The United States Postal Service is struggling to process an inundation of packages as the coronavirus pandemic prevents people across the country from getting together for the holidays and keeping consumers out of crowded stores.
Online shopping surged more than 20% on Black Friday and more than 44% over a five-day period that included Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, Cyber Monday was the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history, notching more than $11.4 billion in sales.
The influx of online shopping has been a boon to retailers whose sales were dampened earlier this year by coronavirus-related restrictions, but the Postal Service and other delivery services have struggled to handle the unprecedented volume of mail.
“We’re really gridlocked all over the place,” one Postal Service transportation manager in Ohio told the Washington Post. “It’s bad. I’ve never seen it like this before.”
One mail carrier in Philadelphia said that no one, “including the post office itself, knows just how bad delays are.”
After Black Friday, UPS placed temporary shipping restrictions on packages from six major retailers in order to meter the flow of packages into the delivery service’s network and maintain performance levels.
Both UPS and FedEx added “peak” delivery surcharges far earlier than usual, beginning in May rather than the typical holiday season. UPS said companies, such as Amazon and Target, “have been inundating its delivery network with many more packages and oversize items during the coronavirus pandemic.”
The Postal Service acknowledged the influx of packages in a press release and said that “a temporary employee shortage due to the COVID-19 surge and capacity challenges … are leading to temporary delays.”
“We thank our customers for their continued support, and we are committed to making sure gifts and cards are delivered on time to celebrate the holidays,” said Kristin Seaver, the Postal Service’s chief retail and delivery officer. “We continue to flex our network, including making sure the right equipment is available to sort, process, and deliver a historic volume of mail and packages this holiday season.”
The Postal Service added that it anticipates the week between Dec. 14 and Dec. 21 to be “the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week” of the year. It referred to the Monday press release when asked for further comment.
Shipping delays have begun to trickle into the post office’s delivery of first-class mail as well, which includes greeting cards, letters, and bills. Just over three-quarters of all first-class mail was delivered on time during the week of Nov. 28, according to the Washington Post. The Postal Service has an internal goal of 96%.
