The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is ready to deliver more than 28 million packages per day between Dec.16-21, and will average 20.5 million packages per day through the remainder of the year.
With a projected 800 million package deliveries between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the Postal Service delivers more packages to homes than any other shipper.
The Postal Service will expand Sunday delivery beginning Nov. 24 to locations with high package volumes. USPS already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities, and anticipates delivering more than 8 million packages on Sundays in December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages for an additional fee on Christmas Day in select locations.
The Postal Service plans for peak holiday season all year. This includes making sure the right equipment is available to sort, process and deliver the expected mail and package volumes. Seasonal workers are hired when and where needed, and technology has been expanded to enhance package tracking throughout the USPS processing and transportation networks.
Busiest Mailing and Delivery Days
The Postal Service’s busiest time of the season peaks two weeks before Christmas, when much last-minute shopping starts. Customer traffic is expected to increase beginning Dec. 9, while the week of Dec. 16 is expected to be the busiest time for mailing, shipping and delivery. Additionally, the Postal Service predicts that nearly 2.5 billion pieces of First-Class Mail, including greeting cards, will be processed and delivered the week of Dec. 16.
Skip the Trip and Ship Online
Consumers can use usps.com to ship their packages and save trips to the Post Office. The Postal Service anticipates Dec. 16 will be the busiest day online with more than 8.5 million consumers predicted to visit usps.com for help shipping holiday gifts. Nearly 105 million consumers are predicted to visit usps.com between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
The Postal Service estimates nearly 400,000 consumers will use the Click-N-Ship feature and other online services Dec. 16 to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and request free next-day Package Pickup.
2019 Holiday Shipping Deadlines
The Postal Service recommends the following mailing and shipping deadlines for expected delivery by Dec. 25 to Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office and domestic addresses*:
- Dec. 9 — APO/FPO/DPO (ZIP Code 093 only) Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
- Dec. 11 — APO/FPO/DPO (all other ZIP Codes) Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
- Dec. 14 — USPS Retail Ground
- Dec. 18 — APO/FPO/DPO (except ZIP Code 093) USPS Priority Mail Express
- Dec. 20 — First-Class Mail (including greeting cards)
- Dec. 20 — First-Class packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
- Dec. 21 — Priority Mail
- Dec. 23 — Priority Mail Express*
Alaska
- Dec. 18 — Alaska to mainland First-Class Mail
- Dec. 19 — Alaska to mainland Priority Mail
- Dec. 21 — Alaska to mainland Priority Mail Express
Hawaii
- Dec. 19 — Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
- Dec. 21 — Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail Express
*Not a guarantee, unless otherwise noted. Dates are for estimated delivery before Dec. 25. Actual delivery date may vary depending on origin, destination, Post Office acceptance date and time and other conditions. Some restrictions apply. For Priority Mail Express shipments mailed Dec. 21-25, the money-back guarantee applies only if the shipment was not delivered, or delivery was not attempted, within two (2) business days.
Delivering for the Military and Overseas
The Postal Service also processes mail for overseas Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of State (DoS) recipients. The DoD measures mail volumes in pounds not pieces, and USPS expects to process more than 15 million pounds of mail for DoD and DoS recipients between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.
