Watchdog says USPS spent nearly $110 million dealing with misrouted mail in seven-month period

Out of the more than 47 billion First-Class letters processed during a period spanning from March 1 through September 30, 2020, the USPS reported nearly 73 million misrouted.

Mailboxes outside a New Jersey post office in 2020

By Alex Nitzberg

The United States Postal Service expended nearly $110 million in a span of just seven months to deal with misrouted mail, according to the USPS Inspector General.

The watchdog reported that "the Postal Service spent almost $110 million between March 1 and September 30, 2020, to reprocess, rehandle, and redirect misrouted mail. Further, misrouted mail has a high risk of not meeting its stated service performance standards, which could hurt the Postal Service’s brand."

Out of the more than 47 billion First-Class letters processed during a period spanning from March 1 through September 30, 2020, the USPS reported nearly 73 million misrouted.

The number of First-Class packages and Priority mail processed during that timeframe and the number of First-Class packages and Priority Mail misrouted during that period are redacted.