WASHINGTON, D.C. - The effects of September 11, bioterrorism, and a sluggish economy impacted Postal Service revenues and mail volumes through the first quarter of fiscal year 2002. In his report to the Postal Service Board of Governors today, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Richard J. Strasser Jr. said Quarter I net income of $108 million was $521 million under plan. Total revenue for the quarter (Sept. 8 - Nov. 30) was $15.4 billion. Strasser also reported that overall mail volumes dropped some 2.8 billion pieces (or 5.5 percent) below the same period last year. That marked the single largest quarterly mail volume decline in recent history. Standard Mail volume - reflecting softness in the advertising market -- led the decline, posting 2.2 billion fewer pieces than last year. First-Class Mail dropped 550 million pieces below last year's volume for the same period, while Priority Mail volume dipped 47 million pieces. One bright spot in the report focused on Quarter I expenses. Total expenses of $15.3 billion for the quarter were $355 million below plan, and only 0.5 percent above the same period last year. Success in controlling expenses was due to aggressive work-hour cuts, including management and staff reductions. During Quarter I, the Postal Service reduced work-hour usage by 17.8 million work hours compared to the same period last year. That reduction, coupled with the cumulative work-hour reduction of 23.1 million hours in fiscal year 2001, means the Postal Service has cut 16,300 full-time career employees (more than 40 million work hours) from its operating expenses since fiscal year 2000. At the same time, the Postal Service added more than 3 million deliveries to its national network.