The U.S. Postal Service delivered fewer packages in the latest quarter for the first time in nine years, as companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and FedEx Corp. increasingly begin to deliver online orders to homes themselves. The shift among the U.S. delivery giants is depriving the Postal Service, a quasigovernmental agency, of much-needed volume, which it...

“Email is faster and cheaper than snail mail.” “I pay all of my bills from my phone.” “The only mail I get is junk mail.” Sound familiar? These comments and similar statements are often made in arguments against the need for the United States Postal Service (USPS). While there are elements of truth...