INDIANAPOLIS — If you are sending or waiting to receive a package for the holidays, you might be waiting a while longer. In fact, it is possible millions of packages won’t arrive before Christmas.
13News has confirmed increased demand and chronic staffing shortages have created a massive backup that has hobbled the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to deliver packages on time, and part of the backlog is at the USPS shipping hub in Indianapolis.
he problem first came to light when 13News viewers began sending questions to our VERIFY team.
“Is it true that the USPS in Indianapolis has a huge backup of packages in limbo at the airport?” My package mailed in Fishers on 12/7 hasn’t moved,” wrote Deborah Frankel, who spent $21.01 on USPS priority shipping last week to mail a holiday gift to a friend in Colorado. “I’ve looked every day to see if it made any progress, but it hasn’t gone anywhere. And when I called the post office, they told me they know there’s a big backup.”
Lee Ann Canada is facing the same problem. She sent a priority mail package to her newborn granddaughter almost two weeks ago. The gifts have not yet arrived.
“A lot of work went into it. There were a couple of handmade items and probably the most special of all was her very first Christmas stocking,” Canada told 13News. “I hoped that would have reached her for her very first Christmas, but it hasn’t. It looks to me like it’s going nowhere.”
The USPS delivery tracking information for Canada’s package shows it departed the Connersville, Ind., post office on Dec. 4. Four days later, it was recorded as “in transit” and expected to arrive late. That was eight days ago. USPS has provided no update since.
“It’s definitely frustrating, but I know I’m not the only person mailing a package out right now who’s expressing this,” she said.
The supervisors who spoke to 13News were blunt in their assessment of the current backlog impacting millions of packages.
“All priority mail is now running one-to-two weeks behind, but the post office won’t admit that. They won’t tell anybody anything,” said one of the supervisors. “And this isn’t just here in Indiana. It’s the entire country.”
The longtime postal service employee told 13News it is just package delivery that is backed up; letter delivery is running on schedule.
I am with Paul the Red
Postal carriers are exhausted after the campaign and voting mail deluge. The clerks at local post offices are being hammered. Get the head office bosses and IT clowns on the frontline and cut their paychecks. No more cushy job or pay check until the mail is caught up.
I am with Paul the Red
Postal carriers are exhausted after the campaign and voting mail deluge. The clerks at local post offices are being hammered. Get the head office bosses and IT clowns on the frontline and cut their paychecks. No more cushy job or pay check until the mail is caught up.
Its time that 95% of the 7,000 people at USPS HQ,are sent out to work in the facilities,on Tour ! with split days off,if they don’t like that,FIRE ‘EM!