First-class headache delivered

Several deadlines to ship holiday packages through the United States Postal Service occur this week, but some residents might already be experiencing a delay in deliveries. 

According to a USPS news release Monday, customer traffic across all post office locations has steadily increased since Dec. 6. But this week is “expected to be the busiest week” of the holiday season, with nearly 2.3 billion items flowing through the Postal Service’s system. 

“This will be the busiest week of mailing and shipping across the nation,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a USPS online video on Monday. “Our entire team is working around the clock to deliver the holidays for the nation.” 

If you have a package that needs to get to its destination by Dec. 25, USPS recommends following these deadlines for domestic shipments:

Dec. 15 — Retail Ground 

Dec. 16 — Priority Mail and Express Military 

Dec. 17 — First-Class Mail 

Dec. 17 — First-Class packages up to 15.99 ounces

Dec. 18 — Priority Mail 

Dec. 23 — Priority Mail Express 

The drop-dead recommended date to ship items to Alaska or Hawaii from the continental U.S. is Dec. 21. USPS does not guarantee items will make it to their destination before Dec. 25, but the deadlines are a customer’s best bet. 

With Christmas only 11 days away, some residents have already seen postal struggles. 

Post Falls resident Justin Hanley and his wife checked the online tracking code when an expected package was never delivered. He said it required in-store pickup, which was abnormal for the family. 

“When you’re used to having stuff delivered at the house and haven’t received a package, you worry about stuff being left on the porch. Maybe it got delivered and stolen,” Hanley said Monday. “I’ve seen the trucks out there at 9 p.m., so I know they’re working late.” 

Calling the post office was no use as the phone would ring till disconnected, he said. But once Hanley got to the Post Falls location, it was clear why: Employees were “just absolutely overwhelmed” with the workload. 

“Every time I’ve been there, people are 100% professional, but you can see they are worn out,” Hanley said. “They’re on the receiving end, and I feel bad.” 

Staff stayed past 5 p.m. to help the last few customers. Hanley said employees couldn't find some packages in the pile of new shipments. When he asked employees at the front counter what was causing the stress, he said they told him they are getting upward of 50 pallets of goods every day from Amazon. 

According to the USPS website, a pallet weighs anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 pounds. Amazon has held contracts with USPS and other delivery services like FedEx and United Parcel Service since 2013.

According to an Amazon news release in May, the contract contributed nearly $11 billion in profit for the USPS in 2020.  

“The Postal Service anticipates that between 850 million and 950 million packages will be delivered for the holidays,” a Dec. 10 USPS release states. “The total number of letters, cards and packages processed and delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is estimated to be more than 12 billion.”

What’s more, when packages are shipped through other companies like UPS and FedEx, carriers can transfer them to USPS if the recipient isn't available during typical delivery times.

“They’re getting hit with all these extra packages,” Hanley said. 

In a news release on Dec. 10, USPS reported its network “continues to run smoothly nationwide” and is averaging a 2.7-day delivery time.

While unsure, Hanley believes staffing shortages might exacerbate the stress. 

“I’ve seen a sign out in front of the post office trying to hire for months,” he said. “The staff has always been very agreeable, and they were going as fast as they could, but I think they’re way in over their head with the growth and more people buying stuff online.”

Since last October, the USPS reported hiring more than 185,000 employees and converting 63,000 workers to career positions. It also acquired more space and installed new technology across all its locations “to address year-round space constraints due to parcel growth.” 

“Altogether, the new investments give the Postal Service the capacity to process an additional 4.5 million packages each day,” the release says.

From Oct. 1 to Dec. 3, USPS reported that upward of 82.6% of items were delivered on time. 

Hanley said he appreciates the postal staff who are “going above and beyond” this season. Still, he said residents should know there could be a hiccup in delivery ahead of the holidays. 

“They are an awesome group of people who are working their tail off,” he said. 

USPS did not respond to Press requests for comment.

Info: usps.com/holidaynews