Deadlines this week for mailing holiday gifts and packages in time for Christmas
EL PASO, Texas -- Christmas is near, and the busiest time for holiday shipping is upon us. The United State Postal Service has estimated 850 to 950 million packages will be shipped out this month, adding up to total of 12 billion packages and parcels that will reach the homes of Americans and others across the world this season.
Becky Hernandez, a USPS spokesperson in El Paso, said "it is definitely a hustle and bustle right now for us, but we are excited. This is what we prepare for all year, we will get everything delivered, we are ready."
The USPS consists of 640,000 regular employees, and have hired 40,000 seasonal employees to ensure your mail gets to you on time. Because of the seasonal employees, there has been a small increase in shipping costs, but Hernandez added they are still the most cost effective postal service out there.
Deadlines are on the way to get your gifts and cards delivered on time. The first one starts with December 15th, which is the deadline for you to get your Retail Ground Service packages in on time. Next is Dec. 17th, for all First Class Mail Service. Then comes Dec 18th, for Priority Mail Service. Finally, if you wait until the last minute, Dec 23rd is the deadline for Priority Mail Express Service.
The USPS has a massive workforce, but technology is a huge part of their job as well. New technology is helping to speed up the process. Hernandez told ABC-7, “we have added 112 parcel sorters throughout the country. When last year we had to sort manually, these parcel sorters will increase processing by about 12 times faster."
When asked if this year’s total mail estimates are more than last year, Hernandez said there is actually a slight decrease in the mail estimates from 2020. She added that she thinks it’s because people were still buying groceries and other essential items during the height of the pandemic.
