And here’s how many billions of packages the U.S. Postal Service has already sent this holiday season.
SAN ANTONIO — It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and the busiest for postal workers and package delivery teams in the U.S. as Americans send billions of holiday cards, gifts and other surprises to loved ones.
2.4 billion and counting, to be exact–and that’s just as of 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to USPS’ live mail tracker, which launched Nov. 24. Now, with just over three weeks to go until Christmas, the agency is as busy as ever.
The U.S. Postal Service is providing other online resources to ensure San Antonians’ packages get where they need to go in a timely manner. That includes recommended dates you should ensure your mail and packages have been sent by to maximize the chances they arrive by Christmas:
- Send by Dec. 17 for USPS Ground Advantage shipping service
- Send by Dec. 17 for First Class Mail service (for light, non-urgent packages)
- Send by Dec. 18 for Priority Mail service (faster service catering to heavier/more valuable packages)
- Send by Dec. 20 for Priority Mail Express service (the fastest shipping service offered by USPS)
USPS said in a press release that customers “can expect their mail and packages to be delivered, on average, in less than three days.”
According to USPS, it took an average of 2.1 days for outbound mail to get to its destination from San Antonio in mid-November.
USPS officials said the agency has spent the past five years modernizing its network to handle anticipated surge in holiday mail.
“We’ve added over 600 package-sorting machines, which has increased our daily capacity from 60 million to 88 million pieces a day,” said Becky Hernandez, a strategic communications specialist with USPS.
Hernandez said the agency has also expanded its facilities, upgraded scanning technology for improved tracking, and introduced new delivery vehicles across the country.
“The customers — their needs have changed. There’s a lot of online shipping,” she said. “We’re just trying to keep up and be as efficient as we can for them.”
Christmas countdown
Send-by dates for international mail
If sending mail through USPS to another country, here are USPS’ recommended send-by dates:
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16
Asia and the Pacific Rim
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16
Australia and New Zealand
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16
Central and South America
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 2
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 2
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16
Middle East
- First-Class Package International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail International Service: Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express International Service: Dec. 16