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Behind the scenes with the US Postal Service
It is the middle of the busiest shipping period of the year. The three major delivery companies will deliver tens of millions of packages across the country. How the United States postal service is working overtime to meet the demand.
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - With only days till Hanukkah and less than 10 days till Christmas morning, the holiday shipping crunch is in full swing.
"This week is our busiest week of the year," said Paula Williams, the USPS Plant Manager at the North Metro Processing and Distribution Center in Gwinnett County.
William’s team of more than a thousand people is working around the clock moving the mail.
"We process more mail than we have in a long time, and we are the biggest letter-operating plant in Atlanta," she said.
Brittany Jones shipped a holiday gift out Thursday to her cousin as she tries to beat the mad dash at the post office.
"I'm trying to make sure it gets there before Christmastime," she said. "It's the busiest time of year, so I just got off work. So, I am dropping it off now, so it gets there."
The big three delivery companies have varying deadlines to get packages delivered on time.
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USPS says to guarantee Christmas delivery by ground packages must be sent by December 17th. For FedEx, the cutoff to ship by ground has already passed and UPS ground service is route-dependent so check its website. For procrastinators, there are other more expensive options that give you more time.
"Definitely don't want to wait till the last day, I want to get it in before then," said Tonya Hunter. "So, they at least have it under the tree so they can say Oh and Ah before Christmas Day."
Kim Calhoun is sending gifts across the pond to London. She missed one deadline and had to pay express shipping in an attempt to get the gifts there on time.
"I'm notoriously late, but I am here and I'm praying it might get there," she said.
The last few years have been rough for delivery companies, but things are looking bright. According to Ship Matrix, which tracks the shipping industry, packages arrived on time roughly 95% of the time last month that is happening as Williams says they see more packages.
"We processed about 25% more on our package operation across the board," she said.
When are the 2022 holidays shipping deadlines?
Here is a look at this year's Christmas shipping deadlines:
USPS
- Ground: Dec. 17
- First-Class: Dec. 17
- Priority Mail: Dec. 19
- Priority Mail Express: Dec. 23
UPS
- 3-Day Select: Dec. 20
- 2nd Day Air: Dec. 21
- Next-Day Air: Dec. 22
FedEx
- 3-Day Freight Service & Express Saver: Dec. 20
- 2-day shipping: Dec. 21
- Overnight: Dec. 22