OIG Report: Trailer Utilization Still a Problem for USPS

Many USPS facilities were still sending empty or partially empty trailers in fiscal 2022, despite numerous efforts to improve efficiencies, according to an agency watchdog.

A March 30 audit by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Postal Service found that 19 percent of Postal Service facilities had a trailer utilization rate below 40 percent in fiscal 2022, meaning the average delivery held than 40 percent of the mail containers possible for that trailer. USPS’s target goal for the year was at least 40 percent utilization.

The report attributed this to a number of factors, including local transportation managers that failed to monitor and adjust schedules to fit the mail flow and inconsistent use of scans on the docks. The OIG did not level criticism at HCR contractors, who make up the bulk of the delivery fleet.

According to the OIG, 83 out of 441 postal facilities failed to meet USPS’s trailer utilization goal of 40 percent in fiscal 2022. Most facilities (272) had a utilization rate between 40 percent and 65 percent, while 86 postal facilities exceeded 65 percent trailer utilization.

The most problematic facilities — those that ran between 58 and 65 percent of their trips with a utilization threshold below 40 percent — were in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Alabama and North Carolina.

Empty Trailers

Additionally, OIG found that a facility in Utah ran empty trailers 20 percent of the time, while another in Michigan ran empty loads 19 percent of the time. While the report noted that there can be valid reasons for sending empty trailers, these facilities ran significantly more empty loads; the other 28 facilities OIG evaluated had an empty trailer-rate of 5.78 percent.

This push for efficiency, which is a key element in the Delivering for America plan, has borne some fruit for the Postal Service in recent years, OIG noted. Since fiscal 2020, trailer utilization climbed 11.58 percent and USPS cut 160,000 under-utilized trips.

To improve these results, the OIG made two recommendations. First, that Robert Cintron, vice president of logistics, “coordinate with transportation management at sites with trailer utilization below 40 percent to identify underutilized trips” for potential elimination. Second, that Cintron and Mike Barber, vice president of processing and maintenance operations, “develop a plan to increase load scan scores,” which currently sit at 85.79 percent of loads.

While postal officials agreed with the second recommendation, they did not support the first one, arguing that they already have their own evaluation system in place, the report shows. The OIG said it considers the matter “unresolved” and intends to “pursue it through the audit resolution process.”