In 1969 it required 1.5 days on average to deliver a first-class letter. By 1982 the average first-class letter required 1.65 days for delivery, and by 1987, 1.72 days. In the quarter of 1990 before the new standards were implemented, the average had increased to l.80 days. In the quarter after the new standards began to be implemented, the average rose to l.83 days — a 1.7 percent increase that makes current average delivery 22 percent slower than 1969 delivery.