Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This week is expected to be the busiest week of the holiday mailing and shipping season for the Postal Service. The organization expects to process and deliver nearly 3 billion pieces of First-Class Mail, including greeting cards this week alone. The Postal Service also expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages each week from Dec. 11-24.
The Postal Service anticipates delivering more than 15 billion total pieces of mail this holiday season. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, USPS expects to deliver more than 850 million packages, an increase of more than 10 percent compared to the same period last year.
The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities and, to handle the surge in volume, the organization is expanding its Sunday delivery operations in select high package volume locations during the holiday season. USPS expects to deliver more than 6 million packages each Sunday in December. Mail carriers will also deliver Priority Mail Express packages on Christmas Day in select locations.
Ship Online from Home
The Postal Service also predicts that today will be the busiest day for online postal consumers. More than 7 million customers are predicted to avoid holiday hassles and visit usps.com for help sending special gifts. Millions of customers will take advantage of convenient online services, like Click-N-Ship, to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and request free next-day Package Pickup. And unlike many brick-and-mortar stores, usps.com is always open.
The Postal Service’s new feature, Informed Delivery, makes tracking packages easy. The tool allows eligible consumers to view incoming mail, track packages and reschedule deliveries. Customers can sign-up for free at usps.com/informeddelivery.
2017 Holiday Shipping Deadlines
The Postal Service recommends the following mailing and shipping deadlines for expected delivery by Dec. 25:*
- 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 and First–Class Mail
- Dec. 21 – Alaska to Mainland Priority Mail Express
- Dec. 22 – Priority Mail Express
Additional Tips
The Postal Service offers shipping tips in 10 video “how to” guides. The videos, which are 3 minutes or less, address topics such as how to properly address packages, ship packages and pack a box so items arrive safely.
Additional news and information, including all domestic, international and military mailing and shipping deadlines, can be found on the Postal Service online holiday newsroom at usps.com/holidaynews.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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*Actual delivery date may vary and is based on origin, destination, Post Office acceptance time, and other conditions.
Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.
More USPS holiday news, including shipping deadlines and Santa mail, can be found at usps.com/holidaynews.
For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/usps), Instagram (instagram.com/uspostalservice), Pinterest (pinterest.com/uspsstamps), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/usps), subscribe to our channel on YouTube (youtube.com/usps), like us on Facebook (facebook.com/usps) and view our Postal Posts blog (uspsblog.com).
For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts.
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/85fe827b-7237-49ff-9160-95238f468998