It doesn't add up

It's my birthday today (hip, hip hooray!) and I have received the usual number of cards through the letterbox... thanks very much! According to figures recently released, the UK "daily postbag" has fallen from 80 million items five years ago to 62 million today - a decline of 20% - and a significant part in Royal Mail's excuse for a £120 million loss in the past financial year. Yet this doesn't seem to fit in with my experience as I receive more (non philatelic) mail today than I have ever done. Admittedly much of this is junk mail, but in volume it has increased over the years in which the Royal mail claim a fall.
The other element of their excuse is that the increased use of emails and texting, which allegedly accounts for 50% of personal messaging, has meant that the average person in the UK spends just £18 per year on postage. It would appear to me that the increase of online shopping and auction bidding has created a whole new market for the Royal Mail in delivering online purchases and undermines these figures.

Lilly wonders if she should revert to sending texts as she no longer

gets any replies to her letters

Strange also how Sweden, the worlds most advanced country in the use of information and communications technology, can have a postal service that produces an increase of 157 million euro profits in 2010, up 28% over the previous year.

Despite making £180 million profit in the previous year and a £39 million operating profit over the current year, the announced losses are being used by Royal Mail to justify redundancies. Perhaps they should examine their business planning and management deficiencies before they do.