Contract talks with two unions representing 242,000 letter carriers and mail handlers are at an impasse and a mediator may be called in to resolve differences, Bloomberg reported Monday.

FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. could see more business if the U.S. Postal Service closes more than half of its 478 processing centers, eliminates Saturday deliveries and slows first-class delivery to two to three days from one to two days, said sources who closely monitor postal cargo operations.

The Obama administration is considering short-term assistance to help pull the Postal Service back from potential insolvency, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The U.S. Postal Service said it lost $3.1 billion in its fiscal third quarter ended in June, compared with a $3.5 billion loss a year ago.

Navistar Inc. has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Postal Service to engineer a diesel powertrain replacement for postal delivery vehicles, aimed at reducing rising maintenance and fuel costs for USPS’ aging delivery vehicle fleet.

Canada’s postal strike continued for into a sixth day Wednesday, with rotating work stoppages reaching the Western cities of Calgary and Edmonton, a spokeswoman for Canada Post said Wednesday.

Canada’s postal strike continued over the weekend, with workers in Montreal going out on strike Sunday night, which could affect the entire province of Quebec, the Canadian Press reported Monday.

Canadian postal workers began a series of rolling strikes late Thursday night after talks with the government-owned postal agency failed to yield an agreement, Bloomberg reported Friday.

The U.S. Postal Service, like many commercial fleets, is facing the problems of an aging truck fleet, including burgeoning maintenance costs, but lacks the financial resources to do anything about it, a new government study found.