The United States Postal Service (USPS) has begun its holiday readiness initiatives – including hiring 10,000 seasonal employees and expanding its daily package processing capacity to approximately 70 million.
The postal service also announced it will not levy any additional surcharges for customers this holiday season, offering increased predictability in pricing for customers. There will be no additional fees for residential area delivery, for Saturday delivery or for minimum volumes. USPS will continue to be the most affordable way to mail and ship this holiday season.
As part of its Delivering for America investments, the postal service has converted over 150,000 pre-career workers into career positions since October 2020. Due to this success, USPS anticipates the need to hire only an additional 10,000 seasonal employees.
To date, the postal service has also installed 348 new package processing machines across the nation since the beginning of 2021. This includes 100 new sorting machines since last peak season. USPS will install an additional 47 new machines ahead of this holiday season. This is part of the organization’s US$40bn investment in new technology and facilities under Delivering for America. These new machines are strategic investments in local community postal infrastructure, which are expected to enable postal workers to sort and process packages of all sizes more quickly and reliably.
USPS has expanded its daily package processing capacity to approximately 70 million – an increase of approximately 10 million over 2022’s capacity. Since 2020, the postal service has nearly tripled its daily package processing capacity. Increased package processing capacity allows for packages to move through the postal network more quickly and eliminates the need for the leasing of temporary annexes.
USPS has adapted its transportation and logistics processes to handle the high mail and package volumes expected during the peak holiday season. The postal service continues to move mail and package volume from expensive air transportation to its redesigned ground transportation network. Currently, 95% of first-class mail and more than 95% of first-class packages are moved through the improved, more reliable ground transportation system. The postal service also launched a new shipping solution, USPS Ground Advantage, which provides a simple, reliable and more affordable way to ship packages this holiday season in just two to five business days across the continental USA.
In 2022, the postal service processed more than 11.7 billion mailpieces and packages during the holiday season. On average, it took just 2.5 days to deliver a mailpiece or package to its intended destination. Due to the ongoing implementation of the Delivering for America strategic plan, 98% of the nation’s population currently receives their mail and packages in less than three days. With approximately 40% of first-class mail and packages getting delivered a day in advance.
“Our 2022 peak season was a tremendous success,” said Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General and CEO for USPS. “We are ready to deliver for the holidays in a superior and routine manner. We have been planning early and leveraging investments in our people, infrastructure, transportation and technology made possible by the Delivering for America plan. And with no holiday surcharges, we are strongly positioned to be America’s most affordable delivery provider this holiday season.
“We understand the importance of every single package and letter that is sent during the holidays. That is why we continue to adapt and execute strategies to modernize and transform the Postal Service into the high-performing organization the nation expects and deserves. I am confident in our ability to handle the peak season surge and deliver exceptional service to the American people during the holidays and beyond.”
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