U.S. Postal Service Delivers the Holidays
WASHINGTON — Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night will keep the Postal Service from doing what it does best — delivering the holidays. Between now and Christmas Eve, the Postal Service will deliver 15.8 billion cards, letters and packages across the country and around the world.
“The holiday season isn’t just the busiest time of the year for the Postal Service — it’s our best time of year,” said Steve Forte, senior vice president, Operations. “We’re the holiday mailing and shipping experts.”
The Postal Service expects to deliver nearly 3 billion cards and letters over the holidays and there are more than 3 billion holiday stamps available to handle the volume. This year, a snowman and the words “Happy Holidays” will appear in the upper right-hand corner of greeting cards and letters mailed during the month of December.
During this holiday season, the Postal Service also expects:
• 97 million customers to visit a Post Office
• 30 million pounds of mail to be delivered to overseas military installations, including Iraq and war zones in Afghanistan
• 4.7 million shipping labels to be printed using Click-N-Ship
The busiest mailing day is set for Monday, Dec. 20. More than 800 million cards, letters and packages are expected to be mailed on that day alone, compared to 559 million on a typical day. Wednesday, Dec. 22, will be the busiest delivery day. Staff at the National Operations Center work 24/7 to help navigate mail movement around the world.
“We’ve been delivering the holidays for the past 235 years, and we’re proud to deliver excellent service to our customers, especially during this busy time of year,” added Forte.
More than 47 million customers will skip the trip to the Post Office this holiday season and take advantage of the Postal Service’s convenient online shipping at usps.com. Customers can print shipping labels, pay for postage and request free package pickup while staying warm and comfortable in their homes or offices. The Postal Service will deliver free shipping supplies, including the popular Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, and also pick up packages for free when customers ship online using the Postal Service’s website.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
Visit the Postal Service’s holiday press room at usps.com/holidaynewsroom.