MAIL IS BIG BUSINESS
The Postal Service is the core of the trillion dollar mailing industry that employs more than 8 million people.*
In 2008, these classes of mail brought in most of the $75 billion in revenue:
- First-Class Mail $38.2 billion
- Advertising Mail $20.6 billion
- Shipping Services $8.4 billion
- International Mail $2.4 billion
- Periodicals $2.3 billion
- Package Services $1.8 billion
If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 26th in the 2008 Fortune 500. First-Class Mail, Advertising Mail and Shipping Services would each make the list as individual businesses — ranking 61st, 119th, and 310th respectively.
*The Envelope Manufacturers Association reported in the “2008 Economic Jobs Study for the Mailing Industry” that there are 8.4 million jobs and over $1 trillion in revenue attributed to the mailing industry.