Falling mail volume and heavy cost-cutting will lead to three-day-a-week delivery within 15 years, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warns.
It will also spell an end to Saturday mail in the near future.
Mr Donahoe’s bleak forecast is based on a projected $8.3 billion loss this year as the drift from paper to electronic communication wallops the Postal Service.
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He told the USA Today: ‘On September 30, I won’t be able to pay my bills.’
Mr Donahoe was referring to a $5.5 billion payment due on September 30 to cover future retirees’ health benefits.
Mail carriers have been making rounds six days a week since the 19th century.
After postmasters started talking about cutting back, Congress mandated the six-day delivery in 1983.
Mr Donahoe wasn’t specific about how soon he would like to reduce service.
But he believes Congress, which is struggling with the federal budget, will be more open to the idea now.
He said a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll last year helped move the discussion along.
