Standard mail volume continued its slow return in March with an increase 5.5%, according to recent data filed by the US Postal Service with the Postal Regulatory Commission. This follows an increase in standard mail volume of 0.2% in February and, prior to that, many months of declines, some of which were quite steep. The US Postal Service’s total mail volume was up 2% in March but dropped 6.3% for the first six months of its fiscal year. Some of the other categories didn’t fare as well as standard mail in March. First class mail volume dropped 0.9% for the month and periodicals volume lost 3.2%. For the first half, first class mail volume decreased 6.6% and standard mail volume decreased 5.8% while the volume of periodicals decreased 9.3%. The US Postal Service reported a net loss totaling $381 million for March. For the fiscal half-year period ending in March, the USPS’ loss totaled $1.9 billion. The news coincided with the Postal Regulatory Commission’s first round of public field hearings giving mail users and the public an opportunity to offer their views on the Postal Service’s proposal to eliminate Saturday mail delivery. While moving to a five-day delivery schedule is one the ways the Postal Service hopes to cut costs and stem losses, two mailers at this week’s public hearing in Sacramento, CA, insisted such a move would be bad for their businesses. In this article from The Sacramento Bee, the mailers describe the important role mail plays for their businesses and how a reduction in its delivery schedule by the Postal Service would delay shipments, threaten jobs and negatively impact growth.