The 10 Roads group of companies — one of the largest U.S. mail haulers — announced Monday it will wind down all operations over the next 60 days and cease service to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) by Jan. 30, citing steep revenue losses tied to major USPS network changes. In a statement to FreightWaves, the company said it has faced “continued and significant headwinds” across the transportation sector, compounded by fundamental operational shifts at USPS over the past two years. Those changes include increased use of brokers and the insourcing of transportation work — a trend that 10 Roads said has resulted in a 70% loss of revenue with expectations of further declines, company officials said. The company, which has provided mail-haul transportation to USPS for more than 47 years, said it has formally notified USPS of its intent to discontinue service. “We remain very appreciative of our long-standing relationship with the USPS and are committed to supporting a smooth transition,” the spokesperson added.

The market “looks a lot more bullish than it did three or four months ago,” said James Williams, president of London, Arkansas-based energy researcher WTRG Economics. The stockpile declines aren’t surprising since “refinery utilization is coming down this time of year because it’s turnaround season,” he said. Nonetheless, he predicted prices will rally again Wednesday if the government confirms the drops. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to extend supply cuts beyond their March expiration date, which has supported oil above the key $50-a-barrel psychological threshold. In addition, oil demand is proving more resilient than some expected, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih said in Riyadh. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for New York-traded futures contracts, probably declined by 500,000 barrels, according to a separate forecast compiled by Bloomberg. A Bloomberg survey estimated that U.S crude stockpiles slid by 3 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles probably rose by 1.7 million barrels. The API report also showed crude stockpiles rose by 519,000 barrels, while Cushing supplies fell by 55,000 barrels last week. A draw at Cushing would be the first since August if the Energy Information Administration confirms it in its data release on Wednesday. Click Read More below for additional information.