hope this helps
POSTAL SERVICE READY FOR BUSY 'WHOLIDAY' SEASON
WASHINGTON, D.C. - While you may feel in a rush this holiday season, imagine the rush the Postal Service is in to sort and deliver over 20 billion cards, letters and packages. "We will deliver again for the American people this season," said Nicholas Barranca, vice president, Operations Planning and Processing. "We have planned well and feel confident that we will be able to handle the increased holiday volume."
Barranca said that holiday mail volume is expected to be 3 percent higher than last year. "On an average day, we postmark around 100 million pieces of mail," he noted. "From Thanksgiving through New Year's, the daily average increases to 150 million pieces.
"On our peak mail day, December 11, we expect to cancel over 280 million pieces. Because Christmas falls on a Monday this year, we expect a secondary peak day on December 18. Our busiest delivery days will be Wednesday, December 13 and 20."
Planning for the holiday mail volume began months in advance, Barranca said. To move the large volumes, the Postal Service:
Added nearly 40,000 temporary seasonal employees;
Put nearly 60 million more sacks and trays in service;
Established three Christmas Network Hubs with over 80 supplemental airplanes dedicated entirely to moving the mail;
Added thousands of additional trucks and dozens of additional trains;
And set up additional temporary processing facilities.
During the two weeks prior to Christmas, the National and Area control center network will operate around the clock. This network shares information on operations and mail flow between mail processing and distribution centers and with major mailing customers. "We also keep in contact with our biggest mailers through our Business Service Network to identify any service issues that may crop up," Barranca said.
"Our goal is to deliver all mail within our normal service standards," said Barranca, "but as always, we remind customers to mail early." On average, First-Class Mail takes one to three days, Priority Mail takes two days to most areas, Parcel Post takes one day per zone and Express Mail offers guaranteed overnight delivery to most major cities. Post Offices can provide information on local delivery standards. Many offices will have extended lobby hours, including some Sundays.
Barranca recommended that customers sending their gifts by Parcel Post mail them by December 8 to insure they arrive before Christmas Day. Customers using Priority Mail should mail them by December 18. Past that date, Express Mail should be used. With the holiday falling on Monday this year, the last regularly scheduled delivery will be Saturday, December 23. Some cities may have limited Sunday delivery. For last-minute shoppers, Express Mail will be delivered even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in major metropolitan areas.
Customers can avoid some of the hassles of the "Wholidays" by going online to usps.com. At the Web site, customers can do ZIP Code lookups, use a postage calculator and buy stamps at the Postal Store. Stamps can also be ordered by phone at the toll-free number 1-800-STAMP24.
Last Modified:
Tue, 28 Nov 2000 20:40:10 GMT
Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
