal Facts 2024 provides the public with information about the U.S. Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, in a business, informational or 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.
Produced by U.S. Postal Service Corporate Communications
© 2024 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
© 2016-2025 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
Trademarks
The Sonic Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service: Click-N-Ship®, Deliver The Win®, EDDM®, ePostage®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, First-Class Package International Service®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, IMb®, Informed Delivery®, Intelligent Mail®, Label Broker™, Parcel Select®, P.O. Box™, Post Office®, Pony Express®, Postal Inspection Service™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, #PostalProud®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, 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 Operation Santa®, USPS Tracking®, usps.com®, We are people delivering to people™, ZIP+4® and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Non-Postal Trademarks
Dollar General®, Forest Stewardship Council®, How2Recycle®, McDonald’s®, National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, Starbucks®, Subway®, Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, The Climate Registry®.
Postal Facts 2024 provides the public with information about the U.S. Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, in a business, informational or 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.
Produced by U.S. Postal Service Corporate Communications
© 2024 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
© 2016-2025 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
