The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that theU.S. Postal Service (USPS) is in urgent need of restructuring andis moving too slowly to cut costs. The GAO also added the USPS toits high-risk list of federal areas in need of transformation.

The Postal Service's problems may continue to worsen even afterthe recession ends. Both consumer and business customers are usingtraditional mail less in favor of e-mail and other means ofcommunication.

Among the USPS's woes:

o Mail volume last year fell by 9.5 billion pieces to 203billion pieces and it is expected to fall to 175 billion piecesthis year. The Postal Service anticipates mail volume will continueto remain flat or decline further during the next 5years.

o The USPS is expected to post a $7 billion loss this year. Ithas outstanding debt of $10 billion and may have a cash shortfallthis year of $1 billion.

o To meet payroll and other expenses this year, the USPS hopesto delay payments to its retiree healthcare fund. It also isclosing post office locations, cutting jobs and freezing salaries.It also might reduce mail delivery to 5 days a week.

The GAO report also suggests the Postal Service exploreopportunities to generate new forms of revenue.