The U.S. Postal Service reported Friday a second-quarter net loss that widened to $1.34 billion from $562 million a year ago. The controllable loss, which excludes items that are non-recurring and outside of management control, was $656 million vs. a profit of $12 million a year ago. The controllable loss was due primarily by a $236 million increase in retiree health benefit costs, a $364 million rise in compensation expenses and a $155 million increase in transportation expenses. Revenue rose 1.4% to $17.50 billion, as a 9.5% rise in shipping and packages revenue helped offset a 2.5% decline in first-class mail revenue. "Despite growth in our package business, our financial results reflect systemic trends in the marketplace and the effects of an inflexible, legislatively mandated business model that limits our ability to generate sufficient revenue and imposes costs upon us that we cannot afford," said Postmaster General Megan Brennan. The USPS results come at a time that shares of rival package delivery companies United Parcel Service Inc. has lost 4.3% year to date and FedEx Corp. slipped 0.7%, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.9%.