But first-class mail, like letters and bills, has fallen, too. The recent virus-driven decline follows more than a decade of annual decreases in mail volume, as more companies have digitized their billing and marketing operations. Postal volume is highly seasonal, and the system is equipped to handle huge surges in mail. Even if everyone voted by mail, it would not result in as much additional mail volume as a typical holiday season. This spring’s first-class mail volume was already down 1.2 billion pieces from the same period last year.

Source: New York Times August 20, 2020 09:00 UTC