Postal Service Ready to Deliver for 2024 Holiday Season

Third Quarter 2021 Summary(1)(2)(4) *Total reported sales of $2.2 billion, down 7% versus last year, largely driven by 160 fewer retail locations in service compared to last year and lower demand year-over-year in certain product categories related to the COVID-19 pandemic *GAAP operating income of $104 million and net income from continuing operations of $73 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, versus $102 million and $34 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, respectively in the prior year *Operating cash flow from continuing operations of $121 million and adjusted free cash flow of $123 million, versus $256 million and $259 million, respectively in the prior year *$1.7 billion of total available liquidity including $753 million in cash and cash equivalents

In a new report released this week, PEN America found 3,362 instances of books banned in public schools in the 2022-23 school year, marking a 33% increase over last year. And in an eyeopening finding, PEN officials found more than 40% percent of all book bans tracked by PEN America occurred in school districts in Florida—1,406 across 33 school districts across the state—with Texas a distant second (625), followed by Missouri (333), Utah (281), and Pennsylvania (186). "Amid a growing climate of censorship, school book bans continue to spread through coordinated campaigns by a vocal minority of groups and individual actors and, increasingly, as a result of pressure from state legislation," the report, Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor, finds.

Holiday spending is expected to increase as much as 4 percent this year. That may not sound like much, but Americans are on track to spend a record $960 billion celebrating the December holidays. For retailers and consumers alike, printed receipts can help make the season brighter. Traditionally, Black Friday heralds the start of the holiday season, but for many, holiday spending is already in full swing, and it won’t stop until January, after the last gifts have been opened and any returns have been made. And despite what some anti-receipt advocates say, consumers overwhelmingly prefer to receive printed receipts with their purchases instead of digital receipts. “In our recent consumer survey, we found that 76 percent of folks want some form of a printed receipt, or at least the option to choose a printed receipt,” says Andrea Forehand, Domtar’s director of sales for thermal POS. “Skip the Slip legislation has come up twice in California, and we’ve been successful in lobbying to prevent that legislation from becoming law because people do want the choice.”