Canada Post will lose $1 billion a year by 2020

By: Lostcork

According to a report by the Conference Board of Canada, the Canada Post will be losing one billion dollars a year by 2020 due to plummeting mail volumes. The report also includes some contentious ways for the Crown corporation to tackle the issue.

The report states that the volume of mail will drop more than 25 per cent over the next seven years. Parcel volume, while not making up for the lack of mail volume, will increase due to the growing popularity of e-commerce.

The report finds that nearly half of all Canadian households send no more than two pieces of mail every month.

With the invention of electronic bills, online deposits and online advertising, Canadians are now being asked what kind of postal service they’ll be needing in the years to come.

Canada post had recorded profit for 16 years, but now, they expect substantial financial loss in 2013.

However, Canada is not the only country with a decline in mail volume. The U.S. postal service has reported an annual loss of $15.9 billion US.

Thus far, the Canadian Conference Board has suggested five options for Canada Post: wage restraint, alternate-day delivery mail (not including parcels), eliminating door-to-door delivery and establishing centralized mail points, delivery facilities or rural mailboxes. They’ve also suggested to further replacement of corporate poste offices with franchised post outlets and to reduce the speed of delivery.