I never really thought about it. But that does make sense.
It’s sublet to FedEx - which is why there is now a FedEx drop box in just about every post office.
Express Mail gets handed off to FedEx for transport from post office to post office. It’s cheaper and faster for the Post Office to let FedEx handle it. They wouldn’t do that if they hadn’t had FedEx and UPS around to compete or negotiate with. Otherwise, an Express Mail letter would cost $50 to send and get there in three days instead of overnight.
I’m not saying that the USPS does a bad job these days - but competition from private carriers in various sectors has ensured that USPS service is good.
Did you read the article? La Poste, the French postal service, takes SIX DAYS to get a letter from one side of France to the other. France is about the size of Texas. Here in Texas, the USPS can get a first-class letter from Texarkana to El Paso, a greater distance than inside France, in two days max. Sometimes they get it there in less than 24 hours. Why? Because the USPS has competition. La Poste doesn’t, and this is what this EU law is trying to fix.
Six days to get a letter under 500 miles was acceptable in horse and buggy days. It is totally unacceptable today.