An inside look at a Virginia USPS shipping facility as holiday shipping deadlines approach
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — The deadline to mail that holiday gift or letter and have it arrive on time is coming up.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been preparing for the holidays, especially as we go into the final week of mailing packages.
Inside the USPS Dulles Processing and Distribution Center facility, packages and letters were sorted by machines, put in boxes and taken to the docks — where they were then loaded on trucks for distribution.
USPS officials say they added about 100 sorting machines to several USPS locations across the country and that allows them the capability to process about 70 million pieces of mail daily.
Officials told DC News Now that USPS sends about 90% of its mail by ground now.
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If you still have a holiday gift to send out, USPS highlighted some important dates to get it delivered by Christmas on Dec. 25. If you’re shipping a letter or package by Ground Advantage or First-Class, make sure it’s sent by Dec. 16. That deadline is Dec. 20 for Priority Mail and Dec. 21 for Priority Mail Express.
With the final week to mail packages and letters looming, Thursday was just days before the busiest weekend for the USPS.
“We process about 200,000 packages for this geographic area each day,” said Henry Payne, Plant manager for Dulles Processing and Distribution Center.
He said that it still gets busier during the holidays.
“Absolutely. We’re running about 15% more volume right now,” Payne added.
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USPS said this holiday season, it introduced a new and more affordable shipping option.
“For your greeting cards, your letters; your ground advantage, which is our new option this year. That’s December 16th,” said Mark Wahl, Strategic Communications Specialist with USPS.
Wahl also said this holiday season, there are no surcharges.
“We are the most affordable shipper because of our no surcharges, no hidden fees, no handling fees,” Wahl said.
He also gave some tips on how people can protect those holiday packages once they arrive at their destinations.
“We have informed delivery, so if you’re not signed up for it, it’s free,” Wahl said. “If you get your packages and they start piling up at your door, guess what? they’re more likely to be taken. So, our inspection service has holiday havoc. if you suspect someone stealing it. 18778762455,” he added.
For people who have loved ones in the military or overseas, Friday, Dec. 15 is the deadline to get those packages to them delivered by Christmas.
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