U.S. Postal Service losing business to computers

January 12, 1998
Web posted at: 3:25 p.m. EST (2025 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The U.S. Postal Service is facing stiff competition from computers, according to an article in the January 19 issue of Time Magazine.

Electronic mail could replace 25 percent of conventional mail, or "snail mail," by the year 2000, the article said.

The Postal Service lags behind Federal Express and United Parcel Service in shipping packages. The latter already moves 80 percent of the country's packages, according to the article.

Nevertheless, the Postal Service made a billion-dollar profit in 1997 for its third straight year. And the Postal Service is raising money by selling information about mail recipients to marketers.

The post office has the country's most complete demographic data on consumer tastes and interests, according to the article.

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