The U.S. Postal Service estimates $238 billion in losses in the next 10 years if lawmakers, postal regulators and unions don't give the mail agency more flexibility in setting delivery schedules, price increases and labor costs.

Estimates released Tuesday also predict that letter carriers will deliver just 150 billion pieces of mail in 2020, a drop of about 26 billion pieces from 2009. Customers will continue to migrate to the Internet and to cheaper standard-mail options, and away from the Postal Service's signature product, first-class mail, Postmaster General John E. Potter reported Tuesday to a Washington meeting of congressional staffers, government watchdogs, postal union officials and major postal customers. Mounting labor costs are also complicating the agency's path to firm fiscal footing.

The Postal Service experienced a 13 percent drop in mail volume last fiscal year, more than double any previous decline, and lost $3.8 billion. The projections anticipate steeper drops in mail volume and revenue over the next 10 years. For the first time, the agency is acknowledging that it seems unlikely mail volume will ever return to pre-recession levels.

In an effort to offset some of the losses, the agency is pushing anew for a dramatic reshaping of how Americans get and send their letters and packages. Potter is seeking more flexibility in the coming year to set delivery schedules, prices and labor costs. The changes could mean an end to Saturday mail deliveries, longer delivery times for letters and packages, increases in postage-stamp prices that

exceed the rate of inflation, and -- possibly -- future layoffs.

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