Amazon, USPS expand Sunday shipping

   Amazon has expanded its Sunday delivery program to 15 additional cities in Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, expanding the service beyond New York City and Los Angeles.
   The new cities are Austin, College Station, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Waco, Texas; Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; Louisville and Lexington, Ky.; New Orleans and Shreveport, La.; Oklahoma City; and Philadelphia.
   The program, launched in November, is a collaboration with the United States Postal Service. According to officials, Amazon will continue to expand Sunday delivery options to more cities throughout the year.
   According to reports, the Sunday deal between USPS and Amazon runs for five years.
   “So far, the most common items delivered on Sunday include baby supplies such as newborn apparel, books and toys — Sunday delivery is clearly crossing errands off the weekend to-do list,” said Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North America operations, said in a statement.
   According to a press release, “millions of packages” have been delivered on Sunday in New York and Los Angeles since the program started.
   Recently, USPS reported that it lost $1.9 billion in the second quarter of fiscal-year 2014, when compared to the same period in 2013, on a 4.1-percent decline in first class mail volume. Revenues, however, were up by $252 million on an 8-percent growth in package and shipping services. According to officials, Sunday and day-specific delivery additions helped generate greater revenues.
   The situation at the USPS remains dark regardless of new shipping programs. According to an earnings release, “Without comprehensive legislative reform, the Postal Service will be unable to make the required $5.7 billion retiree health benefit prefunding payment to the U.S. Treasury, due by Sept. 30, 2014.”