The U.S. Postal Service survived the early years of the Internet relatively intact. In 1993 (the year of the first graphical Internet browser, Mosaic), the postal service handled 171 billion pieces of mail. The volume of mail grew handily for the next seven years, peaking at 208 billion in 2000.
Last year, the postal service handled 168 billion pieces of mail, 19 percent below the peak. Before you write off the Postal Service, consider this: the decline in mail volume since 2000 is not unprecedented. Mail volume fell by a larger 29 percent between 1929 and 1933.
Source: U.S. Postal Service, Postage Rates and Historical Statistics
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