“We have a very structured plan around all we’re trying to do to grow our package business,” said Cliff Rucker, vice president of sales for the USPS. “When you think about it, over one-third of our volume is gone since 2006 on the letter side, so that’s why we see package delivery as a growth area.”

To that end, the USPS is moving on several fronts, including seeking $10bn over the next four years to upgrade its aging delivery fleet and add new package sorting equipment, and requesting a nationwide expansion of its pilot run of same-day grocery delivery.

The grocery delivery request, filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission, seeks approval of a two-year test that would expand the USPS “customized delivery” service to an unspecified number of markets. This could include grocery items – as in the current 60-day pilot of next-day delivery in San Francisco in conjunction with Amazon – or other prepackaged goods.

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