non-domiciled CDLs and CLPs only to drivers having temporary agricultural worker H-2A visas. FMCSA approval has not been given to issue the other two visa types for foreign trucker licenses — an H-2B for nonagricul- tural workers and E-2 for treaty investors. “The department will be authorized to resume non-domiciled CDL issuances for H-2B and E-2 visa holders at the discretion of the FMCSA. We will share official up- dates as they become available,” Nolen explained. USPS revamps network as cash concerns build, calls for Senate reforms By Noël Fletcher Staff Reporter The U.S. Postal Service is revamping its logistics and transportation network to speed package flows and cut costs, but the postmaster general says its business model is running out of cash. This message was delivered by U.S. Postmaster General and CEO David Stein- er during his recent testimony before a U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Se- curity and Governmental Affairs. Steiner said Congress needs to fix the post office’s “broken business model” that is “running out of cash by the end of this fiscal year.” He said the agency’s “unre- stricted cash position [is] deteriorating to a negative $125.9 billion by FY 2035 absent structural change.” He delivered a 33-page address called “Reforming the U.S. Postal Service’s Bro- ken Business Model” on June 24. “Every lever that is available to private- sector enterprises, or even other govern- ment agencies, is unavailable to the Postal Service,” Steiner said. He said Congress should allow USPS “to operate as a truly independent agency, free of government-imposed mandates, or pay us for those mandates. We truly believe that paying for those mandates and utiliz- ing the Postal Service as a growth engine for the $2 trillion mailing industry is what is best for the American people.” Amid the call for changes, he outlined on- going logistical inefficiency improvements to modernize “operational precision.” USPS has invested nearly $20 billion to redesign its facilities and processing to handle a higher volume of letters and au- tomate package processing to efficiently handle today’s evolving mail and package mix, Albert Ruiz, USPS senior public rela- tions spokesperson, told Transport Topics. Changing transportation network The USPS has changed its transporta- tion network to have regional processing and distribution centers as a focal point with supporting facilities and high-speed routes. The goal is an efficient, lower-cost transportation network designed for faster flows of packages and mail.
Packages are sorted at a regional processing and distribution center in Phoenix. USPS aims to establish 60 RPDCs. (U.S. Postal Service)
“Under the legacy network, processing functions were spread across several facil- ities in a given region, leaving the process- ing network decentralized and necessitat- ing duplicative or excessive transportation trips to move mail and packages between processing facilities,” Ruiz said. Today’s new RPDCs feature standardized processing, transportation and cross-dock- ing functions for mail and packages. These centers also can handle higher-powered package sorting equipment — boosting package processing to 88 million in 2025 from 60 million five years earlier. USPS aims to establish 60 RPDCs. It launched three new ones June 29 in Nash- ville, Tenn.; Oklahoma City and Sacra- mento, Calif. Other active RPDCs USPS’ other active RPDCs are located in Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; Boise, Idaho; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Greensboro, N.C.; Houston; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Fla.; Jersey City, N.J.; Memphis, Tenn.; Port- land, Ore.; Richmond, Va.; and St. Louis. “Our old, inefficient and expensive patch- work of facilities is being systematically re- placed with a structured, logical and efficient hub-and-spoke network,” Steiner said. Sorting and delivery centers USPS is also modernizing its transporta- tion system of 19,000 local delivery units in key markets for fewer, larger sorting and de- livery centers. By combining operations in centralized facilities the agency plans to streamline processes and improve reliability and efficiency in final-delivery operations. The agency has now opened 158 SDCs with modern package sorting equipment, electric vehicle-charging infrastructure and optimized transportation to and from processing facilities. By mid-July, USPS plans to open SDC sites in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Washington state. Regional optimization A third component of improvements is regional transportation optimization. This objective aligns transportation schedules between processing facilities and post office locations to improve oper- ational efficiencies. RTO was fully implemented nationwide in July 2025. Without changing deliveries, RTO “is focused on more efficient collec- tion, transportation, and processing of mail and packages,” Ruiz said.
Transport Topics • July 2026, Issue 1 13
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