Thousands of delayed packages are piled up at Pa. Postal Service facilities: ‘You’re not gonna get your Christmas presents’

Santa might be late this year.

An overwhelmed U.S. Postal Service has been struggling for weeks to deliver packages, veteran employees said, warning that holiday gifts might not arrive by Christmas as tens of thousands of packages pile up inside Philadelphia-area processing facilities.

“Don’t be using the post office right now, because we can’t deliver the mail,” said Laurence Love, an assistant clerk craft director who operates mail-sorting machines at the Philadelphia Processing and Delivery Center.

Facilities across the region are so full of packages, there is barely enough room to walk, employees in Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley, and South Jersey said. In Allentown, about 10 trailers filled with mail are sitting in the parking lot, with no room to unload the items.

In Philadelphia, there are packages dated from before Thanksgiving scattered across the facility, employees said. Last week, a miles-long caravan of dozens of delivery trucks filled with mail waited for hours outside the Southwest Philadelphia site because there was no room to unload the parcels.

People across the region say they are seeing their items scanned into processing plants but never scanned out. Packages have taken so long that customers are demanding refunds from already-strapped businesses struggling to survive the pandemic.

The widespread delays are caused by a massive staffing shortage due to rising coronavirus cases, long-term job cuts, and a liberal pandemic leave policy, combined with a record rush of holiday packages as more people shop online. On top of that, private express carriers like UPS and FedEx, similarly seeing record package levels, cut off delivery service for some retailers, which has funneled even more parcels through an already overwhelmed Postal Service.

The delays shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone - employees, union leaders, and outside experts have sounded alarms of an impending holiday-time disaster for months but believe the agency failed to adequately prepare and hire enough temporary workers, exacerbating the backlog and delays.

The USPS also warned customers of a busier season, with the peak week being Dec. 16 to 21, and urged people to send gifts early. Still, it is messaging to customers that parcels sent by Dec. 18 could be delivered by Christmas, even though Philly-area businesses have reported packages sent as early as Nov. 27 remain undelivered, with no tracking updates of their status or location.

In response to a request for comment, the agency shared a news release that cited record package numbers, an employee shortage due to COVID-19, and airlift and trucking “capacity challenges” as reasons for the delays. USPS said it has hired holiday staffers, expanded delivery and retail hours, leased more vehicles, and expanded technology to enhance package tracking.

“The Postal Service leadership team, the unions and management associations are all working in close collaboration to address issues and concerns as they arise as we focus on delivering the Holidays for the nation,” the agency said in the release.

December 18, 2020

UPDATE: Drop Shipment Impacts at Processing Facilities (v6)

Please see highlighted information below for updates.  Drop shipments at the following processing facilities are temporarily impacted:

Additional information on each drop shipment impact is provided below.  For trucks already in route, the drop shipment will be honored, but wait/unload times may be extended.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and cooperation during this time.  We are working diligently to resolve any drop shipment restrictions and will continue to provide updates as they become available.

Birmingham Annex Resumed All Drop Shipments

Birmingham Annex-NASS 350AX has resumed normal drop shipment hours as of Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 07:00 AM.  The facility is now accepting all drop shipments, including DSCF Marketing Mail flats. 

West Valley Arizona Resumed All Drop Shipments

West Valley-NASS 85H has resumed normal drop shipment hours as of Friday, December 18, 2020 at 06:00 AM.  The facility is now accepting all drop shipments, including DNDC/DSCF/DFSS Marketing Mail flats. 

Detroit NDC to Resume All Drop Shipments

As scheduled, Detroit NDC-NASS 48Z will resume normal drop shipment hours on Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 04:00 AM.  The facility will accept all drop shipments, including DNDC Marketing Mail flats. 

New Jersey NDC Resumed All Drop Shipments

New Jersey NDC-NASS 07Z has resumed normal drop shipment hours as of Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 04:00 AM.  The facility is now accepting all drop shipments, including DNDC Marketing Mail letters and DNDC/DFSS Marketing Mail flats. 

Philadelphia NDC to Resume All Drop Shipments

As scheduled, Philadelphia NDC-NASS 19Z will resume normal drop shipment hours on Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 09:00 AM.  The facility will accept all drop shipments, including DNDC Marketing Mail letters and DNDC/DFSS Marketing Mail flats. 

Cleveland & Akron Ohio DADC/DSCF Letters Temporary Redirection

Effective Friday, December 11, 2020, DADC/DSCF letters for Cleveland (440-441, 444-445, 448-449) and DADC/DSCF letters for Akron (442-443, 446-447) will be temporarily redirected from Cleveland PDC-NASS 440 located at 2400 Orange Ave, Cleveland OH 44101 to Pittsburgh PDC-NASS 150 located at 1001 California Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15290.  All other mail will still be accepted at Cleveland PDC.  Drop shipment appointments at Pittsburgh PDC are available Thursday to Sunday from 06:00-10:00, 17:00-23:00 and Monday to Wednesday from 06:00-14:00, 17:00-23:00.  The temporary redirection is scheduled to end and normal drop shipments resume at Cleveland PDC on Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 07:00 AM. 

Springdale Annex DADC/DSCF Flats Temporary Redirection

Effective Monday, December 14, 2020, DADC flats (410, 450-455, 459, 470) and DSCF flats (410, 450-452, 459, 470) for Cincinnati will be temporarily redirected from Springdale Annex-NASS 452AX located at 12000 Northwest Blvd, Cincinnati OH 45246 to Cincinnati PDC-NASS 450 located at 1591 Dalton Ave, Cincinnati OH 45234.  All other mail will still be accepted at Springdale Annex.  Drop shipment appointments at Cincinnati PDC are available Monday to Saturday from 07:00-19:00 and Sunday from 13:00-20:00.  The temporary redirection is scheduled to end and normal drop shipments resume at Springdale Annex on Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 07:00 AM. 

Northwest Rochester Temporary Redirection of Periodicals and Marketing Mail Flats

Effective Thursday, December 17, 2020, destination-entry Periodicals flats and Marketing Mail flats will be temporarily redirected from Northwest Rochester-NASS 144PM located at 1700 Lyell Ave, Rochester NY 14606 to Elmira Post Office located at 1580 Sullivan St, Elmira NY 14901.  The temporary redirection of Periodicals and Marketing Mail flats includes DNDC (130-149, 167), DADC/DSCF/DFSS (140-143, 147), and DADC/DSCF/DFSS (144-146, 148-149, 167).  All other mail, including Package Services flats, will still be accepted at Northwest Rochester.  Drop shipment appointments at Elmira Post Office are available daily from 08:00 to 17:00.  The temporary redirection is scheduled to end and normal drop shipments resume at Northwest Rochester on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 06:00 AM. 

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