This paper analyzes whether frequency of delivery and nationwide coverage obligations constitute USO net costs. With no USO on home delivery in place, the USP may be able to increase profits by optimizing its delivery services. Three such optimizations are scrutinized in detail: (1) adjusting...

There is a broad theoretical end empirical economic literature discussing the effects of termination charges on competition and retail prices. Most of this literature has focused on the telecommunications markets. Termination charges in the international parcel market have not yet received much...

This volume, the result of the 21st Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics (Ireland, 2013), describes the continuing problem of the decline of the postal sector in the face of electronic competition and offers strategies for the survival of mail services in a digital age.

This paper explains the potentially excessive termination charges and low quality levels in the international parcel market with a stylized game theoretic model. Within this model it is possible to elaborate the distortions currently in place. The model incorporates quality to account for...

In 2013, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced plans to discontinue the delivery of letters and flats on Saturdays, while continuing parcels delivery. The paper analyses the financial effects of the plan based on a bottom-up delivery model.

Delivery costs are the largest segment of total costs incurred by the United States Postal Service (USPS). These costs comprise 38 percent of total operating costs. Accurately assessing how unit delivery costs behave is crucial to properly attribute costs to products. This report presents the...

Rail passenger transport services with integrated regular interval timetables (IRIT) offer passengers a regular interval timetable for services on the railway network. IRIT have the potential to increase the quality and attractiveness of railway passenger services in comparison to other...