TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. Postal Service says it will deliver packages seven days a week in many cities and high-volume areas beginning Nov. 29, for the four Sundays before Christmas.
The Postal Service expects to deliver a total of approximately 15.5 billion cards, letters, flats, and packages during the 2015 holiday season. Projections are that approximately 600 million packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, which is an increase of 10.5 percent over last year’s volume.
In time for the holidays, the Postal Service will offer real-time delivery notifications – meaning customers who sign up for alerts at myusps.com will receive notification within a few minutes of the delivery scan for select packages.
The Postal Service has hired additional employees, extended retail hours at many Post Offices and issued new holiday stamps, all in preparation for the holiday season.
Busiest Mailing and Delivery Days
The Postal Service predicts that Monday, December 14, will be the busiest mailing and shipping day for holiday packages, letters and cards. The busiest mailing day also is expected to be the Postal Service’s busiest day online with more than 7 million customers predicted to visit usps.com.
Monday, December 21, is expected to be the busiest delivery day for holiday packages, cards and letters. The Postal Service anticipates that more than 30 million packages will be delivered on the peak delivery day alone.
Consumers can also visit usps.com/holiday for more information and shipping options throughout the season.
2015 Christmas Shipping Deadlines
For delivery in anticipation of Christmas, the Postal Service recommends keeping the following mailing and shipping deadlines in mind:
· Dec. 8 – Priority Mail Express International
· Dec. 15 – Standard Post
· Dec. 19 – First Class Mail
· Dec. 19 – Global Express Guaranteed
· Dec. 21 – Priority Mail
· Dec. 23 – Priority Mail Express
Full deadlines and additional details can be found here.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
