USPS issues new Love stamp
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics for the first week of the second quarter for fiscal year 2024. The average time for the Postal Service to deliver a mailpiece or package across the nation was 2.8 days.
FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 5, included:
- First-Class Mail: 87.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.
- Marketing Mail: 93.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter.
- Periodicals: 82.0 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.
During peak season, USPS experienced a significant growth in package volume throughout the nation, and effectively managed the expected increased volume along with the unexpected network disruptions outside its control as demonstrated by its continuing ability to deliver mail and packages to 98 percent of the nation’s population in less than three days.
In fact, approximately 45 percent of mail and packages are delivered a day in advance of the specified service standard, and approximately 97 percent of all mail and packages are delivered within a day of its specified service standard, which evidences our ability to rapidly adjust to all conditions. The very small percentage of mail that is not delivered within this time frame is often the result of broader staffing and hiring issues within the local economies that we are working aggressively to address.
One of the goals of Delivering for America, the Postal Service’s 10-year plan for achieving financial sustainability and service excellence, is to meet or exceed 95 percent on-time service performance for all mail and shipping products once all elements of the plan are implemented. Service performance is defined by the Postal Service as the time it takes to deliver a mailpiece or package from its acceptance into our system through its delivery, as measured against published service standards.
With the implementation of the Delivering for America plan, the Postal Service continues its focus on improving service reliability for the American public and business customers by modernizing the outmoded and aging postal network across the nation.
Meanwhile, the Postal Service continues its celebration of the joys of love with the latest stamp in the popular Love stamp series. The issue date for the 2024 Love stamp was set to allow customers to take advantage of this beautiful stamp for their Valentine’s Day messages. The stamp was issued in Romance, Arkansas.
The digital illustration on this stamp features a highly stylized white bird made of four geometric shapes shown against a rich red background. Facing the upper right corner of the stamp, the bird carries in its beak a pink envelope sealed with a red heart.
The envelope carried by the bird on this stamp serves a purpose similar to the stamp itself, hinting at a fond greeting from a loved one even before the letter or card has been opened. The red, white, and pink of this design call to mind the traditional colors of Valentine’s Day cards and decorations, but as with all previous Love issuances since the series began in 1973, this stamp encourages us to open our hearts and express our feelings on any occasion—especially when it comes as a welcome surprise.
Antonio Alcalá designed this stamp with art by Katie Kirk.
The love stamp pane of 20 stamps are issued as Forever stamps. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1‑ounce price.
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon.
(USPS Release)