TERRE HAUTE — A study is under way to determine the feasibility and advantages of consolidating the U.S. Postal Service’s Terre Haute Processing and Distribution facility on Margaret Avenue with a similar facility in Indianapolis.
The study, known as an Area Mail Processing (AMP) study, began Thursday and is expected to have results by early May, said Kim Yates, spokeswoman for Postal Service at Indianapolis.
The study involves a review of the mail processing and transportation operations to determine capacity needs for Terre Haute in order to increase efficiency and improve productivity.
If approved, it would impact 10 of the facility’s 69 employees, Yates said. Those employees would be reassigned.
“We expect that everyone will still be working,” she said.
If the feasibility study supports the business case for changing mail processing operations, the Postal Service will hold a public meeting to allow community input to ask questions and provide feedback to be considered in the final proposal. The public meeting, if needed, would likely be in June or July, Yates said.
One study was conducted about a year ago, resulting in Bloomington’s outgoing mail operation being done in Indianapolis. Two other studies have been completed and approved, with implementation to start before June, consolidating Muncie’s mail processing facility, as well as Lafayette’s facility, with Kokomo, Yates said.
“All of the mail for the Muncie community will continue to be worked within their own plant. Lafayette is the same and Bloomington is doing the same thing now. It would be the same for Terre Haute, if that study is approved,” Yates said.
As an example, mail in Muncie is gathered, then transported to Kokomo where it is postmarked and sent back the same evening to Muncie for nightly sorting and distribution.
“It is a capacity situation for us. What is happening is the mail volume has dropped tremendously,” Yates said. “We are finding ourselves in a position of having more employees and buildings and equipment than we have mail to work. So it is economical to take advantage of the capacity that is available in one plant. You can save money on transportation on maintenance for the plant and its particular equipment.
“Those studies are only approved if we can maintain service to the customers. If we look at the study and we find that we cannot maintain the service, the study would be halted,” Yates said.
Last year, the U.S. Postal Service handled 171 billion pieces of mail. However, it is projecting a loss of 11 billion pieces this year. The Postal Service had a $8.5 billion revenue shortfall last year and anticipates a $6.4 billion shortfall this year, Yates said.
The Postal Service, with 36,000 retail locations, receives no direct support from taxpayers, Yates said, but is funded from the sale of postage, products and services to pay operating costs. If the Postal Service, with an annual revenue of $68 billion, were a private company, it would rank 28th on the 2009 Fortune 500.
The Postal Service is also reviewing the function of all its post offices, including smaller branches. Those studies are on-going and are expected to be concluded by year’s end.
“We are looking at every operation within the Postal Service. The financial situation we find ourselves in now is not something we’ve ever experienced,” Yates said. “Every different facet of the Postal Service is being looked at, such as consolidating plants, consolidating delivery units, adjusting carriers’ routes, pulling out collection boxes that are under utilized.”
The Postal Service is now soliciting the public’s input and questions for Terre Haute as part of the study process. Comments may be submitted to: Consumer Affairs Manager, 3939 Vinceness Road, Indianapolis, IN 46298-9631.
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