PHILADELPHIA -- Are you still waiting for packages from early December to arrive?
You're not alone, but be patient, postal workers warn, because it might be a while.
In U.S. Postal Service facilities across the country, hundreds of thousands of items sent in late November and early December are sitting at the bottom of enormous piles of delayed mail that continue to grow with new packages daily.
Employees at the Philadelphia Processing and Delivery Center said they are prioritizing the packages coming in now, and doing their best to scrounge up items under the mass when time allows. But as the agency continues to experience record package volumes amid the pandemic, the pile keeps growing.
"Honestly, it's going to be at least six to eight weeks" until the backlog is cleared, said Laurence Love, a clerk craft director at the Philadelphia facility on Lindbergh Boulevard.
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"All we can ask of people is to be patient and understand that the people that are working inside the facilities, inside the post offices, are doing everything they can," said Andy Kubat, president of the Lehigh Valley Area Local American Postal Workers Union.
In anticipation of record package levels, private carriers like UPS and FedEx cut off delivery service for some retailers, which funneled even more parcels through an already overwhelmed Postal Service. The Postal Service hired thousands of temporary workers and upped late and extra delivery trips, but pileups continued.
ShipMatrix data shows that across all carriers, over a million packages were delayed more than 30 days across the country. About 0.2% of FedEx packages and 0.39% of UPS items were delayed more than 30 days, while the Postal Service saw 1.54% of packages delayed for over a month.
"There were some days when the post office got 40 million packages, unlike any other business," said Satish Jindel, president of ShipMatrix.
Now, as more packages continue to be sent, tracking shows "it's last in, first out," he said. For many people, the Postal Service tracking hasn't shown an update on their item for weeks, creating an agonizing wait for not only presents, but also essential items like bills, medication and important records.
The unprecedented package volumes were coupled with poor preparation and a severe employee shortage because of rising covid-19 cases, as nearly 19,000 workers were in quarantine at the end of 2020 after being infected or exposed to the virus, according to the American Postal Workers Union.
The result was a backlog that veteran postal workers said was unlike anything they've ever seen.
"Shippers across the board were challenged with airlifts and trucking capacity for moving historic volumes, causing temporary pockets of delays," Postal Service spokesperson Naddia Dhalai said in an email. "As is our duty, we accepted all volumes and our employees rose to the occasion to deliver for America. This epic volume was also amplified by employee availability challenges and necessary COVID-19 policies designed to keep our employees and our communities safe."
Urging customers to be patient may work if they are merely waiting on gifts, but for the millions who rely on the Postal Service for the delivery of medication, time-sensitive records and bills, the delays could have consequences.