The Cost Structure of the Postal Service: Facts, Trends, and Policy Implications, “a recently released white paper by the OIG’s Risk Analysis Research Center, examines significant trends and cost drivers for the major cost categories of the U.S. Postal Service, which include labor, non-labor and capital. The paper also presents insights with implications for the ongoing policy debate about the future of the Postal Service in the wake of new legislative requirements and record losses in volume and revenue. From exploring the factors driving up labor costs, such as benefits and workers compensation liability, to the challenges in the areas of non-labor costs such as fuel contract management, to current limitations in investing in the future, this paper examines a range of interesting topics impacting the Postal Service and the entire postal “ecosystem”. Having sustained financial losses totaling $20 billion over the last four years, the Postal Service is at a critical juncture in its history, this paper provides an overview of what is driving the organization’s unsustainable trajectory.”