The United States experienced a considerable slowdown in the rate of first class mail delivered since Trump ally Louis DeJoy was appointed Postmaster General in May of this year. The revelation comes from an analysis by The Guardian which obtained USPS data clearly illustrating a major decline in on-time first class mail delivery rates throughout the summer. DeJoy has served as a donor and fundraiser to several prominent Republicans and he took the reins at the postal service with no prior experience in that sector. He quickly implemented operational changes at the financially crippled agency in a bid to improve its fortunes. Unfortunately, moves to make delivery vehicles run on time and limitations on transporting late mail subsequently resulted in items getting left behind, denting delivery rates that remained stable prior to his appointment
As the following infographic shows, the USPS was delivering around 93% of first class mail on time until DeJoy’s arrival resulted in that rate falling to as low as 81% by early August. The situation was even worse in some parts of the country, notably in several postal districts of key swing states. For example, the northern Ohio postal district saw first class mail delivery rates sink as low as 64% by the middle of August while the figure was even lower in Detroit at 61%. According to The Guardian’s analysis, critics felt that DeJoy implemented his policies at the worst possible time with the country in the midst of a pandemic and just ahead of a presidential election where a significant share of the electorate are going to be forced to cast their vote by mail. First class mail delivery rates are slowly improving, climbing to approximately 88% by the end of August, though they are still below normal.
*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)
Share of first class mail delivered on time in the U.S. by month
Statista
