First Class Mail Volume Down 49%

The internet has not been kind to the United States Postal Service. First-class mail is just a shadow of its former self. 

First-class mail volume peaked in 2001 at 104 billion pieces, according to the USPS. By 2020, volume had fallen to just 53 billion—a 49 percent decline. Most of the decline occurred in the five years following the introduction of the smartphone in 2007. 

First-class mail volume (in billions of pieces)

2020: 52.6

2015: 62.6

2012: 68.7

2011: 72.5

2010: 77.6

2009: 82.7

2008: 90.7 

2007: 96.3

2001: 103.7 (peak)

Source: United States Postal Service, First-Class Mail Volume Since 1926

The Decline of First Class Mail

First-class mail is in a steep decline, not surprisingly. The number of pieces of first class mail handled by the U.S. Postal Service peaked in 2001 at nearly 104 billion. By 2016, the number had slipped to 61 billion—a 41 percent decline and about what it was in 1981.

The biggest decline in first-class mail volume occurred after the introduction of the smartphone in 2007. Between 2007 and 2011, first-class mail fell by nearly 24 billion pieces—a decline of more than 5 billion pieces a year. Those years account for 56 percent of the overall decline in first-class mail volume since the 2001 peak. In more recent years, the decline in first-class mail volume has slowed to about 1.3 billion pieces a year.

Volume of first-class mail (in billions)
2016: 61.2
2015: 62.6
2011: 72.5
2007: 96.2
2001: 103.7 (peak year)

Source: USPS, Postage Rates and Historical Statistics

Who Looks Forward to Getting the Mail?

Only 41 percent of Americans look forward to getting their (snail) mail each day, according to a Gallup poll. Older people enjoy it more than younger ones...

Percent who look forward to getting the mail
Under age 50: 36%
Aged 50 to 64: 41%
Aged 65-plus: 56%

Source: Gallup, Four in 10 Americans Look Forward to Checking Mail