LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The United States Postal Service has prepared to deliver nearly 200 million packages for this holiday season.
Starting the week of Dec. 6, customer traffic is expected to increase significantly, and the week of Dec. 13-18 is predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping, and delivery week.
To help with the high demand, David James, a USPS Customer Relations Manager, says 112 processing machines have been added and here in the valley 500 employees were hired to make sure mail is delivered on time.
“We know the supply chain is a problem so people may not get their gifts as early as they would and get them into here early, but we can’t stress enough that as soon as you get them to pack them and get them to us, but we have the firepower and capability to make that happen without delays,” said James.
USPS officials say they are confident they have the resources they need to make sure every package is mailed properly.
Tyler Sackett is a USPS customer, and he says the best advice is to not wait till the last minute.
"I’m sure there are going to be delays, but usually it is not more than one or two days for me most of the time, but because of COVID it might be different, there's a lot of packages, and Christmas is huge," Sackett said.
It’s estimated nearly 500,000 consumers will use the click-n-ship feature and other online services on Dec. 14 to order free priority mailboxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage, and even request free next-day package pickup.
The holiday shipping deadline for Overseas Military Mail is Dec. 9. For First Class, it is Dec. 17. For Priority, it is Dec. 18, and for Priority Mail Express it is Dec. 23.
