• Washington Post , Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:15 AM

Postmaster General John E. Potter says the post office may need to cut back to five-day delivery for the first time in the agency's history because of rising costs and the global recession. The move, which would have to be approved by Congress and postal officials, could mean the elimination of mail on the system's slowest days, Saturdays or Tuesdays.

Third-class advertising mail -- recently renamed "standard mail" -- has been one bright spot in the system, Dan Eggen reports, but that market has also dropped off because of the economy. Cutting a day could have a dramatic effect on weekly magazine publishers, direct-mail firms and other businesses that rely on the mail.

But Bonnie Carlson, president of the Promotion Marketing Association, says that while a reduction could drive some businesses to email and other media, the overall impact would be minimal. "I don't see that as having a huge sea change in the world of marketing for retailers," she said.

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