The fault might not be totally with the Post Office. The airlines might have something to do with it too. Unlike UPS, the Postal Service does NOT have it's own planes, and must rely on commercial flights to get the mail to where it is going.

Each plane can carry only so much weight, which is divided into catagories: fuel, passengers, baggage, food, chemicals for the bathrooms, and mail. Do to rising costs, the airlines are cutting back on flights. And, some airlines have even gone bankrupt. Fewer airlines and flights mean more passengers and baggage on each flight. More weight for "P & B" means less room and weight allowance for mail. There are approximately 350 letters in a tray of mail, which weighs about 15 pounds, and is 1.75 feet long. Take 8 2-pound packages off of a plane, and you have room for a tray of mail. So, more letters on a flight means that more packages go by truck. More packages by truck means more time in transit, and a longer delivery time. And, finally, fewer large, heavy parcels on flights means fewer opportunities for "bad things" to happen to a flight.

I hope this explination helps.