Including more than 850 million packages
10/25/2017 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service will deliver more than 15 billion pieces of mail this holiday season. In the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the Postal Service also expects to deliver 850 million packages, which is more than a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
“The Postal Service is well prepared to meet our customers’ needs during the holiday season, especially as demand for package deliveries continues to grow,” said Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General and CEO.
The Postal Service will be expanding its Sunday delivery operations to locations with high package volumes beginning Nov. 26. The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities, and anticipates delivering more than 6 million packages on Sundays this December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages on Christmas Day in select locations.
“America relies on the Postal Service and our 640,000 dedicated employees to deliver the holidays,” said Brennan. “We take great pride in our holiday readiness and preparation, and in our ability to offer reliable, predictable and affordable service in every community in America.”
Busiest Mailing and Delivery Days
With an increase in early and online shopping for gifts, there is no longer a “busiest day” for holiday shipping. Instead, the Postal Service’s busiest time is now two weeks before Christmas. Starting the week of Dec. 11, customer traffic is expected to increase, with the week of Dec. 18 – 24 predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping, and delivery week. During this week, nearly 3 billion pieces of First Class Mail, including greeting cards, will be processed and delivered. The Postal Service also expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages per week during these two weeks.
Skip the Trip and Ship Online
While there may not be a busiest day for shipping this year, the Postal Service anticipates that Dec. 18 will be the Postal Service’s busiest day online with more than 7 million customers predicted to visit usps.com for help shipping that special holiday gift. Customers can avoid holiday hassles by visiting usps.com — the Postal Service’s website that helps make mailing and shipping easier than ever. Millions of customers will skip the trip to the Post Office altogether and take advantage of convenient online shipping this holiday season. Click-N-Ship and other online services allow customers to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and even request free next-day Package Pickup from the mail carrier. And usps.com is always open.
The Postal Service offers a new feature this year to help you track and schedule package delivery. Our Informed Delivery tool not only allows you to see your incoming mail and packages, it also allows you to reschedule delivery of your packages to ensure you’re able to be home to receive them.
2017 Holiday Shipping Deadlines
The Postal Service recommends the following mailing and shipping deadlines:
- Nov. 6 – APO/FPO/DPO USPS Retail Ground
- Dec. 11 – APO/FPO/DPO Priority Mail & First Class Mail
- Dec. 14 – USPS Retail Ground
- Dec. 15 – Hawaii to Mainland Priority Mail & First Class
- Dec. 16 – APO/FPO/DPO USPS Priority Mail Express
- Dec. 16 – First Class Packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
- Dec. 19 – First Class Mail (including greeting cards)
- Dec. 20 – Priority Mail
- Dec. 20 – Hawaii to Mainland Priority Mail Express
- Dec. 20 – Alaska to Mainland Priority Mail & First Class
- Dec. 21 – Alaska to Mainland Priority Mail Express
- Dec. 22 – Priority Mail Express
Additional news and information, including all domestic, international and military mailing and shipping deadlines, can be found at the Postal Service Holiday Newsroom at usps.com/holidaynews.
2016–USPS: Approximately 16 billion pieces of mail, 750 million packages to be delivered this holiday season
No, Megan, we are not ready.
USPS IS DEFINITELY NOT READY!!! We are understaffed with long hours and low moral.
Our LLV’s aren’t big enough now……. but nice to know the PM General says we are prepared to handle the extra volume. MB if she got out of the office and actually visited some offices, she would see how under prepared we are. But once again the carriers will find a way to make it work
If by “ready” you mean short-staffed and starting at a later begin tour, then yes-I guess we’re “ready”!!!!
Unless your in Puerto Rico
Since our office receives huge sized and huge volumes of parcels from AMAZON, FEDEX and UPS we Rural Carriers are not offered any help and cursed for needing 2nd trips. We have been strapping parcels down on our roofs for months!
WHY IS THIS RIDICULOUS UNSAFE WAY OF DELIVERY BEING IGNORED AND PROMOTED BY MANAGEMENT?? BONUSES? WE NEED A MANAGEMENT THAT UNDERSTANDS WE ARE NOT FINANCIALLY EQUIPPED OR PAID TO DELIVER HUGE SIZED, AND HUGE VOLUMES Of PARCELS! THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO DO ARE JOBS MORE SAFELY AND MORE PROFESSIONALLY WOULDN’T IT?
I figured this would be a good place to put this being that the holiday season is guaranteed overtime and additional chaos. Is anywhere else in the country aside from Tampa changing clerks’ bid hours every time you turn around? Mismanagement is at a DefCon-5 level…..I’m serious. First our bids were abolished a couple of months ago; now we got letters changing our start times one half hour later with some getting theirs changed to one hour earlier. According to the MDO that passed out the letters, “the computer” generated the new schedules via the “labor scheduler.” Maybe it’s just me but I remember that the purpose of creating the PSE position was to provide flexibility regarding scheduling. Thanks for letting me vent.
Carriers are already overworked and offered no help from management! Also the parcel volumes are ex-ceding vehicle capacities!! I hope all you upper management parasites choke on the bonuses you will reap off the backs of all of us real working delivery pee-ons!!! Merry blankity blank Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!