Upcoming Audit Work

The Postal Service’s fleet comprises over 250,000 vehicles of varying classes, including a majority of 130,000 Long-Life Vehicles (LLVs). The LLVs are expensive to maintain, lack modern safety and operational features, as all have exceeded the 24-year life span. To manage its aging fleet, the Postal Service plans to acquire 106,480 new vehicles, including 66,230 battery-electric vehicles. Accordingly, the investment in new vehicles will necessitate the replacement and disposal of its existing LLVs. Our objectives are to assess the Postal Service's controls over the disposal process of long-life vehicles and evaluate its disposal plans as it electrifies its delivery fleet.

The Postal Service manages over 16 million Post Office (PO) Boxes throughout the country, collecting more than $1.4 billion in revenue. As part of its Delivering for America 10-year modernization plan, the Postal Service has taken efforts to improve and enhance PO Box revenue and contribution. Local Postal Service managers and supervisors are responsible for the oversight of PO box service. This audit will assess the management of the Postal Service’s PO Box program, including growth strategies.

The Postal Service developed Fiscal Year 2024 peak season preparedness initiatives to build upon the successes it had during prior peak seasons. The Postal Service’s initiatives spanned multiple functions, including processing and distribution, logistics, retail, and delivery operations. Our objective is to evaluate the Postal Service’s performance during the fiscal year (FY) 2024 peak mailing season and the implementation of its peak mailing season preparedness plan.

The U.S. Postal Service’s mission is to provide the nation with trusted, safe, and secure mail services. Unfortunately, mail theft occurs in various ways. Criminals use stolen universal keys—called arrow keys—to access collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, cluster box units, and apartment panels. Mail theft can also occur by individuals fishing or breaking into collection boxes, residential mailbox break-ins, package theft, and carrier robberies. It is imperative for the Postal Service to address mail theft issues to protect the Postal Service and retain the public’s trust. Our objective is to assess the Postal Service’s actions taken to mitigate and respond to mail theft in San Francisco, CA.

Under Delivering for America, the Postal Service is redesigning its legacy network to create a best-in-class mail and package processing network. Central to this redesign is the creation of approximately 60 Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RPDC) to consolidate mail processing operations and create fewer points in their transportation networks. The Portland, OR RPDC opened in February 2024, centralizing outgoing mail and package processing in the greater Portland metropolitan area. The objective of this audit is to assess the operational impacts related to the launch of this RPDC and identify successes, opportunities, and lessons learned.